God's offer

Riches and honor elude a great many - at least in terms of physical riches and human honor. God's children enjoy not only untold riches, some unmeasured by human eye or understanding, but also the honor of being welcomed into the Kingdom of God. Right standing with God himself is the most significant of honors one can receive, yet some will discount this 'honor' as they bypass each and every invitation they receive to be welcomed into that family. If they only knew just how much they'd receive they might not resist the invitation so much. Perhaps they need us to share the message time and time again, living out that 'message' in our daily lives, until one day they finally realize they need what we have found.

I love those who love me, and those who look for me will find me. With me there are riches and honor.
I have lasting wealth to give to you. What I give is better than fine gold. What I produce is better than pure silver. I lead people the right way—along the paths of justice. I give riches to those who love me,
and I fill their houses with treasures. (Proverbs 8:17-21)

God loves those who look for him - promising that he will be found when they search. You might have heard a term in Christian circles today referencing a 'seeker-friendly' church environment. What they are saying is that they want a welcoming feel to their church services, so those who are a bit skeptical about 'religion' will feel welcomed, comfortable, and that the message they are hearing is relevant to society today. I don't know about you, but as 'comfortable' as these seeker-friendly churches have been for me, there are just times when God needs to disturb my present comfort in order to make my future comfort all that more enjoyable!

God's offer is relevant to all ages - there is no 'irrelevancy' in his message of trust. He welcomes all, seeking to have all of their heart, and then he blesses them with 'wealth' beyond what most will ever appreciate. Forgiveness of sins and being made right with the God of the Universe carries a certain degree of 'wealth' we will never be able to measure through human understanding. Some will never know the forgiveness of God, but that doesn't mean he won't keep inviting them to know him! God looks for the lost, seeking them out with a tenacity that doesn't quit. All we might do is live the message for others to 'see', so they might 'seek', and then we can all rejoice when what was lost is finally found! Just sayin!

A love note from God

If God hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” your love, God, took hold and held me fast. (Psalm 94:17-18) 

Stop for a moment today to consider what God 'journals' about you and I in his book of remembrances. You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book. (Psalm 56:8) These might actually be love notes because each event or memory of his grace is really an acknowledgement of just how much he loves us. Any time we need to recount his love for us - we can just go to his Word - asking for him to open those journals of love notes. I wonder how many times God is right beside us and we don't even recognize him there? Yet, when we begin to stumble, we become so totally aware of his presence - by the strength of the arm that somehow catches hold of us and pulls us to safety once again.

I love you, God— you make me strong. God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God—the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout. (Psalm 18:1-2) Bedrock under our feet suggests we have reliable ground upon which we stand. A castle to live in speaks to me of the vastness of his love for us. The crag in the rocks is not only a place of hiding, but of secret growth - for the crag often has a growth all its own. But me he caught—reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning. They hit me when I was down, but God stuck by me. He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved—surprised to be loved! (Psalm 18:16-19) One of the most awesome parts of being loved is the ability of the other to keep the element of surprise in the relationship. This goes for God, too. He delights in surprising those he loves and calls his own. Delights in giving what we most need within the relationship - grace, peace, hope, and fulfillment.

Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. (Psalm 23:6) Have you ever been pursued? If you have, you know the delight of the "chase". There is something else here, though. His "chasing" is continual - every day of our lives - he pursues us. Not just on some special holiday - but each and every day! The record of the chase might just be these very 'love journals' he keeps about each of us. For God’s Word is solid to the core; everything he makes is sound inside and out. He loves it when everything fits, when his world is in plumb-line true. Earth is drenched in God’s affectionate satisfaction. (Psalm 33:4-5) Life solid to the core - nothing about God's love is "out of place" or "misaligned". It is true "plumb"! We might engage in all manner of relationships with others on this earth, but no 'love' on this earth is quite as 'true' or 'plumb' as his. Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice. (Psalm 51:16-17) All we have to offer in this relationship is heart-shattered lives which are so earnestly seeking to know love and to be loved. It is this very heart condition which moves God's heart - capturing his attention, consuming his heart, and moving him to embrace us.

Your love, God, is my song, and I’ll sing it! I’m forever telling everyone how faithful you are. I’ll never quit telling the story of your love— how you built the cosmos and guaranteed everything in it. Your love has always been our lives’ foundation, your fidelity has been the roof over our world. (Psalm 89:1-2) There is no greater love song than the song sung in heaven when a shattered heart is restored. There is no greater song heard in our own hearts than when God's fingers strum a melody of worship from within our lives. Love embraced soon becomes love expressed - never stop telling the story of his love because he never stops recording those 'love moments' in his book. The moments will quickly pass us by - in taking just the short moments to get into God's journal of love (his Word), we can be reminded of his deep and ever growing love for us! We have many love notes from God available in his Word - I wonder just how many love notes we have taken time to write back to him? Just askin!