Who's Writing Your Love Story?

“Looking at him, she saw her future and felt all the ragged tears in her heart heal themselves. “I fit,” she whispered in marvel, stepping closer to him. “I fit with you.” He nodded and wrapped his arms around her. “Perfectly.”

While looking around Pinterest one day I found the sentences above in an artistic quote.
I assume it is from a love story. But it struck me as being so true for us as believers who come to Christ. 

We are a people with issues. We have huge holes torn into our hearts by life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are always on the lookout for people to love us. We look for acceptance and camaraderie. We are on the hunt, hoping this next boyfriend or girlfriend will fulfill us. We look for the friend that will stay with us through the long haul. We hope that someone will come alongside us in our walk of faith that will meet our longing to love and be loved. We get disappointed in the search because nobody can meet those high expectations. 

God speaks to my heart: Look to Me. I am your future. I will heal all the tears in your heart as you find your completeness in Me. Step into My love, accept My forgiveness and new life. You will find that you fit perfectly in Christ like you have never fit anywhere else. I long to wrap My arms around you and teach you of Myself, so that you will know that I am perfect for you. I love you with an everlasting love. I will watch over you, guide you, direct you and keep you safe all the days of your life. Just stay close to Me and let Me mold you and make you into a person of faith, courageous and victorious because you walk with Me. Other loves will grow cold or disappoint from time to time, but I am the One that your soul loves. I am the only way to find complete contentment, joy and peace. There is no other who can give you this. Wrapped in My love you will find yourself able to forgive offenses and hold others loosely in your life. I will also make other loves sweeter because you find the ultimate source of all your needs in Me. 

Oh beloved, have you been reading love stories and are you looking for love to find you? You may be wishing on fairy tales and romances, but God is speaking to your heart. He loves you because His essence and being are love. He cares about every issue in your life and everything that you are concerned about He is concerned as well. While you are searching for answers, He IS the answer. He cannot make others meet your needs, and they are not meant to meet them all. But He will meet all your needs just as He promises in His Word. He will meet your needs and more. He will give you a new heart. He will give you a new life. He will make the old things that tore you up and left you bleeding on the ground heal completely. You may have issues with others who didn’t love you with real love, but God is here to mend your broken heart and make all things new. Let Him lead you into a deeper walk of faith. Let Him teach you how to live in the light of His love. Let Him be your all in all and other things, other people, other situations will fall right into place. 

No wonder they call Him the Savior! He’s with you and He’s for you as His love envelopes your entire life. You are destined to walk in Him and fulfill all the wondrous things He has for you as you seek Him first. Get out His beautiful love story every day and read from its pages for the Bible contains the greatest love story ever written – just for you as you look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith for He alone is faithful to the end.

I Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Isaiah 43:21 The people whom I formed for Myself will declare My praise.

Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Jeremiah 31:3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself.”

Psalm 62:5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him.

Need a Good Reason to Celebrate Christmas?

A friend from Northwest Arkansas posted a little video of her boys, ages 6 and 3. She asked them what Christmas was all about.  They got very animated and said toys, gifts, fun!  Off camera you could hear her saying “and it’s Jesus’ birthday”.  They got wide eyed and whispered “Jesus birthday?”  and then they both said, “Happy Birthday Jesus!” They just smiled at each other and you could tell they liked the idea that it was a birthday.  The reason for the Season is easily lost in all the hubbub and celebration of the stuff we get, the places we go and the food we enjoy.  

But the truth about Jesus is all around us during this time of year.  There are the ornaments on the tree. Full of crosses and angels, along with stars atop shining brightly for the world to see.  There are the gift exchanges, signifying the giving of gifts by the Magi to the Christ child.  The evergreen tree reminding us that Jesus is the eternal, everlasting God. 

I saw a sign that I really liked and I think it says it all.  “Jesus is Not Just the Reason for the Season – He’s the Reason for Everything”.  Think about it. He’s the reason we live and move and have our being. We’re not here by accident but by divine decision. He’s the gift that keeps on giving. We receive Christ as our Savior, but that’s not the end of it. He continues to give us a reason to live every single day of our life, no matter what. And if God allows us another day on this earth, it is there to glorify the one who gives us breath.

We look for fulfillment probably more at Christmas than any other time. And yet, more people are sad and lonely and depressed at this time of year than any other. If Jesus is the Reason for the Season, then surely there must be more than this. It must be more than the gifts under the tree, the fellowship among friends, the hugs of family and the expenses incurred. It surely is more than the sorrow we’ve had, the sickness we’ve been through and the rejection, the pain, the loss and the questions that we are going through.

Look beyond the star and into the manger. Behold the Lamb of God! Behold the Christ who came to be all you will ever need! In Him is all your heart has ever desired. In Him is the meeting of every need you will ever face, every Truth you seek and every blessing you long for. This Holy season is a magnificent reminder that Jesus is the Reason for Everything.

Oh beloved, while you are rushing around trying to meet your own needs and the needs of every other person you have to buy for, impress and deliver to, there is Christ! He’s calling you to greater fellowship with Him. He’s calling you to be in tune with His heart so that your heart won’t grow cold in this season of stuff. There will never be another person, relationship, provision or source that can meet your deepest need. But He’s calling you to give you so much more than those gifts. He’s giving you Himself. And that, beloved, is all you will ever need. Let Him love you, let Him speak His truth into your heart, and let Him give you His rest and joy as you fellowship with Him. He will make your Christmas and every single of the 364 other days the most magnificent days as you lean on Him, learn of Him and live for Him.

Christ the Lord is your Savior and He loves you and He’s for you and He is your reason for living for Him all the days of your life.

Colossians 1:13-20  For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,  and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). (Amplified)

You Are Created to do what only You Can Do

As Danny left early one morning for work I noticed a small brown smudge on the storm door.  As we prayed for one another at the door and he walked out he turned and bent down to inspect the smudge.  Turns out it was a little snail! An amazing little creature of God’s earth climbing on the clear glass. He was not afraid nor was he stopping.  He was a living animal, created by God’s pleasure to do what only a snail can do.

We are a lot like that little snail. At times other people we encounter seem only like a smudge. We give little thought to them or their lives. They seem so small to us, so insignificant, so useless. At times we appear as only a smudge. I mean really, we feel useless don’t we? We see ourselves as little slugs with a shell we can recoil into when life gets rough and we tend to recoil a lot. Sometimes people pronounce us as slugs. We are useless to them. We have become just a smudge on their horizon and in their view we are in the way. We may be flicked away like so much dirt.  We may have flicked others away like such a nuisance.

God speaks to my heart:  Things will happen. Little dots of trouble, trials, nuisances will show up in your view along the way. It is only upon closer inspection that you will find My purpose in that smudge.  While you just want to flick your trials away, I want to use them to further My glory in you.  While you too may feel like a snail on glass, you are actually a beautiful creation meant for My purpose alone and I have you steady in My hand as you travel My plan for your life. And even if you are flicked away by people or circumstances, I will not let you be crushed! You will not lose your strength or your covering for I AM your all in all.  Every single time you feel humiliated, harassed or rejected, I AM growing you to be more like Me, so that I can use you in even greater capacity.

Oh beloved, Trust God! Rejoice in what He says about you! Rest in His promises!  And thank Him that you are more than because He is a More Than God!  All things are in His hands, including you and your life and your calling. Don’t despair but look into the Lord’s wonderful face, where the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace!

God loves you, and He’s for you and that’s enough to give you purpose and peace.

Isaiah 25:1 O Lord, I will honor and praise Your name, for You are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now You have accomplished them.

Psalm 57:2  I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His purpose for me.

Psalm 70:4 But may all who search for You be filled with joy and gladness in You. May those who love Your salvation repeatedly shout, “God is great!”

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will work out His plans for my life— for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for You made me.

You Can Have it All This Christmas!

Each year I work hard to make sure at least one present under the tree is something that the recipient really wants. I want them to be excited when they open the package. I want them to ooh and ahh and show delight in the contents.  While it may be something they “need”, still I want it to be fun.  While it may be something they asked for, still I want them to be surprised. My desire is to bless them. One of my grandsons asked me to open the presents now – why wait? Indeed, the expectancy of the looks on one anothers’ faces at the tree makes me all the more eager to participate in the gift exchange. Sometimes I wrap the presents and think that later I’ll get around to putting labels on them. This is a big mistake because I might forget, and have in the past, what was in the package and who it was for. So I’ve found myself opening the occasional package to remember.  Other times we adults have gotten tickled as little ones open packages and spend their time playing with the box, totally ignoring the gift that was inside!  

I know that Christmas isn’t always everything it’s cracked up to be. There are the issues of living life in a fallen world. There may be sorrowful things in your life. Adult children living away from God’s will, family members in failing health, jobs that no longer bring meaning, bills that keep piling up, spouses that grow cold and indifferent. Hurts and agonies and frustrations run rampant, it seems maybe even more so during this season. Christmas may not hold all the wonder it used to, but isn’t there something redeemable in this season turned so commercial? Isn’t there somewhere in the recesses of our hearts that we humans can find solace and hope and wonder again?

Maybe it’s time to put down the wrapping paper and the ribbons. Lay aside the long to-do list. Put aside the pile of bills for just a moment and ponder again the wonder of all that we can find in the Christ Child. All our hopes and dreams begin and end in Him and if we let Him, He will make not only Christmas, but every day a blessing in Him.   

Oh beloved, run to your Savior! He’s calling you so gently, so lovingly, so earnestly! It’s imperative that you rest in the love of Immanuel, for He is God with us! In this world you may find starkness and sorrow and little or no fulfillment, but in Him…. In Him  you will find all your hearts’ desires realized. In Him you will find all the comfort you could ever ask for. In Him you have rest for your weary heart, peace for your worried soul and joy for your sorrowing mind.  In Jesus, God will meet our every need, through Jesus we will be given every provision, and from Jesus we will receive every blessing God can give.

He says to you this morning, I AM your source of Light in a dark world. I AM your source of blessing in a world full of curses, I AM your provision in a world that is meeting less and less of your needs. From Me, in Me, all that you need is found. Rest in Me, rejoice in Me, for I AM all you will ever need and more.

While you may not find all you need under your tree, in your home, at your office or in your relationships, IN CHRIST you have it all! Now isn’t that worth celebrating and giving God the glory! Thank Him this morning as you rehearse all that you are in Him for He loves you extravagantly and He’s for you eternally! Wow, Immanuel, God with us – what a Savior, what a King, what a Love!

Colossians 2:9-10 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Isaiah 9:6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Colossians 2:7 Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 130:7  O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows.

Lamentations 3:24  I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”