Love Is Here...

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. -1 Peter 2:24

[song is by Tenth Avenue North]

Encouragement From Joshua...

I'm currently working my way through reading through the Bible in a year. Today's passage was Joshua 1-5. There were a few verses that stuck out to me in the way they encourage. So maybe the next time the day isn't going exactly how you'd want it to, you can refer back to these words in the book of Joshua :)

Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you. -Joshua 1:3

I will not leave you or forsake you. -Joshua 1:5

Only be strong and very courageous. -Joshua 1:7

Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is wish you wherever you go. -Joshua 1:9

Only be strong and courageous. -Joshua 1:18

I will be with you. -Joshua 3:7

The hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever. -Joshua 4:24

Be strong and courageous. God is with you, and He's never going to leave. His hand is mighty, you have nothing to fear :)

Encourage One Another...

“Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” -Acts 13:15b

Share with one another the ways in which God encourages you--whether it's through an answered prayer, a song you hear, words you read, an experience you have, or anything else. Encourage each other through the ways God speaks to you and makes Himself known. You will never be disappointed :)

You Are Not Immune...

There is an epidemic of spiritual amnesia going around, and none of us is immune. No matter how many fascinating details we learn about God's creation, no matter how many pictures we see of His galaxies, and no matter how many sunset we watch, we still forget.

Most of us know that we are supposed to love and fear God; that we are supposed to read our Bibles and pray so that we can get to know Him better; that we are supposed to worship Him with our lives. But actually living it out is challenging.

It confuses us when loving God is hard. Shouldn't it be easy to love a God so wonderful? When we love God because we feel we should love Him, instead of genuinely loving our of our true selves, we have forgotten who God really is. Our amnesia is flaring up again.

It may sound "un-Christian" to say that one some mornings I don't feel like loving God, or I just forget to. But I do. In our world, where hundreds of things distract us from God, we have to intentionally and consistently remind ourselves of Him.

We need reminders of God's goodness. We are programmed to focus on what we don't have, bombarded multiple times throughout the day with what we need to buy that will make us feel happier or more at peace. This dissatisfaction transfers over to our thinking about God. We forget that we already have everything we need in Him. Because we don't often think about the reality of who God is, we quickly forget that He is worthy to be worshipped and loved. We are to fear Him.
[from Crazy Love by Francis Chan]

Give Me Your Eyes...

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

I've Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along
[song by Brandon Heath]

Take You Back...

He's a God We're Called to Worship...

Did you know that a caterpillar has 228 separate and distinct muscles
in its head? That’s quite a few, for a bug. The average elm tree has
approximately 6 million leaves on it. And your own heart generates
enough pressure as it pumps blood throughout your body that it could
squirt blood up to 30 feet. (I’ve never tried this, and I don’t recommend
it.)

Have you ever thought about how diverse and creative God is? He
didn’t have to make hundreds of different kinds of bananas, but He did.
He didn’t have to put 3,000 different species of trees within one square
mile in the Amazon jungle, but He did. God didn’t have to create so
many kinds of laughter. Think about the different sounds of your
friends’ laughs—wheezes, snorts, silent, loud, obnoxious.

How about the way plants defy gravity by drawing water upward
from the ground into their stems and veins? Or did you know that spiders
produce three kinds of silk?When they build their webs, they create
sixty feet of silk in one hour, simultaneously producing special oil on
their feet that prevents them from sticking to their own web. (Most of
us hate spiders, but sixty feet an hour deserves some respect!) Coral
plants are so sensitive that they can die if the water temperature varies
by even one or two degrees.

Did you know that when you get goose bumps, the hair in your follicles
is actually helping you stay warmer by trapping body heat? Or
what about the simple fact that plants take in carbon dioxide (which is
harmful to us) and produce oxygen (which we need to survive)? I’m
sure you knew that, but have you ever marveled at it? And these same
poison-swallowing, life-giving plants came from tiny seeds that were
placed in the dirt. Some were watered, some weren’t; but after a few
days they poked through the soil and out into the warm sunlight.

Whatever God’s reasons for such diversity, creativity, and sophistication
in the universe, on earth, and in our own bodies, the point of it
all is His glory. God’s art speaks of Himself, reflecting who He is and
what He is like.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
-Psalm 19:1-4

This is why we are called to worship Him. His art, His handiwork,
and His creation all echo the truth that He is glorious.There is no other
like Him. He is the King of Kings, the Beginning and the End, the One
who was and is and is to come.
[from the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan]

It's Beautiful...

I wish that You would tell me how
You know me well and want to be together
Fallen short and faded out
You keep making gardens in this desert
Despite the grace that I dismiss
Forgiveness was the catalyst
To penetrate my heart with what is true

It’s Beautiful
You could turn mistakes to miracles
The way that You still love me after all
It’s Beautiful

Redeem the years I’ve thrown away
I’m ready to make good on what I’ve wasted
I’m asking You to shake my heart
I want to be Your work of art
Cause when You change me
And make me more like You

It’s Beautiful
You could turn mistakes to miracles
The way that You still love me after all
It’s Beautiful

So help me God forbid
And never take for granted
This endless gift You give

It’s Beautiful
You could turn mistakes to miracles
The way that You still love me after all
It’s Beautiful
It’s Beautiful

It's Beautiful

I wish that You would tell me how
You know me well and want to be together
[lyrics by Eleventyseven]

Words of Encouragement...

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. -2 Corinthians 4:16-18

No Matter What...

I know that every time
I find the one thing that holds me back inside
I want to tear apart
And bring my selfish pleasures at your feet
Every part of me is an offering,
I will set forth and lay it down at your throne
Because I live for you alone

No matter what it takes I will offer,
Everything I am I give to you
Even unto death I will follow,
No matter what the price I will give to you now

I won't throw this time I have aside,
Your the very prize I have in sight,
You've placed this purpose down in me,
And it burns so deep
Let this life I lead bring you all the glory,
I'm entrusted with a gift that I can't hide
Revive my heart, revive my mind

No matter what it takes I will offer,
Everything I am I give to you
Even unto death I will follow,
No matter what the price I will give to you now

To live is to really die
I will keep this steady pace,
Until that final day
[song by Jeremy Camp]

Godly Training...

Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. -1 Timothy 4:7-8

Godly training is profitable now and for always. Godly doesn't mean you are some super spiritual person who knows everything about Him, and yet cannot relate to others. 'Godly' means you have the character and sensitivity of Jesus. You understand and relate to people very effectively. It is not all about you. It is about others and their needs. You encourage when there needs to be encouragement. You rebuke when you need to rebuke. And you teach when there needs to be teaching. The Godly know how to laugh, cry, pray, hope, work hard, and trust in God...no matter what. Serve others for the glory of God :)

Committed...

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ -Luke 14:28-30

To plan to 'finish well' is to plan to follow Christ daily in humility and sacrifice. Finishing well does not imply living a perfect life, but it does require a life submitted to Him-- a life that is under the authority of Jesus Christ. Finishing well is all about the life of a committed disciple of Christ.

You can start the Christian life ablaze with the fire of your salvation, fresh and contagious. However, if the fuel of understanding and applying God’s Word is not added to your initial enthusiasm, you will burn out. You will not finish well. Finishing well is about joining with God today (and EVERY day) to accomplish His will. Finishing well is a building process. It is daily discerning God’s best and then following Him wholeheartedly.

Finish well by finishing strong. Become wiser today than you were yesterday. Love and forgive more today than you have in the past. Become more like Jesus in your attitude and actions.

Be encouraged. If you are growing in Christ and building a life of obedience, you are finishing well. Stop today, turn from yourself, and turn to Christ. It is never too late to finish well. The wreckage from your past may still haunt you at times, but forget what is behind and press forward for the higher calling in Christ. He is your new reason for living :)

To Bear Much Fruit...

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. -John 15:5

Much fruit that remains is the goal of a disciple of Christ. This glorifies God and accomplishes His purposes. Fruit-bearing glorifies God because He is the source of life for the fruit. No fruit can be produced without God. The branch is intrinsically dependent on the vine. Therefore we, as followers of Christ, cannot take credit for the fruit because the fruit comes from Jesus, for the Father’s glory. He is the manufacturer of fruit and we are the distributors. The fruit remains luscious as the Father prunes back the unproductive branches. Indeed, we do not always invite pruning. It is painful and disfiguring in the beginning. But over time submission to painful pruning produces beautiful and long-lasting fruit. Trust your heavenly Father with the pruning process. You will be blessed. :)

He's a God of Beauty and Wonder...

Take a look at some of the amazing creatures of God's creation, and be awed by the pure beauty and wonder of such design! :)

The Will of God...

The will of God will never take you,
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.