This morning I shattered a glass on the kitchen floor. That is a big deal, because I have a two and a half year old and an eight month old, and they are all over the floor, all the time.
I shut them in the bedroom together (never sure if that's a great idea!) and got out the vacuum to try to get all the shards.
As I vacuumed, I began to pray, "God, if there is any of this glass I miss, I ask that you'd let me step on it rather than them."
And it occurred to me...
God's love for us is like that.
His love is so intense that He's taken the suffering for us. He knew there was no way we could avoid the broken glass of our sin, and rather than leave us to ourselves, He came and suffered in our place. He took our pain, humiliation and suffering on Himself as Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).
How He loves us.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Learning to Love Correction
I was incredibly impacted by this clip. It is well worth the 10 minutes it would take to watch it, and I encourage you to do so!
May God use it to bless you as He has me.
May God use it to bless you as He has me.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Raising the Dead
John 11 tells the story of a dead man that was raised to life.
John 11 tells my story.
I was dead in my sin, though my body looked alive. I had a pulse, my heart was beating, my brain worked. But spiritually, I was dead and rotting. The Bible describes it as walking around with a throat like an open grave.
I would have told you that my life was great. I was having fun, living life, doing the best I could. I enjoyed my lifestyle, at least on the surface. It was a double-edged sword, because while on the outside things were fun and light, on the inside, I was in turmoil. Occasionally, there would be moments where I would see things as they were, I would stop and listen to my conscience, but then I would go back to my soul-numbing life, dead and lifeless.
Then, one day, in the depth of my despair, I heard His voice. Not an audible voice, but looking back, I can see it so clearly. He called me, just as He called Lazarus in John 11:43. I obeyed, bowed my heart and knee to Him, and turned from my life of prideful self-rule. When, in humility, I admitted that I was not good enough and I had no hope outside of Him, in kindness He saved me. He called me out of the grave and gave me new life. He rose me from the dead.
John 11 can tell your story.
If you have not already, admit you are dead in your sin. Turn from your sin. Trust in Christ alone for your resurrection. Your participation in salvation is just as Lazarus'. Jesus calls. You respond in obedience and place your faith in Him (trust Him as you would a parachute if you were jumping from an airplane), and He raises you from the dead to new life in Him.
John 11 tells my story.
I was dead in my sin, though my body looked alive. I had a pulse, my heart was beating, my brain worked. But spiritually, I was dead and rotting. The Bible describes it as walking around with a throat like an open grave.
I would have told you that my life was great. I was having fun, living life, doing the best I could. I enjoyed my lifestyle, at least on the surface. It was a double-edged sword, because while on the outside things were fun and light, on the inside, I was in turmoil. Occasionally, there would be moments where I would see things as they were, I would stop and listen to my conscience, but then I would go back to my soul-numbing life, dead and lifeless.
Then, one day, in the depth of my despair, I heard His voice. Not an audible voice, but looking back, I can see it so clearly. He called me, just as He called Lazarus in John 11:43. I obeyed, bowed my heart and knee to Him, and turned from my life of prideful self-rule. When, in humility, I admitted that I was not good enough and I had no hope outside of Him, in kindness He saved me. He called me out of the grave and gave me new life. He rose me from the dead.
John 11 can tell your story.
If you have not already, admit you are dead in your sin. Turn from your sin. Trust in Christ alone for your resurrection. Your participation in salvation is just as Lazarus'. Jesus calls. You respond in obedience and place your faith in Him (trust Him as you would a parachute if you were jumping from an airplane), and He raises you from the dead to new life in Him.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Persecution Prayer Request
From VOM:
Three masked members of a militant Islamic group shot to death a Somali Christian who declined to wear a veil as prescribed by Muslim custom, according to a Compass News Direct source in Somalia.
Members of the Suna Waljameca group killed Amina Muse Ali, 45, on Oct. 19 at 9:30 p.m. in her home in Somalia's autonomous Puntland region, according to the source.
Ali had told Christian leaders she had received several threats from members of Suna Waljameca for not wearing a veil, symbolic of adherence to Islam. She said members of the group had long monitored her movements because they suspected she was a Christian.
The source said Ali called him on Oct. 4 saying, "My life is in danger. I am warned of dire consequences if I continue to live without putting on the veil. I need prayers from the fellowship."
The slaying of Amina Muse Ali adds one more name to the list of Christians murdered in Somalia at the hands of Islamic extremists in recent months. Pray God will comfort their grieving families and bring them peace that passes understanding.
Pray the Holy Spirit will touch the hearts and minds of Muslims in Somalia to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
"I was shocked beyond words when I received the news that she had been shot dead," the source in Somalia told Compass by telephone.
Please pray for the persecuted church.
Three masked members of a militant Islamic group shot to death a Somali Christian who declined to wear a veil as prescribed by Muslim custom, according to a Compass News Direct source in Somalia.
Members of the Suna Waljameca group killed Amina Muse Ali, 45, on Oct. 19 at 9:30 p.m. in her home in Somalia's autonomous Puntland region, according to the source.
Ali had told Christian leaders she had received several threats from members of Suna Waljameca for not wearing a veil, symbolic of adherence to Islam. She said members of the group had long monitored her movements because they suspected she was a Christian.
The source said Ali called him on Oct. 4 saying, "My life is in danger. I am warned of dire consequences if I continue to live without putting on the veil. I need prayers from the fellowship."
The slaying of Amina Muse Ali adds one more name to the list of Christians murdered in Somalia at the hands of Islamic extremists in recent months. Pray God will comfort their grieving families and bring them peace that passes understanding.
Pray the Holy Spirit will touch the hearts and minds of Muslims in Somalia to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
"I was shocked beyond words when I received the news that she had been shot dead," the source in Somalia told Compass by telephone.
Please pray for the persecuted church.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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