164

Romans 12: 9-11

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit serving the Lord..."

These couple of verses seem practical and no nonsense. They offer us a center to which to bring our attitude and lifestyle in line. The verses leading up to this talk about being part of the body of Christ and each of us having different gifts. And, despite our differences, whatever our gifts are, we are to do them extravagantly and with the gift of faith God has given us.

So here in verse nine, it's about love. Good love and good living. We are all brought together in these verses and put on the same page: don't say you're a lover with your mouth, and live like a jerk (you know, be rude to waiters and your family and stuff like that...). With everything in you, run like the wind from evil (it's all around us), and fall into the arms of all that is good about the world and humanity. Think about the needs of other's before your own. If you have to decide between you and them, give it to them. Love people with grace and affection in your hearts and bodies. Be passionate in your heart for life and the world and people, and mostly, above all, love the Lord with a fierce determination in your heart, soul and body. Read the chapter that surrounds these verses, you will be enriched!

163

Isaiah 1:18

"Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."

I'm reading a book about a cult. It's awful to read, and I can't believe it's true. I can't believe that people can get so brainwashed, and mostly I can't fathom that these people have been so fooled into thinking they are experiencing true love and relationship with "God." It's so tragic that it breaks my heart to pieces. Reading all about this cult is a hard one because people have been so broken and abused in the name of Jesus' love. The way this sect operates, it's very essence, is the exact opposite of the gospel (not to mention all that Jesus was about). In this instance, It's ALL about what you do, and how good a person you are. If you do this, you will get to heaven, and if you don't you will go to hell. If you do what this person tells you to do, then you are obeying God and you will have eternal life. If you're not doing everything you must do, you must be sent away for vigorous work to be broken until you obey and "see the light." If you question or doubt any aspect of this "faith," you are rebellious and wrong and evil and have no place in the "kingdom." It's ridiculous and evil and it's all counterfeit love.

As I read this book I see that this cult is the absolute opposite of our sweet, loving and relational Jesus, our Messiah. With Jesus, it's all about relationship, grace and mercy. This pure, perfect grace and love ushers us into the throne room of our King, into His loving, warm presence, where we can sit and chat and talk about all the things that have gone on throughout the days and weeks and months of life. He wants us to come to Him and talk to Him- He even says, "reason together..." Back and forth and forth and back... How beautiful is that? He invites conversation - real, honest emotion and discussion.

Remember, if someone offers you true love from God and it's a little bit or a whole lot different from this - relationship, grace, mercy, forgiveness, conversation, and mostly freedom and peace - walk away and find the truth. It's honest and raw and real, and it's all yours.
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162

Revelation 22: 13 (nkjv)

"...I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

This morning in church we sang an old hymn: Be thou My Vision. Someone has already arrived at the end of your life, and its all going to be okay.

Jesus walks with you. You must believe this to be truth. Perhaps deep down there is a part of us that thinks it's all pretend. I say this only because when bad things happen - things fall through or there isn't enough money in the bank or people leave us - we panic. Why do we panic? Maybe we just don't truly believe that He is beside us, walking with us, and carrying our load. Maybe we know He is real, but we still feel alone, or like we have to pull it all off (life and survival, that is) on our own. We want Him to be our Lord, but not to the point of walking in blind faith, holding His hand through all of our life time. He is a shepherd who with His staff gently gets us to where He needs and wants us to be (although, some days I feel like gentle is too soft a word and we all have the bumps and bruises to prove it).

So when you can't see tomorrow and how it's all going to work out- close your eyes (even in the dark), let Him look for you, let Him be your eyes, and then keep looking looking looking at Him. He will show you. Keep doing what you're doing and when you're looking at your bank account or sitting alone in your empty house or sitting in your doctors office staring at the devastating report, or hearing that someone said mean things about you, close your eyes, picture Jesus on the cross and let Him be your vision for the days, months and years to come. Let Him bring you peace and comfort. Let him reveal to you the dreams in your heart, and

So Lord,
When I can't see, be my sight.
When I can't feel, You can touch.
And when I can't breath, please take deep breaths for me.

He stands at the finish line, and He is beside you assuring you through His promises and His Holy Spirit that the road will clear up; the sun will shine it's beautiful strong and bright rays once again into your heart.

161

Psalm 105:3-4 (New King James Version)

"Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD. Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!"

Seek the heart and presence of your King. Praise Him and be always ready to find Him. It's pretty obvious we are living in days when, a lot of the time, things get to us fast and easy. We don't really get the idea of searching and seeking and waiting long and tiresome hours and days for someone or something to arrive or happen. We wait a few months for something to happen, and we're worn out and exhausted "waiting" for the thing.

But oh the joy as you seek and wait.

Seeking Jesus and all He is doing in your life and in the world can be a pure joy to your heart and soul. To seek Him: look for Him in all areas of your life - in your work, in your different relationships and in all you do. As you go about your day- even the mundane - bring Him into it all. Pray little prayers throughout your day and invite Him to be a part of it all. Maybe it means getting up a few minutes early, or staying up a little bit late for some time on your knees (even just one prayer on your knees is such a beautiful physical expression of your dependency and adoration for Jesus) with your Lord. Imagine what you will find when you look for Him! You will see things differently. You will see heartache from different perspectives, you will see the people He has brought into your life the way He does. You will be strong and faithful in Him and all he is doing in your life because you are seeing things from heaven's perspective.

Keep seeking Him. Don't grow weary of seeking His face and His love for you and your whole life. You will be revolutionized!
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160

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."


So there are times when it all becomes a little too much for you, and you think your mind and body are going to break down due to the pressure of life. Sometimes you feel like you are being pulled from all different directions, from everyone who can get their hot little hands on you. Every day remember that the bottom line is this- within you, little-bitty you, is the miracle and power of the death and resurrection of Jesus. All the magnificence of the cross is contained within you. So sometimes within you, it's the deathly struggle of the fight Jesus fought for you manifested in what ever you're going through (work, family, health...etc.).

Therefore, DO NOT give up with whatever you are being hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down by. Because the victorious, history making WIN is what is also manifested in your glorious life! It's the glory of the cross in you. The death and life- the whole battle - of the cross is contained in you, and you win in the end. You will not be crushed, in despair, forsaken and certainly not destroyed. Think about things through the eyes of the cross - it will change your view of everything.

159

2 Corinthians 4:7 (New King James Version)

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us."


It's a surreal thing, really. To have the bigness of our God in the smallness of us humans. It's a relief, it's a responsibility, it's a joy, it's daunting, and it's the only way that God can get all the glory due His precious and lovely name. For our very short time on earth we, humans, pursue our wholeness and our righteousness with God - we are desperate to be good children of the King, holy and acceptable to Him. We only want to change the world with this crazy love that we ourselves have been changed with. And the beauty is, it's always going to be broken, bland and weak vessels that carry (all over the earth) the perfect, radiant and miraculous treasure of Heaven. The bumps and bruises and cracks these earthen vessels (you and me) get along the way, are actually what makes the treasure shine brightest. Put us up against the light and magnificence and glory of God, and everything else grows strangely dim.

I once heard someone say that the cracks in our own lives is what allows the light and presence of God to shine through. It's the story you have written so far that makes you who you are today, and it's the love of God that has transformed your life, that allows you to be the beautiful, messy and life changing soul that you are today. You are able to love and heal and help other humans because of where you have come from.

You may have been dropped, broken, damaged and left out in the cold. You may not feel worthy enough to be deserving of anything good, let alone the riches of Heaven and the glory of God. But listen to this: you contain the treasure of all of Heaven. You contain the excellence of Jesus Christ's power. He knew what He was doing when He contained His life changing grace, mercy, love, hope, healing, purity and freedom in you. Get down on your knees and praise Him for that. Thank Him for using little weak vessels to walk Him around on this earth. Really think about it- it's huge.
Selah
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158

Genesis 17:11-12

"And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."

The Israelites are in a battle. Moses is their leader. The Amalekites were serious enemies of the Israelites (God's chosen people), and they had to be defeated. Every battle God's people fought was vitally important, and had to be won for them to get one step closer to Canaan, the Promised Land. Every battle counts.

This story is a beautiful image of life, it's battles, the importance of praising Jesus through it all, and the beauty of helping others hold their hands up through their own battles. Just like Moses, keep your hands up in the air, praising Jesus, victorious in Him, and you will win your fight. Do NOT let the enemy beat you with weariness, fatigue and exhaustion. And if you feel it coming on, get people next to you to hold your hands up high in the air. Good friends, good support - people to hold up your arms up to heaven - is precious and must be sought after, because you will need them.

So I have two points: In the raging battles you will face in life (don't be fooled - everyone on the planet, especially those who claim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, will fight them), keep your hands up in the air i.e., praising Jesus. Please keep praising Jesus with every ounce of energy you can muster up, and keep on your knees with hands raised to Him. More importantly, keep the hands of those you love up in air; up in the air praising Jesus. The battle is won when our hands are lifted, in worship.

157 (for Terri)

Psalm 94:16-19 (the message)

"If God hadn't been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, "I'm slipping, I'm falling," your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up."

There is nothing like loss. Even more so, sudden loss. The kind of loss that sucks the breath out of you. The kind of loss that makes you want to die yourself. The kind of loss that leaves you in pieces on the floor. Whether we face it or run from it, loss is apart of all of our lives. Loss puts us all on the same page - the rich, the poor, the ugly, the pretty, the happy and the sad - each of us has experienced loss in some kind of way. Sometimes the absence of a person or place in our lives is more painful than any of us can bear. It brings our hearts to the lowest, most broken point imaginable; and it feels like permanent damage is done.

And sometimes (most of the time) the only answer is that God is our comfort. He takes our broken hearts and wraps His big strong arms of love around all the teeny tiny pieces of our soul when it seems impossible to put back together. Like the psalmist says here in this very earthy and vulnerable psalm: the love of God is the only life force that can hold us in so tight we can't escape it.

If a part of your life has been lost, and that lost piece can never come back, I'm sorry. All we have is the love and comfort of God. Ask the sweet Holy Spirit to come and protect your fragile heart and mind right now. He is so near to you, and He will come now and be with you. He is the only One who will bring to you the peace that you need, the peace that only God can bring. He will come and fill the holes made in your heart from loss. Then, in heaven, you will be put back together again, whole and complete forever and ever.

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156

Philippians 1:6 (New King James Version)

"... being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ..."


One of the biggest fears we all face over the course of our lives is the fear that maybe we won't accomplish what we were born to do. What if we run out of time? What if I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time and I miss my purpose (if we believe that one's purpose is something we actually "do")?

This verse is one of my favorites - my absolute favorites. It encourages us that when the world is failing us terribly, things beating us down and stripping our confidence, the very character of God (He can be trusted more than any other human), instills in us all the confidence we need to walk with purpose and trust, knowing that God will do everything He purposed and planned for our lives. Because, from the moment you gave Him your whole heart and life, He started a beautiful, magnificent work in you. He started painting the picture of your life with Him in it, and He promises that He will finish the work He began in you on that day. He promises to keep evolving you - heart, soul and strength - to bring you to the place He wants you to be. And He will do it, because He is faithful.

So don't worry about missing out on what you know is in your heart to accomplish and fulfill. He will finish it all. You will make a difference and you will have time to do all that is in your heart to do. No matter how short or long your years are, it will all be done.
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155

1 Corinthians 4:1

"Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God."

The depth and breadth and height of God are vast, there is no limit to who He is and what He is capable of doing. Think about that for a moment.
(Selah)
And He is a mystery- we can never really know all there is to know about Him, nor can we fathom the magnitude of what He has in store for us. He is big and beautiful and there are no limits to Him.

So the next big unbelievable, incomprehensible truth to realize is that WE carry HIM around in us. We, little humans, have been given the insane job and responsibility of walking Him around on the earth. We have been entrusted with the awesomeness of the great and mighty, strong in power, God. It's very exciting to think that the Holy Spirit in us - God in man/heaven on earth - is the key to what this world needs. We carry the mysteries of the King of Kings in us. We carry the missing piece to the puzzle of what the world needs. We carry the missing piece to the broken human heart that has lost hope, joy and peace. More than that, we have the rest of our lives here on earth to realize more of God's identity and show Him to the world. And then, we have eternity to be completely fulfilled in Him.
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154

Hebrews 9:11-15 (the message)

"But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven's "tent"—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God."

Let me try and say this in a nut-shell: in the Old Testament they offered up animals as sacrifices (always the best quality animals, spotless and expensive) to wash away of the sins of the people. It seems silly to us today in the twenty-first century, with no real concept of blood covenants (other than, of course, marriage), to think how powerful and important the shedding of blood was. With the shedding of blood in sacrifice, the people were completely free from their sins, and it had to be offered up constantly, everyday, in order to keep everyone's slate clean.

And then the ultimate redemption was made for us, once and for all. Jesus came to earth: the perfect, cream-of-the-crop "lamb" who offered up His own blood so that we could have our purity and freedom from our dark sin. Because Jesus died- because His blood was shed on the cross - all the bad stuff you and I have done has been rid of, forgotten and abolished, never to return. The life you now enjoy because Jesus died on the cross transcends and outlasts the moment of salvation; it's a powerful, victorious, dream-filled and joyful life because you are free. Jesus died to save you and make you perfect in Him.

I beg you to take some time and study Hebrews. It may seem overwhelming and intimidating, but it will change you and open up an understanding of the life you now have in Jesus.

*I recommend a study companion by Andrew Murray, "The Holiest of All." It changed my life.