God's Nature

"The love of God is not created--it is His nature...'Feed my sheep.'  Jesus has some extraordinarily peculiar sheep: some that are unkempt and dirty; some that are awkward and pushy, and some that have gone astray! But it is impossible to exhaust God's love, and it is impossible to exhaust my love if it flows from the Spirit of God within me...."  Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest"

As His children, we are loved so that we can share love!

BSA Troop 514 at the 2012 Klondike Derby

The weather at this year's Klondike Derby at Mud Lake across the road from the Anthony Lakes Ski Area was as bad as the worst I have been at since 1984.   The ski lifts did not run all day because of the high winds. And our Troop 514 Scouts were the best I have seen at an event like this.   Their cooperation and collaboration was outstanding.  They were a delight to watch work together.  They had slept in their snow caves Friday night and awakened to seven inches of new snow.  They competed on the Klondike Trail for three plus hours in snow and wind that at times created zero visibility.  No one complained or whined; they persevered and did the tasks they needed to do.  It was a real life challenge--an experience in survival that built confidence and character.

Always met by God's grace and mercy

"We come to God as we are: caught by sin and longing for God; and we are always met by God's grace and mercy."  Wendy Miller

God's Covenant with us

As I look at the secular law of contracts, and compare it to God's gift of covenant, I am astounded at the difference.  If we entered a contract, and one party breaks it, the contract ends. Penalties are imposed and the parties go their separate ways, unhealed and unforgiven.  God's covenant with us is from God alone to us; we  do not, did not, choose to enter into it. God made the decision to enter into this partnership with us, His creation, His people. We still must face His justice if we break the covenant, but God does not revoke it and walk away.  His unconditional love, His forgiveness and grace remain ever present for us when we repent and turn back to Him.  As Paul writes in Romans 8:39. "nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Happy Valentine's Day: the deepest love

How do we nourish our souls?

An elder told his grandson, "My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all.  One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego.  The other is Good.  It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth."

The boy thought about it and asked, "Grandfather, which wolf wins?"  The old man quietly replied, "the one you feed."

This story speaks to the core of our being. It does not matter who actually spoke this story.  It raises a question that has resounded through the ages.  Do we feed evil or do we feed good?  And where do we find our nourishment?  I believe only God can fill us.  The two Scripture verses for this week are just a brief selection of the deep wisdom that comes to us through God's Word, as written in the Bible and as lived in Jesus Christ.

Called by our name

Walking past a local elementary school, I watched a smiling little five year boy leave his mother's car and start running toward the school.  However, after a moment, he turned his head back toward his mother who was standing by the car door, and shouted "I love you, Mommy."  She turned and got into the car as he kept running. But then he turned around again, kissed his hand and blew the kiss to her. All the time he was smiling, running, loving. How great it is to be so loved and loving.

As adults, we often forget the time when we were so deeply loved and known by our parents. Or, we never experienced that love in the first place. And thus we feel lost and unattended in the vastness of the universe. Reuben Job provides wonderful insight that as people created by God, we are not orphans in an impersonal world. Rather, he writes, "the Biblical record clearly affirms the fact that God knows us and calls us by name...We belong to God who claims us as beloved children and holds us close in the embrace of strength and love. Listen and remember today the God calls your name and be transformed and sustained in all that awaits you."

What an incredible relationship!  How often do we blow kisses to this our God?