Not far away!

Do you ever feel like God is a billion miles away?  Does the thought ever cross your mind “He’s forgotten about me!”  If we are honest with ourselves, we all feel that way from time to time.

If you are a Christ follower, there is a deep seeded homesickness that we all suffer from in our souls.  We are not meant for this world, but for another one.  We are meant to be with Jesus.  It is that simple.

Satan also uses the so called “distance” from our Father to reap havoc on our hearts.  We begin to believe the lie that God doesn’t care our doesn’t know when we are hurting or suffering.  We begin to believe that "He's just too far away!"

That is simply not true.  Here is my proof:

Psalm 34:18

¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
   and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

A few thoughts:

• Sin has completely messed up our hearts.  God never leaves His children, but sin has separated us from God (for awhile).  That is why He sent Jesus to restore our relationship with Him.  All we have to do is ask Jesus to be the King of our lives and surrender our hearts to Him, and the gap is closed forever.
• Our homesickness is temporary.  Our lives will be a quick reflection in the rear view mirror once we get to heaven.  We will never be without Jesus.  We will be able to approach God without sin.  Awesome!!!
• I have heard folks say “When I get to be with God” or “When Jesus returns”.  These statements are misleading.  Yes, it is true that Jesus is going to return and yes, it is true that we will someday be in the presence of God.  The misleading part is that we begin to think of God as “Far, far away” and we “stuck down here”!  The truth is this:  THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES INSIDE OF YOU CHRISTIAN!  If you have surrendered yourself to Christ, than you have received an amazing gift.  (John 16:12-15) There is never a second from now until eternity that we are without God.  Get your mind around that!!!!  It is amazing to ponder.

God is so in tune with how we feel.  If you are hurting or feel alone, if you have lost someone close to you or feel like you can’t make it another day, know this:  The Lord is close to the broken hearted and save those who are crushed in spirit.  Don’t give up.  Be encouraged!

Married life

My life would look dramatically different (in a bad way) if it weren’t for me marrying my wife.  She is my custom designed mate, we belong together, and God has stitched us together in a unique way.  My wife makes me a better person, and brings out the good qualities in me that I am positive would not come out if we were not together.

Don’t misunderstand me!  It takes a lot of work for us to stay married.  We don’t always see eye to eye!  She can’t stand the way I do things sometimes.  Occasionally I become frustrated with the way she says or does something.  We don’t always get along.  If I am being honest, I am sure there have been days that both of us did not want to be married to one another any more.  The beautiful thing is that we made a commitment to each other, worked through the bad times, and realized that it is good to become one.  It is good to have each other.

Did you know it is the same way with God’s church?  Jesus calls the local church “His bride”.  Not only does Jesus love us, He is married to us.  (Matthew 9:15, John 3:29, Revelation 19:17)  It is good to belong to a local church, because it brings out the better qualities in us as Christ followers.  We are one (same as a marriage) with Jesus because of the church.

A few thoughts:

• What kind of marriage would I have if I said that I love my wife, but never came home?  If you call yourself a Christ follower but are not investing yourself in a local church, than you are flat-out living a lie.  You cannot grow in Christ and not belong to a local church.

• What kind of marriage would I have if my wife told me she loved me but I told her I didn't need her?  If you are not in a local church, that is EXACTLY what you are telling Jesus.  (Sorry, but that's the real-deal truth!)

• What kind of relationship would I have if I only stopped in to eat, get my clothes washed, etc. but never communicated with my wife?  As a member of this marriage, it is my responsibility to invest in her.  I need to tend to her needs, listen to her, love her, encourage her, be around her and be intimate with her.  It is the same at your church.  God has equipped you as a Christ follower to use your gifts to encourage others.  Don’t just stop in once or twice a year and eat / get your clothes washed, etc.  Dive in and support others within you church.  Serve one another.  Give 10% of your money and support her.  Be in the family, and not just a user.  If you do attend a church, then volunteer!  Don't just slip in the back door and expect someone else to do the work.  Get plugged in somewhere.  Do you eat dinner and then expect your spouse to clean off the table up after you or do you get up and help after eating?  Why is the church any different?

Truth:  before I met my wife, you should have seen how I dressed!  Nothing matched!  Colors looked terrible together, etc.  She told me things about my appearance that needed to change!  It made me mad, but she was right!  She spoke truth into me and it made me a better person.  When you belong to a local church, you belong to a family.  People are going to speak truth into you and you will become a better person for it. (Proverbs 27:17)  You won’t like it, but you will eventually become a better person for it.  If you are not part of a church, you are on an island, and being on an island is not good.  You begin to believe your own hype, you rationalize everything to fit you way of life.  When you are in a marriage together with other believers, God knocks those edges off of you and molds you into the follower He desires you to be.

Bottom line is this:  If you claim to be a Christ follower but are not invested in a local church, you are living a lie.  Quit making excuses and get plugged in immediately.  It is the way God designed it.

Santa & Jesus

If we are being honest with ourselves, wouldn’t it be a true statement to say that Christmas is (at best) shared between two people:  Santa Claus and Jesus?  (In that order)  In America (and frankly all over the world) Christmas has been more about the gifts that Santa brings and less about the gift Jesus brought to us.  My sister and I were emailing back and forth the other day about Christmas and what it means to us.  She made a comical comparison between Jesus and Santa Claus that got us both thinking.  Here are a few thoughts:

Santa might get you something and leave it under a tree.  The gift Jesus gave, He paid for on a tree.  (Philippians 2:8)

Santa keeps a list of who is naughty or nice.  Jesus left His list on the cross.  (Romans 8:1)

Santa’s love is conditional (be good for goodness sake….) Jesus love is unconditional.  (Romans 8:38)

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not one of these fundamentalist that wants to boycott Santa Claus.  I won't be picketting the mall or telling my kids that Santa is the devil!  I do think it’s sad that He gets all of the attention!  Jesus Christ became a man so He could reunite us with His Father.  It’s the gift that never gets old and never dies!  And I’ll let you in on a little secret……..JESUS IS REAL!  He’s not a made up fictional character.  He really lived.  He really died on a cross.  He really rose from the dead for you and me!  (John 3:16)

Merry Christmas.  Please think about Jesus this Christmas season! 

Funny How A Baby Changes Everything!



Piper's First Parade!


This week's post comes from one of my favorite new writers, Cathy Baker.  This was a great reminder of why we celebrate Christmas!  Thanks again Cathy!

I’m a party-pooper when it comes to parades. When given the choice between watching the Macy's parade or cleaning crusty breakfast dishes, I break out the rubber gloves.

Funny how a baby changes everything.

One casual mention of Piper attending her first parade and I’m in the car before Brian has the opportunity to pop another piece of puzzle in place. Our fold-out chairs are left in the dust, but we don’t care. After all, what’s two hours of standing when one is dodging missiles hard candy being flung from floating contraptions, or breathing in toxic fumes from “unique” cars when Piper is nearby?

Funny how a baby changes everything.

Two thousand years ago, another Baby changed everything. One day, He will lead a triumphal procession, one in which we’ll no longer be spectators, but participants—victors in Christ!Funny how a Baby changes everything. Every day. Every moment.
Thank You, Jesus.

Now then.....

At some point in everyone’s life, there will come a time where life will get hard… and by hard, I mean really hard!  You might lose a job that you love and find yourself without an income.  Maybe you’ve had to move or sell your house, or had the bank foreclosed on you.  It may be a death of a loved one; a parent, a spouse.  It may even be that you will lose a child.  No matter what, at some point you are going to be hit with something that cripples you, and makes you want to quit doing life.  You want to draw up into a shell and hide away from this world because it just seems like you can’t go on anymore.

I’ve been there.  There have been a few times in my life where I have felt like God has left me alone to deal with something terrible.  I have even accused God of forgetting about me.  The truth of the matter is this:  how I feel has nothing to do with who God is or how He operates.  

I thought of this while reading Joshua 1 this morning.  Joshua just lost someone extremely important to Him.  Moses is dead.  God responds in this way:

 ¹ After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.

I’m sure Joshua was devastated.  The conversation might have gone something like this”  “What now Lord?  Moses is dead!  We’re out here all alone!  I can’t do this God; I can’t lead these people without Moses!  I quit!”

God responded to Joshua.  In verse 2 I noticed two words that I have never noticed God say before in the Bible.  He told Joshua “Now then…”.   In other words, God says to Joshua “I know Moses is dead.  I know you are hurting, but I have something that I need you to do.  I am your God, and I am not finished with you Joshua.  You need to get up, get these people together and keep moving forward.  This is my plan, not yours!”

In the rest of the chapter, as God lays His plan out for Joshua, the Lord repeats this phrase over and over to him.  He says “Be strong and courageous."  The amazing thing is in verse 9 God reminds Joshua that it is a command, not a suggestion.  God commanded him to be strong and courageous. 

A few thoughts:

• No matter what happens, don't give up.  EVER!
• God never leaves His children.
• God is never surprised or shocked.  Everything that happens in our lives happens for a reason.  He is sovereign and has everything under control.
• It’s not about us, it’s about Him.  It has nothing to do with how we feel.  It has everything to do with His will.
• God is compassionate and knows when you are hurting.  During those times He will comfort you, but He still intends to use you.  God never intends for us to draw up in a shell and hide from this world.  He intends for us to move forward and be strong and courageous. 

Several years ago my best friend took his own life.  It devastated me.  I was so angry and confused, and my first reaction was to quit.  It hurt me and everyone around him.  Since that time I have seen God do amazing things out of that situation, including people meeting Christ as their Savior.  I will never understand why it happened, but I have learned from that experience that God never left the scene.  He was right there.  He said “Ok, your friend is dead.  Now then, here is what I want you to do……”

No matter what has happened, or will happen in your life, realize that God still intends to use you for His glory.  Don’t let a situation cripple you.  Hear God say “Now then” and trust Him for your next step.  Life is hard, but we have a God who will never leave our side.  Lean on Him and keep moving forward.