A JOURNEY: April 2012

I am amazed when I think of all of the things You have done for us,

all You have put into place for us,

all You have given to us,

all You have opened our minds to,

all You have healed us of,

all of the wounds You have bound up,

all of our talents You have given us,

all that You have created for us,

the flowers and the trees,

the animals we call pets and love,

the creatures that run wild,

mountains to climb, valleys to run through,

the sun, the stars and the moon,

the planets in the night sky,

the sunsets and sunrises,

the snows that come too soon,

the beauty all around us, Thank you, but still,

This is the mystery of your love, the God 3 in One,

that when I consider this:

The gift of Your Son,

I am awed to see how much You love us.

You call us Your children; Oh God of Love.

1 John 3: ¹ See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.

It wasn't that long ago that no matter what you were doing, whether you were 0n the Internet, watching TV or listening to the radio, all you heard and read about was "The Hunger Games". If you searched on the Web, to the right or the left, or above or below, there was an ad, a trailer and/or an icon for an advertisement touting "The Hunger Games". Private conversations and social media were filled with witty comments, angst and clever rhetoric discussing the movie or the book; the news reported the movie mega bucks scores and hyped the movie event even more. Late night shows, (really just another advertising vehicle) interviewed the stars and plugged the movie. Whether or not it is a good story is not the point. The point is that as quickly as this movie hype tornado touched down and whirled it's way across the land, it is gone. Now, a few weeks later, not a sound, an ad, or a Face Book comment. No tweeting, no Pinterest, no MySpace. Apparently, the Games are over. Maybe in the movies, it's over, maybe the books are back on the shelf, and the interest has waned in the media but there are real hunger games that are on going in this world.

There are children starving to death in Africa, in South America, on the streets of Romania, in Mexico and here in the United States and not only children, but adults, teens, entire families. There are some people who address the hungry and poor and there are those who out and out ignore the pain and suffering of others, happy as long as they have the things of this world, the desires of their hearts. There are people who stop themselves from gadgetry overload and put their extra money towards helping others; there are also people who give over and above generosity to ease the hunger and suffering of others. Unfortunately, there aren't enough of these people. If there were more like minded people, there would be a lot less hunger and suffering in this world. It doesn't take that much to help the poor to be able to eat or to have clean water, or to be free from slavery.

When you review any of the Christian websites, you see what $1.00 can do for one person. $10.00 donations can bring close to a miracle to a child in the Sudan or the Horn of Africa, or in South America. Imagine if we all gave $10.00 a month to a worthy cause, to feeding someone, to giving a child clean drinking water, imagine the impact, the end to the real life Hunger Games. Take a look at "Sevenly" or "The Clean Water Project". It doesn't take much to help, but it means so much to the helpless.

There is another hunger that is being felt all over the world. A hunger so deep, a hunger so strong that people would debase themselves to fill the void, and would kill themselves when denied.

A hunger, that in the absence of fulfillment, is all consuming. A hunger that leaves sleep behind, a hunger that will void all dreams, a hunger that burns inside, a hunger that won't let words flow onto the paper, a hunger that hugs the soul and pulls the air out of their lungs. This hunger drives so many into drunken foolishness, into stupid decisions, into viewing porn, into empty streets, into dare devil leaps, into debt, into greed, into crime, trudging through the emptiness, all the while trying to obtain the peace that only unconditional love can bring. That hunger is for love, and God holds that love for us and longs to release it to us. It is a love so pure it can't be imagined, it can't be bought, it can't be contrived or constructed; it can't be written into a script and acted out. This love is unconditional love. Unconditional love encompasses forgiveness; forgiveness for what was done, forgiveness for the things left undone, forgiveness for the mistakes, bad decisions, sins, (a word we don't care to admit to) for everything we have ever done, or ever will do. Unconditional love is also total and true, forever faithfulness. There is only One who gives this and that is God, who gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to live here on earth, among men, He was loved and rejected; rejected in a way that is too horrible to describe. While here on earth, Jesus, Son of God, gave of Himself, served, healed and taught for 33 years, and then, according to plan, He gave up His life and He died a horrible death to atone for our sins. That is how much He loves us. We are His and He loves us. God loves us. Through the death of His only begotten Son, has provided a Way for us to come to Him again. Jesus took on our sins; He atoned for our sins before God so that we can come to the throne room and sit on the mercy seat. After 3 days, Jesus raised again from the dead, conquering death and bringing eternal life for all of us. There is no purchase price we can pay for this gift. All we have to do is believe.
God is relentless in His pursuit of us. He loves us so much that through belief of the miracle of His Son, His death and resurrection, we can become His children. Yet somehow, we have forgotten Him, our Sovereign God. Imagine for just a moment that we are children of God, His adopted sons and daughters, brothers and sisters to the King of Glory, and although undeserving of anything, this great God would give us everything. Yahweh, Adonai, Yahweh-nissi, Yahweh-shalom, Yahweh-sabaoth, Yahweh-raah, Yahweh-tsidkenu, our God, an Almighty God, a God of forever, a God of faithfulness, our God who can destroy a mountain with half of a blink of His eye, longs to lift us up out of the mire and muck we surround ourselves in. This God, this God who was and is and always will be longs to love us. God, the creator of all things, who thought of us before we were created, who knows all about us, sees all we do and loves us anyway. He loves us with every breath we should know how fearfully and wonderfully we are made, so how do we run from such a wonderful God when He runs to us?
" Psalms 139: 14-18 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You."

Jesus, who was sacrificed like a lamb, comes roaring like a lion in defense of His beloveds.

The joy of freedom from sin, from the shackles of the world, from striving to be good, to understand and follow too many rules to try to earn salvation is a joy that is incredible to behold. There is nothing else like it. It is a joy that grabs hold from the inside out, a peace that soothes the wildest worries, and a love that will never fail and never end.

He gives us the power for victory over addictions, depression, our past oppression, the hate of this world. With Him we are conquerors.

God gave us a glorious gift that we cannot understand on our own, but when we trust the Word of the Lord, when we look on the cross, when we believe in the miracle of His Son, the One who came down from heaven on a cold winter's night, the King who was born in a manger of a virgin, this Jesus, who first chose us, asks only that we choose Him and for that we have eternal life in a place He has gone ahead to create of us.
The gift of eternal life is free. All that God asks is that we believe.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2. He was with God in the beginning. 3. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1: 1-5
" I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. John 14:6
It isn't about doing everything right, knowing the right words, at the right time, where to stand, when to kneel and when to sit. It is about having a personal relationship with God. God loves us.
Just believe.