His Pursuit

God is relentless.

I keep thinking about that.

Have you ever thought about that?

Each of us has a life to live. Responsibilities. Struggles. Fears. Schedules. Deadlines. No matter what we're going through, if we want to live for Jesus then we're all in the same boat. And in the sixteen hours that we're awake, we try to remember that there is a God in Heaven who loves us and wants to hear our precious voices calling out to Him throughout the day. I don't know about you, but I always feel like if I just made this change in my life or decide to start making that choice, He would finally be satisfied.

How far from the truth can one possibly be?

What about God? What fills His "sixteen hours?" Since He isn't struggling, He must live the abundant life that we all long for, so what thoughts prevail in His mind as He goes about His daily tasks? What is He dwelling upon? What is He living for?

You.

You have never left His mind. Not once. For all of the times that you have forsaken Him, even for a moment- when you've let Him leave your thoughts for an hour or two, when you've become distracted or disillusioned or unfocused- He's still been passionately in love with you. And He still is passionately in love with you.

I thought about that the other day. Even in the moments that I turn away from Him, He's still as in love with me as He was the moment that His blood poured down the wooden cross where He hung and died for me.

That's the way that He feels about you right now as this very moment. His heart skips a beat at the thought of you. A smile breaks over His face when He thinks of yours.

Do we deserve it? Not a bit. But it's part of the package. And the moment that we turn to Him, we get to feel that passionate love. It's real- so real that it's almost tangible. If I only took some of those sixteen hours to ask Him to reveal it to me, I might be able to feel it.

Don't forget Him today, dear friend, because He refuses to forget you.     

Bless the Lord O My Soul

Sometimes I wonder if our view of "bless" has been twisted around. Countless homes are adorned with plaques which read, "Lord Bless this Home." Millions of Americans will proudly sing "God Bless America" whether or not they are Christians. If we have a church picnic and it doesn't rain, we say, "God really blessed us with good weather." When someone buys a shiny new car they say, "Wow, didn't God ever bless me!"

God does bless us. In fact, I believe that He longs to bless us. And, He blesses us even when we don't deserve the blessing. In Psalm 115:13 it reads,

"He will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great."

Lauren and I prayed for 100 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and God gave us 101. It was above and beyond our expectations, truly what you call a blessing. But it didn't just bless us. 25 other girls were blessed, too, as well as 101 children and their families. I'm not sharing this to sound better than someone else, instead it's an example for us to examine.

I think before we ask God to bless us, perhaps we should consider what we're asking for. Will it bless others, will it draw us closer to our King? And most importantly, will it bless the Creator Himself?

Recently, my mother told me that the word, "bless", means to bow down. So when God blesses us, He essentially bows down to the earth to bless us. When we bless Him, we should bow down, too, by serving and worshipping the King.

I've listed some verses below, and I really encourage you to read them and think them over. Is our daily life blessing the Lord? Or are we just asking for something and when we get it, we are considering that as His blessing? I really want to bless my King, will join me in the journey?

Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. Psalm 96:2

Stand up and bless the Lord from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Nehemiah 9:5

Then David said to all the assembly, "Bless the Lord your God." And all the assembly blessed the Lord, the God of their Fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the Lord and the King. 1 Chronicles 29:20

Stay strong in Him!

Just What I Need

 

Last fall, I remember a specific day when God just poured over me the idea of being a river. I didn't realize it until the end of the day, but over the course of the afternoon I played a new song I had just heard called "A River Flows in You," sat beside a river for a picnic and read a verse I didn't remember ever hearing after my Bible blew open to Psalm 46:6-7:

"There is a river—its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. God is within her; she will not be toppled. God will help her when the morning dawns."

Unsure of why the concept of being a river was being pounded into my head, I thought about it quite a bit, but then let it fall out of my head again.

For awhile.

Last weekend my mother and I went to a special service at a nearby church that we had never visited before. It was uncomfortable, as some of the people there were very different from us to say the least, but I did feel like we were supposed to be there.

At the end, we were all supposed to line up so that some of the prophets there could pray for us. After they were prayed for, many people were falling out in the presence of the Holy Spirit, trembling uncontrollably, or literally shaking while they lay on the floor.

In the moments just before one of the prophets came up to me, I started to become afraid of what I might do. "God," I silently pleaded, "you would never make me do anything frightening, would you? I know you! You are only good and only wise and I know You. Can't I trust You?"

"Yes," was His reply.

The prophet, his forehead sweaty and his eyes full of fire, looked into my eyes for a moment and smiled. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the worst. Then I heard him speak.

"There is a river—its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. God is within her; she will not be toppled. God will help her when the morning dawns." 

The Prince of Peace

Many moons ago, back when my beloved sister and I used to share a room, we were on a "Trading Spaces" kick and decided to "remodel." We chose a Hawaiian theme, (don't ask me why- we don't even know!) and our parents bought us a poster to hang on our wall that became the color scheme and theme.

It was a big picture of a beach on some remote island. The sun shone, the white sand glistened, and the inviting, crystal-clear water sparkled as palm trees swayed in the distance. In big letters it read, "RELAX," and it had some corny saying at the bottom like, "The poor desire riches, the rich desire heaven, but the wise desire tranquility." Oh, brother.

But during my tumultuously emotional pre-teen years, I would sometimes stare at that poster and wish that I could experience that peace. I imagined dipping my toes in the too-blue-to-be-real water, or sipping lemonade in a hammock as I watched the sun setting. I used to pray for that kind of peace.

Now I realize that what I really must've wanted was a vacation.

Jesus has been pouring peace into my heart by the gallon. Yesterday I didn't feel worried about anything for the first time in weeks and weeks. I tried to figure out why I felt that way, because, honestly, nothing in the natural realm had changed. Then I realized that He was filling me with the peace I had been praying for, and I was finally accepting it.

You see, real peace has nothing to do with what is going on in our circumstances. It has nothing to do with drinking tropical beverages out of a coconut shell on some abandoned island.

I've been trying to imagine what it might be like to be living in Joplin right now, and I just can't. I heard that two-thirds of the city was the destroyed, and that's the size of Kalamazoo. It seems unfathomable that everything would just suddenly be gone. The day it happened, I saw this picture:



That, my friends, is peace. It stands in the midst of everything else, because it comes from the One who stands in the midst of everything else. All we have to do is rely upon Him and He promises to fill us.

Worthy

Early in the morning light I read this verse from Colossians 1 :10:

"So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Later that day, as Lauren and I meandered through woodsy trails, the sweet scent of Lilly of the Valley filled the air, and I once again pondered this verse. Walking together down the long path made me think of our own spiritual walk. Is it one worthy of our Lord? A path submitted to our Jesus ensures one full of adventure, beauty, and marvelous discoveries-I can promise you that. But it also requires repentance, commitment, and no compromise. (Something we all find a little more challenging to pull off!)

I ashamed when I realize how many of my days have been spent not worthy of our King, and not bringing Him pleasure. If you are not sure whether you are honoring your King, take another look at the verse above. Are we bearing fruit in our service? Are we learning more about Him and growing closer? If not, this could be a sign that we are not walking in a manner worthy of the Lord.

Let us not waste another day.

Simple Love

God has used the little four year-old that I babysit to teach me so many lessons, probably because she is the opitomy of the child that we are supposed to mirror ourselves after.

The other day, she asked me to accompany her downstairs in order to complete some simple task that she sees as "work," such as finding her pink princess dress or playing with her play-doh. As we were walking, she said, "I love you, Lauren."

It wasn't as if she looked deeply into my eyes or even turned around to glance at me. She might as well have been saying, "It's a nice day today," but her words were honest and I knew that she meant them with all her heart.

She has done this before. Last time we were sitting at the dinner table, and she said the very same thing.

"I love you, Lauren."

Honest, simple, no-strings-attached love.

As her words echoed in my mind, I thought about how complicated we make our faith sometimes. We have so many rituals, so many things that try to mend the curtain that ripped as Jesus spilled His blood for us on the cross. While I spend so much of my time subconciously trying to decide what will please Him most, maybe all that He wants to hear is an honest, simple, no-strings-attached statement:

I love You, Jesus.

Thursday's Thought

You are holy, Lord, the only God, and Your deeds are wonderful. You are strong, You are great. You are the most high, You are almighty. You, holy Father, are the King of Heaven and earth. You are Three and One, Lord God, all good. You are good, all good, supreme good, Lord God, living and true. You are love, You are wisdom. You are humility, You are endurance. You are rest, You are peace. You are joy, You are gladness, You are justice and moderation. You are riches, and You suffice for us. You are beauty, You are gentleness. You are our protector, You are our guardian and defender. You are courage, You are our heaven and our hope. You are our faith, our great consolation. You are our eternal life, great and wonderful Lord, God Almighty, Merciful Savior. -Francis of Assisi

How are you blessing the King?

So I will bless you as long as live; in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:4

My Heart's Overflow

Most human beings are better at acting than we give them credit for. Often I'll have conversations with people who are going through literal hell on earth and I don't find that out until much later. Usually I never would've guessed it- they hide all of their troubles behind a convincing, plastered smile.

I started thinking about this the other night after I spent an extra couple of minutes at the library that's located in the heart of our little "city." Though I've never particularly enjoyed being alone at the back of a library that has become the homeless hangout of the downtown area, nothing skeptical has ever happened to me there, so this time didn't feel any different from all of the others.

...Until I started hearing heavy breathing right behind me while I was looking at the Broadway collections.

I turned around very slowly, but all I could see were the sleeves of a plaid shirt in the row behind mine. The breathing continued, but I reasoned that the man must have bronchitis and continued with my search. While I made my way down the aisle, he began making strange sounds, and finally, he started to speak, mumbling nonsensical strings of every curse word known to man under his breath.

(At this point I came to the conclusion that he was either asleep, drunk, or high, and decided that it probably wasn't wise for me to hang out with him in the back of the library.)

No, I'm not planning on getting drunk anytime soon- make that ever- but listening to this man's strange ramblings did make me consider what I might say in such a situation. When we're coherent, happy and filled, it's easy to plaster on that plastic smile and play a part. But, somehow, when we're thrown into unfamiliar circumstances, painful problems, or difficult trials, the real person- who we are at the very core of our being- is revealed. Sometimes it's beautiful. Other times it's not.

For instance, a very stressful situation will either make me press into the arms of Jesus or panic until I feel like pulling my hair out. It's easy for me to favorably predict my reaction, but my prediction won't be accurate unless I'm already in the arms of Jesus. And often I'm too preoccupied with everything else that I deem more imporant to rest there.

Maybe the incoherent man in the library never utters a curse word, but that must be what he allows into his mind and medidates upon, because it's what comes out of his mouth when he has no control over it. I just happened to get an earful of it while I stood in the library.

What am I meditating on? What am I letting become the focus of my day? What am I focusing on when my eyes are closed at night? Whose words am I living by? Sadly, for me, none of the answers are what I wish they would be.

Thankfully, that can be changed.   

^"A good tree doesn't produce bad fruit; on the other hand, a bad tree doesn't produce good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs aren't gathered from thornbushes, or grapes picked from a bramble bush. A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart." Luke 6:43-45
   

Honest to God

Nearly two years ago I started feeling guilty about my rather non-existent prayer life. I cut just about everything extra out of my life, (which, for me, was just about every kind of media,) and sat on my bedroom floor saying, "So...umm...God....you know, I just....," usually for an hour at a time, because of the whole "Could you not tarry for one hour?" thing. I thought maybe I could one up the disciples.

Looking back, I know that this season of my life was for a very specific purpose. I was addicted to television and books and movies and had no understanding of the very real presence of God. It was almost literally painful for me to saunter off to my bedroom in the evening when my family sat down to watch a favorite show or movie, but it was both a necessary procedure and a necessary pain.

Most of the time my stuttering prayers were mindless, and my thoughts were usually off in a completely different direction while my mouth spoke spiritual-sounding phrases to impress God as the seconds dragged on and on and on.

Now, I can just imagine Him smiling as He listened to my less-than-impressive words. He was probably always trying to get the point across to me that it has nothing to do with being polished and put-together, but I was usually too busy talking to let Him mention it.

Prayer is extraordinarily important. In fact, I believe it's the most important part of being a Christian. After all, being a Christian is all about our relationship with Jesus, and we can't possibly have a relationship with someone without some form of communication. The more intimate the communication, the more intimate the relationship. And the very definition of prayer is "spiritual communion with God."

Today God asked me to be honest with Him, and it really got me thinking. Often we assume that just because He knows exactly what we're thinking all of the time we don't need to tell Him what's on our mind. But there's something incredibly powerful about telling our precious Jesus everything on our hearts. It's when we communicate with Him the way that we're created to that our relationship with Him will flourish.

Am I there? No way. But I want to make it my goal to "pray without ceasing" the way that we're instructed to. And not always by staying in my room and praying for my list of requests, (though that's absolutely vital, too,) but by constantly, honestly opening up my heart to the One who may already know, but also desperately wants to hear.

"Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30  

so you don't have magical horn...

You are probably familiar with C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. His books are filled with amazing analogies and allegories. One portion of the story I've always been fond of were the gifts from Father Christmas. His appearance is the first sign of hope for Narnia. In particular, my favorite gift was Susan's horn. Wouldn't it be nice to receive one of these? I've often wished I could have one like that. Anytime you're in trouble, just blow your magical horn and help is on the way.

Last night I was thinking about this, and I realized we have something far greater than a magic horn. We can call on God. He is our source for salvation!

The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19

Feelings

"You know, I really don't feel like doing this anymore," I told God once I hit about an hour and fifteen minutes of trying to keep my sheet music off of my fingers and on the broken music rack. I was playing for a Mother's Day banquet, and no one was listening to me anyway.

"This isn't about how you feel," He told me back. "It's about them."

Suddenly, I realized that, at some point in the one and a half hours that I sat there, a hundred and fifty pairs of eyes were going to be looking at me. And for that entire period of time, a hundred and fifty pairs of ears were going to have to sit through whatever came from my fingers and the twangy upright Yamaha. Even though I was playing Debussy and Chopin and Mozart, Jesus wasn't limited by my repertoire.

"Well, still, I don't feel like I have anything to offer them. Especially not when I'm not talking to any of them and all I'm allowed to play is background music," I whined.

"This isn't about what you're playing, either. If humans were limited to their own ability, no one would ever be able to showcase My beauty. It's all about what I'm able to do through you, not what you feel like you're accomplishing through your own ability."

I have no idea what I did for anybody that afternoon. Perhaps nothing. Or maybe Jesus was able to love someone who needed to feel the touch of a human hand through mine, or comfort someone who missed hearing "Amazing Grace" through its familiar harmonies. All I know is, I really didn't feel like being there. And it didn't matter.

Thank goodness that God isn't limited by our feelings. Truth be told, we shouldn't be either. I don't even want to think about the way that life would be if the world turned upon an axis of feelings. Why, then, do I allow my decisions to be based upon the way I feel rather than the Spirit of God? If only I leaned upon His strong arm and His ability to use the little that I have to offer in big ways.

"For it is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him." Philippians 2:13

If only I read my Bible.

And, just because I love her, here's my favorite new song from Rebecca St. James:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgsfESBDFcg&NR=1

Refuge Isle

"But as for me, God's presence is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, so I can tell about all You do." Psalm 73:28

I own an island.

Well, sort of.

Okay, it doesn't really belong to me. But I go there all of the time and ponder life and study God's word and let Him speak to me. And, somehow, despite all of the sounds that I hear around me, I've heard Him more clearly there than almost anywhere else. There is a quiet there that has nothing to do with my ears- it's a quietness of heart.

The only problem about my island is that I need it all of the time....and I can't take it with me. Even Mary Poppins never carried around an island in her magic carpetbag.

I keep finding myself saying, "If I just had -------, I'd be okay." Depending on my current emotional state, the blank is filled with all sorts of things, but the point is that I'm never at rest. Because usually when I get -------, then I desire -------, and so on and so forth. It's an endless, vicious cycle.

A long time ago, I named my little island "Refuge Isle," for obvious reasons. And it's the first thing that came to mind when I read Psalm 73:28 the other day. It was then that I realized that my beloved Refuge Isle is nothing more that a beautiful pile of grassy dirt in the middle of a murky body of water. The only thing that makes it a refuge is that, whenever I'm there, I allow my mind to be quieted by the calming presence of my Prince of Peace.

After I figured this out, I kicked myself, (no, not really,) and tried to decide how to make God my refuge the way the Psalmist did, because I'm always getting so distracted. That's when I noticed verses 21-22 of the same Psalm:

"When I became embittered and my innermost being was wounded, I was a fool and didn't understand; I was an unthinking animal toward You."

That sounds way too familiar.

After I kicked myself again, I kept reading:

"Yet I am always with You; You hold my right hand."

I, the unthinking animal, am still always with my God? He's still holding my hand? I, the fool, still have the privilege of abiding in the shadow of the Almighty and resting in His arms on Refuge Isle?

Absolutely. All it takes is my wholehearted decision to run to His waiting arms.

Thursday's Thought

To pray with pure motives, we have to remember the true purpose of prayer-that God will be glorified in the answer. -Keith Green

Taste

It was a spectacular, crisp, autumn day. The sky was a clear blue, and the sun, despite the later fall months, was faithfully shining through a glorious Indian summer morn. A perfect setting for an adventure, would you not agree?

I thought so. That morning was set aside for exploring my seemingly endless "backyard" through the vineyards, woods and fields. I donned walking shoes while the morning dew still sparkled, and set off. For hours I rambled through the vineyards, finding all sorts of lovely things. The trees were just beginning to turn, too.

But eventually, I began to get tired. The sun was high, and I was hungry, thirsty, and warm. I decided to go just a bit farther; to a little patch of woods, rest, and go home.

What discovery. I when I reached this little patch amongst the trees, there was an ancient apple orchard. It was so old and overgrown that their branches created a low canopy, so low that in places you had to bend over. It was like entering another world, such Narnia or Terabithia.

Being in the hungry state I was, I eagerly reached for one of the bright red apples to taste. Nothing at that moment could have tasted sweeter! It completely satisfied me-the taste, the beauty, the awe of it all, was so blissful.

Isn't Jesus like that? As I pondered that autumn day, I realized He is indeed. It seems so few discover the sweetness and the joy of our King. He is an adventure waiting to be explored, to be discovered, hidden for years, yet within our reach. Jesus is longing for us to find Him, to love, to taste, to trust, and follow Him, is He not? Yes, Jesus waiting.

Please read these beautiful words with this truth in mind:

Among the young the men, my lover is like an apple tree in the woods! I enjoy sitting in his shadow; his fruit is sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banquet room, and his banner over me is love. Song of Songs 2:3-4