God Loves Seekers

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Matthew 7:7

God loves seekers. He's anxious to reveal Himself to anyone who will look for Him. He's not bothered by questions. Ask Him whatever you want. Got doubts? No problem. They don't threaten God at all. He's the King of the Universe, the Creator of all things. Almighty. Holy. Omnipotent and Omniscient. And He's absolutely crazy about you. So go ahead. Knock on the door of His heart and He'll open it up to you.

Extreme Love

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

The greatest love ever expressed was done so at Calvary. Jesus Christ gave His life willingly. He had the power to escape the cross. His Father had given Him the authority to lay down His life and take it up again (John 10:18). If we wonder if God loves us, all we have to do is look at the crucifixion of Jesus. What kind of a God would give His Son to save sinners like me? A loving God. A gracious and merciful God. A God who would go to the extreme to save the ones He loves from Hell. If you have never welcomed this kind of God into your life, now is a good time. He loves you to the extreme!

Down From the Mountain Top

"Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 

Matthew 17:1-4

Imagine the glory the disciples beheld on the mountain top with Jesus. Can we really blame Peter for wanting to stay there? Compare the transfiguration to tramping through the dust with Jesus, enduring the curses of the Pharisees, and it's not hard to empathize with Peter. But Jesus had good things in mind when He  took His disciples back to the daily struggles of life. There they had to learn to trust and depend on Him. Good training for when they would fulfill their mission of making disciples of all nations. God's still doing that with us today. There are times when He takes us to the mountain top, and we get a glimpse of His glory. We want to stay there, don't we? But Jesus gently takes us by the hand and leads us back down to the flat land, where we face the reality of living. And all the time He assures us that whatever we have to face there, He will get us through it. He will not leave us. "Come child," He says, "come down from the mountain top and learn to trust and depend on me. I will never leave you."

God's Detour

"Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 

Exodus 13:17

When God diverted the Israelites through the Sinai Desert, He used the experience to show them who He was and what He expected of them. For those individuals who obeyed Him, such as Joshua and Caleb, the Promised Land became their reward. Sometimes God takes us on a route that may not make sense. If we are ready to serve Him in a particular way, we may wonder why He doesn't let us go directly to our destination. When God takes us a different route, there's a good reason. He may slow us down until we're better prepared. If God has you on a detour, don't despair. Use the time to draw closer to Him and wait for Him to show you the next turn.

Power Walk

"Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."

Colossians 2:6

During a morning walk, my husband and I came across this tree with enormous roots. It reminded me of Paul's letter to the Colossians.   Our Christian walk begins when we receive Christ as Savior. But it doesn't stop there.  We need to be discipled so that our faith is firmly rooted.  Studying scripture, prayer, and fellowship with other Christians builds us up and establishes us in our faith. All this leads to a deeper relationship with Christ and we come to trust Him with all aspects of our life.  The more we trust, the more we realize His trustworthiness, and the more our gratitude overflows. When we walk in Christ, it's a power walk.

Securely on High

"Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; 

I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name." 

Psalm 91:14

God declares that it is our love for Him that touches His Father's heart, not our performance. His perfect love is not dependent upon us loving Him perfectly. When we set our hearts and minds to love Him, He moves to deliver us from evil. He sets the one who knows His name securely on high. "If we climb on high it may be dangerous, but if God sets us there it is glorious." -- Spurgeon.

He Has Dealt Well With Me

"You have dealt well with Your servant,
O LORD, according to Your word."
Psalm 119:65

There is a wonderful freedom that comes when we can say, "The Lord has dealt well with me."  This doesn't mean that He has given us a life without trouble or pain. I know of no Christian who can say they have lived without struggles of some sort. And the Lord Jesus Himself said, "In this life you will have trouble".  Recognizing that the Lord has dealt well with us goes far beyond our circumstances. It is a calm assurance that God is sovereign and gracious all at the same time. He never gives us more than He can handle. It is when our burdens are so great that we have nowhere else to go but to God that we begin to understand how dependable He is. And whether we come to the other side of our suffering still on this earth, or in Heaven, we can say with certainty, "Lord, You have dealt well with Your servant."