The God from Sunday School

Behold, the God from Sunday School. 

Though you may not have called out to him in forever, He still hangs around.  In fact, He is more present that you may know and believe.

You were probably taught some of these concepts:

~Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

~God so loved the world that He gave His only son, so that whoever believes in Him shall be saved.

~If we confess, He will forgive.

There are others, and perhaps your mind is bringing those thoughts to the front as well.  The point is this … that same God of love and grace is still present.  He is still offering you grace, mercy and a second or third chance.

It does not matter how many times you may have rejected His call; the important fact is this … if you call out He will answer.

I want to borrow from my favorite mentor, Brennan Manning.  He presents the gospel of grace and mercy in such clear imagery

“I shall see the woman who had an abortion and is haunted by guilt and remorse but did the best she could, faced with grueling alternatives.

I’ll see the businessman besieged with debt who sold his integrity in a series of desperate transactions.

There will be the insecure clergyman addicted to being liked, who never challenged his people from the pulpit and longed for unconditional love.

And there will be the sexually abused teen, molested by his father, who is now selling his body on the street, who, as he falls asleep each night after his last ‘trick’, whispers the name of the unknown God he learned about in Sunday School

“But how” we ask?

“And the voice answers, ‘They have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

The God from Sunday School answers once again.  “I really do love you.  I want so desperately to redeem you.  Come to me, all who labor with heavy loads, and those burdened down with great guilt.  I will give you rest.”

He hasn’t changed.  He is still in the life-transformation business.  He still wants to love you and receive you without reservations.

Perhaps, today is your day to make the turn toward Him. 

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Hope Encouragement Inspiration

God Values You

I am continually amazed at how God values you and me.  To date, I haven’t written a Nobel Prize piece, I haven’t found a cure for cancer, I haven’t yet done a lot with my life.  You too?

Yet God values you and me.  He sees value in us and He continues reaching out to us in love and grace, yea, even mercy.

At the moment, I’m operating on less than three-fourths my cylinders.  Yet God still calls to me, He searches for me and prompts me to do the work of encouragement to which He has called me.

This verse speaks to me tonight – “I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1) That means God knows my name and He calls to me.  The same is true for you.  You are KNOWN to God.

In Psalm 139:14 I read “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  God had a hand in my creation.  He had a wonderful idea in forming us.  We are not an afterthought.  How about that.

Even if we are operating on half our cylinders, or with 85-90% blockage in our arteries, we are still of worth in God’s eyes.  God is with us and values us, you and me, greatly.

Thanks be to God.

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Hope Encouragement Inspiration

Begging God?

A personal journey:

I’m lying in a hospital bed on Wednesday night as I write this.  Tuesday morning of this week I was admitted for some heart issues.  It is a long saga, and I will not give all the details, except this one experience today.

It ended up that I needed to have an angiogram done on my heart.  This was a new experience for me, as I have not spent the night in a hospital since my tonsillectomy when I was six. 

As I lay waiting for my procedure I had a bit of time to pray and meditate.  My first thoughts turned naturally to God, and I immediately began a praise and thanksgiving prayer to God for already being present with me.  I didn’t beg, I didn’t plead, and I didn’t bargain with God.  I was aware that He was already in that room.

And I acknowledged that He was already with my medical team of four – 2 doctors and 2 attendants, because of the training and prep that they already had, and for the amazing medical equipment that was being used on me.  You see, God went ahead of me and guided some men and women in the design and manufacturing of those tools of the medical world.

God was present - in those moments in the present and in the past.

I was comforted and encouraged.

No begging. No cajoling.  No bargaining.

God came near.  He saw my situation.  He saw my needs and He appeared. 

And this is your testimony also.  God is already present – in the small activities of life and the major medical crisis.  Wherever you are, regardless of what you face, the God of my understanding is with us.  He is a very present help in times of need.

Thanks be to God!

Internet Church Blog Site

Hope Encouragement Inspiration