My Ruler is Too Short to Measure God's Love

"Father, out of Your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen Your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root. May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded so that together with all of Your people they will have the power to understand that the love of the Anointed is infinitely long, wide, high, and deep, surpassing everything anyone previously experienced. God, may Your fullness flood through their entire beings." (Ephesians 3:16-19, The Voice)

As I sit and write this morning, I am awestruck that millions of worshipers around the world will gather today to proclaim and celebrate the infinite love of God. From ornate cathedrals to underground secret meeting places, from storefronts to living rooms, from shade trees to barns ... Everywhere God's people are gathered, He is present. And His love defies measurement ("infinitely long, wide, high, and deep").

(Photo credit: www.before-after.com)

Certainly His love can be celebrated apart from the gathering of His people. His love is the same. But the celebration and awareness of it is not the same apart from the gathering.

With whom will you celebrate today?

Leave a comment below and tell us about your faith community.

Hiding in the Shadows

 (Photo credit: "It's tough being born in the shadow of greatness" -www.hobodrifter.com)

 "Stay focused on what’s above, not on earthly things, because your old life is dead and gone. Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed who is in God." (Colossians 3:2-3, The Voice)

Sometimes I think we miss the truth that a personal relationship with Christ is not about making our lives better. It is about making our lives NEW. "Your old life is dead and gone. Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed".

In his classic devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers says, “We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life 'hidden with Christ in God' in our everyday human conditions."

I believe that the ultimate purpose of the Christian life is to display the character of Christ in every action, every word, every attitude. That means that I am always living in His shadow.

What can you do today that people might see His life displayed in you?

 Leave a comment below to join in the conversation.

I wrote another post on this topic on my Life Matters blog on February 1, 2011.  You can check it out here. 

No Landing Strip Available ... Keep on Flying

 (Barn Swallow, Photo credit: Photobucket)

 

"Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest." (Proverbs 26:2, New International Version)

A few years back, a wonderful young lady I know had broken up with her emotionally unstable boyfriend. He set out to enlist as many people as he could to join him in hating her by slanderous conversations and statements. I was corresponding and counseling with her on a regular basis as she walked through, not only the hurt of the loss of the relationship, but also her concern for the damage to her reputation.

During that time, I was also reading through Proverbs and The Lord spoke to me through this verse, which I shared with her to remind her that truth was on her side. She did not need to defend herself against these statements because the truth would eventually be revealed through observation.

We don't have control over what someone says about us. We do have control over how we live. An undeserved curse has no place to land on a life surrendered to Christ.

What will you do today to be sure there is no "landing strip" on you?

Comment below to join the conversation

Don't Worry ... Be Happy .... Yeah, Right!

(Video Credit:  YouTube)


"Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone's coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound." (Proverbs 25:20, New Living Translation)

As a singer, I have often been told that my songs have ministered powerfully to those with heavy hearts. So, what does this verse mean? (AND how does it relate to those who aren't singers?)

Try this sometime: When you see someone who is heavy-hearted, tell them, "Don't worry! Be happy!"

Did it work?

Probably not.

Many years ago, one of my mentors told me, "A true friend is someone who laughs when you laugh and cries when you cry. Beware of someone who can only do one of the other." (Thanks,Mike Whelan)

Happy songs only bless those who are already happy. Those with heavy hearts need grace and compassion. 

"Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2, New Living Translation).

Whose burden can you share today?

Join in the conversation by leaving a comment.

A Living Sacrifice

                           

"Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete." (Romans 12:1-2, The Voice)

How can we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice? Think through this prayer with me:

Lord Jesus,

Open my eyes to see You

Open my ears to hear You

Open my mind to know You

Open my heart to love You

I offer my hands to serve You

I offer my feet to follow You

I offer my lips to praise and proclaim You

How might our days be different if we came to The Lord with that attitude each morning?

How will You offer Yourself today?

Embrace the Mystery

"So don’t think too highly of yourselves; instead, stand in awe of God’s mercy ... We cannot wrap our minds around God’s wisdom and knowledge! Its depths can never be measured! We cannot understand His judgments or explain the mysterious ways that He works!" (Romans 11:20,33, The Voice)

When was the last time you were in awe of God's mercy? When was the last time you contemplated His ways and came to the inescapable conclusion that you can't figure Him out?

We are largely uncomfortable with mystery in our lives. In fact, I think we sometimes avoid what we can't understand, so we put God in a box and develop our formulas for explaining how He works.

But God can't be contained. These verses call us to stand in awe of, to be humbled by, and to embrace the mystery.

How can you embrace that mystery today?

Join Me on a Journey of Encouragement

Tomorrow, November 11 is the official launch of my new blog, "Dr. G's Morning Cup of Encouragement."  Each morning, Saturday through Thursday, I'll be posting a few short encouraging words based on my personal Scripture reading for the morning.  I take each Friday off for a social media fast.  I'd love for you to join me on this encouraging journey by subscribing either to the RSS Feed or by email.  Within the next few weeks, I will be offering a special offer for all new subscribers.  Sign up and stay tuned.