Hammer on Anvil '

I was reading the sixth chapter of Galations last week. (It's a good book. I highly recommend reading the whole thing.) It's all stuff I've read before, but this time some of the verses really jumped out at me. Mainly, the first couple:

Brothers, if any is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

These two verses are about how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ. As believers, we expect more from our Church family, and we should. But that doesn't mean that when someone commits a sin we severely rebuke and excommunicate them; we must build them up with love.
In Martin Luther's commentary, he writes that Paul is not talking about doctrinal errors, but of the transgressions committed from giving in to our fleshly nature. If a brother or sister does something they shouldn't and repents of it, then those who are stronger must help that person get back on track. I'm not saying that whoever sins is so much weaker than those who help them, but in those moments we feel incredibly weak and should look to those who maybe don't have a problem with the same kind of sin, or have overcome it in the past. Don't be afraid to seek out help. It may be embarrassing or shameful, but chances are pretty good that the person you go to has committed some embarrassing and shameful sins as well. And if they want to rebuke you and just make you feel bad instead of helping to build you back up, find someone else. I hope no one thinks I mean to find someone who dismisses the sin, saying it's no big deal. It's just that after someone truly repents of what they did and doesn't want to do it anymore, what they need is help, not condemnation.
As it says in verse two, we are to bear each other's burdens. We are supposed to help our brothers and sisters with all of their burdens. Whether the burden is sin, financial, grief, anything, we are to help. If we do this, we fulfill the law of Christ. According to Luther, the law of Christ is the law of love. In John 13:34-35, Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." So let's commit to helping out our Christian family. Be there for them, help them. In other words, love them.

Our church has been doing a study about what you need to carry around with you in life, taking Colossians 3 as its base scriptures. The sermons have really been hitting home and it's been awesome watching God work in our individual lives as a body of believers.

Also, it's been incredibly painful.

"Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful" (Colossians 3:12-15).

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid" (Proverbs 12:1). And if that one doesn't smack you in the face, read Proverbs 13:4, too.

Yep, that's Mama and Papa D and all seven of us.

At five years old I had life pretty figured out. I was going to be the world's first dinosaur-digging, award-winning writer/detective/historian/fashion designing/lounge singing/artist, stage and screen legend and obvious a Jedi that owned a coffee/bakery/comic shop. I was going to be a massive success and, of course, it all was going to happen before I turned the ancient age of 25.

When my mother was five, she would have practically told you the same thing, but when she lost her own mother at the age of 13, her priorities shifted. As tragedy hit her family, God illuminated her heart and sparked a ministry. She knew she was born to raise up others; she knew she was created to be a mother.

When she met and married my dad, they shared the same goal of being parents and hoped to raise a large family together. Months into their marriage, however, they found out that they were both unable to have children of their own. Devastated, they fasted and prayed, and yet still felt God was calling them to be parents. God opened a door and my parents moved to Alaska and ran a foster home to 13 Tlingit Tribe children.

My parents believed that the call of being a parent is more than just physically having children; it's a ministry of pouring a foundation and building others up.

Mom and Dad worked in Alaska for five challenging, yet joyful years. But when Mom discovered she was, in fact, pregnant, she was considered high-risk, and the doctors insisted she move to a more stable climate with better access to doctors. My parents were reluctant to leave the foster home, but God provided another loving couple to take their place. Knowing God was leading them into a new adventure, they moved back to Washington, and within that year my brother John was born. My parents then went on to have Elizabeth, Matthew, Andrew, Timothy, Rebekah and me.

Over the next 30 years, Mom and Dad became parents to hundreds. Not just to us, but our friends, and their friends and anyone who needed to be spurred on and encouraged. They loved, prayed and raised up anyone, because they believed they had that call.

My parents were created to be parents. They worked tirelessly, making sure they invested into each of our lives daily. They poured a foundation of faith and reassured us, always, that with God all things are possible. When I told them what I wanted to do with my life they encouraged me to "Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalms 37:4)

On Valentine's Day, my husband and I took the States (what we call our children) to a local pizza buffet/arcade center. Incredible Pizza wasn't extremely busy, because most couples opt for more romantic settings for Valentine's dinner, but there were several families with the same idea we had, so we had to stand in line to order. While we waited, the man behind us began to huff and puff about the wait. His grumbling became more audible as minutes passed, and he got to a point where he was actually complaining about the fact "so many children" were there. Yeah, um, it's a pizza place with  bumper cars. Kids are to be expected, Reginald Grump.
 
The only jobs I've ever had were in retail/customer service, so my heart began to feel burdened for the one person manning the counter and the super grumps he would have to serve. To make matters more chaotic, there was some hubbub over a gluten-free pizza order. It became apparent that the guy behind the counter was actually the manager, and he was literally doing four jobs at one time. I've been there before, so I tried to be patient and extra kind to the manager when it was our turn at the register. Shortly after we ordered our game cards and began to proceed to buffet glory, we heard the man behind us yell once more at the obviously overworked manager because he had to wait, like everyone else.

Ugh. I so often want to hit those types of people in the face with a chair, but that sorta negates the "be kind" mission I am on. So I just said a quick prayer for peace for the manager and I gave Reginald Grump the "you're in trouble" glare I have mastered since being a mother.

With pizza consumed, I made a dash to the dessert buffet for a gooey cinnamon roll and cup of coffee. The Reginald Grump, as now he will be forever called, was standing at the other side, complaining about the lack of options on the buffet. There were, no joke, four huge covered tables brimming with food. This guy was just a complainer and we all know how God feels about complainers (Numbers 14). I don't like confrontation and I knew that nothing I could say could melt Reginald Grump's cold heart, so I did what any respectful lady tempted to reprimand would do: I glared more intensely and slowly shook my head at him. Then I saw it: He was wearing a Christian t-shirt.

Rage. There is no excuse for his behavior, but the fact he had a shirt on that claimed my Savior makes his offense absolutely grave. People, this is the image of the American Christian church. To the world we are huffed up on ill-perceived holiness, boasting about a generic faith through copyright infringement t-shirts and impossibly hateful attitudes. Our shirts say "Jesus," but our actions yell "@%#*%$*." That's taking the Lord's name in vain, friends. We have got to stop it.

Believers, the sub-culture we have created by playing it safe has left us with a great void of actual culture and no sense of how to treat people. Our idea of "edginess" is stealing junk food slogans and adding Jesus, and we think that since our clothing boasts His name, we don't actually have to be kind to others. That's absurd. We are supposed to, as believers, have a direct line to the Creator, so why, WHY are we so sans creativity and compassion?

True talk: I tried to listen to our local Christian radio station last week. Two songs in and I was running to my Macklemore Pandora playlist for some much needed flavor. Seriously, our faith looks bland, boring and apparently real grumpy. That's crazy, guys. We are doing this all wrong.

Church, the things we did, and often still do, to separate ourselves from nonbelievers are pretty much what the Pharisees were doing all along. Read Matthew 6 and tell me that is not how the American church sounds. It's true and if it hurts your feelings, you are in good company. I can't tell you how much I want to break free from the chains of bland faith, boring culture and safe worship. Seriously, I have had enough. If the Lord is not present in how we treat others or how we talk to strangers, then there is nothing that separates us from nonbelievers. Just because you wear that t-shirt, or go to church, or think Halloween is evil does not make you a Christian. It's His presence in our life, in our actions, in how we treat others, that sets us apart.

Look at the example Jesus gave us! How did he treat others? With grace and compassion. For everyone. Sure, He turned the tables over, but read the words in Matthew 21. He was angry at the church -- at the people who claimed to be set apart, but did not have the Lord's presence in their lives. Friends, revival is coming. If we don't change, God is gonna start flipping tables over.

In my church we are going through some hefty changes and transitions. God is renovating people, cleaning house and making His presence known, but with revival comes opposition from the enemy. And boy howdy do I feel it. Believers, there is no simple way to say it: If you are making efforts to be closer to the Lord, you will be attacked. If you are not being attacked you are playing it safe and are not considered a threat. I can say, most certainly, that my church is under attack and I know it's because the people are crying out for the Lord and abandoning the things we thought set us apart. As soon as we began to press into the Lord, we started seeing the individual attacks from the destroyer. Health, finances, cars, relationships. Things are getting wonky. Or as my friend said during her recent attack, "Whoa. Things is gettin' real." But we knew this was going to happen. Spiritual warfare is real, so put on the armor of God and quit complaining. Yes, things are difficult, but odd as it sounds, we should be encouraged with these attacks. It means we are doing something right.

I want to encourage you. Simply, act like Jesus, don't wear t-shirts that say Jesus, but look like the Reese's slogan. Seek the Lord and make your faith mean something -- something that can't be bought at mall kiosk. But remember when your faith means something you become a threat and you will be attacked. That's going to suck, but you will develop perseverance and when perseverance is complete you will be mature, lacking in nothing (James 1:1-8). And let's call it like it is, Reginald Grump was immature and lacking in lots. Friends, don't be that guy. Our churches are overflowing with those people. Let's start clothing ourselves in the character of Christ and leave the embarrassing shirts in the rubbage bin where they belong.

 "Angel, he died years before you were even born," my sympathetic Mother soothed. I was devastated. My husband material was worm food by now! I went back to my room and wrote a poem about sadness, and then ate shortbread cookies with my stuffed bear, Betty. I checked into Heartbreak Hotel and lamented for a good 20 minutes. (Five year old hearts heal remarkably fast.)

In the following years on Valentine's Day I would swoon or mope (depending on the year) over various crushes. I did eventually meet a funny kid who liked Jesus and punk rock, and soon we were planning a wedding. But a month before the wedding, my man, panicked from my craziness, ran back to the arms of a former girlfriend. My heart was broken, my wedding was off and I had no idea who the heck Hannah was anymore. In those following days of depression and rage, I cut my arms up into hamburger meat and prayed to meet a quick demise. Luckily, those plans failed too. (I am not trying to downplay the severity of my depression, but that is another blog for another day.) I knew I was out of my mind, and at that point I was absolutely willing to try anything to heal the hurt. The next day I abruptly quit my job at the comic shop and joined what I jokingly call, "Jesus Jail."

I want to make this abundantly clear: Those were the worst consecutive nine months my life. It wasn't just the program or the time mending from a broken heart of a failed relationship. No, it was all of it, wrapped up in my suffocating vanity and blinding pride.

In Jesus Jail program we all signed this deal saying we wouldn't date. No dating? Easy Peasy. I was done with that. I resigned to becoming a quintessential old maid. I tried to get a long with this new group of peers, but my outsider nature quickly outed me as one of two freaks Bible School. The other freak was named Doug. With my piercings and his tattoos we were commonly (if not always) placed together, behind the scenes, away from the peering eyes of potential Jesus Jail recruits. We spent almost every day together doing the crap jobs the pretty people who loved Carman interpretative dance (also called "human videos") didn't have time to do. We quickly became sarcastic comrades. Honestly, Doug is easy to love. I watched him work, sometimes days without sleep, to help others -- who were terrible to him -- with their jobs and responsibilities. He never complained; He always helped. He listen to my revenge-filled ramblings and quietly brought rational words to my raging heart. His sense of humor was spot on for sparring and yet his thoughtfulness and compassion was darn near intoxicating. Simply, Doug is just an all around good guy. It wasn't long before I considered Doug one of my very best friends.

 Halfway through the program, however, our friendship became quite the scandal ... And then my angst-filled journal was found and apparently read by some of the leaders. They knew I hated the program, but to openly admit I liked Doug in my personal journal?! Surely, this meant Doug and I were in an illicit affair, right?! From that point on, daily, I was brought into rooms and asked to confess my love for Doug. It was the Spanish Inquisition of the dating realm.

After five weeks of verbal beat-downs, though, I began to think, "Maybe I do like Doug." Essentially, just being around Doug made me want to be a better person. His faithfulness and joy melted my bitterness and made be believe there were places that weren't here. So, yeah. Yeah. I guess I did like Doug. Days after this personal realization, we were both embarrassingly brought into a big room together and told by a panel of grumpy leaders that we were no longer allowed to talk each other. Not only that, we weren't even supposed to be in the same room together anymore. They said Doug and I were breaking this covenant with God and we needed to be punished. I believed they were intensely overreacting, but I obliged their insanity, and wrote him letters with the little bits of free time I had. No, I didn't sneak the letters to him, because I tend to be a rule follower, even if the rules are asinine.

The day we graduated Jesus Jail, my mother hosted a wee party to celebrate the end of my incarceration.  She knew all of Doug's family was from out of town, so she invited them for snacks and sass you can only experience at my parents' home. We ate, laughed and rejoiced. I decided to take my manila envelope of letters and finally give them to my friend. To my surprise, this handsome, kind man was holding a manila envelope of his own. Letters he had written to his friend, when we were not allowed to talk. My mind was blown. We laughed and read our letters and then we made a deal of our own that someday we would make all this hurt and crazy make sense.

Doug and I will be married 10 years this October. Our marriage and our life has not been without trials, but my goodness, what a joy to have Doug beside me through it all. Doug met me at the worst point of my life. He saw all of it, out there, fighting for myself, while fighting against a system. He saw all of it and liked me anyway.

That is how love feels. It's a friend who loves at all times. It's not Valentine's Day, or chintzy cards. It's not candy, or Elvis Presley. It's not dream weddings or perfect dates. It's someone seeing the big, the bad, and the real crazy and kindly saying, "I've been there too. Now, let's go somewhere else together."

The moment I realized Doug was the right man for me was the moment he demonstrated all of 1 Corthinians 13 by simply being my friend. Doug loves God so completely that when he loves, he shows you the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father. I pray you know people like that in your life. I pray you strive to be one of those people.

Today, on a day that is meant to celebrate all things love, I urge you to choose to show love by simply being a friend.

Read with me:

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

 (1 Corinthians 13:1-7).

Sesha here!  Nick's still right in the middle of intense pilot stuff...eeek!  My heart is not geared towards that kind of responsibility.

I thought I share a wee something that I've been seeing out and about the last several years.  This started back when I was in a season of struggle and heartbreak, and the Lord revealed himself so sweetly, just when I needed it.  It was like he was saying "Sesha...I love you!"

Anytime I've seen one of these, it's been such a natural response to say: "I love you too!"

May you see & hear the Lords love all around you, each and everyday in the way that your heart has been created to hear it!

Gal 5:13-For you were called to freedom, brothers; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
 
     In Philippians, Paul talks about Jesus’ willing sacrifice of service to mankind. Chapter 2, verses 6-7 say this:  “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of man.” Jesus set the example for us. And if we truly have Him in our hearts and lives, then service is our truest desire.
     A true servant’s heart is not something that can be turned off and on at will. Evidence of a servant’s heart will spill out of you wherever you go. Probably, names come easily to your mind of people in your church who have a servant’s heart.  They are the people who are always gracious, always willing to jump in and help in any situation. They are the people who embrace God’s will for their lives, and use their gifts to God’s glory.
     Much emphasis is put these days on international missions. There is always availability to sign up for a short-term mission trip to Mexico, China, or elsewhere. While I agree that this is important, I believe we are missing something. In Acts 1:8, Jesus instructs this: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Many American Christians today are doing a great job serving their Samaria and "ends of the earth", but are completely missing their Jerusalem. Think about this: When was the last time you served your home church? Your youth group? Your family?
     People don’t expect others to serve them. We live in a selfish, self-serving world. When we as Christians refuse to conform, and instead, put others’ needs ahead of our own wants and desires, we make people think. We make them wonder why we would make a sacrifice for them. And the people who know us best; who know our selfish inner person, will be the most impacted by our service. 

      And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

My friend expressed to me that he didn't understand why the other driver was so rude: there was nothing he could have done to get out of the guy's way, why couldn't he see that?
I have written about 1 Corinthians 13 before. "Love is patient, love is kind..." Many of us don't realize this is the most important concept in the Bible. Let's put two and two together here: Christ took our punishment and died for us, who was the embodiment of God, Who is Love. So in theory, we could exchange "Love" for "God" in all these verses. When Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, He is challenging us to love like God does. This love is sacrificial; it has no place in the same breath as "me first".

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.-Matthew 12:30


The greatest commandment: Jesus said so. God has given us everything, including His only Son's life. In return, this is what He asks from us: love, defined in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. In a nutshell, it's patience, kindness, gentleness, peace-loving, not selfish, always bearing everything. True love is everything we are not, which is precisely why God instructs us to do it with all everything within us. It takes everything within us to overcome our sinful selves to even come close to the mark.


No matter the truth of God's love for us, showing this kind of love to Him is not easy. God does not come down from Heaven to chat with us. He does not buy us presents or send us cards. In this world of analytical thinking, God's blessings can be claimed as luck, fate, good karma, or the reward for our own hard work. He is not visible to us in our daily lives unless we are seeking Him.


We cannot love someone we do not know. We also can't follow someone if we don't know where they went. Scripture gives us beautiful insight into God's character and Jesus' mission. It tells us the kind of things we would seek to know about a person if we were looking for a relationship. The Bible retells epic love stories of God and His people. It tells of the kind of love story God wishes to have with us. It tells us what Jesus would do. Unfortunately, we can't experience this relationship with a Sunday commitment.


Each day we live without God is a day lived without love, without direction. Hebrews 4:12 says, 'For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.' Scripture has something important to say to us every day. When we fail to give God some of our undivided attention, we lose focus quickly, and we fall off the Lord's path for us. Then we find ourselves in trouble.

It's the goal of our lives to learn who God is. When we learn who He is, we can begin to understand His love for us. Living in relationship with the Lord is this kind of process. Understanding God's love in the face of our sinful nature helps us to learn to show His love to others. When we give up our selfish nature and learn to love like God, we find ourselves in the center of His will.

Don't fail to recognize where the journey begins. It's in the Lord's Holy Word.

You might be a grammar nerd if...

• you mentally edit what your friends are saying.
•  you use proper punctuation/capitalization in text messages, instant messaging, etc.
• your extensive vocabulary confuses those around you.
• you actually know the rule behind when to use "who" and "whom."

I don't believe I go overboard, but I am a bit of a grammar nerd. In conversation I will (half) jokingly correct a friend that uses "good" when they should have used "well." I leave them there anyway, but I feel a bit guilty for a dangling preposition. More important than the negative side, I find language enjoyable and some of my favorite jokes/puns are play on words.

A friend posted to this to my wall the other day.

Jesus freak. Bible thumper. Holier-than-thou. HYPOCRITE.

Christians have been called these names and more by unbelievers since Christianity began. Many of the lost people in our world harbor anger against us because they recognize unresolved sin in their lives. Others hate us simply because we are. But sometimes, their dislike is justified.

Obviously, we can point to the extremists in this world and place some blame on them for tarnishing the image of Christ-followers. The "church" that has made it their goal to protest funerals of war veterans are clearly not following the teachings of The Most High. Picketers carrying signs saying, "God hates fags" seem to have never read about the boundless love God has for all His children-believer or not. However, that is not the whole story.

Christians are sinners just like non-believers. We still wrestle with God for control of our lives, and no matter how hard we try to resist, we will all continue to be sinners until the Lord brings us home. Through God's grace, we are restored to Him, and we are given Heaven as our eternal home. Sometimes, we forget to acknowledge these truths.

How many times I have heard someone describe a church they have visited as "closed-off", "uninviting",or "intimidating". This is such a sad testimony to our Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus never brushed off anyone or refused to make Himself available to those who sought Him. I truly believe that the God who made Himself man and gave up everything for us is saddened when He sees the lost turned away from establishments proclaiming to be His house.

Individually as believers, we cannot refuse to associate with the lost. That puts off an attitude of "I'm better than you." Jesus ate and stayed with corrupt men and prostitutes. Imagine what society would think of that! What Jesus did not do was allow that corruption to affect Him. He lovingly called sinners to a higher standard of behavior-He called them to follow Him.

I think we all need to look closely at our public demeanor. We need to prune out attitudes and actions that would cause unbelievers to describe us in one of the ways listed above. LOVE should permeate our lives, and should be evident in our speech, our actions, and our relationships. Take a look today at 1 Corinthians 13 and pick out some of those characteristics which may not apply to you. Ask the Lord to change your heart and give you those attitudes, so that we can fulfill The Great Commission in our homes and communities.

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. vv.3-8

Cupcake anyone?

English can be a frustrating language. Working at the bakery, I've come to hate the F-word. Not that one, but the word fresh. People ask if the stuff in the case is fresh, but they do not in fact know what they are asking. If by fresh they mean straight out of the oven, possibly. If baked that day, the answer is yes. Most often, I think they are asking if it is "not stale," but then the answer would be, of course, yes. I once ate a coffeecake that was five days old and still tasted fresh.

The point of this small rant is first to express my irritation with the F-word but more than that to show the trouble we have at times in English. We can not use some words as accurately or concisely as is necessary. So we have to add qualifying sentences to fully express ourselves. This happens often with the word love.

Last week I asked if Love is all we really needed and if Lennon and Jesus are talking about the same thing. Now I could explain about how in Greek there is 3 (or 4) loves , φιλεο, αγαπε, and ερος (στοργε) but that would be to miss the point.

When I ask if there is a difference between how the world loves and how the Christian should love, is it more than just a matter of definition?

The last two weeks, we’ve been talking about the coming of Christ. The Advent season is near, and the weeks leading up to Christmas can go by so fast for us living on Earth. More than anything, I wanted to slow down this time and savor it for what it is in the midst of what it's not. Week one discussed the many miracles God displayed to bring about the birth of Jesus. On week two, we talked about the relationship God wants to have with us through Christ. This week, we’re going to talk about why God would go to such lengths for us.

The simple answer, in one word, is love. God loves us so much He doesn’t want to live without us. No matter what we’ve done, no matter how far we have walked away from our relationship with our Heavenly Father, he wants to see us restored to Him.

That simple concept is not the whole story, though. The disadvantage to this is that we have to dig into God’s Word to find the complete truth. The beautiful advantage is that when we explore it, we can’t deny how uncomprehendingly special God has made us.

In Jeremiah 1:5, God tells the prophet, “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” David understood the central role that God played in his life: “You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well.” Psalm 139: 13-14

We are chosen by the Creator of the Universe to be His children. He lavishes His love on us, and will guide our every step. He gives us the Holy Spirit to live within us, to give us power to live a free, abundant life. Psalm 139:8-10“If I go up to the Heavens, you are there. If I lie down in the grave, you are there. If I rise with the sun in the east, and settle with the sun in the west beyond the sea, even there you would guide me. With your right hand, you would hold me.” He will never leave us, and He has made us holy through Christ who died for us.

The birth of Christ was the single most important event in the history of mankind. Everything that happened before and all that came after was divinely ordered. That includes you: whether you were born into riches or poverty, planned by your parents or conceived unknowingly, God planned you. Whether your childhood was happy or troubled, no matter if you chose the wrong road, God has a plan for the rest of your life as well. Accept Christ’s gift of life this Christmas, and begin experiencing the peace that surpasses understanding.

I've been poring over some verses in Jeremiah this week, wondering how God wants me to respond to them. As I read Mike Johns' blog 'drifting', I was once again blessed at being witness to the way He works in our lives. So, without any foreknowledge of what Mike was planning to write; I'd like to submit a follow-up to his words.

Jeremiah 3:12-14a
"Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. Tell them, 'Come back to me, wayward Israel,' says the Lord. 'I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful,' says the Lord. 'I will not be angry with you forever. However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands,' says the Lord. "Come back to me, my wayward sons," says the Lord, "for I am your true master."

I love the tone of these words. There is so much love in this message from God to Israel. It doesn't matter to Him how far they've drifted, or for how long. He only wants them back, in His arms. The message is one of pleading: "I won't even be mad. Just don't stay away!"

It's the same with us today. We drift away from time to time. We allow ourselves to get distracted, and we slide into sin without even realizing it. Despite this tendency, God loves us. He knows we're going to wander off and get lost. That's why He pursues us. He shouts our names, calling us back to Him, and all He asks in return is that we confess that we've let ourselves get off track. That we acknowledge we have hurt Him, and ask for Him to forgive us.

God is the parent of a billion prodigal sons. "All of us like sheep have gone astray, seeking our own way. We've left the shepherd's care again." Like the father in Jesus' story in Luke, our Father shows His delight when we return to Him. "Paddle back, my beloved son."