Big

What characteristics of God do you take for granted?

As I was reading through Jeremiah this morning, I came across this verse and it just grabbed my attention.

"I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me?" Jeremiah 30:21

A few observations.  

God is so undeservedly gracious to us. In addition to that, God makes Himself so accessible to us. He says in His Word that we may "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." What a personal God we have!

This verse is also an incredible reminder of the fact that we can do nothing to earn our salvation - it is God who draws us to Himself. Honestly, if it depended on me coming to God or being "good enough," I would never come to God for salvation or be saved from my sin in the first place.  I'm entirely too selfish and prideful.

At the same time though, because of how easy it is to access our Father and how extravagant His grace is, I'm convicted of how small I tend to make God. Whether we're experiencing the mountain or enduring the valley, we tend to make much of our selves and our needs - it's all about us, right? As a result, we severely underestimate who God is and what God is capable of doing. It's not that we can actually limit God in reality, but it's almost like we put Him in this box so that we can understand Him better and then forget that God never fit into that box in the first place. No, not even the smallest facet of God can be contained in such a way!

Praise Him for His bigness! Praise Him for His fearful and awe-instilling size! Were our God able to be stuffed into a box, only to be pulled out when we had exhausted all other resources or wanted something from Him like some cosmic genie in a bottle, we would serve a small and incapable God indeed!

How glad it makes me to read this morning the words of Jeremiah and to be challenged to expand my understanding of the big-ness of God and to have an appropriate fear before Him. How convicting it is to me to think about how much I presume of God - as if I deserve anything other than the hell He saved me from.  I'm praying that today I live in the confidence of Christ's blood.  But I'm also praying that today I live with a healthy fear of the God I serve, who says to Jeremiah "who would dare of himself to approach Me?"

Satisfaction

There's a verse that's been bouncing around in my head lately, so much so that it's taken over a good portion of my thoughts.  Let me share it with you and expand a little about what the Lord has been teaching me through this verse.

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!" Psalm 34:8

Basically, I've been asking myself the question, "What is my satisfaction based upon?"


Some days I feel like I've learned so much during my time with the Lord that my heart will burst for want of sharing it with someone.  I get this feeling inside that everything is okay because God is vibrantly showing me Truth in His Word.  I feel truly satisfied in my relationship with God.  I feel like I really do "taste and see that the Lord is good."


Some days, however, it's all I can do to read my Bible.  Those days I feel like I've let sin get between me and God, that my relationship with Him is hindered because I didn't "get" as much out of my time with Him, and I don't feel satisfied in my relationship with God.  Basically, I'm not tasting or seeing much of anything at all.


The problem is, my relationship with God is not based on my effort...
or how much I'm learning...
or how good I feel like I'm doing...


Jesus already perfectly paid the price that God required on the cross.  I can't add anything to His sacrifice to make it any more complete.  No matter how satisfied (or not) that I feel about my walk with the Lord, God is satisfied with me.  In His eyes I'm redeemed.  My relationship with God is no longer as a hopeless sinner before a righteous judge but as an heir and a son before a gracious Father.


I guess what I'm trying to preach to myself is this:


Quit trying to do what Christ has already done.  No work (regardless of intention) can make God any more or less satisfied with you than He is already.  Don't measure your walk with the Lord by how well you've done. Instead, honestly seek to "taste and see that the Lord is good" and follow where He leads.


And if you have a "bad day" (I know I will), well...isn't that what faith in Christ is all about?  Rest in God's grace and praise Him for second chances.

Restored

"...rend the heavens..."

So, I got a bit behind reading through the Old Testament on my journey through the Scriptures this year.  This week (Fall Break!) I've been playing catch-up.


(Note to self - in reading through Isaiah a lot of things really stuck out to me.  I need to make sure I go back and really do some in depth study of some of the themes there - it's a great book!)


Today, I've been thinking and meditating on Isaiah 64:1-4.

"Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence - as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil - to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!"

I don't know about you, but that gets me right in my soul.  Isaiah has all this bad stuff going on - judgment, wrath, punishment - and right here near the end (and woven throughout the book, as well) is this passionately worded picture of the fact that God has made a way to redeem His people and is coming back to restore everything to how He intended.  I get chills just thinking about it!  I found it quite refreshing today to ponder the sovereignty of God in this life (amidst all the terrible things that happen), and even how God is sovereign when it comes to the end of this life.


Don't forget about God's future promise in the midst of your present trials.  He has it all under control - past, present, and future.  All we have to worry about is trusting and obeying God (a huge task in and of itself) and He'll take care of the rest.

Glorious

I took some time to go back through a lot of pictures that I've taken over the past few years. I've always had this fascination with the sky. It's just plain beautiful. So, a lot of pictures I have are of various skies that, when I looked, just took my breath away for one reason or another.


As I'm sitting here thinking about it, though, I'm reminded that God created it all! He made it so that the sky would have the particular make-up it required to be unique every single day. I'm reminded that this same Creative Genius made each human on earth. We also, are unique. Each in our own personalities, looks, desires, and gifts. I can easily see why God stopped at the end of each day of creation and said, "It is good!"


Today is a short post because I just wanted to post some pictures of the majesty of God's creation - which points directly to the glorious presence of God in this world.


Thank you, Father, for creating such a magnificent world.

Mississippi College at Sunrise

Calm Before the Storm

Mississippi Sunset

My Girls

Paris Lights