Psalms 51:12
Restore to me the JOY of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
Religion always seems such somber stuff.
It’s easy to slip into a grim, white knuckled faith.
I like “the JOY” of being His…David connects JOY to OBEDIENCE in his prayer… Fascinating stuff!
That’s why Paul and Silas can sing “Victory in Jesus” when they are in prison – they are doing what God wants them to do.
(Ever since I was a kid, that’s the song I imagined they were singing)
I’ll take more JOY, please…
John 14:6
I AM the way, the truth, and the life…
Jesus declares…. If you want to know how life works…I’m it.
For best results… Follow instructions.
So simple
So hard
So true.
ANYONE can come…
Because HE made the path.
John 8:58
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
When Jesus was telling uswhat we need to know about who He is, this is one of the biggies.
I’ve always liked His turn of phrase.
I take it to mean two things:
That means that the promises He makes are ALWAYS true.
The gifts that He gives are ALWAYS effective/real.
His Grace IS and WAS and IS TO COME…
THERE‘s something to hang onto in a shifting/sliding culture!
John 10:9
I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
“I AM the DOOR” is fascinating.
A door is all about access.
It’s also about protection
Jesus is all those things.
He is where we intersect Life
I’ll take it
John 10:14
I am the GOOD SHEPHERD , and I know My own and My own know Me… and I lay down My life for the sheep.
One of my best friends in High School raises sheep in upper Wisconsin. A lot of work, but he loves it.
I’m drawn to the image of THE GOOD SHEPHERD mostly because of what it says about Jesus’ active role in our lines.
Jesus:
What’s not to like about any of that?
Of course, that means we are the sheep, and sheep are dumb, helpless, and utterly lost without their shepherd. I guess that says a lot about US.
Awed
Amazed
Humbled
His
The I AMS:
(The first of 7 metaphors Jesus used to tell us about Himself)
John 8:12
…Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I AM the LIGHT of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
I was visiting Mammoth Cave on a tour, and the guide flipped a switch, turning the lights off. We spend 5 LONG minutes in absolute darkness.
Two things come to the forefront:
You can’t find things
You walk into stuff
Without the light of Christ, the world is like that.
Life goes on, BUT –
Light makes all the difference. I didn’t like the darkness of the cave so much, but I enjoy spending time out at night in remote areas where there is very little artificial light, and away from “light pollution.”. The view of the night sky is AMAZING! The lights are there, pointing to His Majesty.
What a great metaphor for life w/o God.
(Maybe that’s why Jesus said it twice)
He makes everything else make sense.
JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
STRIVING TO WALK WITH LIGHT
Philippians 2:13
” …it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Typically, I view this verse as God at work within me, making me the person I was created to be.
(and so it is: that’s Sanctification in a nutshell.)
In another sense, it is God entering into my daily life, using me and mine to enact His eternal plan
-for His world
-for others.
God in me… an agent of Eternity.
It blows the mind when you think about what all that means.
Striving to be clay, and hold the shape He’s molding me into, and not mud…
Hebrews 13:5
” … “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””
In Greek that has a FIVE FOLD negation…
Something like:
no… not ever
Never…never
NO WAY would I ever leave you
EVERYTHING seems to be shifting and sliding these days.
It’s good to be reminded:
One thing – Gods love and care – NEVER changes.
Working at living in His unchanging strength.
1 Thessalonians 5:24
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
The One who calls you will stay the course.
I’m not good with change… which means the last few years have been hard on me.
Our culture is so fickle and so feckless it seems the world has turned upside down.
Against that squirreliness comes the rock-solid promise:
He doesn’t change.
He is always there.
He is able to see it through.
Let the nations rage
and the kingdoms totter.
HE is faithful.
HE will bring it to pass.
Psalms 68:6
God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
I had the opportunity of worshipping with a lot of recovery types recently.
Great bunch with whom to worship.
It’s loud, boisterous, often quite animated.
I think the reason is because they KNOW why they need Jesus.
Looking to embrace him
Between the Garden and the Garden City 