Something About The Joy

I love to think about Him. He is as complex as a multi-faceted jewel  and as simple as the word "love." He is ancient, without beginning, eternally existing, yet He is as fresh as the dew in the morning. He is all-powerful and gentle. He is as fathomless as the far reaches of the universe, but He stoops to speak into the hearts of children.  He is the Author of life who stepped from eternity into time  to die a mortal's death, for us. White as snow,  yet He reaches into the deepest cesspool of the human heart to redeem and restore. He is complete and whole in Himself,  but He yearns for friendship with His creatures. He is intensely and overwhelmingly awesome.   People fall to the ground at His feet.   Yet He loves laughter and light-hearted pleasure. He created joy. My heart floods with joy when I think about Him. You have made known...

God acts, in and around us, whether we ask Him to or not.   He is a God who initiates.   He initiated all of creation, and He initiates blessing upon blessing in our lives every day simply because He loves us. But some of His blessings only come when we ask. James says, "You have not because you ask not." (James 4:3) This is an amazing truth.   Through prayer, we have been given the privilege of initiating blessings, for ourselves and for others. But we often (usually?) treat prayer so lightly that our prayers become ineffective. The kinds of prayers that result in blessings are deliberate and intentional.   Too often m y prayers are not that kind. I need to be constantly reminded that the great privilege He has given us in prayer calls for a consciously thoughtful approach to His throne. When I come to God's throne deliberately and thoughtfully, He asks me questions that help me focus my prayers.  The first question He asks is, "To Whom ar...

Dear President Obama, I read with interest the thoughtful, loving letter you wrote to your daughters when you were first elected. You wanted to introduce them to life in the White House.   I appreciate your desire to care for all children as you would your own.   You want “ every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you(r) girls have.”   You say this is why you became president. These are lofty goals and I’m glad you want to create a world in which all children can dream and grow and thrive.   But I’m puzzled about one thing.   I’m wondering why, in spite of your good intentions, some children do not appear to come under the nurturing, protective umbrella of your government.   Do all children count?   Or are you leaving some children behind? What about children in the womb?   Do you want them to be able to dream and grow and thrive?   Do you want for them “every opportunity for h...

Jesus calls us.   And He calls us gently.   Jesus Calling , is a gentle book.   It reflects Jesus' tender heart, especially to broken people, and it ministers in a particularly effective way to people who are hurting and need strong reassurance of God's love. However, as I use this book in my personal time with the Lord, I feel called to read with caution.  Sarah's journey toward a deeper intimacy with God, as described in her testimony at the beginning of the book, has obviously prepared her for a special ministry to hurting people.   The lessons she has learned in her faith walk are ones that we, in the North American church, could learn much from.   Our tendency to distrust the more charismatic elements of the faith has hindered our ability to minister effectively to the people around us.   We have too long been in denial about how broken our own society is, and a broken society needs the tender touch of Jesus for healing. In f...

When I pray about a problem or a struggle, too often I find myself expecting God to simply step in and fix things.   I expect the fixing to be immediate, and I expect it to be painless and effortless on my part.   I watch for a flash of lightning at the end of my prayer that either gives me the solution or whips me out of the situation I'm unhappy with. This flash of lightning rarely comes. I've been working in my garden this spring.   I don't know what I'm doing.   I've never had a green thumb.   But I figure since I have some space now and extra time on my hands I might as well see if I can do something constructive with it. But it's discouraging.   I planted nasturtium seeds, sweet peas, and marigolds, which I've heard keep out the garden pests, but none of them have sprouted.   I put in three tomato plants two weeks ago and they haven't grown an inch. Other people have zucchinis already and I only have wisps of green sho...

Here are more good thoughts on the mystery that is God, quoted from Open Doors , June 30, 2014. MYSTERY He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ…    Ephesians 1:9      Human beings always want to know “why?” and “why not now?” But it’s precisely because we are human we cannot know. That’s why mystery is so important to understand. The entire book of Job is all about the “why” of suffering and in the end God invites Job to see a bigger picture than even his suffering.      Creation is a mistake if all you see is your suffering. But if you lift your eyes wider and let your gaze roam over the whole universe with God, you can also see that creation has even more beauty and grace.      So we are to value mystery because it enables us to feel God’s love…love that was fully revealed in Christ.      Sometimes we get to see ...

Your Word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.    Psalm 119: 89-90 I don't believe in "magic," but something a little like magic sometimes seems to happen to me when I meditate on passages in the Bible.   I say "sometimes" because it doesn't always happen.   Many times when I read the Bible I don't "feel" the "magic."   And I say "seems" to happen because what happens is so subtle, so internal, so apparently outside of the realm of reason that I'm never quite sure where it comes from or even what it's doing.   As I write those words, I'm reminded of what Jesus said to Nicodemus about the Holy Spirit: "The wind blows wherever it pleases.   You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.   So it is with everyone born of the Spirit....