Turn To Me Before You Are In Trouble

Yes, they have turned away from Me instead of turning to Me.
Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
-- From Jeremiah 2:27 (NET)

Lord, help us to turn to You everyday all-the-time. Yes, not just when the days grow dim, but also during the days of delight give us a desire to look to You. Give us a hunger to know You intimately in every instance, not just when we are in trouble. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Deo Volente -- Whatever God Wants!
Grateful

A Right Now Relationship With God

We can't expect to rely on an in-the-past relationship with an I-Am-Present God.

My God, I want an up-to-date, here-and-now, right relationship with You. I want to know You in ever-increasing intimacy. Amen.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst desperately for a right now, yes, an up-to-date personal relationship with God, for they will be fulfilled. -- Kerry's Paraphrase of Matthew 5:6

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Saturate in John 15

Yesterday I was saturating in John 15 and today I still am. Jesus, the True Vine, is this branch's (my) Life-Source. Apart from Him I can do nothing. Enough said.

I invite you to Saturate in John 15 along with me. :-)

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Are Our Hearts "Perfect" Towards God?

1 Chronicles 16:9a (KJV) For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him. (KJV)

1 Chronicles 16:9a (NIV) For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.

Are our hearts perfect towards God? Are our hearts fully committed to God? In other words, having experienced His perfect love towards us, will we now be His saints, that is, will we be Exclusively God's? Will we now choose intimacy with Him rather than idolatry in sin?

In John 8, Jesus showed mercy and compassion to the woman about to be stoned by her accusers for her sin-filled life. After condemning the self-righteous motives of the would-be stone-throwers, Jesus spoke a benediction to her, calling her to now have a fully committed heart to Him, not to sin. Yes, it's plainly recorded in John 8:11. Hear Jesus speaking to the nearly stoned but now rescued sinner: Go and sin no more (KJV). Go now and leave your life of sin. (NIV).

In this heart-warming New Testament story we learn that, indeed, Jesus loves sinners so much that He meets us where we are -- in sin, yet, the Good News gets Gooder because He also loves us too much to leave us there.

Having been rescued from our lives of sin by the Savior of Love, should we still belong to sin? I mean, shouldn't we now belong to Him? Doesn't He deserve hearts that are perfect towards Him? Fully committed to Him? Shouldn't we leave our sin and cleave to Him?

Are our hearts perfect towards God? If not, why not? Could it be that we still love sin more than Him? If so, Lord, forgive it and Lord forbid it. May we know such oneness with You, oh Lord, that we would truly go and sin no more. We have the Holy Spirit to Help us!

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Spectacular Suffering...

When we belong exclusively to God and we sense we have been hurt by people, we must choose from one of two stances:

#1: Am I mistreated by people?

or...

#2: Am I crucified with Christ?

Let's choose "crucified with Christ" because it means we are not alone in our suffering. Suffering at the hands of others can either leave us experiencing the agony of increased isolation, yes all alone, or with the awesome experience of increased intimacy with our Lord. Yes, even suffering can be called "spectacular suffering" if we embrace the Galatians 2:20 stance as our own.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV) -- I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Overworking or Overflowing?

Are our lives defined by "overworking for the Lord" or "overflowing with the Lord?" Overworking leads to religion and perhaps even idolatry, that is, alienation from God. Overflowing is all about fulfilling relationship and increased intimacy with Immanuel, yes, God with us, that is, adoration of God.

In my life, Lord, be magnified, be glorified, be satisfied. Give me the desires of my heart, only if my desires are one with the desires of Your heart. I do desire to live moment-by-moment in the overflow of Your presence, purity, power, peace. I exist that you might reveal Yourself through my life. I earnestly pray, as always, in Your name, my King, the Nazarene. Amen.

ALL JOY!
Grateful