Tag: An Invitation to Abundant Grace!

God’s Ageless Grace Brings Purpose. 2 Timothy 1:8-12

God’s extravagant grace was present before the beginning of time, has been revealed in Jesus, and continues unchanged and unchangeable for eternity.

Can we somehow, in someway, finally let God’s grace overwhelm us today?

2 Timothy 1:8-12 English Standard Version

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to[a] a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,[b] 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.[c]

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Grace is a gift most of us do not know how to receive.

We’ve been so inundated with our earthly systems of give-and-get and work-and-earn that grace is a concept few ever fully grasp.

Yet it’s grace alone that has the power to transform lives.

Grace alone has the power to bring freedom to the captives.

By grace alone we are saved.

There could be no better use of our time than consistently and passionately pursuing a greater revelation of God’s grace.

I remember becoming transfixed with the transforming power of grace while watching and then re-watching the movie Les Miserables.

Jean Valjean was arrested for stealing a simple loaf of bread.

Finally released after 19 years in prison, he could not find any place to stay until a Bishop graciously offered him lodging.

But then Valjean stole some silver from the Bishop’s home and fled.

Captured by the authorities next day, he was brought back to face the Bishop.

But instead of accusing him, the Bishop said he had given Valjean the silver, and then in addition to the silver, Bishop also gave Valjean two silver candlesticks.

Overwhelmed with the extravagance of grace, Valjean’s priorities changed.

He surrendered his life to God and worked to help others.

God’s extravagant grace was present before the beginning of time, has been revealed in Jesus, and continues unchanged and unchangeable for eternity.

Can we somehow, in someway, finally let God’s grace overwhelm us today?

Transformation-Extravagant Purposeful Grace

2 Timothy 1:8-12 The Message

8-10 So don’t be embarrassed to speak up for our Master or for me, his prisoner. Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was all his idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. But we know it now. Since the appearance of our Savior, nothing could be plainer: death defeated, life vindicated in a steady blaze of light, all through the work of Jesus.

One of the greatest gifts we have been given by God is purpose.

From the time of Adam, God has always made clear the purposes we were created for.

In Genesis 1:28 God says, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

Throughout time our purposes have changed, but God has made it clear that we all are to have lives that are valuable and effective.

Have you lived days where you’re simply going through the motions?

Have you had days where you feel as if what you do doesn’t matter?

Those days in my life are my absolute worst.

It is clear I would rather go through trial and persecution with purpose than live a meaningless day.

It’s in purpose we find satisfaction.

In purpose we find out our lives matter.

And in purpose we discover the reason we were created.

2 Timothy 1:9 says, “[God] saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” 

Because of God’s grace and purpose we have been called to a life of wonderful and satisfying works.

The Bible teaches us a truth in opposition to the teachings of the world.

The world says to work enough to live a life of comfort and ease.

Work is done for the purpose of relaxation and comfort.

God says that we are created for a life of eternal value in which everything we do is to have purpose higher than our own comfort and relaxation.

God has placed highest value and worth on our lives to an extent we have yet to discover.

He has a plan and purpose for your life that God’s assigned to no one else.

Our life is meant to make an eternal impact for his kingdom which will reign for all time.

But in his grace God has also given you control of your own life.

You can choose to live your life according to his purposes or your own.

And you can choose to pursue comfort and meaningless relaxation or a life of true rest and satisfaction that comes only from living entirely for God.

My fervent hope is that in looking at two purposes God has for our life, we will choose to live our lives completely with and only for our heavenly Father.

And in doing so, we will steadily discover the incredible joy and passion and the purpose the Holy Spirit longs to birth in you and bring to maturity for the Lord.

The first purpose for which we were created is abiding relationship with God.

Jesus says in Mark 12:30, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” 

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says it this way: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

Loving God is your highest calling, and in loving God we will experience the fullest joy and satisfaction available.

When you stand before God in judgment, God will not look for our possessions, promotions, or social status, but rather at the fervor with which you loved Him.

We will be rewarded for acts of love, not self-seeking glorification.

And this chief purpose of loving God is the only path to the abundant life he has in store for you here.

The second purpose for which we were created is loving others in response to your love for God. Mark 12:31 says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” 

Acts 26:16 says, “But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.” 

We are called to love others out of the amazing love we’ve been shown by God.

As our hearts and souls are filled with love for God through their encountering God in their secret places, we will be filled with a longing to see his desires for others around us come to fruition.

God’s greatest longing is for relationship with his crown of creation, and God wants to use us to guide others to himself.

In loving others we will discover the incredible satisfaction of seeing the lost and hurting be found and healed.

Incredible passion and irrepressible joy comes from seeing a life transformed through the Holy Spirit interceding, ministering, working in and within us.

How incredible is the grace of our God that his purposes would be entirely rooted in love.

We who are God’s Children are called to simply love him and others with the very first love we have been shown.

He’s like a father who gives his children money to buy him a present.

He fills us with the love and enjoyment he feels for us, and then in response we can love him and others.

He fills us with the breath of life and then patiently waits for us to live our life as a beautiful song of praise and worship unto him.

May we finally come to experience today all that God’s grace has afforded us.

May we finally choose drop all of our lame pretenses to imitate, choose to live our lives with purpose and passion that only comes from loving him and others.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire to lead you to a life of abundant purpose.

“[God] saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” 2 Timothy 1:9

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.” John 15:16

2. Reflect on your own life. 

Where have we been living with the purposes of the world rather than God?

In what areas are you living for yourself rather than him and others?

And in what areas of your life do you feel meaningless and passionless?

3. Receive the rejuvenation that comes from living with his purposes as your chief goals. 

Allow God to gradually but steadily revive relationships that seem to be tired, without purpose and without passion – feel empowered for God and neighbor.

Allow God to fill you with desire for your work, friendships, or marriage.

Ask for the Holy Spirit to reveal specific ways he desires to use you today.

Psalm 36:5-6 The Message

5-6 God’s love is meteoric,
    his loyalty astronomic,
His purpose titanic,
    his verdicts oceanic.
Yet in his largeness
    nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,
    slips through the cracks.

The passion and purpose God has for us never ceases.

There will be days or seasons God leads us to rest for the purpose of renewing, loving, and filling us, for empowering us, for inspiring us, for transforming us.

There will be times of work and striving, of trials and of hardships in various and diverse manifestations, in which God purposes to mold, shape, and use us.

Psalm 138 English Standard Version
Give Thanks to the Lord

Of David.

138 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
    before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted above all things
    your name and your word.[a]
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
    my strength of soul you increased.[b]

4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Wherever God is leading any one of us today, choose to believe trust that God absolutely has only the very best best plan and purpose for you.

Come, Holy Spirit, breathe on me, that I may Choose to live your life with God’s purposes weaved deeply and intricately weaved within my heart and within my soul, and may I experience the passion that can only be found in living for God. Father, focus our eyes and our ears on your extravagant grace. May we become spellbound with the mercy of Jesus Christ so that we offer ourselves totally to your service. Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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When We Feel Stuck, When We Are Not At All Convinced We Can Still Make a Difference With Our Life. John 21:15-19

John 21:15-19 Amplified Bible

The Love Motivation

15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these [others do—with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [a]love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16  Again He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with a deep, personal affection for Me, as for a close friend]?” Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you [really] [b]love Me [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend]?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

Our Times Are in His Hand

18 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and walked wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and arms, and someone else will dress you, and carry you where you do not wish to go.” 19 Now He said this to indicate the [c]kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And after saying this, He said to him, “Follow Me [walk the same path of life that I have walked]!”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

(Psalm 144:4) Man is like a mere breath;
His days are like a shadow that passes away.

Perhaps there exists something so natural to us we take it too much for granted.

Perhaps that something which so very natural to us is our time alive, our time allotted to us by God to simply breathing and moving and living on this earth.

Do we take the time to ponder exactly how Time is so precious — time with our families, children, parents, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ – With God?

How do we invest our time?

When do we invest our time?

Where do we invest our time?

With whom do we invest our time?

Why do we invest our time with whomever we invest our times?

You know, when it comes right down to it, getting back to the basics of life, our time with God and each other is really more valuable than the money we invest.

Once the present time and its opportunities are gone, they can’t be reclaimed.

So as we begin each day, as we look at the sunshine through the rain, perhaps contemplate “time management” “thought management,” ask God we will be able to “know His time,” to see it for what it is, to use it for its greatest good.

Irretrievably so, time – God’s Time” passes quickly, like the shadows of early evening, it’s not long before it is absorbed into the gathering darkness of night.

When We Feel “Forever Stuck” In The Moment?

From time to time, while in the process of drafting a new devotional, I find myself in a deep mental conundrum – my mind and my spirit seem to go blank.

The kind of blankness I so desperately want to escape, but as every cliched movie villain always says, “escape is futile, resistance to change is futile”

Sometimes the same conundrum affects me on an emotional level, even spiritually – what difference is anything I write about a particular subject I believe the Holy Spirit provides, going to make in anyone I truly care about?

I feel a certain way and don’t want to, but the villain tells me yet again, escape is futile – In other words, I’m feeling stuck in my moment- or so I tell myself.

The first kind of hindrance is writer’s block, something every author eventually faces during his or her artistic pursuits.

Then there’s the kind of barrier we can all relate to, where we’re looking for a change on an emotional or spiritual level, but find ourselves confused, maybe even miserable – we are longing for answers but find none – That’s a life block.

We encounter them in our relationship with God, with each other.

We find them on the job and at home and on vacations.

We find them in ourselves and of ourselves.

In other words, we contend with a seemingly insurmountable problem; but only to us, the problem is not seemingly, but definitely perceived as insurmountable.

We’re stuck in a moment of time, or in a memory, or so we will take great pains to try to sell it that way to ourselves.

Escape is futile, we keep talking to ourselves and therefore we come to believe.

Yet, the reality is, deep down, we know the movie villain is 100% exaggerating.

For the dramatic effect and for their audiences, they will always exaggerate.

There is a way through the barrier, a way to get unstuck, a way back to writing those stories, transforming perspectives, having the right perspective of God.

Though the frustration and confusion may be too deep, ceaseless, unrelenting, too aggravating, too anger provoking, the solution is simple and two-fold.

First, take a break; not in the sense of giving up, but in the sense of ending your striving.

There’s only so much we can control in our lives.

The sooner we realize this, the more peace we will find.

After you take a break, either wait or look for inspiration.

Sometimes finishing a devotional requires that I stop writing for ten minutes so that I can go for a walk or have a quick moment to wander around my home.

Sometimes finishing a devotional requires me to temporarily set it aside, to pray to God and then as God will’s it, come back after a day or longer.

That time off from the writing effort is useful for conjuring up, discerning new ideas, letting the Holy Spirit work and gaining insight from God or other people.

Creating distance from the problem at hand often helps with developing a more objective perspective.

The same applies when we’re navigating relational conflict, battling addiction, battling mental health issues, family issues or just trying to discern God’s will.

After we take a break from all the struggles of doing things our own way, we can find “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” inspiration for tackling our circumstances.

Proverbs 16:1-4 Amplified Bible

Contrast the Upright and the Wicked

16 The plans and reflections of the heart belong to man,
But the [wise] answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
2 
All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions],
But the Lord weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth].
3 
[a]Commit your works to the Lord [submit and trust them to Him],
And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance].
4 
The Lord has made everything for its own purpose,
Even the wicked [according to their role] for the day of evil.

Inspiration comes only through our connection to God, sometimes through people, sometimes through nature, and sometimes through so much more.

Inspiration also finds us through God’s Word, the wisdom of the Cross, and a visit from Jesus helping us see with a perspective that doesn’t come naturally.

Stuck in His Guilt, Peter is Restored to Discipleship

John 21:18-19 Amplified Bible

Our Times Are in His Hand

18 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and walked wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and arms, and someone else will dress you, and carry you where you do not wish to go.” 19 Now He said this to indicate the [a]kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And after saying this, He said to him, “Follow Me [walk the same path of life that I have walked]!”

On the night Jesus was arrested, Peter had instantly revoked his discipleship.

Under threat of arrest and exposure and potential death sentence, by those in the courtyard he had denied three times that he was a follower of Jesus – each time he publicly proclaimed his denials more desperate than the previous one.

Luke 22:54-62 Amplified Bible

Peter’s Denials

54 Then they seized Him, and led Him away and brought Him to the [elegant] house of the [Jewish] [a]high priest. And Peter was following at a [safe] distance. 55 After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat among them. 56 And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” 57 But Peter denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him!” 58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You are one of them too.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” 59 After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, “This man was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him,  “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly [deeply grieved and distressed].

Again, to emphasis, the power of the moment, its deep significance, when he realized what he had done, he went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:69-75).

In that moment frozen forever in time, He was indescribably overwhelmed by incalculable shame and immeasurable guilt.

Luke 24:36-43 Amplified Bible

Other Appearances

36 While they were talking about this, Jesus Himself [suddenly] stood among them and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 37 But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said, “Why are you troubled, and why are doubts rising in your hearts? 39 Look at [the marks in] My hands and My feet, [and see] that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see; a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.” 40 After saying this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 While they still did not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and He took it and ate it in front of them.

Even as Peter with the other disciples in the Upper Room, heard the words from the resurrected Jesus – “Peace be To You,” the question – “why are you troubled and why are doubts rising in your hearts,” having been offered the opportunity to look at the marks in His hands and feet, to even touch them for his own self,

We can say that Peter’s heart, despite all of the irrefutable evidence offered by the resurrected Jesus to the contrary, Peter kept significant doubts of himself.

He looked directly into his Messiah’s eyes when he betrayed Him and wept bitterly and inconsolably – only an exchange of words with eye to eye contact would make any significant and lasting difference which did not happen here.

Such a moment required utmost discretion couples with the utmost presence of God in Christ and the utmost intimacy and the utmost compassion, forgiveness.

Jesus comes to the lakeshore.

After breakfast, Jesus and Peter together, go much further down the beach.

Jesus quietly looked into Peter’s eyes and quietly asked Peter a few questions.

But the questions were not “What were you thinking?” “Why did you abandon me when I needed you?” or “Why didn’t you have the guts to stick up for me?”

It was simply “Do you love me?”

Jesus had died on the cross for Peter’s sins.

What Jesus wanted to know now was only whether or not Peter still loved him.

Peter’s sins were in the past; Peter’s expression of love would shape his future.

When Peter said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,”

Jesus, the conqueror of sin and death and the Lord of life, graciously invited him to take up his discipleship again and forgiven, follow him into the future.

Doing the same with us, Jesus is astonishingly gracious.

He doesn’t bring up our past sins, betrayals, or infidelities.

He simply wants to know if we love him.

He simply wants to know, to hear He can still make a difference in Peter’s life.

He simply wants to hear Peter acknowledge he still believed in himself, in his ability to move through and beyond his transgressions, to make a difference in the lives he will come to engage with until his own death at some future point.

Did Peter believe, though still being stuck in the brutality of his mistakes, he could still make a significant difference, significant impact in God’s kingdom?

Forward through the Ages for Christ’s sake – for that makes all the difference.

Whatever horrendous mess you might be stuck in now, are you seeking Jesus?

Forward in His Forgiveness, Forward through the Ages,

Do you Still love Him as He still loves you?

Will you still serve Him as He first Served you (Mark 10:35-45, Luke 19:9-10)?

Micah 6:6-8 Amplified Bible

What God Requires of Man

6 
With what shall I come before the Lord [to honor Him]
And bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves?
7 
Will the Lord be delighted with thousands of rams,
Or with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I present my firstborn for my acts of rebellion,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 
He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),
And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?

He invites us to go out and serve him today!

Steadfast and Immovable Gracious and Compassionate In Him.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Eternal God, please give me the wisdom to use the time given me today to do what is best, right, good, and profitable for Your Kingdom. I want to better invest my time in what is truly enduring and redemptive and transformative, living in and loving out from the depths of resurrection, from the depths of your mercy and forgiveness for all my sins. Please help me use my time to influence and bless all those with whom I may interact with so that they too are brought closer to you. In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Softly and Tenderly, Jesus is Calling, Calling for You and For Me. So, Come! Take the Chance! Seek the Whole of the Lord While He May be Found!!!!

Come! Now is the Acceptable time!

Come! Now is the Acceptable Time to Worship!

To worship not even one single part of ourselves,

but to Worship only the entirety of GOD the Lord who is our Salvation!

Come, exactly as you are right now, into this very exacting moment ….

What have you got to lose?

Who is it you got to lose?

What is it you stand to gain?

Who is it you stand to gain?

Sound Intriguing?

A little?

A whole lot?

Exercise your God given right to dare yourselves to take ONE risk …

Dare to enter into your best voice (or worse if that is the case)

And read and then sing ….

And then wait and see what comes afterwards ….

Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling, Will L. Thompson, 1880

1. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me;
see, on the portals he’s waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Refrain:
Come home, come home;
ye who are weary come home;
earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home!

2. Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,
mercies for you and for me?
(Refrain)

3. Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
passing from you and from me;
shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
coming for you and for me.
(Refrain)

4. O for the wonderful love he has promised,
promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me.
(Refrain)

Isaiah 55:6-7 New American Standard Bible

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked abandon his way,
And the unrighteous person his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

In truth, God was, is, and always will be close to those who genuinely seek after Him with the fullness of their hearts. The real problem is that we drift away from him, lose interest, and leave his presence. So, let’s seek him and receive his grace, his help while we recognize that He alone is the one who truly saves.

Our heavenly Father cares for us and loves us. He wants us to seek Him and draw near to Him with confidence and faith. He wants all of us to find Him

Not seeking and failing to call upon the Lord while He is near, means we miss the opportunity to get to know our awesome God and miss out on the blessings He promises. The writer of Hebrews tells us that, without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, (11:6). 

The Prophet Isaiah impresses the need for repentance among God’s people. Repentance is turning around from doing things our own rebellious way and wholeheartedly turning to God to do it His way. It clearly means forsaking our own manner, because the Lord’s restoration work is through our repentance.  

We need to understand that the battleground for a righteous walk with the Lord is often found in the hidden places of our hearts, minds, inside our thoughts.

Just as Paul wrote: “for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). 

Paul also stated that we are not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). 

When anyone turns to the Lord and forsakes their sinful way and thoughts, the Lord will have mercy on them and will pardon then.

Apostle Peter writes: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). 

We can read the words of Isaiah 55:6-7 and we will not be stirred. Our hearts will not be touched, our minds and souls will not recognize their importance. We will read over them and not give a second thought to their significance. It is true that these few ancient prophetic words were written about 2800 years ago.

If, however, something about them raises our curiosity bar by .001%, then if you and I are being drawn to seeking out the why of that soulful impression, that is the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit because as Scripture tells us: 

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:8-9). 

To become a God-seeking, God-fearing person takes more than just external behaviors; it is the continual seeking after God’s heart (Isaiah 55:6-7).

To zealously seek and become a godly person refers to our having an inward devotion for God that is being outwardly displayed. So, a godly person is one who has received Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as payment for His own sin and has accepted the righteousness purchased for him (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

With God’s Spirit inside their being (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), the seeking person is able to understand the deep things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

The “eyes” of their hearts and “eyes” souls are subtly or even suddenly opened.

They begin to see life just a wee bit differently.

Life is no longer about pleasing themselves but about pleasing the Lord (Hebrews 12:28).

They realize that they will still stumble as they strive toward holiness

(James 3:2), but their goal is to be holy as the Lord is holy (1 Peter 1:16). 

Those who are even tentatively seeking learn early that their fleshly attempts at holiness only result in a stark revelation of their pride, vanity and failure. They slowly, steadily learn that as they gradually surrender up their will to the work of the Holy Spirit and come to rely more and more upon Him for strength to overcome temptation, they can withstand more temptation and accomplish even greater eternal goals than they ever thought possible (Philippians 4:13). 

Those seeking the Lord rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to help them say “no” to the flesh and “yes” to the Spirit (1 Corinthians 10:13; Galatians 5:16).

And as the person regularly opposes sin, they find that their spirit grows stronger, and temptation to sin becomes easier to resist (Hebrews 10:23).

If you want to establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you must first and foremost come to invite Him into your whole heart as your personal Savior. As Christ comes to accept, as He comes into your life your faith grows; and as you repent, ask Him to forgive and cleanse you, He will. And as you submit to Him and ask Him to take total control of your life, He will do it if you allow Him.

And finally, when Savior Christ lives and reigns in our heart, He expects us to willingly let Him live and reign, recognizing 1000% Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

If you have not already done so, then I definitely invite you to receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your life. Let Him be your Savior and cleanse you of your sins.

I definitely invite you to make the choice for abundant life, to give Him control of all your days while you are still able to do so. Remember that once your life ends, you have sealed your fate; therefore, seek the Lord while He may be found.

If you are indeed ready to turn your life over to God, you can talk to the Lord and sincerely pray to Him:

“Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner. I accept the fact that Christ died upon the cross to save me. I now therefore open my heart’s door and receive you as my personal Savior. Please forgive me of all my sin. I also receive you as my Lord and willingly give you full control of my life. I thank you for helping me to be the kind of person you want me to be. Guide and direct me from this day forth so that I will serve you faithfully in everything I say, think and do.”

Always remember to seek God with all of your heart, your soul, and your mind! 

Please do not hesitate to place God first in everything and in everything to give Him thanks and praise.  Do not hesitate to keep all your mind on the things of heaven, not on worldly pleasures, because the Lord is 100% faithful, righteous, never-changing, always the same: loving, kind, merciful, forgiving, and true.

Isaiah 41:9-11 New American Standard Bible

9 You whom I have [a]taken from the ends of the earth
And called from its remotest parts,
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.

In truth, God is always close to those who genuinely seek after him. The real problem is that we drift away from him, lose interest, and leave his presence.

So, let’s not hesitate for even one moment more to seek him and receive his grace and his help while we recognize that he alone is the one who truly saves.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us now pray,

God my Father, I am a homeless sinner so very tired of my ways. I seek you out with all my heart. While I seek to know about you through your Word, I long to know you and be known by you as a tender father knows his child and as a child feels complete trust toward his tender father. Father, not only be my God, but also be real to me in ways that transcend explanation. Help me to sense your nearness and to know your presence. In the name of Jesus, I do pray. Amen.

An Invitation is An Invitation! Come! Freely Drink! Come Freely Eat! Come Freely Live! O’ Come and Be Satisfied!

Today the Lord our God is extending an invitation to you. He is saying to each one of us today: “Come and eat!” “Come and drink!” “Come and Be Satisfied!” Today, we are walking through the chaos and the desperation which are even now grievously threatening to starve us of our places of peace and prosperity. Chaos starves us of our places at the great feasting tables of plenty and purpose. In these times of many great and greater worries, we grow hungry and thirsty. How hungry and how thirsty are we today for life which is so infinitely better?

Isaiah 55:1-2 New Revised Standard Version

An Invitation to Abundant Life

55 Ho, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

“Come and be satisfied!” This is the message our God is speaking to us today through his prophet Isaiah. Our text is the Old Testament Reading from Isaiah 55. Ponder again the first part of this text: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

This day we are walking through Isaiah 55.  The prophet is speaking God’s Invitation to people who are in exile, who are broken: “Time to go home.”  He is speaking to the hungry and the thirsty… those who are yearning for their deepest needs to be quenched… It has been 70 years since the people of Israel have been taken into captivity by the Babylonians.  Most of the people have been born captives, knowing nothing else.  Only a small percentage of the very oldest among them have childhood memories… Isaiah is sent by God to tell the people: “This is the Word of the Lord for the Children of the Lord: “It is Time to go home!””

It is time to go home.  It is time to return to God.  It is time to accept the Lord’s greatest invitation to return to Him.  May this coming Lenten season, we will witness God’s Spirit move upon the hearts of the broken, those that are Thirsty.

 When God speaks to the people though Isaiah, “Come, all you who are thirsty” he is speaking to a people that have hit the bottom and have nowhere else to go. 

70 years in exile.  Some have known nothing else.  All of their efforts to rescue themselves have fallen short.  Arrogance/posturing/false strength has long ago vanished.  I have seen people literally on their death bed that are at last broken now ready to receive the Lord Jesus Christ…it’s awesome.  Only those that hit the bottom are ready…  The invitation to return home to God is to the thirsty. 

Rabbi Jesus extended a similar invitation in John 7:37. The scripture says, “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” 

Money doesn’t do any good.  God’s invitation is not for the rich, the powerful.  The invitation is for those who have nothing but simply bring trust and faith and receive what mercy God has to give all.  Water, wine and milk, it’s all free. 

  • Water is life giving, refreshing, cleansing, growing.  Without water there is no life. The human body cannot long survive the total absence of water within it.
  • Wine is to bless and celebrate life. Wine represents the joy of being a Christian saved by the grace and mercy of God, celebrating the new life offered in Christ. 
  • Milk is nourishing and has substance, representing the need to grow in Him, learn.  When we were first born, it was our mother’s milk which first nourished our bodies, gave us the antibodies to protect, fight off infections. Water, wine and milk are offered by the Lord Jesus Christ for those that return home to Him. 

Isaiah 55:2 asks the question of ages: “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?”  

Often all we have energy to do is to shake our head at the crazy world we live…We ask the same question of others and ourselves as Isaiah all the time, only we use different words: “Why do we waste our money, time, with ________?” 

We lament the business of being in business, the relentless drama… it’s all our choice you know, we are not victims!  Why did I spend my money on worthless stuff that is gone… Anyone ever buy anything in the past month they regret? 

Anyone engage in activity this week which was unwise?  Are any of you even now planning to waste your money and time with things that bring no lasting peace this coming week?  Do you not ever get tired of making decisions and choices you know already will not be the wisest and most fruitful possible? 

Here in these verses, we see several things about the Lord’s invitation. We see who the ones are to whom the Lord issues this invitation. We see how much it costs to come and buy the rich food and thirst-quenching drink the Lord offers to each of us. And we see the folly of going after those things that do not satisfy.

First, then, who are the ones to whom the Lord is extending this invitation? Isaiah tells us: “everyone who thirsts” and “he who has no money.” Is that you? Are you thirsty? Do you realize your spiritual poverty? If so, then this invitation is definitely for you. If not, then you need to rethink your situation.

So, are you thirsty?

In the New Testament, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

To the sinful Samaritan woman at the well, in the high heat of the day, he says, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever.” And at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus says, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” You see, Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. When Isaiah says, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters,” he’s really looking ahead to the birth, life of Jesus, who would give the waters that will satisfy our thirst.

So, are you “just thirsty” or “desperately thirsty?” Do you sense and feel your spiritual thirst? Do you realize something’s wrong, something’s wrong with you? That you are a sinner? That you have broken God’s good commandments and gone contrary to his will? That you haven’t done the things that you know God wants you to do? That you have done things you know you shouldn’t do?

That’s sin, and it should make you thirsty, spiritually thirsty for something, anything, that will take away your guilt and your shame. Do you sense and feel your own lack of inner righteousness? That you aren’t good enough to stand before almighty God on Judgment Day and pass his muster? Do you feel these things? Do you know it and own it? If so, that’s actually a good thing, because now you are ready to hear and respond to the invitation, He extends to you.

 The great invitation of God is to return home to Him, like the soldier returning home to a waiting family…Why do you spend your energy, your time, on dead end decisions.  The invitation to go to God is free, free to us…we know, however, in the fullness of time, this act it is not going to be even the least bit free to God.

Hundreds of years after the time of Isaiah, God sends us his son Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary.  We call it Christmas….  Jesus was born to die/// die on the cross as the ultimate act of mercy and sacrifice for our sins.  The invitation is free, but it literally costs God everything.  I imagine tears as God’s children return home to him, like the tears of the family when the solider returns home. 

“Come” is the invitation of God.  The thirsty/broken are invited.  LISTENING is the way to accept the invitation.  I’m believing God has in mind a leisurely sort of listening which takes a whole lot of time for we the hearer to digest what is surely being said, listening that considers what is being heard, listening that is, on our parts, thoughtful and attentive, merciful and sacrificial (Romans 12:1-2)

There is too much listening to the invitations from man to enter into an abiding relationship with the god of this world. There is, too, far far, too little listening to the God who created this world, who authored and ordered our lives from the very beginning of our existence (Psalm 139:13-18) and we are not the least bit attentive to the quiet invitations of “Yes! there is definitely a far better party” to go to and be a part of the truest life of someone who definitely knows how to live.

“The Best Party Anywhere?” We have all heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Meaning, it may sound like it’s free, but it really isn’t. There are strings attached. You may not be paying directly for that supposedly free lunch, but somewhere down the line, you are, whether in higher taxes or whatever. In this world, in this life, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

But when it comes to the food and drink that God offers, it is absolutely free, absolutely truly free. This is a gracious invitation, all by grace, a free gift. A free gift of life in maximum abundance, of eternal Salvation. Leave your debit cards at home. Leave your credit cards at home, or better yet, lock them all up forever! God has already paid the bill in full. (John 3:16-17, John 17-18 and John 19:35)

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

God, from the beginning, you were the word. You sent your only son to save us all and he even allowed himself to be tortured and crucified to obey you. Bless me with the gift of understanding and of unshaken faith in you. Let me know the meaning of your words in the Bible and how to live accordingly. Open the door of my heart. Fill me beyond overflowing with your light, your wisdom and understanding. Make me hungry beyond hungry, thirsty beyond thirsty. Amen.

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