We Are Not Alone ~ Psalm 34:1-7

I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.

 

 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.

Psalm 34:1-3

 

We are in this together.

 

Life is not meant to be lived in a silo. We are intended to be in relationship with others. God created us for relationship: first with Him and second with each other.

 

God's love for us is so great that it extends beyond simply giving us what we need to survive (food, water, shelter). He has given us connection, support, love and fellowship.

 

In our relationships we have the ability to help each other celebrate successes, conquer fears and survive tragedy. 

 

We have the tremendous gift of being able to empathize with the ones God has put into our lives. God allows us to bridge the gap - to help our friends and family members experience His love through us. And He allows us the wonderful blessing of experiencing His love through our family and friends.

 

 We are not alone.

 

Yes, we each always have God with us.

But, we also have the joy of having others in our lives.

 

We are in this together.

 

Scripture

Psalm 34:1-7

 

Quote

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.

 ~Douglas Pagels

 

Question

 

What friend or family member are you most thankful God has placed in your life?

 

Don't forget :

Super Ball Collection for the Russian Orphanage

 

GUMY is a joint session this Sunday 5PM ALL Ages

 

Being Thankful & Loving in the Midst of Chaos

 

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habukkuk 3:18

 

God loves you.

God loves me.

 

These are universal truths.

 

In this world we will have trouble.

Life isn't perfect.

 

These are also universal truths.

 

How can we reconcile a God who clearly loves us - breathes life into each of us - and a world as broken and chaotic as the one in which we live?

 

I can't.

Maybe you can, but I can't.

 

This is a crazy world filled with hatred, gossip, lies, innuendo, wars, and all manner of unspeakable things.

 

And yet, this is also a world filled with compassion, joy, love, beauty, enduring faith, hope, laughter, and some measures of peace.

 

So how do we reconcile the good of this world with the bad?

 

We don't.

 

God called us to love each other (John 13:34). He didn't call us to fix the world or to judge its failures. He called us to love.

 

We are called to love in the midst of hatred and pain.

We are called to love in the midst of joy and celebration.

We are called to love in all circumstances.

And by keeping that love paramount we will be able to praise and thank God in all aspects of our lives: the good, the bad and the ugly.

 

I can't reconcile all of the crazy ups and downs of this world - and that's okay. I am not supposed to figure it all out. Neither are you.

 

We are called to love all and to praise and thank God continually.

While we work toward that mode of continual thanksgiving we will find that "making sense of it all" is less important, because loving all will become central - key to having peace in the middle of a war ravaged world.

 

Most of what happens in the world doesn't make sense.

But we are called not to make the world fit into our understanding, but rather to allow God to transform us to His.

The first step in the transformation process is choosing to love first, praising God through our love.

 

Scripture

Habukkuk 3:16-19

 

Quote

I will thank God for the day and the moment I have.

Jim Valvano

 

Question

 

How can you thank God in the midst of your trials today?

 

Being a Tree Firmly Rooted - Jude 17-24

 

 

"...keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt"

Jude 21-22

 

Do you ever doubt?

 

Do you ever have anyone in your life who makes you question what you believe or why you believe it?

 

As Christians, we are challenged daily with outside influences. We face the task of trying to filter out the ungodly and the evil from the godly and the good. And the task sounds simple when it is labeled - "good versus evil" but life is rarely that straight forward.

 

In this world - whether you live in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Vietnam, Liberia, Australia, Canada or even a remote island without electricity - temptations and compromises abound. And often, it can be difficult to discern what is the Jesus choice and what is the earthly choice.

 

Through out your life - and maybe even today - your faith will be challenged. Beliefs you hold tightly as truth will be shaken by the influences of those you trust and love. This will happen. It has happened to me and it will happen to you. And it will continue to happen through out your life. This challenge is part of being in this world. Our decision to hold on to what we know is true and right is part of our willingness to not be of this world.

 

Think of a tree.

When a tree is newly planted, the arborist supports the tree with rods and string to ensure that it begins to grow straight and develop a root system. Soon the tree has the support removed and it is allowed to begin growing on its own. But if a thunderstorm with wind passes through - that little tree will likely be toppled because the roots he has started are not deep enough to withstand the storm and he no longer has his outside support system to keep him upright.

Now imagine a tree that is 20 years old.

If the same storm passed by, the tree might bend  and loose a few leaves, but because his root system is deep there is no danger of him being uprooted by the storm.

 

We are the same as the trees. We need a deeply rooted faith to withstand the challenges of this life.  And we, like that new little tree, often need a support system to help us grow and to keep us from toppling in the storm.

 

As others challenge your beliefs - and you hold onto your faith and your relationship with Jesus - your goal (and my goal) is to try and share the love of God with the challenger. We are called to love everyone - even those who are trying to undermine the belief structure which is the very foundation of our lives. This is true mercy. And the way only you and I will be able to successfully hold fast to our faith while sharing that faith with the opposition is to be firmly rooted in our relationships with God.

 

With God's grace put love first in all of your relationships.

 Love helps those roots grow deep.

And love will help you weather any storm.

 

Scripture

Jude 17-24

 

Quote

 

A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but a lot of faith will bring heaven to your soul.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Question

 

How can you help your roots to grow deeper in your faith?

No More Tears - Revelation 21

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

The slogan for Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo is quite simply "No More Tears".

In those three little words they make the pledge that their shampoo is safe for little ones' eyes and that mom and dad shouldn't fear using their product.

That's A LOT of pressure for one bottle of shampoo.

But we have a promise - a promise from Jesus and confirmed in John's Revelation - that one day there will be no more tears.

I find it hard to imagine what that day will be like... 

A day when wars will cease to exist and petty disagreements will dissipate like fog with the rising of the sun.

A day when sickness will be eradicated and hunger will no longer be an issue.

A day when freedom will be for all and all will respect that freedom.

A day when everyone will put Jesus first.

A day when everyone will love Jesus.

A day when everyone will truly love everyone else - because they love Jesus.

Can you see it? Is your imagination grand enough to envision what that day will be like?

I know in my heart that this day of promise will come and I can see the hope at the core of that promise.

But my life experiences limit my ability to imagine fully what that day will be.

I think most of our experiences limit our ability to imagine a world with no more tears.

But - just because we can't imagine the day doesn't lessen the promise - or the hope we have in the surety of the coming of our no more tears future. And what a future it will be.

Johnson & Johnson gave us a slogan.

Jesus gave us a promise.

I am so thankful that I can stand firm in the promises of Jesus - even when my imagination is limited.

No More Tears...Sounds good to me.

Scripture

Revelation 21 

Quote 

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.”

Washington Irving

Question

If you can imagine what it will be like when Jesus creates his kingdom with "no more tears", please describe it in the comments section below.

 

 

...And We Wait - 1 Cor 13 & Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 40:1

Love is patient, love is kind.

1 Corinthians 13:4

Patience.

Everybody wants it - but very few have it.

The virtue of patience by definition is: the ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay; quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence.

 I don't know about you - but I certainly wouldn't describe myself as someone with the ability to "suppress annoyance when confronted with delay". 

I can be rather easily annoyed when things don't fall exactly as I expect them to fall. 

I often will press forward even when all signs are pointing to me to delay or wait. 

I am a "doer". I am not a "wait-around-and-see-er". And my patience - my ability to suppress my annoyance - generally comes out like a two-year-old waiting for a promised toy - kind of whiny and loud.   

But what we see in today's two passages is that God wants us to display patience.

 Patience is equated to love and being godly.

Patience is being ready for the Lord - but not demanding anything of Him.

Patience is knowing that the Lord will fulfill His promises - but in His time.

All of this sounds wonderful - until you have to be patient and wait for God to move.

When we are in the middle of a struggle - even when it is a good struggle toward a completed class, a new athletic accomplishment, a new job or some other fantastic new opportunity - we often want God to shove us through the struggle so that we can get to the "good stuff".

We don't like having to take the necessary steps or waiting the appropriate amount of time to receive the gift of His blessing. We want to move and to move immediately.

But God requires us to wait - to be patient - because in being patient we are displaying the trust and faith we have in Our Heavenly Father.

Our ability to be patient - even in the most mundane and most trying of circumstances -  demonstrates our willingness to put our lives in the hands of the Creator. 

Paul wrote that love is patient - not because we need to wait for love but because love in its purest form is filled with faith and trust. Faith and trust are the foundation of our ability to display patience even in the worst of days.

Let's try together to be patient and wait upon the Lord. We just might be surprised by the wonderful  blessing He has for us - one we may have missed if we pressed through or tried to do it our own ways. 

Be patient. Wait upon the Lord.

It's not easy - but it is totally worth it.

Psalm 40 

1 Corinthians 13

Quote

Patience is the companion of wisdom.  

St. Augustine

Question

What are you waiting for that is requiring an extra helping of patience?

Teachers in Life School - Psalm 25

 

Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.^(E)
 Guide me in your truth^(F) and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,^(G)
and my hope is in you^(H) all day long.

Psalm 25:4-5

 

 

Teachers = School.

 

And for most of us school = "Aww man...do I have to?"

 

But the truth is, we are always in the mode of learning. We are always in school. Regardless of whether we sit at a desk or take tests at the end of nine weeks, we are in school for the rest of our lives.

 

The difference between "Life School" and "High School" is in "Life School" we get to choose our teachers - - and sometimes we don't choose very well.

 

Stop for a minute and think about all of the different people in your life.

Think about your friends, your family, your school teachers, your doctors, your hair stylist, your cousins, your aunts & uncles, your pastor, your coaches, your...fill-in the blank. Think about the dozens if not hundreds of people with whom you are in contact each week. Now include every actor, model, sports star, musician, and media outlet that you experience - even in a single glance when you open a web page.

 

Take a minute and try and identify all of those different people....

 

It's kind of hard - isn't it? There are countless names and faces and all of those different persons have the potential to be teachers in your life.

 

They can influence how you speak, act, dress and think.

They can teach you a belief system, a social hierarchy and a communication method.

They can truly teach you to be you.

They can teach you if you  choose to let them teach you.

 

In "Life School" you have a choice to determine who will be your teachers. You can choose to be influenced by great followers of Jesus and intellects who will frame the future. You can choose to be taught by the socially conscious and learn how to seek justice and mercy. You can choose to be taught by those whose main focus is self-discovery and self actualization. But even if you do not make a choice - you will still learn by the environment in which you place yourself - whether you like the lessons or not.

 

In "Life School" the best Teacher is the One Who created life. The best Teacher is God.

 

Yes we can be influenced by innumerable people and events - but if we choose to seek God first as our primary teacher in "Life School" every other teacher who comes along will have to be filtered through His teaching.

 

All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful

Psalm 25:10

 

Loving and faithful seem like two very good lessons to learn from the Creator of the Universe.

 

Listen to your "Life School" #1 Teacher and the rest will fall into place:

 

Trust in the Lord^(A) with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding

Proverbs 3:5

 

As wonderful as all of the possible teachers are in this world, I cannot think of one who I would rather turn to than the One Who knew the whole world from the very beginning.

 

Scripture

Psalm 25

 

Quote

I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma.

Eartha Kit

 

Question

What lessons can you seek to learn from God today?

 

Reminder - GUMY is at 4PM tonight for GUMY Prep; 4:45 for Dinner; 5:15 for GUMY Jr/Sr.

 

 

The Miracle of Ordinary Days - John 21

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.

John 21:17

This story in the last chapter of John always breaks my heart.

The story begins after Jesus has already revealed himself to the ladies, his disciples and dozens of others after his resurrection. The disciples - who are likely still overwhelmed with the reality of their beloved teacher resurrecting and dealing with the fact that the majority of them had left him alone to die - are back doing what they know how to do. They are fishing.

Sometimes in the midst of great change and upheaval we need the stability of typical routines to make us feel safe and I believe this is what the disciples were doing. 

Imagine Peter and the guilt he must have been wrestling with? The man he loved was really God and he had denied him not once but three times. He probably felt awkward and uncomfortable and wondered when would Jesus reappear. And if he did, what could he possibly say?

What could he say to the one he loved but yet he had failed?

That night the men didn't catch any fish. As they are heading back in the morning, along comes a 'stranger' who tells them to fish on the other side of the boat. They follow his direction and they are miraculously laden with more fish than they can handle. It is this miracle that opens their eyes to the stranger - to Jesus.

Peter was so excited to see Jesus - Peter was always excited.

He jumped from the boat and swam-ran to shore. The rest of the disciples rowed the boat to shore and they found Jesus making breakfast - just like an ordinary day.

Jesus was back and they were enjoying the company of the one they thought had been lost to them forever.

As they relaxed after their meal, Jesus turned to Peter - the one who had been in his inner circle, the one of whom Jesus said he would give the keys to the kingdom, and the one who had denied him. He turned to Peter and asked him three questions:


“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Simon son of John, do you love me?” 
“Do you love me?”

Jesus is getting to the heart of the matter: Peter - my friend - do you love me?

Why would Jesus ask one of his most beloved disciples this question? He asked because he wanted Peter to know that he had forgiven him and he wanted Peter to forgive himself. He wanted Peter to know that he trusted him - regardless of his past mistakes.

Jesus didn't ask Peter three times if he loved him because Jesus needed to hear it. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Jesus because he knew Peter needed to say it.

 

We don't always make decisions that make Jesus proud. These decisions can make us think that we aren't worthy to be in his presence - or worthy of his forgiveness. And in reality - we aren't worthy - we never were and never will be because we are flawed, sin-filled human beings. But being in Jesus' presence isn't about whether or not you are worthy it is about whether or not you are able to receive the love and hospitality he offers and if you are ready to return that love to him.

Those disciples may have caught tons of fish that day - but the miracle of miracles wasn't in the catch.

The miracle of that ordinary day was in the love showered by a forgiving Master to his very flawed disciple and the love the disciple returned to his Master.

The miracle of ordinary days truly is the love we share with an ever present God Who chose to love us first.

  Scripture

John 21

Quote
If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who ever lived (think about that for a moment)--all the goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength and love--and united all those virtues in one person, that person would only be a faint shadow of the love and mercy in the heart of God for you and me.
-Brennan Manning

Question
How can you show God the love you have for Him today?


GUMY this Sunday November 18th - Time Change:
GUMY Prep (4th & 5th Grade)  - 4PM
GUMY Dinner (All Ages) - 4:45PM
GUMY JR/SR (6th -12th) - 5:15Pm   
 

Finding Jesus - John 20

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

John 20: 13-15

Do you ever feel like you are searching for Jesus but you can't find him?

You read scripture. You go to church. You talk to Christian friends. You listen to Christian music.

You do all of the "right" church-y things and still...no Jesus.

You might even begin to think it is you...and maybe it is.

When we try super hard - do everything within our own power to make God appear in our lives - we sometimes try too hard. We can become so focused on the "doing" and the "seeking" that we forget to simply "be".

God promised us that He would always be with us.

He promised that if we sought Him with our hearts - our whole hearts - we would find Him (Jeremiah 29:13)

Jesus promised he would be with us when two or more were gathered in his name.

And the promises go on and on....We know in our minds that God is always present - but often we do not feel Him because we are blocked by everything in the world around us. 
Even the church-y stuff.

When you begin to feel like you can't find Jesus - stop.

Stop the searching.

Stop the working.

Stop the trying.

Stop and simply turn around at the sound of Jesus calling your name.

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

John 20:16

Stop and simply be with the King who created you - because all you really need to do to find Jesus is to simply be with Jesus.

Scripture

John 20

Quote

Only God who made us can touch us and change us and save us from ourselves.
Billy Graham

Question

How can you chose to recognize God in your every day of life?

Good Choices for Jesus - John 19

 

 

 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. ³⁹ He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.

John 19:38-39

 

Many of us have read about the awful - horrific way Jesus died. He was beaten, whipped, publicly humiliated, tortured and finally hung on a cross to die; to die for our sins.

 

But what is amazing is what happens immediately after his death.

 

We often see the heartbreaking image of the Pieta - Mary holding Jesus' lifeless body in her arms - but what we don't think much about is those who took his body away. The ones who cared for his body after his death and before his resurrection.

 

Two men - Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus - asked Pilate for Jesus' body. This was the act of two friends who loved Jesus and wanted to honor his life by caring for his body. They didn't know that Jesus would rise only three days later. They only knew that their grief and their love for Jesus propelled them to face the hatred of their fellow Jewish leaders by caring for their friend.

 

Jesus had entered Jerusalem only five short days earlier with the heralding of a king and now his body was bloody, tortured and lifeless. These men risked their own personal safety and future security by asking Pilate for Jesus' body and by placing him in this honored tomb.

 

They couldn't protect their friend in his final hours so they chose to honor him in his death with a proper burial.

 

They honored the love they had for Jesus by simply giving of themselves with little regard to what others thought of their actions.

 

How often do we allow others' opinions influence our decisions?

 

We allow marketing to dictate what soda we like or what gadget we want next.

We allow friends at school or work to determine where we will sit in the cafeteria or what (or about whom) our conversation will be. We so often allow other people's opinions to dictate the courses our lives will take that we can sometimes wonder if we are following our own path or someone else's.

 

It isn't always easy to go against the crowd.

Only a few of Jesus' closest friends stood by his side through to his death. Joseph of Arimethia and Nicodemus stood in the shadows and allowed Jesus' death to happen with their inability to stand up to the Jewish leadership. But yet, they didn't allow this error in judgement - this betrayal of their friend - to determine the course of their lives. They chose to follow their hearts. They chose a much harder path by honoring Jesus. But they did so knowing it was the right thing to do.

 

Just because you make a "bad choice" by following the lead of a friend doesn't mean you need to continue to follow those friends down a pathway of bad choices. You have the heart within you to be a person who stands up for justice and for what is right in the light of God's love.

 

If you have made a bad choice - turn away from that choice and get on God's path to righteousness and love. He will honor your right choices.

 

Even when you feel like you might be all alone - He will honor those choices by surrounding you with His presence and His love...and He might even send you a friend like he sent Nicodemus to Joseph.

 

It is always easier to stand tall as two rather than one.

 

Seek out friends who will help you to make the kind of choices that bring JOY to Jesus rather than sorrow to your Savior.

 

Scripture

John 19

 

Quote

Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it.

David Star Jordan, The Philosophy of Despair

Question

 

What choice can you make today - which is a right choice for God?

 

 

Eating Your Brussel Sprouts - John 18

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear.

John 18:10

Some days you have to eat all of your brussel sprouts - and that stinks.

Some days life stinks.

It just does.

You have a hard test at school.

Your mom yells at you because you left your socks on the floor.

You loose your job because of cut-backs.

Your candidate doesn't win the election.

Your friend dies.

Some days life just plain old stinks.

In the middle of dealing with the "stuff" on our plates - the icky things in life that make you wish the hardest thing you had to deal with was eating all of your brussel sprouts - we have a choice to make.

 We can choose to be mad, discouraged and honked off by our circumstances....

OR

We can choose to accept, embrace and navigate the brussel sprouts of life.

When we wallow in self-pity or discouragement because of a challenge we face - self-inflicted or something outside of our control - we allow the challenge to take center stage. Our lives become the emptiness of pain, jealousy, hatred and disgust. And in that emptiness we are essentially questioning God and His authority over our lives.

When we choose to see a challenge as an obstacle rather than an opportunity we choose to say that God doesn't know what He is doing.

As hard as it may be to reconcile in our hearts, everything in our lives - the good, the bad and the ugly - has been allowed by God. And often, the bad and the ugliness of life teach us lessons we need to learn to press through the next challenge or obstacle. If we hadn't had today's stinky, brussel sprout day we would not be able to handle the broccoli day in two months or two years.

Jesus knew this. Jesus lived this.

Jesus was - IS - God. He came to earth so that we might be freed - long term - of the sins which held us bondage. But in doing the freeing he took upon himself a whole basket full of brussel sprouts.

The night before Jesus died for our sins, he was praying in the garden when Judas led a contingent of soldiers to capture him. He didn't resist arrest. He accepted the Lord's will because he knew he had to pass through the trial and the crucifixtion so that we might be free. He knew that no matter how horrible his brussel sprout tasted he had to eat it - he had to be obedient to his Father.

“Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup he Father has given me?” John 18:11

Peter was very human that night. He tried to defend Jesus - he tried to push Jesus' brussel sprouts off of his plate. But he was wrong.

Somedays life stinks. Somedays life is filled with a bushel of brussel sprouts and we are called to eat them so that we can have the beautiful desert of Heaven with Jesus.

Jesus ate his sprouts. He followed God's will - as painful and as difficult as it was.

Sometimes that is exactly what each of us needs to do. We need to eat the sprouts put on our plate. They aren't always easy to chew - but they always have a purpose.

Scripture

John 18

Quote

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

Albert Einstein

Question

What is the greatest challenge - brussel sprout - you have faced this week?

John 17 - Jesus Prayed for You

 

 

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

John 17:1-5

 

Do you ever wonder what Jesus was thinking while he was on earth?

 

I often wonder about those days, years and months before he began his public ministry. Did he ever worry about those petty things we worry about -

what grade am I going to get on the math test?

will I get a raise?

does that new student like me?

 will I fit in on the first day?

 

I don't think he did. Please do not misinterpret what I am writing - I do believe he struggled with all of the things that weigh us down as human beings, but ultimately I believe that his focus was on you and me. I believe that although he had to deal with how he was going to get food to eat and water to drink, his main focus wasn't on his basic needs - he knew God would provide those - rather his focus was on the impact of his choices on each one of us over 2,000 years later.

 

In the seventeenth chapter of John, the Beloved Disciple records Jesus' prayer to the Father. In this prayer his first focus is on the glory that God will receive through Jesus. His next prayer is for his disciples - all of those who had followed him through out his ministry. And he concludes his prayer with a prayer for All Believers - ALL. He actually prayed for you and for me. He was praying that through his actions and through his sacrifice we might:  that the love you have for me may be in them. John 17:26

 

Jesus was asking that the love the Father had for him be transferred to each of us. He was asking for grace. And his prayer has been granted.

 

Jesus intervenes for us every single day and I often imagine it something akin to this prayer he prayed 2,000 plus years ago. Father - let the love you have for me transform them - let it be made real to them.

 

Because, at the end of the day the love of Jesus - which is in fact the love God has for His ONLY Son - will transform you into a new being.

 

Jesus is pleading our cases to the Father. Will we be open to receiving the love given freely to us? Or will we turn our backs on the sacrificial gift of the one who gave Heaven up so that we might have new life?

 

Ultimately, the choice is freely given.

Thankfully Jesus was thinking of us all of those years ago. 

Will you accept the gift he gives to you today - the gift he has been preparing to give to you for millennia?

 

Scripture

John 17

 

Quote

Love is a gift. You can't buy it, you can't find it, someone has to give it to you. Learn to be receptive of that gift.

Kurt Lagner

 

Question

What choice will you make?

 

 

Note: I apologize for not writing for awhile...I have been under the weather but hope that we are climbing up the mountain now. Thank you for your prayers and you concern. I hope you have a blessed season as the holidays approach ~ Courtney