My challenge for the day is to go a whole day without grumbling or arguing.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world . . .
Philippians 2:14-15 NET
Lately, I have been thinking about intimacy. I can’t say whether or not everyone longs for it, but I believe at least most people do.
When we hear of intimacy we often think of sex. That can be a part of it, but it is not its essence. Real intimacy is that private bond two share when nobody else is around. Nobody else is involved. Just me and one other. The closeness of which nobody else can be a part. One is alone, three’s a crowd, but two can be intimate.
Sometimes I long for intimacy. I want intimacy from true love. Love can provide intimacy to another because it loves. And love can provide intimacy to another because it wants to be loved. The best intimacy is both. I don’t think true intimacy can exist long without both parties providing both.
I don’t want my wife just to give intimacy to me because she loves me. I want her to desire intimacy from me because she loves me.
God does both. Imagine that.
If you don’t need a napkin when you eat your Arby’s sandwich, then you didn’t put enough sauce on it. I wonder if life is kinda that way too. If it doesn’t get a little messy sometimes, then maybe you aren’t doing it right.
Messy, but good!
When you don’t know what to do about something, do the next something you know.
I opened this watch with this wrench!
I never knew one could open the back of a watch with a big old crescent wrench until, out of necessity, I tried it. It made me wonder how many other discoveries I miss because I avoid the point of need. The saying is true that necessity is the mother of invention. The point of need, combined with an ear and heart attentive to the voice of imagination, ingenuity, and inspiration, is the place where unimagined possibilities appear.
There have been times in my life when I felt God called me to do something so I stepped out and tried it and failed. I used to think that meant I must have missed it. Perhaps I did not hear his voice. Maybe He did not direct me as I thought. Maybe I didn’t understand. Or maybe I just didn’t execute the plan as well as I should have. These might be the most likely explanations. But they are not the only ones.
Lately I have been thinking that connecting the events that way may involve some errors. Mainly, it assumes I know what the outcome ought to be for every endeavor to which God calls me. I don’t. What looks like an earthly failure may be a Heavenly victory. Maybe there can be a difference in what God calls me to do, and what He calls me to accomplish.
So often, I think I know what God has called me to accomplish because I infer it from what He has called me to do. I make assumptions. We all do. God calls us to do something and we suddenly think we know what He is up to and how He wants it to turn out. If I feel Him leading me to talk with someone about something, I assume they will be receptive. If He calls me to teach a class, I assume He wants the class to succeed and grow. What about those who feel called to start a church? If attendance doesnt continue to grow, does that mean they missed God’s direction? Maybe God wants PEOPLE to grow, and not church attendance. What if a struggling group is exactly what it takes to make that happen? What if God wants to teach me something through a rejected conversation or a failed campaign? Might He direct me to still talk to the person or start the campaign?
I think the key is to do my best to follow God’s direction and leave the outcome to Him. That also means that I can not assume I missed the direction just because I don’t arrive where I thought I would.
So then, if I can’t judge the genuiness of the directive by the outcome of the obedience, how then do I learn to assess the authenticity of my communication with God? Well, I don’t know, but it’s what got me thinking about all this in the first place. I guess that’s a subject for another time.
Every atom, of every molecule, of every drop of rain that falls was created by God Almighty, the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit who dwells in me.
It’s another snow day in Atlanta. This one caught some people by surprise. The roads are an icy mess. It all started yesterday about mid-day when, as the snow began to fall, people watched from their office windows, waiting anxiously for the word to abandon the office and head for home. For many, the word came too late. A big city full of people all headed home at the same time. With accidents collecting on the roads just about as fast as the snow and ice, the situation soon turned to complete gridlock. Millions of people were trying to get home or to their kids at school, but nobody was going anywhere.
At home in the snow
Interstates became icy parking lots, packed so tightly with cars that salt trucks could not even get through to do their job. People abandoned their cars and took shelter in nearby grocery stores, sleeping in aisles. Some children had to spend the night at school, others spent the night in a school bus. People are stuck at work. People are stuck at school. People are stuck on the road. And some people, are stuck at home.
As is the case with most things in life, it’s all about where you’re coming from, where you are, and where you are going. I am one of the fortunate ones who made it home from work yesterday afternoon. The office is closed today and I am stuck at home. At home, the snow is beautiful. At home it is warm. At home, it is quiet and peaceful. This winter snow, like other things in life, is either a trial or a blessing, depending on where you are. And if God is with you, no matter where you are, you are always home.
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
-John 14:23
Lord please grant that more of my life be driven by an overwhelming sense of joyful “want to” and not by a weighty sense of forced “ought to”.
The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. -Psalm 19:1.
Want to hear a word from God? Turn off your own porch light and look up.