I am nothing without Him. He is the reason for anything and everything good in me. To anyone living apart from Christ, these statements may sound strange. However, to the person making the statements, who knows and has allowed a greater Love into his life, they are the reality of true living. Living that can never be possible apart from God.
How can a person claim that there is new life to be found in Christ? That His death and resurrection have provided a better way for us...the forgiveness of sin which brings us from death into new life? One can only make these claims if they have experienced it themselves through the surrendering of one's life to Him and the recognition of a need for Jesus as Savior. Without this recognition, we are left blind and in the dark. We must come to the end of ourselves in order to find the real beginning. Jesus is the light of life. He provides all that we need, ultimately fulfilling our desire for purpose and joy in life. Without Him, we are blind. He alone gives us eyes to see. Be fulfilled. What are you missing out on? Everything. Life. Be alive. Be set free.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
"His Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and His dominion endures through all generations." Daniel 4:3
Before I was born, He knew me; He made me and loved me. Life has been a journey from what I knew and understood in a physical, tangible way, to a new experience that probes the depths of all that I once thought I knew. He has given me the gift of seeing the world and people through His eyes. He opens our eyes so we can see in this way. He opens our hearts. He frees us from the wretchedness of selfishness and pride in order to open up the floodgates of love. His love. Oh, how thankful I am for the One who loves me unconditionally and perfectly. He is constantly at work in me, my heart, lovingly pruning and weeding in order to produce all that He has planned for me. He is gentle and kind, but never without justice. He does for me what He knows is best, even when it hurts. I say, yes, Lord, come and make me Yours. Make me more like you. The more I become like Him, the less I become in my own eyes. It is the incomprehensible result of His life and Spirit working in me. He is my gardener.
I remember the first time God allowed me to take a good look at the condition of my heart. I was appalled at what I saw. It was a barren wasteland with no fruit to speak of, nothing green at all for that matter...just a few straggly weeds clinging to dry, cracked ground, surrounded by what could scarcely be called a fence. The fence served no purpose, and there was nothing to distinguish what was inside (in my heart) from what was outside (in the world around it). My heart was ugly. The weeds...anger, selfishness, pride...but mostly anger. How did I become such an angry person? I didn't know and didn't care, all I knew was that it had to change. Dropping to my knees, I began to pray and ask God to pull the weeds of anger from my heart and burn them up. I knew that this dry, barren place was not what He had planned for me and there was no sign of the fruit of His life in me. It became my heart's cry, "Lord, heal me, remove the anger, replace it with your joy and love!" I needed help and, luckily, I knew where to find it.
He is my Gardener. My precious, loving Gardener. No sooner did I invite Him to do His work in me, did He begin to transform and change me from who I was into who I really am. Who I am in His eyes. He began to remove the "garbage," all the weeds, and, after baring my heart to Him, I began to receive the gifts of love and joy. Soon enough, I looked, and in awestruck delight, found that dry ground had begun to be tilled and was turning into rich soil. Little flowers were beginning to sprout up and bloom. I cannot tell you how delighted and amazed I was. My heart is evidence of God's miraculous work. He did it all....but, this is only the beginning of an eternal love story, He is a good and awesome God and has only begun to do His work. There's always more to tell and always more to learn. What He does, I am incapable of doing. I am nothing without Him.
Let the garden grow, my Lord,
May your love produce sweet blooms!
Before I was born, He knew me; He made me and loved me. Life has been a journey from what I knew and understood in a physical, tangible way, to a new experience that probes the depths of all that I once thought I knew. He has given me the gift of seeing the world and people through His eyes. He opens our eyes so we can see in this way. He opens our hearts. He frees us from the wretchedness of selfishness and pride in order to open up the floodgates of love. His love. Oh, how thankful I am for the One who loves me unconditionally and perfectly. He is constantly at work in me, my heart, lovingly pruning and weeding in order to produce all that He has planned for me. He is gentle and kind, but never without justice. He does for me what He knows is best, even when it hurts. I say, yes, Lord, come and make me Yours. Make me more like you. The more I become like Him, the less I become in my own eyes. It is the incomprehensible result of His life and Spirit working in me. He is my gardener.
I remember the first time God allowed me to take a good look at the condition of my heart. I was appalled at what I saw. It was a barren wasteland with no fruit to speak of, nothing green at all for that matter...just a few straggly weeds clinging to dry, cracked ground, surrounded by what could scarcely be called a fence. The fence served no purpose, and there was nothing to distinguish what was inside (in my heart) from what was outside (in the world around it). My heart was ugly. The weeds...anger, selfishness, pride...but mostly anger. How did I become such an angry person? I didn't know and didn't care, all I knew was that it had to change. Dropping to my knees, I began to pray and ask God to pull the weeds of anger from my heart and burn them up. I knew that this dry, barren place was not what He had planned for me and there was no sign of the fruit of His life in me. It became my heart's cry, "Lord, heal me, remove the anger, replace it with your joy and love!" I needed help and, luckily, I knew where to find it.
He is my Gardener. My precious, loving Gardener. No sooner did I invite Him to do His work in me, did He begin to transform and change me from who I was into who I really am. Who I am in His eyes. He began to remove the "garbage," all the weeds, and, after baring my heart to Him, I began to receive the gifts of love and joy. Soon enough, I looked, and in awestruck delight, found that dry ground had begun to be tilled and was turning into rich soil. Little flowers were beginning to sprout up and bloom. I cannot tell you how delighted and amazed I was. My heart is evidence of God's miraculous work. He did it all....but, this is only the beginning of an eternal love story, He is a good and awesome God and has only begun to do His work. There's always more to tell and always more to learn. What He does, I am incapable of doing. I am nothing without Him.
Let the garden grow, my Lord,
May your love produce sweet blooms!
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