Capturing Wild Horses

Have you ever had one of those nights where you lay in bed tossing and turning because you just can’t turn your mind off? Everything suddenly comes front and center as soon as you lay your head on that pillow. My husband has more of a regular problem with insomnia than I do, but every once in a while I struggle with it as well.

Image by Emily Hopper from Pixabay

For many they can’t get to sleep at all; for others they wake up at about 3AM and can’t go back to sleep; still others sleep in fits and spurts interrupted by dreams, worries and night time trips to use the bathroom. What kind of a sleeper are you?

What about during the day time? Do you have trouble with your mind wandering when you try to sit down to have a quiet time with God? How about when you are out driving around? Have you ever suddenly had to ask yourself, where am I, because your thoughts were a million miles away, or your brain was trying to remember all the things on your to do list?

Image by inspirexpressmiami from Pixabay

These types of mind games are pretty ordinary for most people. Our lives are full of activity, responsibility, lists, and a long line of worries. God knows how important our minds are. He is the Creator. He designed the brain to be a complex web of cells and tissue that all work together to send messages 24/7 to the rest of our body. Our brains keep our lungs breathing, our hearts beating and every other organ working properly. If there is a misfire in our brain, the rest of the body will know.

God also created us in His image. We are meant to purpose, ruminate and understand. We are meant to create, love and explore. Unfortunately, just like our brains can run amok, our minds can also get off track and suddenly become like a herd of wild mustangs running from watering hole to watering hole trying to satiate an incredible thirst.

Image by B Snuffleupagus from Pixabay

Last night I was struggling with those wild mustangs. My mind flitted from one worry to another; one thing I needed to do to another task that waited to be done. The image of those wild horses running along the ocean on a sandy beach came to my mind: think Misty of Chincoteague. I read this book as a girl who grew up loving horses and my oldest daughter read this book as a girl who grew up loving horses.

I started to pray for each of the things my mind focused on and as I prayed God brought the vision to my mind of capturing the wild horses. Each thought was like a prancing filly or a rearing colt. In my imagination I saw myself lasso each of those thoughts with the tools God gave me and bring it in to the corral.

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”

— 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASB 1995)

It becomes problematic when we do not take those wild horses into captivity. When they are left to run free, the dust they leave in their wake becomes a wall; a wall that rises to heaven choking out our light and our ability to hear the master.

Before we look more closely at the above verse we need to see it in context.

“3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”

— 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NASB 1995)

Verses 3 and 4 remind us of several things:

1 - We walk in the flesh.

2 - We don’t fight according to the flesh.

3 - Our weapons are not of the flesh.

4 - Our weapons are divinely powerful.

5 - Our weapons are for the purpose of destroying fortresses.

Lest today’s post get too long, we will only look at the beginning of verse 5, then pick up the rest next time.

We are destroying speculations -

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

In order to understand, why Paul is embedding this verse in a group of verses that talks about spiritual warfare, we must understand what the word speculate means. Webster’s Online Dictionary has multiple definitions for this word and I think they all apply.

Intransitive verb:

1 - a. To Meditate or ponder on a subject. b. to review something idly, or casually and often inconclusively.

2 - To assume a business risk in hope of gain. (Often in something risky like stocks that fluctuate hoping to make a large short term profit.)

Transitive verb:

1 - to take to be true on insufficient evidence.

2 - to be curious or doubtful about.

Image by Szilárd Szabó from Pixabay

Speculation is not just thinking about something the way we might think about whether we should order a pizza for dinner or make a pot roast. Speculating has the idea of sitting on a topic for a while. In addition, it seems to allow for doubt, misunderstanding, and risk. When we think about the things that worry us we need to ask ourselves, are these things causing me to doubt God? Are my worries the result of not understanding who God truly is and the truth He brings us in His Word? Are my anxious thoughts driving me to take risks, make decisions and participate in things that God would have never wanted for us?

Other synonyms for the word speculate include: assume, conjecture, guess, imagine, suppose, surmise and suspect. Do these terms bring you peace and comfort? Do they help calm your fears and bring your worries to rest? No!

Next time we will will look further at why it is so important to capture those wild horses and destroy those speculations.

Have a great week.

Tended Dreams

This is a fiction piece by Amy D. Christensen

So many coffins! Why were there so many coffins?

Image by Lisa Yount from Pixabay

The One who stood beside me looked out over the vast area filled with every manner of death box imaginable. There were pine boxes, reminding me of the Old West, golden sarcophagi, dark cherry wood polished until it shimmered and many, many more. It would take days to count how many coffins filled the valley: literally a valley of dry bones. Here and there I could see beings of light, I assumed were angles, tending to the coffins.

“Who are they,” I asked looking up into his dark eyes.

They were brown, but seemed to be edged with golden light; a light that came from deep within His heart.

He smiled at me, though I could tell there was a deep sadness behind that smile. “Not who, but what?”

“I do not understand.”

Image by Jackson David from Pixabay

He took my hand, squeezing it firmly. It felt as though just a bit of strength tingled from his fingers into mine filling my whole body with warmth. It was as though someone had just draped a warm blanket over my shoulders.

“These coffins hold dreams.”

“Dreams?”

“Come. Let’s walk and I will show you.”

I was afraid. I had always been afraid to be around death. I never liked going to funerals and walking through grave yards was fine during the day when the sky was blue, but when the sun went down and the mists began to creep along the ground, no thank you! I planted my feet firmly.

He turned to look at me. “It will be alright. You are with me, and I would never let anything hurt you. Not any more.”

His eyes took in the depth of my soul. It was then I knew. He knew everything about me and yet, it was completely obvious how much He loved me.

“Come.” He smiled again and I let myself be pulled along.

We moved in among the elongated boxes and I couldn’t help but admire how intricately beautiful some of them were. Many were very simple and completely unadorned, while others had been carved and embellished with decorative swirls and etchings, some of which looked to be letters in various languages.

He stopped before a dark box whose wood was so polished and smooth I could see myself in it.

Image by composita from Pixabay

“This one belongs to a man who took great pride in his work. He built his own business from the ground up. When he met his wife, he knew he wanted to have a family. He wanted many children, hoping that a few of them would one day carry on the family business. His wife died in child birth. He never remarried and eventually sold the business.”

He moved me along to another box a little ways away. This one was much more ornate than the last one. It was covered in beautiful scroll work.

Image by JamesDeMers from Pixabay

“This one belongs to a woman who married young. She had dreams of becoming an archeologist, but her husband said her place was in the home with the children. She had a brood, and when there were no more children to be birthed, her husband left her for a younger woman.”

“How terrible!”

The next coffin he stopped before was smaller. Not the size of a child, but not a full adult either. It was white and decorated with pretty pink and yellow flowers.

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

“The girl whose dreams reside here was only 16 when a drunk driver took away her ability to walk. She wanted to be a dancer hoping that sad people would find joy in the movement of music and dance.”

He stretched out his hand and rubbed the top of the pretty box, as if remembering.

I felt my eyes sting with tears. He began to walk again and I pulled my hand from His.

“Why are you showing me these things?”

He did not speak. I could see tears in his own eyes. He held out his hand.

Once again, I placed mine in his and we walked for a while in silence.

The next box we stopped in front of was rather simple and unassuming. In fact as we had walked it occurred to me there were many coffins like this. They weren’t plain and simple like an Old West pine box, nor were they richly adorned. They were, in fact plain and unnoticeable.

“Why are there so many like these?”

He looked out over the valley, turning his head from one side to another. “These are the dreams of mothers for their children; wives for their marriages; grandmothers for their grandchildren. As is so often the case these go unnoticed. Mothers go about their lives, most often never asking for the help they need, the desires that go unmet and the thanks they so deserve. Unlike many, who have one major dream of what they want to do with their lives, mothers, wives and grandmothers often have the most dreams and, as you can tell by these coffins, so very many of them must be laid to rest.”

Image by Richard Mcall from Pixabay

“Well, if that’s the case, why aren’t their coffins more ornate and noticeable? Why are they so plain?”

“Because their desires were simple. They wanted their children to grow up without damage and problems. They wanted their husbands to talk to them. They wanted their families to get along…simple things really, yet so important. Unfortunately, very few take into account the dreams of a mother. They love her and are glad for her, but they rarely get to know the woman that she is underneath all that she does: the writer, the singer, the artist, the leader, the warrior. So very many dreams that had to die.”

“But why?” I was beginning to feel upset. “Why should they have to give up their dreams?”

“Because they knew what was really at stake. They knew that the most important part of life was relationship. They were willing to give up everything else, so that relationships with their children, husbands and grandchildren could continue. You see life is not about the dreams that come true, it is about the relationships that are built, or abandoned, along the way.”

He stepped away from the box. “Come. I have one last thing to show you.”

Again, he took my hand and once again I felt the mild tingle of His strength moving me forward and warming me.

The sight we came to next took my breath away. A sea of tiny, infant sized coffins, each adorned with a small, flickering candle, floated silently on a huge glassy lake. The light on each coffin produced a shimmering reflection in the surrounding water. It was all at once beautiful and horrifying.

Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

He sensed my discomfort and putting his arm around my shoulders, pulled me close.

“Even a baby has dreams. In the world as you know it, when babies are born they do not have language, but the truth is, all that are conceived have the imprint of heavenly language. It is in this realm that they dream. They dream of small things, but still they are dreams. Smiles, green grass, blue skies, their mother’s face, their father’s laugh, the feeling of human touch, but alas, none of these dear ones ever got to realize their dreams.”

I gasped, as the sea of coffins seemed to go on forever. Tears slipped down my face.

He turned me towards him.

“You have dreams too. I showed you all these things because I want you to know that each and every dream you have is important to me. Each and every dream that you must give up, I will know about and I will tend to. That is how much I love you!”

* * * * * * *

Often, when I write a piece like this, I feel it is God giving me a way to express my own feelings and thoughts, but in the form of a story. An allegory tells a story in the form of imagery. I hope that the picture I painted above shows you, that Jesus loves you with an everlasting love and that every single dream you have achieved, and every single desire you have had to give up, He is aware of and He holds in the palm of His hand. I write, because I need to remember this, and maybe you do too.

You are deeply loved!

O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

After a couple weeks away from Romans 8, I think it is time to get back to it. The last time we looked at this chapter we concentrated on only verse 31. Let’s just take a look back at that verse to get a running start.

Image by Marisa04 from Pixabay

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

— Romans 8:31 (NASB)

With everything that is going on in our world right now, this verse is so meaningful to me. In a world riddled with hatred for our fellow man, diseased by drugs, crime and violence, and put at risk by viruses that keep mutating and growing, it is good for my soul to know that God is for me. He is for you too. Let’s look at the next verse

“32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ”

— Romans 8:32 (NASB)

Let’s mull this over by taking this verse a phrase at a time.

He who did not spare His own Son…

The He referred to here is God the Father. His own Son is Jesus Christ. What did He not spare Him from? Death on the cross. If you are a Christ follower, then you understand the gravity of this phrase. God the Father, willingly gave His only son to face, not just death, but a criminal’s death on a cross of wood. There was no dignity or honor in this death, at least not to the Romans or the Jews at the time. This was no death on the battlefield fighting for the freedom of His fellow countrymen, or was it? Let’s look at the next phrase.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16 (NASB)

but, delivered Him over for us all…

I am immediately struck by the phrase, for us all. You see God did this for us. Jesus agreed to this for us. It was a necessity for us. This death, like the deaths of soldiers during the Revolutionary War and the deaths of soldiers during the Civil War, and the deaths of soldiers during WWI, and the deaths of soldiers during WWII, and on, was a life freely given to preserve others from death. These sacrifices were made for the benefit of humanity. Jesus died so that we might have life and have it more abundantly.

Image by Thomas Rüdesheim from Pixabay

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

— John 10:10 (NASB)

…how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Now that He has done such an amazing thing, will He not also give us what we need? He provides for our physical needs, but also our mental, emotional and spiritual needs.

“And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”

— Isaiah 58:11 (NASB)

Isn’t that verse amazing? How many of us are feeling lost, scorched, weary and weak? Yet His living word says He will guide us, satisfy us, and give us strength, and indeed He does. I don’t know how many nights I crawl into bed and think, there is no way, I can get up tomorrow and do this all over again, yet, His mercies are new every morning. Even more beautiful is the progression of this verse. He not only takes us from the dry scorched and weary place we find ourselves in, but He makes us like a vast, beautiful watered garden; like a living spring that will never run dry, as long as we are connected to Him.

He takes us from this:

Image by Greg Montani from Pixabay

To this:

Let me leave you with this music by Selah. Worship. He is worthy!

Walking with the Psalmist

When we take the time to look at the Psalms we can learn much about human behavior and about God. It is not my intent to look at every single Psalm, but pick and choose ones that have been meaningful to me in my walk with Christ. I grew up in a Christian home and made a commitment to Christ when I was twelve. Ever since I can remember, the Psalms were important to me. I have often felt that they enable the reader to see inside another human being and experience their emotions. While my spouse likes to jokingly call David, an emotional yoyo, many of the Psalms he penned were ones filled with the raw emotion of fear, guilt, anger and joy. 

In Psalm 1 we saw the comparison of the righteous man with the wicked. Today I would like to explore Psalm 8. This Psalm is titled, The Lord's Glory and Man's Dignity. It seems an appropriate header for a song that begins with the line, "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Thy name in all the earth..." (NASB) I thought this a beautiful Psalm to usher in the season of Spring and the coming of Easter. 

“O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!”

— Psalm 8 (NASB)

As usual, I like to pull the passage apart verse by verse.

Verse 1 

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,

This verse sets the tone for the passage. David immediately establishes the order of authority. God is Lord. He is our Lord. David also points out, God's name is majestic in all the earth. God is Lord over all people and all the earth. This is completely understood when we believe that God is our creator. The Maker is the One who created it all and because of that He is our Lord. We are His creation. We are not on the same level as Him. 

It is unfortunate in today's world that God's name has become a tool to be used, rather than a name that is honored and glorified. I have heard, even people who claim to be Christians, use God's name in vain. There is a commandment for that remember?

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”

— Exodus 20:7 (NASB)

God's name is majestic and should be spoken with reverence and love, not flippantly like so many others words in our language. 

Who have displayed your splendor above the heavens.

When i first became familiar with this psalm, I thought this was a question. I am much more aware of proper punctuation and grammar now, This would read more smoothly in both the NIV and the ESV - 

“You have set your glory
in the heavens.”

— Psalm 8:1 b (NIV)

“You have set your glory
in the heavens.”

— Psalm 8:1 b (ESV)

It is, no doubt, God, who sets the sun and the moon in their places. He dropped each star onto that blanket of blackness like a child playing with glitter glue. He is the one who places the rainbow in the sky and the planets in their orbits. Any sunrise or sunset I am privileged to witness, my mind immediately recites this first verse. 

Verse 2

Pixabay

From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength

It is fairly common for the Almighty God to use the weak things of this world to overcome the strong. 

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;”

— 1 Corinthians 1:27 (ESV)

Jesus used children to explain the simplicity of getting into heaven. 

“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.””

— Luke 18:17 (NASB)

Because of your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

God did this, because of His enemy, more specifically Satan. Over 2000 years ago a baby was born and laid in a manger. That baby was the only one who had and still has the capacity to make the enemy and the revengeful cease! 

Verse 3

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, 

The psalmist had no doubts about who created the world. He wasn't questioning the age of the earth or whether it was created in seven literal days or seven ages, he knew the world was the work of the One whose name was Majestic. He knew the moon and the stars were the work of His fingers. That knowledge made him shudder with humility.

Verse 4

What is man that You take thought of him and the son of man that You care for him?

The psalmist questions this God, whose name is Majestic, and so too should we. Who are we that God would take thought of us or that He would care for us? Yet He does. In fact....

Verse 5

Yet You made him a little lower than God

Whoa! Did you catch that? It doesn't say, He made us like pond scum. Evolutionists would like the world to believe that we came from just that, pond scum. But no! We are made only a little lower than God. How does that make you feel? It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, but also very humbled. God made us with intentionality to be only a little lower than His majesty! 

And You crown him with glory and majesty!

Pixabay

How about that? We get to be majestic too! He chooses to crown us with glory and majesty. Wow! That is really all I can say. Wow!

Verse 7 & 8

You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet,

I know there are people who take issue with this idea. I believe we are to treat all of God's creation with respect and dignity. I also believe in managing the creation we have been given and taking care of it, so yes, I eat meat, my husband hunts and we cut the grass. The verse plainly says that all things are subject to us and we are to rule over the works of His hands. That does not mean we are to abuse or misuse. He gave us this responsibility and that is exactly how we should treat it, as a responsibility, not a free for all. 

The psalmist then goes on to list some of the things that are under our rule.

All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heaven and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas. 

Pixabay

I am pretty sure when David penned these words he was thinking back to the story of Creation. He knew that man was made to take care of the earth and rule over it. This was a privilege and a joy. 

Finally, he bookends the psalm by repeating the opening phrase.

Verse 9

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth. 

I think this is a lovely psalm to memorize or at least read over on occasion, especially as the seasons change. The dark, drab, cold months will be giving way to the warm rains, flowers and sunshine of spring and then summer. Let's try to remember how incredibly blessed we are to not only be able to enjoy His creation, but also that our position is meant to be only a little lower than the Creator Himself. That gives us worth, value and hope! 

Have a great day. 

Just a Clay Pot

When I read this quote this morning, I thought it would be the perfect spring board for some thoughts on difficulty. It is hard in this day and age to not hear about, read about or personally experience difficulty. We have televisions, radios, computers, i-pads and phones keeping us aware, 24/7, of the pain and suffering going on in the world. Every time I get into my Yahoo email account I go through the home news page. The headlines are often sad, disturbing and even a little shocking. 

I don't know where you are at, but I don't need to read the headlines to understand pain and suffering. Each of us has a load to bear, a burden that seems to be permanently attached to our backs, much like the one Pilgrim had when he started his journey towards the celestial city.  When I read Oswald's words in the above quote, I think, "What? Seriously?" 

I have never thought of suffering as something to delight in! Grin and bear, struggle through, rant and cry, fall on my face....maybe, but delight? I don't think so. We might think that Oswald didn't get it, but he did. He served with the YMCA as a chaplain after the start of WWI in Cairo Egypt. He saw devastation, pain and suffering all around him. Oswald knew life was tragic. Yet, he was able to say that we should delight in difficulty. 

Pixabay

Is it scriptural? Read what Paul says.

“7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So death works in us, but life in you.”

— 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 (NASB)

I am sure these verses came to mind when Oswald preached on suffering. There are several things in this passage I would like to point out.

1. We are but dust. The treasure of the Gospel was entrusted to us. Salvation is given to us. From the beginning when God breathed life into dust, He knew that His most precious possession would one day be kept in clay pots. Clay pots can be busted, broken and ground back into dust. We are just that fragile. 

2. He is but God. It is His surpassing power and His greatness that formed the clay pot in the first place. It is His strength and might that enables the pot to hold the precious treasure of the Gospel. We would not have life, if it were not for Him. 

3. For every negative there is a positive. Look at the next few lines of this passage.

     Afflicted.....BUT NOT crushed.

     Perplexed...BUT NOT despairing.

     Persecuted...BUT NOT forsaken.

     Struck down...BUT NOT destroyed.

There is no doubt that affliction can cause us to feel crushed. Perplexity can create despair. Persecution can cause us to feel forsaken. Being struck down can make us feel as though we will never get up again. But God!

4. We are dying. This is not just the physical process that we are all destined to go through, the shutting down of our bodily systems. This is a spiritual dying to ourselves and our flesh. This is what Jesus died for, our death, so that we might live through Him. Our recognition of this death and subsequent life is the first step in being able to delight in suffering. When we know who we are and who Christ is, life can make sense even when it doesn't! 

5. Death to life. Jesus died on the cross and rose again. We will die one day, but we will also rise again. During our time on this planet we can make the choice to accept the fact that suffering is real, albeit painful, and that it is a sign of Christ's death being worked out in us, so that we can have life, His life, always and forever. Making this choice is often a hard one, but it gets easier the more times you do it. We do not have to be crushed, despairing, forsaken or destroyed. We can turn our thoughts and our eyes towards Him and we will be victorious. 

I believe this is what we can delight in.

What is the Point of Easter?

We live in a day and age where sin is no longer called sin. We classify, categorize and explain it away; or we don't talk about it. It doesn't matter how we define it, what God called sin from the beginning of time is, in fact, still skipping around on planet earth, just like those dust bunnies lurking under your fridge. Sure you can sweep them away; suck them up in your Hoover, but before you know it they will be back, breeding and growing.

I mean, what is the point of Easter? Colored eggs? Candy? A new dress? All those things are great, especially in the context of family, but that is not what Easter is about. Easter is about Jesus. Christmas is about Jesus. One is about life and the other about the death that leads to life. Without Jesus there would be no Easter. So what was that all about? The blood sacrifice, demanded by God, paid for by His only Son....It was because of sin. There! I said it! It was because of disobedience. Jesus died and rose again because of anger, rebellion, pride, gluttony, murder, rape, gossip, addiction, adultery, bullying, incest and a plethora of others.

So today, in this month, when we think about, ponder and celebrate Easter, ask yourself, "Why?" I'm celebrating because I believe in a God who is so good, not only did He love me in my most pitiful, dark and sinful state, but He provided a way out of it.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 - NESV)

Photo Credit: Rebecca Trumbull

Exclusivity? Absolutely. Show me a belief system that is not is some way exclusive. But in Christianity we are not able to cross the gap that came about because of sin and it separates us from God. Only Jesus can do that. That is what Easter is all about.

Let's Talk about Love

With Valentine's Day coming up it seems appropriate to talk about love. Have you ever been kissed by God? Some of you know exactly what I mean....others, well you may be starting to wonder if marijuana was legalized in my state and have I been smoking it. I assure you, the closest I come to drug use is the caffeine in my tea and Diet Coke and the euphoria I feel when I find a good deal at a thrift store!

The truth is, God loves you. Jesus loves you. John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world...." That means you. His Spirit waits with bated breath to love on you, minister to your needs and tell you once again, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." He never tires of telling you. He never stops wanting you. He will never abandon you. He is the Great Warrior Prince who desires to sweep you off your feet.

Some of you may be thinking, "Okay, this is getting a little weird for me. I mean really, God isn't that personal or intimate, is He? Isn't He hanging out, up there in heaven, judging my mistakes and my sins, just waiting for the day when He can squash me, or pull the rug out from under my feet because I am such a failure?"

Our view of God is often skewed by our relationships with our own earthly fathers. Many of our dads worked hard, and came home to fall asleep on the couch, not sweep our mom's off their feet, or pick us up and twirl us around like we were their little princesses. They were removed from us and rarely did they get in our faces to tell us they loved us. 

Photo Credit: Rebecca Trumbull

As I have grown in my walk with Christ, I have come to realize God is so much more than what I think. The Bible gives us a picture of who God is, but even that, limited by human language, does not fully unveil the awesomeness of the Almighty. As I have mentioned before, I am all about layers and I believe God  has layers too. It is through obedience to Him that we are drawn deeper into those layers.

Look at His many names. How do we fathom a God of pure holiness with a God of tenderest love? How does a God of terrible judgment line up with a God of child-like delight? As we come to know His character, He leads us. The road wanders through mountaintops and valleys, across oceans and rivers, into caves and under buildings, but each place He leads is a chance to choose. Will I love the unlovely? Will I go the higher road? Will I rejoice when my heart is heavy? Will I pray when worry has become my new companion? Each time I follow His word, do His will, walk in His Spirit, He pulls me in like the gentlest lover, bringing me to new levels of delight and joy.

And in a sense, my obedience is my kiss back.