It’s Wednesday, May 9, and I am here at my desk as usual waiting for my early morning friends to arrive to share together our lives, the Word, and a great book we are going through together. I start to look at my email and I see one that seems so unusual, “Blind dog living in a trash pile gets the most beautiful rescue – The end is amazing.” I am always a sucker for stories about animals! I bring it up and begin to watch this amazing, loving rescue of the cutest little dog! I am hooked and watch as people find him, discover he is blind, dirty and lying in the trash. They pick him up and take him to a safe place where they wash him, cut his hair, take him to the doctors where it is discovered that an operation could restore sight to him so he could see!!! And the operation is successful! For the first time he sees. You now see not a lonely, afraid little dog but a happy, beautiful little white dog, running, jumping for joy because someone loves him. And he is ADOPTED!
Immediately as I watch, I think of the hymn, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”
God through His Son reached down and saved me from the trash of this world, I was lost but He found me. I was blind, but now I SEE. Rescued! Adopted! What joy! What love! The end is Amazing!
If you would like to see this video just click here!
It’s Thursday night and there is a gathering of leaders in a small office and they begin to pray for the night for God’s presence, for the Holy Spirit to work in hearts, for their hearts to be right before Him!
As they leave the office full of hope, joy and strength for the evening they see the people coming.They greet and talk for a while until the Praise Team begins to sing praises to God.This night is explosive with praise and singing to the Lord.
God is moving, one knows and feels His presence.We sit down as a leader takes us into a time of testimony to what the Lord is doing in our lives.Person after person gives glory to the “I Am” in their life and the changes and healing that He is doing; relationships restored, marriages restored, lives changed, victories through His name!
Cannot get much better!But it does in the small groups that take place where intimacy of sharing, praying, listening, hoping, crying, laughing all bringing an opening for God to work.This happens here at Grace every Thursday evening at 7pm here in Celebrate Recovery.It is an amazing spiritual journey!
On Monday I was going through a myriad of emails and came to one that was sent to me from a friend. I did not have time to really listen to it as I had a million things to catch up on ….but I clicked and opened it. And I am glad that I did. As I listened to the song and watched the video I was so encouraged and my soul was restored with the real meaning and focus of Christmas. I hope you will take the time to listen and enjoy the message and then get in line!!!!!
Webster defines it this way: “usually commonplace.” Ever feel this way about yourself? Leaves you feeling a little let down, not so special, asking a million questions …what is this life all about? Does anyone care?
God defines it this way: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. “ I am not ordinary (no comments please) ….God knit me together, just right, just the way He wanted, with an eternal purpose. Now that is not commonplace. But it gets better!
God did not just stop there! He knows me! He wants to spend time with ME! His words are powerful: “You have searched me and you KNOW ME! You KNOW when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down, you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you KNOW it completely.” God knows me completely, and He loves me.
Now this is not commonplace!
These verses from Psalm 139 say that God is involved in my life. He cares about every aspect of my life and He is present. I don’t have to wait, I don’t have to send an email and hope He answers and I don’t have to wait in line. This reminds me of this past weekend as we took our grandson to Hershey Park (I know what were we thinking…it was Labor Day Weekend!) As we walked the park and saw the lines it became somewhat discouraging especially with a three year old. At one point we were waiting in line and he just cuts loose in his booming voice and in his way said something like, “Hey, people get out of this line”. Well, I am so glad that I don’t have to do this with God, He is ever present and available, desiring my presence, ready to greet me!
Ordinary? I don’t think so! I just love God’s definition! One that wiIl not change. I only pray that I can live there!
Do you remember the two bands mentioned in Sunday’s testimony by Jen Goss? I don’t! She said this is what we would probably remember. But what I do remember is the word HOPE! Within her testimony she shared how the people in a certain country for 20 years told the story through art of how people were killed when a bomb was dropped and many, many died. And this is what was passed on from generation to generation! Then she shared a wonderful truth with these artists that they should begin to pass on a story of HOPE! I said yes, the story of HOPE! We have this Lord, a wonderful, powerful, life changing HOPE, a LIVING HOPE in Jesus to live in and pass on:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.” (I Peter 1:3-4 NIV)
Life has pain, hurts, disappointments, disruptions, but my HOPE is in God, not my circumstances, not in this world, not in other people! We are promised that there is an inheritance that will never perish and is kept in heaven for us. The Psalms are rich in expressing man’s feelings and thoughts and the thoughts of God in showing us Himself. Look at Psalm 33:18-22:
“But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”
Now this is true HOPE to be passed on, a HOPE that is based on the true nature and character of God. You can with all confidence say that you are never hopeless. Think about it! There is no circumstance, no time in your life that you could possibly be hopeless if you are trusting in God. Now if I can only live like I truly believe this!
A prayer from the Psalms for this week: “Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.” Psalm 94:19 (Living Bible)
(A plug for our spiritual journey starting August 29: Psalms: Lament to Praise….Encounters with God!)
As some of you know I have a grandson named Colin. On April 17, 2007 he was born into this world. From the first time I held this little bundle in my arms, he won my heart. When he says, “Mimi, I love you”, he wins my heart. We have this little game we play when I come to his house, I peek through the mail box slot in the big green door and there he is sitting on the couch and I say, “Hi Colin”, he jumps down and runs over to the door. No, I must say that he is jumping, hopping up and down and squealing with delight as he hurries to open the door – he wins my heart. No one else does this for me, imagine that! I can’t wait to get to him as he gives me a big hug, he wins my heart. One day as we were sitting together, he closed his eyes and clasped his hands and the only words I heard was, Mimi and Papop and he continued on in some heavenly language that was not discernable to me but I knew Jesus heard every word (I hope it was good)….and he won my heart. Even when I need to say, “time out” and some discipline is needed….he wins my heart. Most of the time during or after this time he says, “Mimi, I’m really sorry.” And HE WINS MY HEART.
At the foot of the cross:
The day planned from eternity,
The day that the innocent would die for the guilty.
The day that would bring the words, “It is finished”!
The day that would tear the veil in the temple in two,
The day that would declare that man can now come boldly before God, into His very presence.
The day that Love was crucified for my sin, the day He took my place
The day that all heaven waited, breathlessly as Jesus, God’s Son was crucified at Calvary.
The day He could have called this army, but He did not. He laid it all down!
The day He could have come down, but He did not. He stayed.
The Response to this sacrificial love is crucial!
The response from Jesus himself: “Father, forgive them”
The response from some was anger, rejection, railings, insults, the result: hopeless
The response from one thief was acceptance, confession, the result: a home going with Jesus.
My response: HE WON MY HEART. Jesus says to me, “I love you”. I will always love you, it will never change and I will never change my mind. He says to me, “I so delight when you come into my presence, when we talk.” You are very important to me. He says, “I want to take your burdens, I want you to cast your cares upon me, because I care for you.” I hear what you are saying. I have prepared a place for you where we will be together forever. You are my child. You are my beloved. I love you so much that I do need to discipline you, to bring you back to me. I have a wonderful plan for you. And you know what, “I am never going to leave you.” Never! My greatest desire is for you to grow to be just like me, to die to yourself and lay down your life for others, just like me at Calvary. Jesus, your grace at the foot of the cross is amazing!
Your response: _______________________________________________________________