He’ll Bring You Back

Posted by Christy

word-hug

God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden to rule on His behalf.

But, they chose to disobey God’s one command and through them, sin entered the world. They were banished from the Garden and their fellowship with God was broken.

Their.Fellowship.With.God.Was.Broken. This, my friends, hurts my heart. The mere thought of sweet fellowship with my beautiful Jesus being broken just grieves me. It grabs me deep and my soul screeches and pours out, “noooooo!” We’ve all felt further away from God in those times in our lives when we smother Him out and don’t keep Him a priority. But, broken?! Oh, how they must have HURT!

Take this world, the magazine articles written, the speaking engagements, the classes taught, take it all. Take this world and give me Jesus! I’ve GOT to have Jesus!

But, friends, we have an amazing God who is more addicted to fellowship with us than we are to Him. God immediately set into motion His plan to bring us back. This is the story of the whole Bible.

Everything God does is a solution.

God continually works to redeem us for Himself. He wants to lovingly bless us with good things as we seek and find our hope in Him. He is the source of all good things.

No matter what we do, or how we mess up, EVERYTHING God does is a solution to bring us back. Get us back to where we are supposed to be. Back in the game. Back on track. Back in the joy of our salvation. He meets us where we are and never leaves us there.

The story of the whole Bible is God redeeming His people and bringing them back. It also tells us who God is…it reveals His personality, His character, and His plan for us. And, it also reveals His deepest desire: To relate to and fellowship with the people He created. His deepest desire is a passionate, loving relationship with YOU.

Are you at a place today where you are desperate for God? Empty and needing a Savior? Well, guess what….He wants that even more than you do. It’s called grace. So, don’t be shy. Nothing you’ve done will make Him love you any less. He’s better than we humans about that. Go right on up and climb into Daddy’s lap. He’s running to greet you now.

See: Genesis 1: 1-2:4, Genesis 3:1-24, Luke 15:11-32, James 1:17, John 3:16

Joy To Your World

Posted by Christy

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10)

When the people heard God’s Law, they experienced deep sorrow. They had ignored and betrayed their sovereign and personal God. The very thought of their sin made them sob. Instead of patting them on the back and telling them how great it is to mourn their sin, they encourage the people to turn their mourning into a celebration. Once they understand God’s written message and accept His mercy, their joy overflows.

We need to do the same. Sinning is something to be sorry about (for real) and shed tears over because we have grieved our Daddy. I was a daddy’s girl growing up and nothing caught my heart quicker than grieving my dad. But we don’t have to stay there…..God’s mercy over us is something to shout about. Mercy is not giving us what we deserve. God had mercy on us and sent His Son to die so that instead of getting what we deserve, we get heaven…..we get forgiveness….a pardon….we get to dance and shout for joy instead of mourning. To skip Jesus means we are still lost in our sins. Don’t skip Him! He loved you enough to die for you! You are valuable to Him….that’s why He came!

Jerusalem’s wall was strong and restored and now the people needed to restore and strengthen their relationship with God. Nehemiah tells them that their delight in the Lord will be their inner fortification.

Need to mend the broken relationship between you and the Lord? Go ahead! He’s waiting. He’s not standing there with a pointed finger, waiting to say I told you so…..He’s standing there with a smile on His face, joy in His heart, and arms open wide for His prodigal child has come back. All of heaven is waiting too, with their party hats on and their noisemakers ready to scream and shout. You are valuable and dearly loved.

The people were no longer to focus on their inadequacies, mistakes or sins. As they repent and find their source of life and celebration in the Lord, their self preoccupation diminishes. They came out of their sin heavy funk and had a party! They experienced the truth of Nehemiah’s words: “The joy of the LORD is your strength.”

You’re forgiven child! When you bring that sin back up to the Lord, He’s going to say, “What sin?”. He’s not kidding when He says you’re forgiven. Don’t waddle in it anymore (and don’t do it anymore!)…..do a Jesus jig along with the rest of us because Jesus came and brought joy to your world! Ever see someone go through something so horrific with such strength? This is their secret….the joy of the Lord is their strength!

“Send some to those who have nothing”….. spread the news! There are others around you who need the joyous news right now. There’s plenty of joy to go around, share the good news!

It Isn’t A Christmas Season For Me

Posted by Christy

And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will rise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:12-13)

The believer’s hope comes through the Scriptures, which were written and inspired “by the power of the Holy Spirit”

God alone is our source for eternal hope, life, and salvation. True joy and peace come from God. We often try to find joy and peace through worldly things that fade away.

Our joy is directly proportional to the grace we have received–at least the perception of grace that we have received

Receive a small gift, and your joy might be minimal. Receive a large gift, and your joyous reaction is greater.

I just gave one of my daughters a cute note pad, and she had a big smile on her face and squeeled, “Thank you mommy!”. I gave my other daughter a car (very used) and she squealed, jumped up and down, cried and thanked me a million times. Receive a small gift, and your joy might be minimal. Receive a large gift, and your joyous reaction is greater. When I think on the grace, mercy, love, hope, joy, life, gifts and salvation God has given me I jump up and down too! My rejoicing is great and I start Jesus-jigging!

When Christ followers don’t have much joy in their lives, something is wrong. Spend time thinking on the things God has given you–rescued you from–brought you to–brought you through. We’ve all been through some “stuff” and God has brought us through them.

Just as when the disciples gathered up the remnants from the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 into the storm, take those blessings from your past into your right now and into your future.

True Christmas joy comes from rejoicing over the great big~bigger than life~gifts of grace.

Christmas isn’t a time or season, it’s a year round state of mind….a condition of the heart.

I Can’t Handle God

Posted by Christy

Ever have that time with the Lord? You know, that time. When His presence is so thick and He is absolutely skin to skin? Beautiful. Breathtaking. Wonderful. Speechless. Grateful. Wow.

I crave that. I love it with all of my being. Nothing I like more. No thing.

I love it so much and I want to walk in it constantly. I can’t stand it when it fades. I say, “No! Stay a while longer!”

I began asking the Lord why we couldn’t stay like that

“Why do You come so close, and then fade?

Why can’t I stay cheek to cheek with You?”

I asked Him this everyday for a few days every time it happened. I am SUCH a Daddy’s girl (Daddy in the sense of my heavenly Daddy. My favorite name for Him). I love crawling into His lap and cuddling. I love watching Him work in His dynamite power. I love everything about Him. Every part. I am sold-out-head-over-heels for Him

One morning, not long after, I was in the shower and I was singing and worshipping my heart out when He came so close that my Spirit was so full and was crying sweet tears. Know what I mean? When your spirit is so close to the Lord and you weep without crying? I LOVE IT EVERY TIME!! I wasn’t even taking a shower anymore as I stopped and just wailed and worshipped the King of Kings and my Daddy. Sweet. Powerful. Lovely. Breathtaking. Nothing like it.

Then God said….see, daughter, this is why you can’t stay this close to me….you are a hot mess! Can you imagine how you could be useful in this world like this? You wouldn’t get a thing done and would be on your face all the time! You can’t handle it.

God says, I can’t handle Him…..
that close….
all the time….

I just lay everything down. Stop what I’m doing. My spirit can’t be that close to my maker without stopping and reveling in it….rolling around in it….bathing in it. Just can’t. He has to move just far enough away, and cover me with His hand because I just can’t stand it.

When I’m that near, I’m consumed and on my face.

Couldn’t you just picture seeing me at a restaurant? You walk by and see that poor waitress trying to understand me as I sit with my face down on the table, crying, and saying, “I’ll haaaaave an i i ice waaaterrrrr with leeemoooonnnnn.” Wouldn’t I look hilarious scooting around with my face on the ground?

However, He’s always close…..He never leaves me. I’m always in His presence. There is no escape from God’s presence. Isn’t that WONDERFUL?! That just sends me flying!

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:7-10

Ahhh, David sure knew how to adore God didn’t he? He’s a master Jesus-jigging dude! When we see in 2 Samuel how he danced and whirled with all his might before the Lord we can take note that he was indeed a Jesus jigging master and said he would “become even more undignified than this and lose all dignity even to the point of embarrassing himself for his Lord”!

I would not be embarrassed and would gladly become undignified for my Lord. He is right that I can’t handle being that close all the time. I would explode! But, thank God He never leaves me, and He forever speaks. He’ll always be enough–always blow my mind and flip me out–always bamboozle me and I LOVE IT!

I love you deeply. Walk in worship with the King.

Don’t quit yet….He’s got cha pepper: Colossains 1:11-12

Posted by Christy

“being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of light.” Colossians 1:11-12

Here, Paul is continuing his prayers for the Colossian believers.

I don’t know about you, but endurance is what I need. At times I loose my pepper, a term my old track coach used to use.

Starting off is never hard for me…it’s the ‘keeping on’ as I round another lap, and another, and another I wonder if I’m ever going to be able to finish with the pepper. As I run and am pelted with this spiritual attack, that spiritual attack….the utter beatings from the enemy as we serve others….the times as a woman you never ‘get’ return for all you ‘give’. When we still haven’t seen a breakthrough on that thing we’ve prayed about forever….Sound familiar?

My coach taught me to stop thinking about when the race would end. With each lap, he would say, “you can give me just one more” and I could. I could give one more. At the end of the next lap, he would say, “just one more Christy” and I would run again. Endurance is what he wanted. He was training me in endurance to be a great long distance runner. He didn’t want me thinking about the other runners, he wanted me to finish….one lap at a time. And I did. Every time, and greatly so.

In my own strength I get impatient, wanting to see the results quickly. I’ve run long, and now I want to see the results, I’m tired. He supplies the patience to wait….and the endurance to keep running.

Being impatient is what causes us to give up…we want our way, and right now. If not right now, then we quit.

God gives us all the strength, endurance and patience we need for this life…and has enabled us to share in the SAME inheritance with all the saints in His Kingdom of light. Ohhhh, how I joyfully thank Him…because I don’t know about you, but, I sure ain’t saintly!

I thank Him for giving me what I don’t deserve….an eternity with Him paid for me by His own Son!! Whew! That makes me do the Jesus jig!!

Talk about keeping the pepper! We WILL keep the pepper by His glorious and mighty power!

With the joy of our salvation we run. We run with His gloriously mighty power…and with the pepper….and we don’t stop….and we completely go…… and keep going until the glorious day we are with Him in the Kingdom of light. He is faithful to complete the work He began.

Lord, I thank You. I thank You for the joy of my salvation. I thank You that You created me, died for my salvation, and give me all the strength, power, and endurance I need for my life here on this earth. What an awesome God You are. I adore You. I am Yours. In Jesus name, amen.

Everyday (Not-so) Ordinary Gifts

Posted by Christy

To pause and give thanks for every gift God blesses is a good thing. It’s a great thing.

“This giving thanks–this is what we are made for: To give Him more glory. More thanks. This is more joy!”

Not only do I want to thank Him for all the huge ways He shows up in my life, but also the little ways….the “kisses from Daddy” as I like to call them. All blessings no matter the “size” are kisses from Daddy!

For that favorite bird that flies in my path, that favorite flower I see, that encouraging phone call or text from a dear friend, that Bible verse at just the right time, that hug from one of our sweet darlings, that pleasant greeting and smile, that…….

“God’s presence is always present. And He is the gift, the One I can’t stop giving thanks to.”

The world is full of reminders of how cruel things can be. I want to off set that every day by listing the gifts of grace He brings. Ann Voscamp has inspired me to do just that.

In her book she introduces a way of seeing that opens your eyes to the ordinary amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of becoming present to God that brings deep and lasting joy.

I plan everyday to tell about a gift in whatever form I’ve received it….A verse, a kind word, a gift, a smile, a show of kindness, whatever. Won’t you join me? Let’s hastag them #1000Gifts and spread the joy.

Let’s sling open our arms, and throw back our heads and dance in praise to the Giver of the ultimate Gift and say……..Thank You! Thank You! Thank You and tell others of His great goodness!