Seek Out The Lonely Places

Luke 15:16 Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

This scripture spoke to me today. It reminds me that we are dependant on the times that we spend away from people and plans. If we only spend time doing without refueling we are going to be running on empty. I constantly feel the pressure to be doing more. The worth of people is often evaluated by how much they do with their time. In stark contrast, Jesus reminds us that we need to spend time with the Father. I am cranky, mean, and disillusioned when I don't spend time with my Abba. I need his life flowing through me. The most valuable time we can spend for people is away from people. In these times we can fill up on Jesus. Then we can go back to our friends and family and transfuse to them the Living God.

Ere since by faith I saw the stream
His flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

-Hymn

Outside In Or Inside Out?

Today I read this in a book called Godology by Christian George. It blew me away. Here it is.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who live outside-in and those who live inside-out. The outside-in folks allow the world to saturate their thinking. They are sponges, absorbing the agendas of this world without a filter. Like the Roman Empire they are destroyed from within. In contrast, those who live inside-out change the world with what's inside them. They splurge in truth and spill it to everyone around. It's the difference between a black hole and a burning star. It's more beautiful to explode in light than to implode in darkness. And we all know that there are enough black holes in this world already.

It also made me think of the scripture:

Philippians 2:14-16 Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.

Powerful stuff.

Let me suggest to you that God uses suffering to draw us into his presence. It is often far better to be held by God than to be healed by Him.

-Christian George

Only Love could leave such a mark, only Love can heal this scar.

To Tell You The Truth

If the truth is worth telling, it is worth making a fool of yourself to tell - Frederick Buechner

Unchanging Covenant of God's Grace

The Father fixed his gaze on me, Foreknew my soul that I should be At first ashamed before his face, And then a vessel for his grace; And in the Holy Trinity Engaged a glad conspiracy Of love that all the energy Of God should be employed to see That I, when all his work is done, Would bear the image of his Son. By John Piper

One of the truths that God has saturated me in today is that of his covenant grace with his people. Into eternity past within the Trinity, the Father and the Son throught the Spirit, planned the cross so that Jesus might receive what you and I deserve namely the wrath of God. By his death he bore our complete punishment and by his resurrection he conquered death itself. He did this because he planned to save you and I. We know that this was always his plan. You can know that you were always his plan by these words.

Hebrews 13:20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,

In Revelation 13:8 Jesus is "the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world."

^{Eph 1:4 says} For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

You were chosen by God before the creation of the world through His eternal covenant. His covenant preceeded the fall of man. His covenant came before your sin. You cannot be seperated from His love because the unchanging purpose of his covenant was to save you. May this truth stimulate us to right thinking. We need not fear that one day he will be dissapointed with us. We can be confident that he is the friend that sticks closer than a brother. This truth leads us into a new relationship with Jesus. A relationship not based on my obedience for his acceptance but because of his acceptance I can now obey without fear.

Glory to God for his grace that saw me, his grace that chose me, and his grace that keeps me.