Strength and Joy Are Natural to Us

 Strength and Joy

God gives us joy like a child full of wonder, strength like a child full of life.

“Honor and majesty surround Him; strength and joy fill His dwelling.”

1 Chronicles 16:27 (NLT)

Strength and joy fills God’s dwelling, and we are that dwelling place of God. His own strength and joy are filling us at all times. 

This is what is truly most natural to us as God’s children, to be joyful and full of God’s happiness, to be uplifted and full of God’s strength. This is our normal way of being. 

Joy is our natural state, and it’s God’s joy in us.

Strength is our natural state, and it’s God’s strength in us.

A Prayer: Dear Father, I see You want me to live like a child, full of wonder, able to be carefree, full of life and vigor. I want to enjoy all the beauties of life and all the joys found in Your presence in me. I really do feel like a child again with You.

Face to Face Union All the Time

“Our soul is oned [united] to Him, unchangeable Goodness.”

Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

“I am always aware of the Lord’s presence; He is near, and nothing can shake me. And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel completely secure.”

Psalm 16:8-9 (GNT)

You cause me to be still and just remember we are one.

And in the stillness there is presence. It’s You - here inside of me.

I’m face to face with You in all Your love and splendor.

Fellowship doesn’t have to have any words.

Sometimes it just means sitting quietly together.

Sometimes it’s simply a “knowing” that You are smiling at me.

Your complete acceptance means the world to me.

I feel lighter, stronger, clearer, like I’m coming back to the center.

I’m happy to be here with You, happy we are always together.

A Prayer: I know You are always here with me. I look at You and You fill me with joy.

Dear to God

Do we really know how dear we are to Him?

“My dear, dear son, my child in whom I take pleasure! Every time I mention his name, my heart bursts with longing for him! Everything in me cries out for him. Softly and tenderly I wait for him.” GOD’s Decree."

Jeremiah 31:20 (MSG)

He is the One who watches over us while we sleep. 

He is the One who cries with us when we are sad and celebrates with us when we are happy. 

He is the hand on our shoulder when we feel alone. 

He is the One who sends us flowers on our daily walks and rainbows after the spring rain just to make us smile. 

He is the One who loves to hear all our thoughts and laughs at all our jokes. 

He is the One who can't stop thinking about us, whose heart flips at the mention of our name, who loves being with us. 

He is the best Father, the best Friend, the best Companion one could ever have. 

Do we really know how dear we are to Him?

A Thought: God adores me.

Every Tear

Thank You, Jesus, that You lived on this earth and You know what it is like to face the challenges of this life.

Sometimes it can feel so difficult for me to make it through each day, and I know You understand.

I often get overwhelmed with all my troubles and sorrows.

But I know I am not alone. I know You are here.

Thank You for walking through it all with me.

Thank You for saturating me with all Your comfort and calm.

Thank You for wrapping me in Your arms of peace and love right now.

For everyone who is hurting right now, would You hold them tightly and let them feel Your love and comfort. Let them know they are not alone. Let them know they are being carried.

Thank You for holding us all, for without You, Jesus, we couldn’t make it through this life.

Thank You for every person that gives us love and support right now. They are such a gift.

And thank You for the promise that all our tears and pains will end!

“You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in Your bottle! You have recorded every one in Your book.”

Psalm 56:8 (TLB)

Sometimes...

Lord, sometimes I feel so empty.

But You keep on filling up those empty places.

Sometimes everything seems so dark.

But You keep on being the light in the midst of the darkness.

Sometimes I can't feel anything, can't sense Your presence.

But You keep on being present.

Sometimes I succumb to anxiety and fear.

But You keep carrying me.

Sometimes I don't see any victory but only struggle.

But You keep on being strong.

Sometimes I wonder if I even believe, my faith seems so small.

But You keep on being real and true.

Sometimes I life seems senseless and devoid of meaning.

But You keep on making it all mean something somehow.

Sometimes I lose hope.

But You keep on bringing a new day.

Sometimes I feel I can't make it anymore.

But You keep on pulling me through.

This, to me, is Grace.

You are the Grace in my life.

You are the reason I am still here, the reason I have survived the rough times, the reason I still believe, the reason I still have hope.

You keep on giving meaning to my life.

And the meaning is Love, the meaning is You.

My life isn't perfect, but You are. 

You are just the One I need.

Where would I be without You, my beloved Friend?

God has said, “I will never fail you."

Hebrews 13:5 (NLT)

The Difference Between Do and Done

Do vs. Done

We are already at the goal. We are not trying to get there. The work to get us there has already been done, completed in full by Christ!

“Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’”

John 19:30 (NIV)

I have worked and struggled so hard to be a "good Christian." I always thought I wasn't good enough, that God was always disappointed in me, that His main message to me was "try harder." These thoughts weren’t true! God then showed me the difference between law (or works/effort) and grace (free gifts). One big difference is "do" vs. "done."

It's the difference between "I'm trying to kill off my old self," and realizing it's already dead.

It's the difference between "I am trying to get forgiveness and redeem myself," and realizing I have already been forgiven and redeemed.

It's the difference between "I'm trying to be holy," and realizing I have already been sanctified (made holy) and perfected forever.

It's the difference between "I'm trying to get closer to God," and realizing this human life has already been joined as one to God.

It's the difference between "I am trying to get to heaven," and realizing Christ already brought me there.

The things I was trying so hard to do under law or self-effort were actually already done for me! When were they done? Well, about 2,000 years ago. It's called the finished work of Christ because it really is finished. Yes, believing it allows me to experience it fully and personally in my present life, but the fact is, it was already done long ago by my wonderful Lord. It's the difference between "do" and "done."

A Thought: I can rest because all the work of my salvation has already been done by Christ.

Amazing Love of God - a Quote by George MacDonald

"Not the lovingest heart that ever beat can even reflect the length and breadth and depth and height of that love of God which shows itself in His Son. The whole history is a divine agony to give divine life to creatures. The outcome of that agony will be radiant life, whereof joy unspeakable is the flower. Every child will look in the eyes of the Father, and the eyes of the Father will receive the child with an infinite embrace."

George MacDonald

Unspoken Sermons: Second Series

A Day in June

This is an excerpt from my favorite poem, about a glorious day in June, freely given for all to enjoy, just like God gives Himself to us freely:

“And what is so rare as a day in June? 

Then, if ever, come perfect days...

“Now is the high-tide of the year,

And whatever of life hath ebbed away

Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer,

Into every bare inlet and creek and bay;

Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it,

We are happy now because God wills it....

"Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how;

Everything is happy now,

Everything is upward striving;

'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true

As for grass to be green or skies to be blue,

'Tis for the natural way of living….”

James Russell Lowell 

(Excerpted from “What Is So Rare as a Day in June,” from The Vision of Sir Launfal, by J.R. Lowell, Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1896).

I love the imagery in the poem, and it is special to me because I first came to know God on a perfect June day, and the sky really did seem bluer and the grass greener, and it really was so easy to be happy. It was like the light of heaven was shining in me and it made everything on earth more beautiful to me. I didn’t even know what to call the wonderful, light feeling I had, but I found out it was the Holy Spirit filling me. James Russell Lowell’s poem brings me back to that same sense of joy and lightness, and I am reminded that the Holy Spirit is always within, the joy of eternity within, like a bit of perfect June day even in the most challenging times. Here is my own poem to God, in thanks for the gift of His life, realized on that perfect day in June:

You are so lovely!

Your gift is so free!

You come to me

Like a perfect June day

Like the sea filling up

Every inlet and bay.

You are my high tide

You fill up my life!

And every empty, lonely

And barren place

Is full of Your presence, 

Your joy and Your grace.

You’re free like the fresh air

Like the dew on the grass

You make my world brighter 

By just being in it

The grass greener, sky bluer

Life is bursting each minute.

With You all is joyful

And sorrow is gone

Life in Your Spirit 

Is so easy and light

I love this new life with You 

So sweet, fresh and bright!

“His Spirit already confirms within us the present evidence of eternity.”

2 Corinthians 5:5 (MIRROR)

A Poem: Seek Yourself in Me

There are many voices around us that tell us who we are, but why not go straight to the Source, the One who made us and holds us in His heart, and let Him tell us who we are? We look at Him and find ourselves reflected there. How can that be? We are in His image, we are His reflection. We see Him and see ourselves there in Him, lovely and beloved. And where do we see Him? Right here inside of us is where we find Him waiting, waiting to be discovered. All the love in the universe is right here inside us, loving us always. We are ever entwined with the beautiful Christ, for we are in His heart and He is in ours.

Teresa of Avila wrote a poem in the 1500’s called “Soul, Seek Yourself in Me,” and it brings out in a beautiful way these themes of us in Christ and Christ in us. Below is my adaptation the English translation of this beautiful love poem from His heart to ours:

“It was tender love, dear soul,

That drew you on My heart.

No other artist could

With any skill

Make such a work of art!

My love itself brought you to life

And fairest one, so near divine,

If you ever wonder

Who you are

Just see yourself in Me, so fine.

For when you see your image there

Reflecting Me in beauty rare

You will find joy

You will find life

To know yourself so blessed and fair.

Now if you do not know

Just how to find Me, soul so true,

Do not look far 

Or wander long

Just find Me here inside of you!

You see I have my home in you

My favorite place I love the best,

And when your thoughts

Roam far away

I woo them back to Me to rest.

There is no need to look for Me

Outside of your own heart

Speak my name,

For I am here,

Beloved, we will never part.”

Teresa of Avila (adapted)

“You are privileged to be in union with Christ.”

1 Corinthians 3:23 (MSG)

(My adaptation of  “Soul, Thou Must Seek Thyself in Me” by Teresa of Avila, based on the English version of the poem in Minor Works of St. Teresa, translated from the Spanish by the Benedictines of Stanbrook, revised by Benedict Zimmerman. Published by Thomas Baker, London, in 1913. This work is in the public domain.)

The Spirit Leads Us

As we go through each day of our lives, He is working and bringing His life out in us and in our circumstances.  That is such a wonderful thing! He is at work, we don't have to worry about making things happen. I was reading about that recently and it brought rest.  I think God opened my eyes to that more. I learned that as believers it's not that we have to put the Holy Spirit in control - He IS in control. He IS leading. He IS working all out for good. He IS resurrection life, the glory and very essence of God, and that unstoppable Life, WILL and IS transforming us and our circumstances for good. He IS bringing out what is already true in the spirit realm out into the visible realm.  His Life is shining through in our messy lives, even in the midst of our turmoil, problems, pain and even failure.  The River of Living Water IS flowing, the Life IS coming out!  It won't be completely seen till the redemption of our bodies, but He is there working.  And that brings me rest. Just to know He's at work.

As many as are led by the Spirit, these are the sons of God.  Doesn't that mean that as God's children, the Spirit IS leading us?  That's just a fact of our new existence.  And He ALWAYS leads us in triumph and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ!  We don't have to worry about making that happen by works, understanding, right focus, or even faith.  It IS happening, now and now and now and now.  The Life just IS.  The Life just LIVES.  His Life, His Spirit is at work sustaining, holding, keeping, moving, motivating and expressing Himself in, to, through and as us at all times!  It's not up to me in any way at all to get that to happen.  We don't have to "activate" Him; He is activating us!  Grace means God does it all!  It's up to Him!  And if it's up to Him, it's done. 

Who Was the Lost Son?

I was thinking about the stories Jesus told in Luke 15 about the lost things...and how it had always bothered me that the lady searched for the coin and the shepherd for the sheep, but that the father had not gone off searching for the prodigal son...then I had a 'news flash' and it dawned on me that maybe the true 'lost son' in the parable wasn't the rebel who went off and partied and later came home but that the true 'lost son' was the older brother who held back and wouldn't come into the party! And then I realized that the father DID go out and search for him! He DID come to look for him, He didn't just leave him outside to sulk..

It meant so much to me because I have had legalistic tendencies in the past and sometimes can still act that way..and I have sometimes felt Jesus was always just mad at people who have been like me..and I have felt ashamed and left out of the celebration, just like the older brother out sulking, but probably secretly wishing he could be lavished with attention and given a party, too...And I realized that Jesus loved the Pharisees! He was, through all his stories, so often pleading with them to come into the party! That the party was for them, too! I love that the father in the story didn't criticize, get angry, or punish the older brother for his terrible attitude. He understood he had been living under a false idea of his place in the family, thinking it had to be earned, not knowing that he could have a celebration any time, not knowing how loved he really was already without him doing a thing..

I felt so loved and happy thinking these thoughts with Papa, knowing that He really does love those of us who have tended toward being Pharisee types! I am ashamed of how I was once legalistic and prideful. But God isn't ashamed of me, He came out to me and invited me, even me, into the party.. Thank You, Papa, that you love the rebellious younger brothers and you love the self-righteous older brothers too!

You don't leave any of us in our pain and confusion, no, You come and minister GRACE and acceptance and unconditional love to us all! No matter what we do, think, or get confused about, You always come for us and woo us back into resting in Your arms!

Excerpt From an Ancient Christian Letter

I really liked this passage from an early letter by a Christian writing to explain our faith to a friend. This letter is thought to be from the middle of the second century and is a wonderful explanation of who God is and what Christ did for us. I love the beautiful description of God's character in this passage:

"God, the Lord and Fashioner of all things, who made all things, and assigned them their several positions, proved Himself not merely a friend of mankind, but also long-suffering [in His dealings with them.] Yea, He was always of such a character, and still is, and will ever be, kind and good, and free from wrath, and true, and the only one who is [absolutely] good; and He formed in His mind a great and unspeakable conception, which He communicated to His Son alone.     As long, then, as He held and preserved His own wise counsel in concealment, He appeared to neglect us, and to have no care over us. But after He revealed and laid open, through His beloved Son, the things which had been prepared from the beginning, He conferred every blessing all at once upon us, so that we should both share in His benefits, and see and be active [in His service]."    

Letter from Mathetes to Diognetus, [Ch. 8]

Eyes on Christ

"As no darkness can be seen by anyone surrounded by light, so no trivialities can capture the attention of anyone who has his eyes on Christ."

St Gregory of Nyssa

The Law of Liberty

I love the law of liberty! Trying to live under the old law literally killed me in so many ways! I burned myself out trying to keep all the rules and never felt good enough, never felt I’d ever arrived at the destination of being acceptable to God. Instead I spent my time examining myself (and others!) for flaws and living such a defeated life. Finally I gave up. I decided the Christian life was ‘too hard’ and I checked out mentally. I didn’t try anymore. I felt at my lowest. I felt I’d failed to be the Christian I was ‘supposed’ to be. And it was at that point that God began speaking to me about grace! I found out that all I was wanting to be, He had already made me – perfect, acceptable, complete, holy, righteous! I found out that I was under grace (unconditional free acceptance and love from God), not law (you must do things in order to earn acceptance). Now with learning about my original identity in Christ, I feel like God is expanding my mind even more to see just how free I am to be myself. It was like I never realized ‘myself’ was so good already! So complete and whole and loving and trusting! And that I have been that way since before time began, wow! So now I am under the law of liberty, oh what joy! This law simply says, “See yourself in the face of Christ, and be yourself!”

I love the law of liberty, and what a difference it has made to be under it! There is no more obligation or pressure to perform with this law. There is no requirement to be kept or else punishment will come. There is no pointing out of flaws. There is no ‘must’ or ‘should.’ There is no ‘work’ to be done to get the blessing. There is no high standard that I must struggle in my own power to reach. There is nothing I HAVE to do!! The most beautiful activity imaginable is the main focus: just looking into the face of the Beloved, Jesus, and seeing my own face there, that I too am the Beloved! Seeing that love and affection He has for me and realizing I am perfectly celebrated and adored and pleasing, just as He is!

This wonderful law of liberty brings me to complete REST in His arms! I find I can simply be myself, for ‘myself’ is pretty wonderful, just like Him! And it is so easy to be yourself, isn’t it? There is no strain in that.

And the wonder of it is that as I am simply being myself, HE is expressing His very life and love through me to this world! And the more that happens, the more He shines forth in love to others, till one day the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, shining out from within us! For we are His glory, wow!

When I shared this post in the class I was taking, another student wrote this comment:  "While reading your post, I see you at about 6 years old in a precious swirly dress, dancing around outside in your yard on a beautiful spring day, without a care in the world!!! You are so free and so happy to be alive and so overflowing with love that every person that passes by, you take by the hand and begin dancing with them, until, soon you have a yard full of people of all ages and races dancing for joy with each other."

How wonderful just exploring the riches of His Presence, His kingdom, His love, His perfection, His freedom -  ALREADY within us!  Not trying to ‘get somewhere’ or ‘get more knowledge’ but a journey of discovery where we explore the depths of what is already within us, isn’t that so? Wow! I feel it is like exploring Aslan’s Country in the Narnia books, isn’t it, the further inward we go the bigger the “heavenly country’ inside us, as big as all eternity, for we are exploring God Himself in all His love, joy, peace, and freedom – inside us, wow!   And this exploration, this inward journey of discovery, is joyful and exuberant and full of inner ease..not stress..it is pure REST!  It is recreation!  It makes our holy vocation - knowing Him - a holy vacation!  Completely invigorating and yet also restful and relaxing!  And the experience of His presence is so wonderful, free and delightful that He just draws the whole world into the dance, the joy, the exuberance, the rest, the glory of His presence and love and life!

What a wonderful law to be under, the law of liberty!  It is the law that takes off the pressure, that has no expectations, that brings no penalties, that causes no shame..instead it frees, validates, encourages, uplifts, invigorates, and brings rest to our souls and joy to our hearts!  His presence, His love, His favor is LIFE, buoying us up and carrying us along without our effort, without our help!  Hallelujah!

Not Law But Grace

He has always been and will always be about love. Love doesn't have anything to do with pressure, requirements, punishment, or vengeance. Love is all about acceptance, forgiveness, delight, and freedom. It is amazing to think that God is relating to us with unconditional love, delighting in who we are without any reference to our behavior. 

In other words, He is all about grace, not law. All the law did was point our sin and condemn us to death, and Paul calls it a ministry of death. Noone can bear being under law, noone can measure up to the standards of law, and Paul said it was a yoke they could not bear. God allowed it for a time but His way was always love and grace, and Jesus came and showed this to be true. Jesus often corrected or changed the law's commands, showing that love was meant to be the way. He Himself fulfilled the law perfectly, being the only One who could, by being perfect love, for love is the fulfillment of the law. 

Christ ended the law and made it obsolete. He took us with Him through death so that we died to the law and are free from its requirements and condemnation and punishment. He poured out His Spirit on us and we are now living in a new and living way, the way of the Spirit. We are under the ministry of the Spirit, which brings life and peace. And all that the law pointed to, which was love, is fulfilled in us by the Spirit, in other words, by Christ who is Love Himself living in us. 

We don't need to worry about performing, keeping rules, or measuring up to a standard. We don't need to worry about trying to earn favor or blessing or being condemned and punished with cursing. That was never God's plan. His plan was always for us to live in a love union with Him deep in our spirit, to draw life and joy and approval from Him, and to see that love naturally overflow in us, not by our efforts but by the Spirit naturally shining from within us. 

So God isn't measuring our performance. He isn't judging our actions, attitudes, or even faith amount. He is simply loving us and accepting us and adoring us at every moment, whether we fail or succeed. He is not thinking about behavior; He is just thinking about union.

Resurrection Life

Jesus raised me up with Him..He made death work backward into life, His own divine and eternal Life..instead of everything spiraling downward, now, in connection with Him as we all are (since He is our creator and origin), we are spiraling ever upward in Him! Not only are we restored to life but we are in HIS life, where we can never be ‘lost’ or ‘fall’ again! All things are working back toward Him from whom they came! It’s already true in the eternal and it WILL manifest completely in the visible and tangible! And God will be all in all! In the meantime, I can wake up every morning in newness of life, I can be happy again, I can know that things are getting better, I can know that eternity is HERE and NOW for me, and that it is already true what Jesus said, “I make ALL THINGS NEW!”

As I was writing this post, I was sitting in my living room on this bleak and rainy morning here in the southern USA, where we are getting gray skies and sheets of rain ..and suddenly I heard a bird sing! The song was so loud and clear, just like the little guy was sitting right beside me there in my living room! He sang out a couple of times, and it was so beautiful! What a reminder of the springtime of resurrection, in the midst of the damp and gray! When life seems to be ending and hopeless, He is still saying, “I make all things new!” It is already true, already real, and it is certain and guaranteed to manifest in the natural, tied as we are to the One who has already taken us through into resurrection life with Him, indestructible life, eternal life, abundant life, forevermore! We really do live in the already of His life, don’t we? We are IN LIFE, and we are never going out!

From God of Fear to God of Love

 

For so many years I saw God in a fear-based, religious way..to me He was a "Fear God."  I didn't even realize that this was the type of God that I was taught to believe in, for I always heard "God is Love," and yet so many ideas in religion seemed to say the opposite!  So while I was saying and trying to believe God was Love, deep down there was an uneasiness because I was being presented a Fear God by religion.

So I used to believe in a Fear God!
Not the real God, who is a Love God!

A Fear God uses threat, manipulation, scare tactics and force..
A Love God is gentle, nonthreatening, approachable, never hurts a soul..

A Fear God is strict, unbending, unyielding, harsh, stern, uncaring and cold..
A Love God is warm, compassionate, understanding, kind-hearted, and soft..

A Fear God must have his way or else He flies off the handle and rants and rages..
A Love God wants the other's way and thinks of others first..and can't be angered!

A Fear God threatens harm, punishes, makes you pay, points out your faults..
A Love God never sees anything wrong with you, is never offended, sees only good in you!

A Fear God gives ultimatums, stands off at a distance in disapproval, withdraws help if you do not have enough faith/obedience/commitment..
A Love God gives unconditional promises, is undaunted in loyalty and stands by us no matter what the cost, never disapproves of us, constantly blesses, doesn't need a 'reason' to love us, loves no matter what!

A Fear God is unpredictable, capricious, mean, irritable, always about to blow his temper, always in a bad mood..
A Love God is constant in His kindness, friendly, steady and stable and sure, easy-going, always in a good mood!

A Fear God closes himself off from us, stands aloof, always promotes the idea that he is 'other,' unapproachable, hard to get to, ready to drop, desert or abandon us..
A Love God is always open towards us, open-hearted and open-armed, always embracing and including, always present, easy to be around, easy to find, for He is always right here with and in us, never to leave!

A Fear God always wears a scowl and appears to have a dark cloud over his face at all times, like a storm brewing..
A Love God always wears a smile and has a sunny disposition, like a cloudless summer day where nothing ever goes wrong, where all is well in every way!

A Fear God cannot be counted on and may leave if you mess up..
A Love God is the most secure place in the universe and will never let you down!

A Fear God uses force, demands, and rules..
A Love God has only kindness, acceptance and grace, and sets us free to do anything at all, loving us no matter what, giving us absolutely no rules and no boundaries, demanding nothing from us and expecting nothing of us, freeing us to be ourselves and do anything - even fail - thus proving His love is unconditionally ours!

A Fear God is a fake, false god!
The Love God is the only true God who will always hold you in His arms and smile upon you with delight!

It is so wonderful to know that Fear God that I was so afraid of was never ever real!  It is so wonderful to know that God has been a Love God, a Daddy God, all along!  Thank You, Papa, that You are Perfect Love, and there is NO fear in Love!  Your Love for us drives out the fears we have had, and in its place we find security, joy, peace, comfort, acceptance, REST!

Nobody's Perfect, Everybody's Accepted

God looks beneath the surface actions and sees us all as little children just crying out for love! And He knows that His love will heal our woundedness and give us the acceptance and worth we crave, so that we won't be judging ourselves or comparing ourselves with others and thus, judging them or lashing out in pain and loneliness anymore. But even if we didn't stop doing those things, He would still love and accept us and delight in us just the same! THAT is also such a healing thing! We need to know that we are fine before Him and cherished right now, as we are, in our self-condemnation, in our critical and judgmental attitudes, in our lashing out and coping mechanisms! If we are loved and embraced then, at our lowest, we really are loved unconditionally and forever - that is just what we have been looking for all our lives, that is the only thing that will feel the deep need of our heart, that is what makes us finally and truly feel SAFE!

We are accepted, taken in, included, loved, safe no matter what! This is the gospel!

This good news is the most healing and life-transforming message in the world, for it fills our deepest need to be loved and accepted and valued! Once we find out how loved we are, we can relax, we are okay, we feel the pain start to subside, we are not alone, we are accepted in our mess, we don't have to be perfect, we are embraced, we are special, we are safe..and we can start to see others that way as well and let them off the hook - they don't have to be perfect either, they are okay even in their mess as well, noone has got it all together, we are all special anyway, we are all equally valuable, we are all His dear children, we are all one in Him...judging goes out the window when acceptance flows in! Everything else melts away in the presence of the One who is Perfect, Unconditional LOVE! Thank You, Papa! I love the way You heal our hearts with Your grace and love!

God is Happy With Us Right Now

I have come to believe that God is so happy with us right where we are on our journey, and that the way He shows each of us things is so personal and fitting for us on our journey, and He is just fine with us, so proud of us right now. That has given me lots of relief, that I don't have to figure everything out or believe perfectly or have all my doctrinal ducks in a row before He will be okay with me...

He is okay with all of us NOW. Isn't it great! He is so in love with us! He is so proud of us just as we are, where we are, right now. He isn't about doctrine anyway, just all about love. So I would never want to be about "pushing doctrine" but always about "spreading love."

Irenaeus' Rule of Faith

Irenaeus of Lyons was an early Church Father who lived in the second century. He wrote an early creed or "rule of faith" that is more ancient than the more commonly known Nicene Creed. I found it beautiful and wanted to share it here:

"This then is the order of the rule of our faith…: God, the Father, not made, not material, invisible; one God, the creator of all things: this is the first point of our faith. 

"The second point is: The Word of God, Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord, who was manifested to the prophets according to the form of their prophesying and according to the method of the dispensation of the Father through whom all things were made; who also at the end of the times, to complete and gather up all things, was made man among men, visible and tangible, in order to abolish death and show forth life and produce a community of union between God and man. 

"And the third point is: The Holy Spirit, through whom the prophets prophesied, and the fathers learned the things of God, and the righteous were led forth into the way of righteousness; and who in the end of the times was poured out in a new way a upon mankind in all the earth, renewing man unto God."

— Irenaeus, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 6

Jesus Says to Us

Can you hear Him? 

I can imagine the voice of Jesus saying what I feel is the message of redemption to us: 

“You’re not forgotten, you’re wanted. You’re not neglected, you’re cared for. 

You’re not forsaken, you’re embraced. You’re not lost, I’ve found you. 

You’re not hopeless, I’ve taken up your cause. You’re not alone, I’m with you. 

You’re not broken, you’re whole. You’re not sinful, you’re good. 

You’re not wretched, you’re lovable. You’re not vulnerable, you’re safe. 

You’re not spinning out of control, everything is all right. You’re not estranged, you’re part of the family.

You’re not a nobody, you’re my somebody! You’re not trash, you’re a treasure. 

You’re not ruined, you’re restored. You’re not bound, I’ve freed you! 

You’re not an enemy, you’re my friend. You’re not distant from me, I’ve got you in my arms. 

You’re not cast away, you belong with me! You’re not a misfit, you fit in with me.  

You’re not unimportant, I’d give my life for you! You're not dirty, you're clean.

You’re not unnoticed, you’ve got my full attention. You’re not an outcast, you’re royalty!