This is John Eldridge's Daily Reading for today!
March 29, 2010
God’s Heart for Relationship
The vast desire and capacity a woman has for intimate relationships tells us of God’s vast desire and capacity for intimate relationships. In fact, this may be the most important thing we ever learn about God—that he yearns for relationship with us. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God” (John 17:3). The whole story of the Bible is a love story between God and his people. He yearns for us. He cares. He has a tender heart.
Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (Isa. 49:14–15)
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. (Jer. 24:7)
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. (Matt. 23:37)
What a comfort to know that this universe we live in is relational at its core, that our God is a tenderhearted God who yearns for relationship with us. If you have any doubt about that, simply look at the message he sent us in Woman. Amazing. Not only does God long for us, but he longs to be loved by us. Oh, how we’ve missed this. How many of you see God as longing to be loved by you? We see him as strong and powerful, but not as needing us, vulnerable to us, yearning to be desired.
(Captivating , 28–29)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
He is Jealous
Today is BEAUTIFUL! God has reminded me of just how much He desires me (and you too). You know, He is always doing this....I just think I'm a block-head and don't pay Him a bit of attention. He did this with the Israelites too, they were just like me. Or.... I am just like them. ;0)
Exodus 34:13-15 (New International Version)
13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. [a] 14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
15 "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.
The difference was that they were blatantly out in the open with their "other" gods. They physically created them out of wood and stone and iron and gold earrings. :) I read about them and think..."boy were they stupid! They had a cloud of smoke and a pillar of light to follow. They had manna falling from the sky. They had Moses, a burning bush, a parted sea, the 10 commandments. How could you make idols out of earrings that the Egyptians just handed over when there was NO doubt that God was with them. He gave them tangible evidence of His presence." And my wee little brain goes on and on and on about them.
Then it dawns on me that He would not have included all of the sad ridiculous stuff in His Word that they did, if it was not for me to read. You know, even though there is comedy in the Bible that is not the purpose. He put it in there to make me look in the mirror at how ridiculous I am. At least the Israelites did not hide there other gods. I sneak around thinking about chocolate, and spend too much time on the phone, or this crazy computer, on facebook, or I sit for hours in front of a box that pours out sin every single second it is on. I do all that in the privacy of my home. At least they were all out in the open about it.
How He is jealous for me, and oh, how I go through my life making Him long for me.
You know He is in total control of everything, except for that one thing, our relationship with Him. He initiates it and saves us and then it is on us to spend time with Him. WOW! And as I sit here listening to David Crowder sing "How He Loves Us", my eyes fill with tears, because I am so unworthy to be called His child. So very unworthy...... and that is what this beautiful time of year is all about.
Good Friday is in two weeks. This is what it is all about... relationship. He paid it all, everything. All I have to do is choose Him and invest time with Him. Absolutely nothing else is required, and like those crazy, stupid Isrealites, like Eve, I fall to temptation. Moment by moment I struggle. GRACE that sums it up once again. I think there is a pattern here!
Have a WONDERFUL, GRACE-FILLED weekend!!!!!!!
:0)
Artist: David Crowder Band
Song: How He Loves
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.
And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Exodus 34:13-15 (New International Version)
13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. [a] 14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
15 "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.
The difference was that they were blatantly out in the open with their "other" gods. They physically created them out of wood and stone and iron and gold earrings. :) I read about them and think..."boy were they stupid! They had a cloud of smoke and a pillar of light to follow. They had manna falling from the sky. They had Moses, a burning bush, a parted sea, the 10 commandments. How could you make idols out of earrings that the Egyptians just handed over when there was NO doubt that God was with them. He gave them tangible evidence of His presence." And my wee little brain goes on and on and on about them.
Then it dawns on me that He would not have included all of the sad ridiculous stuff in His Word that they did, if it was not for me to read. You know, even though there is comedy in the Bible that is not the purpose. He put it in there to make me look in the mirror at how ridiculous I am. At least the Israelites did not hide there other gods. I sneak around thinking about chocolate, and spend too much time on the phone, or this crazy computer, on facebook, or I sit for hours in front of a box that pours out sin every single second it is on. I do all that in the privacy of my home. At least they were all out in the open about it.
How He is jealous for me, and oh, how I go through my life making Him long for me.
You know He is in total control of everything, except for that one thing, our relationship with Him. He initiates it and saves us and then it is on us to spend time with Him. WOW! And as I sit here listening to David Crowder sing "How He Loves Us", my eyes fill with tears, because I am so unworthy to be called His child. So very unworthy...... and that is what this beautiful time of year is all about.
Good Friday is in two weeks. This is what it is all about... relationship. He paid it all, everything. All I have to do is choose Him and invest time with Him. Absolutely nothing else is required, and like those crazy, stupid Isrealites, like Eve, I fall to temptation. Moment by moment I struggle. GRACE that sums it up once again. I think there is a pattern here!
Have a WONDERFUL, GRACE-FILLED weekend!!!!!!!
:0)
Artist: David Crowder Band
Song: How He Loves
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.
And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Here Comes the Rain!
After such a beautiful few days of sunshine..... here it comes. The RAIN is here. I don't like days like this very much, but a wise friend tells me that these days make us appreciate the sunny ones. As I sit and really take it in, I think that the weather is very symbolic of our life here.
Think about it. We go on about our merry way in the sunshine.... breathing in that fresh air, playing outside our "fence" of protection often times, enjoying life, having fun, and eventually it must come to an end. There is a season for everything, right? The spring time gets me ready for that season of summer. It is like a glimpse of the goodness that is yet to be.
It's fresh. Fresh flowers pushing their heads up out of the cold ground, longer days :) of warm sunny goodness, leaves clothing the trees, baby animals, birds singing, the air just smells good. And with all of that comes the rain. Just like in our life, the storms come and we hide in our caves, put the covers over our heads and hunker down. Some storms aren't storms at all.... they are monsoons, hurricanes, tornados or tsunamis that tear and destroy. They toss us and shake us until all we can do is cry out.
And in all of it, there He is, arms open wide whispering in our ear "I'm here for you. I always have been. I would do ANYTHING for you. I want to keep you safe. I love you. You are my favorite." Only it took the rain, the storm, for me to notice that He is here. I was lost playing in the sunshine and I missed the sonshine, so the rain often times brings me back to where I need to be.
The rain refreshes, restores, cleans, and grows me. Without it I would surely die due to my own selfishness. So today I am remembering to be thankful for the rain. Maybe we should play in the puddles this afternoon!
And just think.... there would be no need for the promise of a rainbow if it did not rain. What a perfect promise!
:)
Think about it. We go on about our merry way in the sunshine.... breathing in that fresh air, playing outside our "fence" of protection often times, enjoying life, having fun, and eventually it must come to an end. There is a season for everything, right? The spring time gets me ready for that season of summer. It is like a glimpse of the goodness that is yet to be.
It's fresh. Fresh flowers pushing their heads up out of the cold ground, longer days :) of warm sunny goodness, leaves clothing the trees, baby animals, birds singing, the air just smells good. And with all of that comes the rain. Just like in our life, the storms come and we hide in our caves, put the covers over our heads and hunker down. Some storms aren't storms at all.... they are monsoons, hurricanes, tornados or tsunamis that tear and destroy. They toss us and shake us until all we can do is cry out.
And in all of it, there He is, arms open wide whispering in our ear "I'm here for you. I always have been. I would do ANYTHING for you. I want to keep you safe. I love you. You are my favorite." Only it took the rain, the storm, for me to notice that He is here. I was lost playing in the sunshine and I missed the sonshine, so the rain often times brings me back to where I need to be.
The rain refreshes, restores, cleans, and grows me. Without it I would surely die due to my own selfishness. So today I am remembering to be thankful for the rain. Maybe we should play in the puddles this afternoon!
And just think.... there would be no need for the promise of a rainbow if it did not rain. What a perfect promise!
:)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sunshine Today! :)
OK!
This weather just makes me want to praise Him....
He is everything!
The Light of the World,
My Savior,
My Redeemer,
The Holy One,
The One True God,
My Refuge,
My Rock,
Our Deliverer,
My Provision,
The Way, the Truth, the Life,
The Alpha and Omega,
The Prince of Peace,
My Shepherd,
My Salvation,
My Peace,
The Door,
The Creator,
A Baby born in the manger,
Real,
My Hope,
My Resting Place,
The River of Life,
The Good News,
A Carpenter,
A Mighty Fortress,
Yahweh, I AM, LORD, The Name,
Adonai, Lord,
Master,
Superior,
Sovereign,
Uncontainable,
Greater,
Bigger,
Huge,
Self-existent One,
Has no Boundaries,
Strong,
Feared,
Good,
Pure,
Intense,
Glorious,
Everlasting,
My Father,
My Joy,
The Word,
Healer,
Wise Counsel,
Love,
King of Kings,
Lord of Lords,
Omnipotent
Omnipresent,
All knowing,
Beyond Time or Space,
Emmanuel,
Mary & Joseph's son,
The Son,
Grace,
On the cross,
My Ransom,
He paid for me,
Risen,
Alive,
Breathes after me,
Is Jealous for me,
In me,
Mine!
Praise Him! He knows me and knows my heart.
:) He knows that one of my personal Pharaohs is CHOCOLATE... and just this second allowed me to get so carried away with my praise list that I (He) burned my brownie bites that I was cooking. My house smells GREAT! :)
Enjoy the day!
Soak in the Son!
This weather just makes me want to praise Him....
He is everything!
The Light of the World,
My Savior,
My Redeemer,
The Holy One,
The One True God,
My Refuge,
My Rock,
Our Deliverer,
My Provision,
The Way, the Truth, the Life,
The Alpha and Omega,
The Prince of Peace,
My Shepherd,
My Salvation,
My Peace,
The Door,
The Creator,
A Baby born in the manger,
Real,
My Hope,
My Resting Place,
The River of Life,
The Good News,
A Carpenter,
A Mighty Fortress,
Yahweh, I AM, LORD, The Name,
Adonai, Lord,
Master,
Superior,
Sovereign,
Uncontainable,
Greater,
Bigger,
Huge,
Self-existent One,
Has no Boundaries,
Strong,
Feared,
Good,
Pure,
Intense,
Glorious,
Everlasting,
My Father,
My Joy,
The Word,
Healer,
Wise Counsel,
Love,
King of Kings,
Lord of Lords,
Omnipotent
Omnipresent,
All knowing,
Beyond Time or Space,
Emmanuel,
Mary & Joseph's son,
The Son,
Grace,
On the cross,
My Ransom,
He paid for me,
Risen,
Alive,
Breathes after me,
Is Jealous for me,
In me,
Mine!
Praise Him! He knows me and knows my heart.
:) He knows that one of my personal Pharaohs is CHOCOLATE... and just this second allowed me to get so carried away with my praise list that I (He) burned my brownie bites that I was cooking. My house smells GREAT! :)
Enjoy the day!
Soak in the Son!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
GRACE and other gods
Hello, Again,
So here I am thinking about how I am not really doing this blog thing today. I think that instead of this being something I plan to do, I need to just sit down and put my thoughts down. Kind of like a normal journal, just with more eyes viewing it.
So, yesterday and today we were home from school with more snow days. It is amazing! Today I don't think I even saw any snow at all, but the schools were closed. We had to go to the eye Dr. where I had plenty of time to take a look at my new Bible study guide. It is called "No Other gods.... confronting our modern-day idols". As I opened it and started through the intro I thought...." I don't think I have any idols, I am and have really been working on my priorities these past few months", but soon into the first days "stuff" I found that maybe an idol is not exactly what I thought it was.
2 Kings 17:33 (New International Version)
33 They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.
It seems that from way back "we" have worshiped the one true God, and also served other gods. One statement stuck out more than the rest:
"Our false gods have taken up our most treasured spaces, leaving little room for God to show Himself strong on our behalf." So I know what my professed God is...the Lord, but what and who are my functional gods? My personal pharaohs? I think I am on a journey to find out.
This also made me think about Jesus. After just ending a study on Grace, my heart just hurt to read about other gods. Conviction is from the Holy Spirit, condemnation is from Satan. Oh, how He loves me to put up with me. On Monday I was discussing how a woman of Grace is giving, wise, humble, and at peace resting in God. Grace should be so a part of my life that I can't keep it inside just because of His grace for me in me. It's all good; it's His character spilling out. And then.....
Today I am reading about the "other gods". I can't even keep the first commandment, but you know what? He loves me anyway, because of one thing...GRACE. It is so big that I can study it for 7 weeks and still not get it. I won't get it until I walk through the pearly gates arm in arm with my Savior.
So for now, I am learning about His character more day by day and loving Him more second by second. He is in me and I desire to be Holy because He is Holy. Thank GOODNESS for His all sufficient, all abundant, never ending, precious always present GRACE!
:)
So here I am thinking about how I am not really doing this blog thing today. I think that instead of this being something I plan to do, I need to just sit down and put my thoughts down. Kind of like a normal journal, just with more eyes viewing it.
So, yesterday and today we were home from school with more snow days. It is amazing! Today I don't think I even saw any snow at all, but the schools were closed. We had to go to the eye Dr. where I had plenty of time to take a look at my new Bible study guide. It is called "No Other gods.... confronting our modern-day idols". As I opened it and started through the intro I thought...." I don't think I have any idols, I am and have really been working on my priorities these past few months", but soon into the first days "stuff" I found that maybe an idol is not exactly what I thought it was.
2 Kings 17:33 (New International Version)
33 They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.
It seems that from way back "we" have worshiped the one true God, and also served other gods. One statement stuck out more than the rest:
"Our false gods have taken up our most treasured spaces, leaving little room for God to show Himself strong on our behalf." So I know what my professed God is...the Lord, but what and who are my functional gods? My personal pharaohs? I think I am on a journey to find out.
This also made me think about Jesus. After just ending a study on Grace, my heart just hurt to read about other gods. Conviction is from the Holy Spirit, condemnation is from Satan. Oh, how He loves me to put up with me. On Monday I was discussing how a woman of Grace is giving, wise, humble, and at peace resting in God. Grace should be so a part of my life that I can't keep it inside just because of His grace for me in me. It's all good; it's His character spilling out. And then.....
Today I am reading about the "other gods". I can't even keep the first commandment, but you know what? He loves me anyway, because of one thing...GRACE. It is so big that I can study it for 7 weeks and still not get it. I won't get it until I walk through the pearly gates arm in arm with my Savior.
So for now, I am learning about His character more day by day and loving Him more second by second. He is in me and I desire to be Holy because He is Holy. Thank GOODNESS for His all sufficient, all abundant, never ending, precious always present GRACE!
:)
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