I am your God, I have molded you with my own hands, and I love what I have made. I love you with a love that has no limits, because I love you as I am loved. Do not run away from me. Come back to me— not once, not twice, but always again. You are my child. How can you ever doubt that I will embrace you again, hold you against my breast, kiss you and let my hands run through your hair? I am your God— the God of mercy and compassion, the God of pardon and love, the God of tenderness and care. Please do not say that I have given up on you, that I cannot stand you anymore, that there is no way back. It is not true. I so much want you to be close to me. I know all your thoughts. I hear all your words. I see all of your actions. And I love you because you are beautiful, made in my own image, and expression of my most intimate love. Do not judge yourself. Do not reject yourself. Let my love touch the deepest, most hidden corners of your heart and reveal to you your own beauty, a beauty that you have lost sight of, but will become visible to you again in the light of my mercy. Come, come, let me wipe your tears, and let my mouth come close to your ear and say to you, ‘I love you. I love you. I love you.’
Girls, this is a reminder for you today that you have so much value in God’s eyes.
I have been absolutely loving my journey through God’s Word this week. Right now I am immersed in the book of Luke, and the words of Jesus are having a profound impact on me. One passage got me thinking today about a pet peeve of mine, or should I say, a sorrow in my heart.
I know some people who call themselves Christians and are always willing to boldly defend Jesus until they are blue in the face, but deny Him with their lifestyle. I would rather be a Christian who does not feel the need to get into fierce arguments to ‘prove’ God but to reflect Him with my lifestyle.
I am not claiming to be a perfect Christian; I know full well that I fall short all the time. But I know people who justify their lifestyle of careless sin by participating in a few religious debates every now and then. As long as they ‘defend’ God with their words, they can live however they want and still call themselves Christ followers.
Here is a challenge for those of you who like to debate: stay silent on issues of faith and watch if people can notice yours through the way you live. If they don’t, you have no right to be debating in the first place.
In Luke 6 Jesus Himself says this:
So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it is like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.
Last week Taiwan was hit by Typhoon Morakot. The clip below is a good reminder for all of us to build a strong foundation. How do we do that? Through obedience to the One we claim to love.
Jay and I watched The Guardian this weekend with our friends Aaron and Tabitha. It is about rescue swimmers with the Coast Guard who jump in to the Bering Sea out of helicopters to save people from sinking boats and huge waves. Insane. I never knew a profession like that existed.
The movie reminded me of a story I heard when I was younger of a Christian man who used to be a Buddhist. He was on a quest for truth when he had a dream that rocked him to the core. In the dream he was in a stormy ocean, close to drowning and calling out for help. Way in the distance he saw Buddha running along the shore, yelling out instructions on how to stay afloat and swim back to safety.
But his energy was failing him. No matter how hard he tried to follow the instructions he could not. Wave after wave pushed him under. His body started to cramp. He finally lost all hope as his body submerged and he felt himself sinking into the depths.
All of a sudden, someone grabbed him and pulled him to the surface. He gasped for air and felt his body being pulled toward the shore.
It was Jesus.
In this guy’s dream, Buddha had merely yelled out instructions while Jesus had jumped in and rescued him. He finally understood that while other ‘truths’ had offered instructions on how to live perfectly, Jesus recognized that it was impossible and came to die on the Cross Himself.
What a testimony.
Do you feel like you are drowning in a storm? Place your trust in the one who rescues. He will not let you drown.
I read a great quote from Coach Dick Tomey this week:
“It is not the will to win that’s important. It’s the will to prepare to win that really separates those who wish and dream from those who make it happen.”
If God has placed a dream in you to do something, it will remain a mere dream until you start your preparation. Don’t expect God to carry out his calling on your life if you are lazy. Preparation includes developing your character in Christ, which must be coupled with action. Fervent prayer. Putting your gifts to use in small ways. Writing down an idea. Writing down an action plan. Getting a mentor or life coach. Networking. Reading the word. Budgeting/giving towards what you are passionate about.
What talents, qualities, and resources have you been given? What is your passion? How can you be preparing to do great things for God with what you have right now? Something to think about this weekend.
I am extremely joy-filled and excited today! As you know from reading Jay’s main post yesterday, we have received a grant from the Millenium Scholarship Foundation to do a documentary on sex trafficking in Canada this September. I can’t even express how pumped I am!
And do you know why this excites me so much? Because bringing hope to the hopeless victims of sex trafficking is what God has called me to do. The fight for justice is exhausting and sometimes terrifying, but it resonates so deep within me that I can’t live a comfortable life knowing what I know.
This begs the question: what is it for you? What resonates deeply within your spirit? What or who does God keep placing on your heart?
I had a conversation with a cousin of mine this weekend about this. She is in her thirties and refuses to keep living how she is living, because she is comfortable and knows God has more for her. This is a wife and mother of three kids who has a great career, but she is willing to acknowledge that a new chapter is opening up before her and she is excited and nervous to grab a hold of it. I LOVE hearing people talk like that!
There is more to life that comfort. As cheesy as it is, the line from Spiderman is so true: “with great power comes great responsibility.”
We who have been blessed with so much must live out the calling God has placed on our lives. If you don’t know what that is, I’d encourage you to fast and pray until you figure it out!
