It’s morning—a little earlier than usual. And I’m sitting here by my office window, watching the sky take on the golden glow of a new day. I woke up a few minutes ago with that familiar, yet always surprising feeling.
Sort of a “tap, tap,” on my soul.
There is an urgency to it, compelling me to pay close attention, and to not jump out of bed just yet. So I am still. I wait and listen. They are the words of a friend. I can trust them. Never bossy, but softened with a humble politeness—giving me the freedom to ignore them, if I so choose.
But I learned long ago what my choice should be.
I lie awake, in the early morning darkness, still listening. Still learning. Allowing the message to permeate my mind, until my heart jumps. Now I am compelled to get up, find paper and a pencil. My coffee drips its last as I quickly feed the cats, who are staring a hole through the back patio doors at me. Yes, it morning, with first things first.
I wouldn’t stand before God and say that coffee and kitty cats are non-negotiable, but hey. God knows. He mercifully and patiently waits, as I stir in my cream.
And then I sit down, here at my writing place, with the Lord—and with you.
Does it sound a little odd that I imagine myself sitting here with you—someone I’ve never actually met? By normal standards, that would be a valid judgment. Except for faith, and love.
And the fact that God, who woke me up today, has placed you at the forefront of my mind and heart so much—
Well, it’s as if you are sitting next to me right now.
God is the Great Orchestrator of Our Lives.
There is a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Or the ear. There is a divine orchestration in progress.
“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
(1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
It’s like when many different instruments—placed and played together, though they each have their own separate and unique sound—have created that unmistakable collection of sounds, able to move both mind and soul. They do not play indiscriminately, but follow the pattern placed before them.
We call it music. I call it some kind of miracle—that such amazing persons have found their places, and come together as one.
And in much the same way, you and I—and even God—are all coming together, each with our own unique parts to play. Speaking, listening, learning, doing and becoming this masterpiece of purpose that only God can fully understand.
I mentioned that I was up early. Sure, this has become pretty routine. I call it my “ministry of listening.” And I try to pay close attention to my Instructor. Because without Him, I would soon be way off course.
But that’s enough about me. Because this blog is all about you. You are definitely the main reason for all of this time and effort.
Before I can further explain your part in all of this, I must direct your attention to the One who has brought us together. The One who has made this meeting possible. Because without Him, nothing we can say or do would make much sense, or have any value.
Just like with the orchestra, God is the Great Composer, putting all of the pieces together. I call it “God’s ministry of meeting you right where you are.”
So whatever you do, don’t bail on me now. God wants to meet you, right here and right now.
God’s Motive is Love.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
(John 3:16)
These words are amazing and powerful. Most everyone has heard this scripture, where the apostle John superbly explains the Father’s motivation for sending Christ Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sin, that we may believe on Him and be saved.
Naturally, the main focus is on the sacrifice and salvation. It is our hope, given where there was no hope before. But let your attention be drawn to the real reason that any of this could take place. “For,” meaning “because,” God so loved the world—He gave.
Have you ever wondered about that? Why did God give up so much, just to gain you and me? It seems like so little in return, doesn’t it? I know that I’ve wondered about this. And I think I’ve worried about it at times. Because it’s about God’s love, and I just don’t understand it.
This verse was designed to get noticed.
You see, places in the Bible that report such profound and life altering information are much like a public notice—a poster we may find on a police station wall somewhere. The notice could read, “WANTED” or “MISSING.” There might be a photo of the person of interest, along with their name. Maybe a further description, or the place they were last seen.
John 3:16 is actually a public notice—as God announces His great concern for His lost creation. Missing. Wanted. Deeply and dearly loved.
The announcement goes on to tell us that He is taking drastic measures, to save His lost creation from certain death.
It’s going to hurt Him plenty, to send His only Son to die for us. Apparently, this love God has for you and me goes way beyond our natural understanding of love.
Have you ever really stopped to think about God’s love—what it is, and why it is? Don’t get me wrong. None of us are going to understand it fully. What can we even compare it to?
I would have said there is nothing, but I think He gave me a clue.
“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
“this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”
(Exodus 3:2, 13-14, 15b)
Here we find Moses asking God, “whom shall I say is sending me?” God says, “Tell them I am that I am.” Because God exists eternally, outside the scope of time, this would also mean, “I will be who I will be.” In other words, “I am the One. The Only God. All that I do, and all that I will do—all that I am, and forever will be—is God.”
There is really no arguing with that. So if we wonder why God loves us like he does, we must understand that His love is not conditional. He already loved us, before we did anything—good or bad.
Think about where love comes from. God is love. It means that His love is a noun first, before it ever becomes a verb. He created this world with that same, motivating love that caused Him to send His Son to save His world.
His love can not be earned, but only received. This is the great love of our Heavenly Father. We see it, but we cannot really explain it. So we believe it, and receive it by our faith—trusting Him that it is true.
We have nothing within ourselves to offer Him, except that same faith to believe, and our obedience that follows.
So what is God’s love? Really, it is a mystery—one I am convinced will not be solved until we see Him face to face. Because God’s love—much like His name—just is. It is that it is. And that is why it never changes.
We can fully trust in this never-ending, never changing God, who loves us so completely. Looking at John 3:16 again, the words “so loved” attests to the extent of the love God has for all of us—anyone—whether we are believers or non-believers.
So what is God actually doing when He loves His world? I believe He is not only bestowing His great love upon us, but is also expressing His great hope for us, that we might soon know Him, and be His. God’s greatest joy is when a person becomes His.
Let’s look closer at what it means to be His. In the book of Matthew, while Jesus is here on earth being baptized by His cousin, John the Baptist, the word, “beloved” is literally spoken by the Father over His Son:
“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
(Matthew 3:16-17)
Right before this, we see John protesting to Jesus, that he is the one who needs to be ministered to by Christ, and not the other way around. But Jesus basically says to John, “yes I get what you’re saying—but this baptism of mine by you is for a specific reason, that all prophecy should be fulfilled.”
So when Christ comes up out of the waters of baptism, His Father speaks audibly and deliberately—proclaiming His Son’s act of obedience as being recognized and honored by God the Father. Father God announces, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.”
That word “beloved” speaks of God’s own good pleasure—the pronouncement declared upon His dear Son, for following through with His Father’s will. That’s wonderful for God’s own Son, but what does that have to do with us—His world?
Actually, everything. Because when any of us believes in God’s Son, Jesus, we transition from just being generally “so loved” along with the whole world, to being liberated from our world—and linked directly to our Father God, through Christ Jesus. Now He is joyfully able to call us His “beloved.” His dear sons.
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.” (Ephesians 1:5-6)
“Accepted in the beloved.” Can you hear the authority in this title, that God gives His sons? There is nothing better than to be called His “beloved.” Silver and gold cannot begin to buy such a title, which is bestowed upon His adopted children. We are His—and we are dearly loved.
God Takes Your Life Personally.
Yes, God loves His world so very much.
But we are also His deep concern. Because if our greatest enemy—Sin—isn’t dealt with, it is going to ruin everything good. So God must take drastic and decisive actions to save us from our greatest enemy.
Let that filter down through the layers of your being, and grasp—maybe for the first time—who you are in God’s mind.
He hurts for you. He hopes for you. He even dies for you.
With God, this is personal.
It speaks of timing and placement—this passionate and purposeful love of God. It is no accident where and when His love was poured out upon a lost and dying humanity.
An enemy has come to steal, kill and destroy what God has so lovingly and joyfully created. God’s creation, His perfectly purposed world, has been hijacked by the impostor “god” of this world. The fraudulent one, “satan,” attempts to steal all humankind from the father—to take His very own children and ruin them for an eternity.
How should the Creator of all things good respond to such deception and thievery? Mothers and fathers, how would you feel if someone was trying to steal your dear baby? You would fight for them. You would kill for them.
Try to imagine our Father, God, responding to that onslaught of Sin. What could He do? He killed for us—but with a love that only the Father God can fully understand. He allowed His very own Son to die, in our place of death, upon a cruel cross of shame.
Again, John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world,” that He gave. That word, “gave,” is deliberate, as God’s authority grants and initiates the cure—the only just and righteous cure for the plague of sin destroying this world. His world.
He gave what could not be taken from Him, but only given to be received—that “whosoever” would believe Him for such a gift might not perish, but instead take that wondrous gift of life.
Yes, I was up kind of early this morning—the Lord woke me up to the fact that there was someone on His mind. You.
I don’t know you, but the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth knows all about you. He knows what I can not know. He sees what I can’t see, and He goes where I can’t go.
I don’t know what kinds of situations you encounter, or what trouble you might be facing. God not only knows it, but He completely understands it. And if you are hurting, you can bet that He is hurting too.
You may be overwhelmed by the enormous problems in your life.
Or maybe you are burdened down with your past. The weight of reliving your failures puts you in that never-ending loop of accusation. The enemy has learned what hurts you, and he’s pleased to push those buttons, if he can get to them.
Maybe you are caught, trapped and tread upon by that same old addiction. It is a prison, just as sure as there were bars of steel around you.
Or you might be overpowered by obstacles. Things beyond your control. Physical conditions, or emotional barriers that hold you back.
Or you may be dealing with certain emotions. Wounds that have healed badly, or not at all. Raw places that can keep you circling around. Those same old emotional mountains that are keeping you from finding your true, God-gifted direction in life.
Maybe you are plagued by anxiety, or uncertainty. Distrust, or fears. You might be feeling small and forgotten.
Possibly, you are filled with resentment or bitterness toward situations or people you feel have hurt you, used you, or slandered you. Hurts like that can cut to the core.
Or maybe it is you who has hurt, disappointed and basically messed up others lives. It is a lot to live with.
Would you believe me, when I admit that I’ve struggled with many of these things? And I know what these struggles can do to a person, over the course of many years. It can be paralyzing.
You may be way past discouraged, and on the verge of giving up—on yourself, or on life. By now, you could even be numb to the pain, like someone slowly freezing to death out in the cold. No longer feeling—no longer caring about the dire conditions you are facing.
If this is speaking to you, then you are at a pivotal place. Are you about to give up? Please, please, consider what you’ll be giving in to.
Satan lies in wait, and watches for that moment—the moment of desperation, when you come to the end of yourself—to push you into something you normally wouldn’t do.
But did you know that God is also waiting for the moment that you come to the end of yourself? And He has a weapon that He desperately wants to give you. It is yours, for the asking.
It’s a Rock.
“Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” (Luke 20:18)
It’s painful and it’s powerful—and it’s your way out. Go ahead and fall on Him—Christ Jesus, the Rock of your salvation. Yes, you will be broken. But the power that the enemy uses over you—sin, fear and shame—will be broken as well.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
Suffering and sin is hard on the soul. It wears you out. But Jesus offers rest for the weary in heart, and the burdened souls who are tired of doing things their own way.
God Uses Your Circumstances.
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3)
Believe me, Jesus is “acquainted with grief.” He knows how it feels to be ignored, despised and rejected. He has felt everything you are feeling. He has been everywhere you have been, and He will be there every step of the way for you. Because He is the Way. The only way.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Proverbs 18:21)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue. You have the power to ask God for help. By asking, you are giving the Savior permission to save you, that you may overcome sin, and make it.
But let’s get very real for a minute. God totally understands the human condition, and He’s not just going to set you free of your problems so that you can feel better, and then happily forget Him. That’s not how this works.
Instead, He is going to use the circumstances that you are in. He didn’t necessarily create your problems, but He will certainly use them to make you into the person you would have never been without the struggles.
You see, trouble isn’t the worst thing to have, if you are able to find God through it. The worst thing is to never find God.
God Doesn’t Leave the Wounded Behind.
There is way too much at stake here. Your life is on the line.
Anyone entangled in sin and trouble is like a fellow soldier fallen on the battlefield. You’ve taken some hits. You’re down but you’re not done. Not yet. And soldier, there’s just no way I’m leaving you behind.
You were just as brave as anyone. Just as smart, just as capable. And most of all, Jesus died to save you.
To Him, you are so worth saving.
So if there is any way possible for me to drag you out of there, I’m doing it. Please keep reading.
Imagine Jesus Himself calling for you, and coming to you.
He says, “Friend, I’ve already been wounded for you. Betrayed, bruised and beaten for you. I’m here now, and I’m all in.”
Tell me you wouldn’t grab the hand of a friend like that! Could you possibly pull away from this fellow soldier, who came to save you?
Listen, I’ve been there more than once. I was the one shot down, and left for dead. I was the one that didn’t feel worth saving, but He came back for me anyway. So there’s no way He’s going to leave you dying in the dirt, out there in some lonely place, without a friend.
Just imagine what kind of a friend you have in Jesus.
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”
(John 15:12-15)
He’d die for you, that’s for sure. He already did. But why should He care so much about you? With all of your problems and past, faults and failures?
That isn’t what God sees or hears. He hears the cry of the wounded, and He sees the rescue mission.
He sees you—passionately and purposely loved, wanted and searched for.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9)
God is not willing to let you go. Not now, and not ever. It is against His will to leave you fallen or missing in action.
You fought—you did the best you could, in your own strength—but now you’re hurting. You’re wounded, down and wondering if this is the way it will end.
So let the One who came back for you, the One who risked it all for you, pull you out of there.
Christ Jesus is the One who sees your future. It’s a good one, if you’ll grab it and hang on tight.
Yes, I know I have already told you, but I was up kind of early this morning. I had some things to hear from God. He had some things to tell me, that He needed you to know.
I really don’t get much of a choice with this. We have a deal: He will tell me things, and I listen and write them down. Why do I care? Because God cares so much more.
It’s why we do what we do every week: preparing a new post for this blog. It’s why my dear wife meticulously edits our work so that it (hopefully) comes out just the way the Author, Jesus, would want it to be.
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…”(Hebrews 12:2a)
Jesus really is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. I believe that means He writes His story on our hearts each new day. And He’ll finish the story of you with a great ending, if you will trust Him to write it. He can change a sad story and give it a brand new, joyful ending.
After all, it’s not so much about where we started. It’s about how we finish.
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
According to our website statistics, only about 200 visitors per month actually stay long enough to read some of our articles. So why would we spend our time and money, and our passion, on something that seems to give us so little in return? Does it sound dumb to you?
I would have a tough time fully explaining the reasons why we care about 200 people we can’t see, or even know in this lifetime. So instead I’ll let the Author explain love in His own way:
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:4-5, 10-12)
Christ Jesus knew what He was getting into when He came into a world filled with darkness. He knew His message of light and life would not be well received by those who secretly feared or hated the light. But He came anyway, knowing they would despise reject and even kill Him.
Why on earth would anyone in their right mind come? He came for you, and for me—knowing we would face our sins, fall down before His cross, and live.
Imagine Jesus battered and bleeding, torn up and and nailed upon a cross for you. Slandered and slain for you. He didn’t even know you. The Bible says that all of us were strangers and enemies of His, as He died. How could someone do that?
Wasn’t He sickened by my sins? Couldn’t He see my evil and rebellious heart? Yes, yes; a billion times yes. He saw us all, even though He didn’t know us yet—not as friends, and certainly not as family. Not yet.
…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2b)
Friend, even while He suffered for us on the cross, we are the joy He saw. We are His beloved. His own family.
If we choose to be His.
We will continue to write our articles faithfully, for you. And why wouldn’t we care? Our Heavenly Father loved you so much, before we did.
And if that means getting up early, or staying up late, or even going without coffee, we’ll do it. Because God’s got something on His mind.
It’s you.
God is crazy about you.
And you are the reason He woke me up early this morning, and brought me here. To tell you that.
These are so much more than just my words.
And by now, I think you know.