Category: faith

T-Minus 3 Days till 2021 – Lord give me a new heart.

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I am not big on New Year’s resolutions, never really have been. Oh, don’t get me wrong I’ve made a few now and again, usually something trite or superficial having to do with the way I look or how I want others to see me. This year however, is different. I think we can all agree that 2020 has been like nothing we’ve ever seen, and we’re all hoping, never to see again.

2020 has brought changes in all of us that require a second look, a moment to ponder our lives, our experiences, and ultimately our future. So, over the next few days, leading up to the close of 2020 and the hopeful ringing in of 2021, I want to share with you my resolutions. Well, they are actually more prayers for intervention into my life. I am expectant for what God is going to do in my life and the lives of my family and my church in the days and months ahead. I am expectant because I believe that these are what God has placed in my heart, and how he wants me to move forward into 2021. I know that when we accept Jesus, it is the ultimate new beginning, as is each day we get up and reconfirm that decision. I also know there are times in our lives that God moves in our hearts to reflect on those decisions and how they are (or are not) being played out in our day-to-day lives. New Year’s seems an almost natural time for us to pray about those area’s that the Holy Spirit has either convinced or convicted and ask God to help us make a fresh start.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:26-27

Just as God promised his people that he would give them a new heart and a new spirit, and that he would move them to follow his degrees and keep his laws. I am praying the same for myself and my family.

Lord, give me a new heart. Give me a heart to love your people the way you do. Help me to love them where they are not where I might want them to be. Philippians 2:1-3

Lord teach me to forgive and give me a short memory. Help me to remember that the people of this world are not my enemy, Ephesians 6:12

Lord help me to be patient, kind, understanding, generous, and respectful to everyone I meet, regardless of their treatment of me. Romans 5:2-4

This year I have struggled with seeing people through God’s own heart. So much of my struggle and frustration has stemmed from me seeing those around me in an adversarial way. Those around me, although they may have different opinions, thoughts, feelings, habits, reactions, and perceptions than me, are not my enemy. They are God’s children, just as I am. We are all in the same boat and walking through the same world. My prayer for this next year is that God will give me a new heart and place a new spirit in me. I ask him to turn that heart of flesh toward him and toward those around me. Lord fill my heart with compassion and understanding and let my life reflect all that you have done for me.

Pease help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change your life, and our world!

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come back and visit at ListenLearn.Live Ministries

Easy and hard, we have it backwards

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I was having a conversation the other day with a friend who was facing a dilemma. She knows the right decision to make, she knows the wrong decision to make. She knows the wrong decision is going to cause long term pain and suffering while providing immediate satisfaction. This is not an uncommon conversation, someone comes to you, wanting your support for a decision they know they shouldn’t make, but they give 101 reasons why it will make them happier…in the short term.

What struck me was the comment she made, it’s one we’ve all heard, and I’m sure agreed with, for the most part. She said, “Why is choosing the right path always so hard?” The right decision is always the hard decision, the decision that is going to require sacrifice or cause pain. The wrong decision is the easy decision, the one that brings the most immediate satisfaction.

As I thought about this on my way home after the conversation, I think we have this concept of right being hard and painful and wrong being easy and satisfactory, backwards. We believe that to do right we have to suffer and to do wrong we are indulging our fleshly passions. First when I state right and wrong, I’m talking about sin; specifically, when we are faced with choices to love God first, and then others as ourselves, or the choice to place our fleshly wants and needs above loving God first and others as ourselves. When you think about it, those are the only choices that really matter.

We have a mindset, and we share it with others, that to love God first and others as ourselves (that is a very important statement found in Matthew 22:36-40) means we must suffer, it will be a grueling decision that will cause short term pain and maybe long-term gain. I want you to listen to Jesus own words, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus tells us that he is humble, we’ll find rest in him and that his burden is light. The reason that we struggle with the right decision (love God first and then others as ourselves) is that we are constantly battling with the world. We are constantly at war with what our sinful nature wants, not what the Holy Spirit in us wants. The battle is self-inflicted. When we chose God, when we chose love then as long as we stand with those choices and don’t stray from that path the choice to love is easy.

“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11

“The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” Proverbs 4:18

“Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.  The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” Isaiah 26:6-8

When we follow the path that Jesus has laid out for us; Love God first and others as ourselves, our life, our choices will be dictated by love. The only pain or loss we’ll feel is that of the world, and the more we chose life over death the less we’ll feel that sting.

Doing what is right means we are giving up on the things of this world that lead us to death. Choosing right, then, should be the easy decision. Living for immediate gratification from things of this world that are temporary and will disappear, only leads to wanting more things of this world for immediate gratification from things of this world that are temporary and will fade away. This choice is a vicious cycle of insatiable want that will never end and leads to death. The pain in that cycle is eternal dissatisfaction with who we are, what we have, and how to get more, because it will never be enough.

The simplest way I can state this; love is the easy decision. Loving God first and others as ourselves is the only thing that can satisfy our souls. Truly satisfy, as in we will not want anything else. The hard decision, the one that brings unending pain and suffering is the one that seems to bring immediate satisfaction, but it soon fades and leads to greater and greater need for more to fill the never-ending gaping hole in our lives.

The choice, then, is easy; eternal life by loving God first then others as ourselves. When we are truly satisfied by Christ and that abundant blessing is overflowing from us to others, even when the storms of live are brewing around us, and circumstances are trying to make us forget that we have everything, we can stand firm knowing that the storm will pass, and we will be with Christ victorious. Storms subside, always. Trials cease, always. Christ’s love, forgiveness, peace, patience, kindness, and grace are boundless, unceasing, and eternal.

The hard choice is the one we make that keeps us in bondage to the world of suffering, pain, loss, and confusion, that always leads to death. The easy choice is Christ, that always leads to life.

Pease help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change your life, and our world!

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come back and visit at ListenLearn.Live Ministries

Altar of Thanksgiving

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Close-up Of Gratitude Word With Pen On Notebook Over Wooden Desk

Throughout Old Testament Scripture we read that altars were created to commemorate some act that God performed on behalf of His people. Whether it was to mark the creation of a covenant, celebrate a victory, remember a promise, mourn a defeat, or forge a relationship, altars were created to memorialize what God had done for His people so they would not forget, so they would remember and have something to point to when sharing with their children and their children’s children.

An altar was a sacred place; it was where we came to make offerings and to atone for our sins. It is where we laid down our burdens and our sins and came clean before God. The altar of God was a place without pretense or pride, we humbled ourselves before God and acknowledged our lack, our inability, our weakness, and utter brokenness.

In our churches today, altars are seen much the same. The altar is a place where we come forward seeking forgiveness, provision, strength, guidance, and interceding for those we love. In our churches the altar has become a place where we bear our deepest pain, struggles, desires, failures, and fatigues. It’s not to wonder that the altar has become known as the mourner’s bench or the sinner’s rail, a place one comes to when they’ve sinned or need help, but this is exactly what the altar is for! God wants for us to come to Him with our troubles, He want to be the balm that soothes our weary souls, He wants to offer forgiveness, and discernment, and direction. God wants us to come to His altar with all our troubles and to lay them down.

The altar is a place of release, a place where we can unburden our hearts to the one who already knows everything and loves us regardless. The one who died for us even while we were living in our sin and brokenness. It is no wonder that people are drawn to the altar when they don’t believe they have any place else to turn.

I love Christmas movies! I love the feelgood nature of the, and there seems to be an unlimited number of movies to make you shed tears of joy. I’ve noticed that when it comes to Christmas movies, most of them, at some point, find the protagonist at a church, at an altar, asking God for help, for guidance, for Him to intercede in a miraculous way. In some cases, it is just a plea for a sign to show God is there. The altar is so much more than a place or a thing. It is where we come to meet God. It is where some of us have made life altering decisions, experienced the Holy Spirit in a way that is inexpressible. It is a place where we not only come to meet God, but also a place where we can point to and say, “that spot right there is where I met Jesus for the first time.”

We have a lot of altar calls happening in churches right now. If your church is like my church, we are opening the altars every week as a place for people to come forward and meet God. Whatever the reason, they come with their heads in their hands, tears streaming down their face, knowing that awaiting them are the loving arms of the Father. Each week, people walk forward to seek forgiveness, ask for provision, seek wisdom and direction for challenges in their lives. The altar is part of our public worship and a sharing of our deepest hurts in a safe community that loves and supports us.

While thinking about this today, I began to wonder why our altars are a mourner’s bench and a sinner’s rail, and not a seat of worship and praise? Why do our altars see more tears of brokenness than tears of joy?

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100

While this year has been incredibly hard for millions and millions of people. I have been trying to focus on all the ways that God has continued to bless me, my family, friends, and my church. Trying to see each challenge as an opportunity to learn and grow. God is teaching me patience, grace, and more patience. During all the hardship, fear, anxiety, struggles, and feelings of absolute inadequacy in the face of so much, God has remained faithful. Each day I find something else to praise God for, some new way He has blessed me, or that I just hadn’t noticed before.

I want to go to the altar, not to ask or to receive but to give to God the only thing I have, my praise, my gratitude, my thanksgiving. What an amazing testimony it would be if just one Sunday, instead of opening the altar for people to bring their wants and needs, instead to bring their praise and worship. What a witness to have a church full of people fill the front of the room around the altar to just thank God for all He is doing in their lives, amid their troubles, in the midst of uncertainty, in the middle of the mess, we thank God for all He has done to bless our lives, to show us favor, to provide for our needs, and to never leave or forsake us.

A church full of people, on their knees at the altar of God just giving praise and thanksgiving?

The altar of God is always open, the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts so we don’t actually have to go to a place to ask for forgiveness, provision, peace and direction. We can do that from anywhere. On our knees at our bedside or an altar in the church. The important part is to go there. My challenge to each of us is to remember that along with our requests, along with our wants and needs, we should always remember to thank, in advance and with expectation the one to whom we owe all things.

Even if

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We are told to let God fight our battles, but what does that mean exactly? What does it mean for us to be in a place where the God of the universe will stand before, behind, and beside us against our enemies?

Reading through the book of Daniel, I see such a moment. A moment where three men were given a choice, God or the world, and by choosing God, He defended them.

“I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” Daniel 3:15

King Nebuchadnezzar didn’t pick a fight with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Sure he thought he could bully them into submission by holding their lives in the balance, but notice the last line of his statement, “And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” He dared God to intervene, he arrogantly proclaimed that there was not god that was stronger than he. Even after all God had done for him personally, he took his fight to the highest court, God was not going to leave his chosen and faithful believers unaided.

“Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” He said, “Look! I see four men talking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Daniel 3:24-25

God will not abandon His faithful. That does not mean you have to be perfect, or get all things right, or never make a mistake, it means you must be faithful. You must put God first, when we do that, when we chose Him over whatever else is calling for our attention, God will ALWAYS show up.

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” Romans 10:9-10

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down and worship an enormous gold statue that the King had erected for himself. They made the decision to remain faithful to their God and His commands, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:1-6

Even though they were in exile, taken as children and acculturated into Babylonian society, they remembered the teachings of the Lord. They remembered his commands while being basically brainwashed to be Babylonians. Because of their faithfulness, God provided for them in all ways. Elevating them well above those who were native to the culture. They stood apart, stood above, and were favored by the king, until they drew a line in the sand. They would NOT bow down and worship a foreign God.

King Nebuchadnezzar didn’t just threaten the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, which was bad enough, he dared God to defy him. He dared the God to, “just try”, and step in. He challenged the Sovereign God of the Universe to a game of chicken, and lost, miserably.

I love the answer that they provide the King after he lays down the ultimatum, assimilate or die a painful horrible death.

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”” Daniel 3:16-18

WOW! Not only do they respond with, “yes, He is able” but also with “yes, He will”. Their confidence in Gods ability and willingness to save them (either in this life or the next) is absolute and they have no doubt. My favorite words, however, are what come next. “But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Even if… Even if we die in this world, we will not worship your Gods. Even if we lose our job, our home, our family, we will not turn aside from the God who sent His son to save us. Even if we become outcasts, lepers, strangers, we will remain faithful to the God of our forefathers, and we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that He will do battle for us.

Even if. We hear these words from Daniel, Esther, Ruth, Job, Paul, Peter, all the saints and faithful believers throughout history and into today. Those living in countries where owning a Bible is a death warrant, even if it means they die a horrible death, they remain faithful.

Even if, is our response to, But God. We read throughout God’s word how His people faced unsurmountable odds, situations and conditions that pushed them well beyond the limits of natural human endurance, then we read, But God. He defends His faithful, our response is, Even If. Even if we don’t get what we want or thing should happen, even if our lives turn out every different and we are forced to endure the unendurable, even then we will praise you Lord. Even then we will refuse to bow down before any idol, even then we will worship you, and no one else but you.

Even if…

Pease help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change your life, and our world!

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come back and visit at ListenLearn.Live Ministries

You get them for a reason…use them!

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Over the past 4 months I have been working my way through 2 seminary courses that I’d like to call Big words Theology I, and Big words Theology II.

In these classes I’ve studied words like Justification, Regeneration, Salvation, and Sanctification. It was so crazy in the beginning, that, no joke, I would be sitting with my text book, a Bible dictionary and a notebook, writing down all these words with their definition, spelling them out three times each, and using them in a sentence…Can you tell my life has also been about helping my children with virtual schooling?

It occurred to me during these classes that, too often in Christianity, we make simple things more difficult than they need to be. We use big church words, straight out of the Bible, but not words we use in everyday conversation. For people who did not grow up in the church, how do we share what Jesus did and who God is, in a way that relevant, and relational, and more easily understandable?

I shared with one of my classmates that to really understand scripture, you have to take what you think you know, deconstruct it down to the smallest, simplest elements to see where your beliefs come from, then let scripture and the Holy Spirit help you to build it back up again.

What you find is that some pieces you won’t use any more, some new pieces get added in, other pieces get a more prominent role, and ultimately some pieces get left out entirely. In the end you have a faith build on a solid foundation of scriptural knowledge you can talk about.

So that was a long-winded way of stating a simple concept. Studying Scripture can kind of be like building furniture from IKEA.

IKEA is an amazing, do it yourself, store. They have everything there. The displays are beautifully and professionally decorated, the furniture seems sturdy, and you can just picture how that new entertainment center, or kitchen hutch, or bunk beds are going to look in your home. So you walk up to the perfectly designed display, grab the tag next to your chosen item  then go out to the warehouse that’s twice the size of Costco, find your shelf, and load a very, very large box onto your cart.

You see the photo on the box that reinforces your belief that what you are purchasing is exactly what you’re looking for. You get in line, pay for your item, then you carefully load it in your car and head home.

Once you get home you open the box, and pieces start falling out, all kinds of pieces, some roll under the couch, others land on your toe, others you’re able to grab before they smash into something else. You carefully collect the pieces, clear a space, lay them out on the floor, and then begin the search for your instructions.

Slowly… laboriously… meticulously you read all the many pages of instructions in multiple languages, in case of translational differences, right before beginning the assembly process.

Ok, so, we jump right in and start trying to re-create the image we saw at the store with all the pieces and parts we have, of course forgetting those that rolled under the couch. Soon we discover we don’t have all the tools we need, so we improvise.

Finally, after what seems like hours (and really was hours) you step back to see what you’ve created and… it really doesn’t look exactly like you remember it, it doesn’t look like it did in the store, it doesn’t look like it does in your friend’s house. What happened?

So, you have some pieces left over, so what, even Lego gives you extra pieces. So, you used some of your own hardware because some was missing (or under the couch). You ask everyone to come and admire your work undaunted by their quizzical looks.

You decide to gently, move it into place, and just as you pick up one side, pieces begin to pull away. The screws you used to replace the ones you lost pull apart and the whole thing comes down with a large crash. But that’s ok… because you really weren’t sure if it would fit there anyway.

Our faith, or beliefs, our walk is so often something that we think is going to make our lives look better, and easily fit right in. Like a new dining room table with all our friends and family joyfully gathering round. When we move forward with our belief, but disregard the instructions, substitute parts, don’t use the right tools, and expect life changing results, when our dream or image of what the Christian life is supposed to look like – when the picture on the box doesn’t look like the picture your built – we say it doesn’t work, it’s not real, it’s not for me, my life is too complicated, too messy, I can’t have nice things… we turn and walk away.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11:1

We can’t hope to have the life in Christ that we all long for if aren’t willing to believe with our hearts, follow the instructions, use the right tools, and leave our old parts behind. When we don’t do this our lives, our faith is like a house built on sand.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

It will not stand, it will come crashing down, and not because it isn’t real, or doesn’t work, or your life is to messy, or complicated but, because we didn’t follow the instructions of the person who designed and created our life. We were given instructions on how to build our lives, we were provided the tools needed to construct, and the parts required. We liked the picture, we liked the idea, we didn’t think it would be so much work.

Living like Christ is not easy; however, it’s not complicated either. Romans 10:9 states, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Simple enough right?

Once you make that decision, the rest is a matter of following the instructions, using the tools, and the parts provided. We have been given everything we need to live the life God designed for each of us to live. The Apostle Peter tells us, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3) And we read in 2 Timothy that, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

God wants us to teach and equip us for the work he has for us to do. The box won’t be too big for the car, the pieces won’t roll under the couch, the right tools will be provided. All we need to do is follow the directions and pray. God will take care of the rest.

Friends, scripture is full of words that may not be as common to some as to others. However, we know that the intent of those words is to give us the understanding we need of God and his will for our lives, to have a relationship with Jesus who was the perfect example for us to follow, and be aware of how the Holy Spirit will work in and through us to accomplish Gods plans for our lives and this world.

Unlike IKEA everything is provided for us to build our lives with Christ as the cornerstone, it will be more beautiful, and complete, and fulfilling than you could possibly imagine…just follow the instructions.

Pease help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change your life, and our world!

Like, share, comment, and add your email to receive more blog posts, podcasts, and more!

come back and visit at ListenLearn.Live Ministries

Horizontal snow in the desert

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God is working in the world today, people who say he is not, well I think they either need to redefine what they believe to be God’s work ,or they need to open their eyes.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

In my short time in this life, I’ve begun to notice a pattern in how God works. No, I can’t predict the future or claim to fully know the mind of God. However, I have observed how he interacts with his creation and through my own life, and how that is mirrored in scripture.

God moves. He does not sit back waiting for all his plans to fall into place. He has made plans, and they will be fulfilled. However, we have the freedom to choose how we participate in those plans. The Holy Spirit is working every moment, every day, in every heart to bring about this purpose, which is that everyone be saved and reconciled to him. I want to point out that the battle for our salvation has already been won, Jesus dealt the decisive, irrevocable blow.

God’s plan is not a plan of defeating the enemy, that he’s already done that. His plan is ensuring your victory. The enemy knows he’s lost the war, his goal is to continue fighting and to steal victory away from as many people as he can. He wants to take you out before you realize what Jesus did for you and you welcome him in.

God moves – – toward us. Throughout the scriptures and the history of mankind, no on has ever moved toward God on their own. There is a great song out right now by Casting Crowns called “Love Moved First“, the chorus reads;

You didn’t wait for me to find my way to You,
I couldn’t cross that distance even if I wanted to.
You came running after me,
When anybody else would’ve turned and left me at my worst,
Love moved first.

The Apostle Paul reminds us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. God didn’t wait for us to turn to him, He moved toward us first, out of his love for each one of us he made a way. From the very beginning God has made himself known to his people. He walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve, he spoke with Cain and Able, Noah, and Abraham, with each subsequent generation our ability to hear him became less and less until only those deemed righteous by God  could hear him speak. Our ability to hear and see God working in the world and in our lives is directly related to how we are living.

God through the power of the Holy Spirit, is always speaking, always working, always moving, if you say you can’t see, hear, or feel his movement in your life, perhaps you need to take a good hard look at your life, your heart, your choices. The seed of God’s Spirit can’t grow in bitter, selfish, greedy and prideful soil. Those weeds that are growing and being cultivated in your life leave no room for anything else. If you are living for yourself, there is no room for God. When we live to gratify our own wants, there is no room for the Spirit of God to work in our lives, Galatians 5: 13-26. The good news is that God only needs space to plant a tiny seed. We don’t have to clear the garden on our own, we need to invite hi in and he’ll take care of the rest.

RSVP – – Respondez sil vous plait means to please respond, or to require confirmation of an invitation. The Holy Spirit is always inviting us to a relationship with God. He is always active and moving, even when it doesn’t seem that way. He moves – – toward us – – what is our response. God’s invitation is ‘open ended’ (having no determined limit or boundary). Even if we turn our back on him, he will still pursue, his invitation stands. Our response, turn toward, turn away, choose to do nothing at all, is what’s required. And choosing not to choose is a choice, not to turn toward God.

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Revelation 3:15-17

God’s invitation, though infinite in patience is imperative in nature. He requires a response, one way or the other.

“It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” Romans 14:10-12

Every knee will bow and tongue confess he is Lord. Whether they bow in joyful, reverence to their Sovereign Lord or confess that they were wrong, in that moment all will know He Is Lord. The imperative nature of the invitation is that we don’t know when the moment will come, when we’ll face our Creator. Our decision to believe, not believe, or delay, doesn’t change God.  He is, and we will meet him face to face – our choice has no impact on his existence.

Having grown up in the desert, I might not believe that snow can blow horizontally. Even seeing pictures and hearing first hand stories, I may blow it off as myth, claiming, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” When I do come face to face with a blizzard blowing horizontal snow, having not believed, I would neither be prepared. I would die.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” Hebrews 11:1-3

God moves – – toward us – – we respond. He’ll keep moving to will and work to bring us back to him. Ultimately the choice to receive his free gift is up to us.  It will always be our choice, to the last moment of our lives…not beyond.

Make a choice for Jesus, give him that tiny spot in your heart to move and you’ll be amazed at how your life will change. You don’t have to know everything you just need to RSVP your attendance, He’ll help you through the rest.

Please help me share the good news of Jesus and how He can change your life, and our world!

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