Category Archives: Christ Our All

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Thinking the Best of Others

conspiracyFor his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.  (Psalm 103:11-12)

For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.  (Hebrews 8:12)

Amazingly, we have a God who thinks the best of us.  Our Father looks at us through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, and through Him sees the best that is in us.  He chooses to see us as an expression and an extension of His Son whose life indwells us.  This is what the Father does, and the Son expressed this divine vantage point in His interactions when He was on earth.  Jesus saw the best in the disciples, the sick, the lame, the needy, the tax collectors, the women, the adultress woman, and on and on.  In the stories of Jesus we find God’s Expression deeply valuing each person.

However, most of you probably know some conspiracy theorists, who typically spread their theories through deadly gossip (gossip is a fast acting poison that will kill community life).  These people are always looking for (and reacting to) the worst intentions in others.  Conspiracy theorists are constantly thinking and saying things like:

– They did that to make me look bad.

– He gave me this gift so I would feel guilty.

– She is just buttering me up so I don’t see her real intentions to undermine me.

– He only wants to help me to make himself look good – he’s using me.

– That person must be whispering about me.  I’m sure they don’t really like me.

– She missed our meeting because she doesn’t care about me.

– He didn’t talk to me because he really doesn’t like me.  He’s avoiding me at all costs!

And on and on…

Note that each of these statements is an accusation.  And by the way, Satan actually means “the accuser”.  He is one who accuses the saints, and we are following in his bitter footsteps when we do the same thing.  Not only that, but to accuse a part of Christ is to accuse Christ Himself.

Also note in the verses above that God is doing the opposite of accusing.  He is choosing to see the best in us by electing to remember our sins no more.  God is not seeking to hold us down; He is doing everything He can to lift us up.

In Jesus, He gives us every good thing.

In Christ, we are exonerated from our sins and rebellion against God.  Not that we are not responsible for the consequences and for participating in reconciliation as needed.  We are agents of Christ in the world and He often calls us to untangle the knots we make.

But my point is this: as the Father sees us in Christ, so we then see others through the lens of Christ as well.  Or perhaps put better, we yield to Christ in us who already sees everyone in that way.

Maybe some people don’t care about us.  Maybe they do want to undermine us, hurt us, ignore us, and so on.  But everyone of those people are dealing with something in their life at that very moment.  They are dealing with their past hurts and failures.  They are struggling with fears, just as everyone else does.

Many times, though, conspiracy theorists are completely wrong.  Their paranoia has caused them to find faults and motives that simply are not there.  This can then lead to gossip that is completely false.  (This is why it is always best to confirm information directly with the source, and this can save you from getting sucked into someone’s paranoid view of others.)

Of course, sometimes people are actually trying to hurt you.  Perhaps they are jealous and they want the success/position/family/happiness/etc you have.  Even so, I believe the best option is to look above the offense and see them in Christ.  Perhaps this means that you ignore their intentions and leave the situation to God, or you ask the Lord to show you how to respond through His wisdom and love.

If you have Christ in you, you can choose to see each person as He does.  And He sees the best of them, just as He sees the best of you.

Imagine being set free from paranoia.  Imagine being liberated from worrying about what or who every person is talking about.  Imagine being unburdened from “discerning” every person’s intentions.

This freedom is available in Christ.  He can teach you to learn to see the best in others, to look past the faults and offenses and hurts that people hurl at us, thereby becoming part of His healing and restoring work in this world.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.  (1 Corinthians 4:5)

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  (Matthew 7:1)

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  (Romans 2:1)

Follow the Life!

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Christian, Will You Go Beyond What Is Right?

rice paddyThe following story is told in Angus Kinnear’s biography of Watchman Nee, Against the Tide:

In another village a newly believing farmer and his friend had faced a crisis. Their strips of rice field lay close to an irrigation stream on the terraced hillsides from which they daily drew water for their paddy. But one night as they slept a neighbor with land beneath them on the slope defrauded them of their essential and laboriously pumped supply by breaching the clay of their retaining bank and running it off on to his own land. Next morning they saw what had happened but, controlling themselves, said nothing. Again they raised their water, and again next night it was all drained off. Still they uttered no word of protest when at dawn they discovered the mean trick the man had played on them. This went on for seven successive days, and they were justly irritated. Were they not Christians, and should not Christians be patient? The Scriptures speak of loving your enemies, rejoicing in sufferings, and counting it pure joy when you meet various trials, and their restraint seemed irreproachable. In desperation they went to some older believers for advice.”It is unjust!” they exclaimed. “how is it that, having suffered all this wrong for a full week and kept faith with God, we are still unhappy? Tell us in this situation what we should rightly do next.”

One of those senior brothers had some experience. First they all knelt together in prayer; then he replied,”If we do the right thing and no more, then surely we are unprofitable servants. We ourselves should go beyond what is merely right. Maybe you are not yet happy because you have not gone the full distance. Let me suggest that you try going the second mile. First yourselves irrigate that farmer’s paddy field, and after that irrigate your own. Go back and test it out, and see whether or not your hearts find rest.”

They agreed to try, and next morning were early afoot. Carrying forth their wooden trough with its “dragon’s backbone” water-lift and going to work once more on its treadmill, they made it their first task to irrigate the field of their enemy who had so persistently robbed their own field of its water. And now this amazing thing happened: the more they labored in the day’s intense heat watering their persecutor’s land, the happier they became. By the time, in late afternoon, they had finished lifting sufficient also for their own paddy field, their hearts were at perfect rest.

When the brothers had repeated this for two or three days the man came with his friends, dumbfounded, to apologize. With every show of sincerity he asked for the explanation. “If this is Christianity,” he said, “then we want to hear more about it,” and soon he too was drinking in the Word of life.

In telling this episode Watchman was distinguishing between the principle of right and wrong and the principle of life.”Those two had been most patient,” he explains. “They had labored to irrigate their paddy, and without a word of complaint had suffered others to steal their water. Was that not very good? They had done all that man could require of them, but God was not yet satisfied. They lacked peace of heart because they had not met the demands of his life. When however they conformed to his standards, joy and peace welled up in their hearts.

“What is the Sermon on the Mount?” he continues. “What does Jesus teach in Matthew chapters 5 to 7? Is it not this, that we dare not be satisfied with less than what meets the demands of the new life God has put within us? It does not teach that provided we do what is right then all is well. No, we overlook the inner life whereby his Holy Spirit moves us to further action. Many say that Matthew 5 to 7 is too difficult. It is beyond us. I admit that it is. It is sheer impossibility. But here’s the point. You have an inner life, a Person close at hand, and in a given situation that new life tells you that unless you do as the Sermon on the Mount requires (and “love” is a key word) you will lack rest. The whole question lies here: are you walking in the way of good and evil, or in the way of life?”

An interesting aspect of this story is that the brothers sought the Lord’s direction together in prayer.  Through this time together, it was realized that the life of Christ in them was leading them to do more than just not retaliate; they were being called to serve this person who was hurting them.

Without spending time in prayer, they were stuck looking at the situation through the eyes of the flesh, and were attempting to rely on their own strength to muster patience with the offense against them.  But they knew something was not right because they were not “happy”.

The solution presented was truly inspired.  It was against human wisdom that would demand justice, and it resolved the situation peaceably to the benefit of both parties, although there was suffering on the part of the Christians to perform extra work in watering two fields.

While this solution may not be directly found in the Scriptures (there are no “water your neighbor’s paddy field” verses), this echoes Jesus’ words about turning the other cheek, walking the second mile, and Paul’s words to the Corinthians who were taking each other to court: “why not rather be wronged?”.  So the Spirit-led direction could be confirmed as being in line with the life of Christ.

In the end, this created a testimony to the non-believing neighbor that drew him towards Christ.  God saw fit to use their suffering to expand His life to others!

This is a wonderful example of how we who are inhabited by the Spirit of Christ can solve problems… first come before Christ together in prayer, listen for His answer which will follow the pattern of His life, and follow Him.  Note that His answers will rarely follow the conventional wisdom of this world.

Follow the Life!

Do you have any similar examples to share?  I’d love for you to put them in the comments.

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Chocolate, Pomegranates, Penguins, Hiking, and Art: 5 Favorite Posts from the Past

Since I’ve moved the blog to a new page, I thought I would post a few of my favorite and most popular articles I’ve written in the past.  I hope you enjoy them!

 

Expressing Christ in Organic Church

Seeing Christ in a Pomegranate

Christ Our Penguin

The Way: Simplifying the Church’s Mission

Legalism Versus Chocolate

 

Follow the Life!

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Whoever is of a Willing Heart

heart of thomas4Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying, 5‘Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD’S contribution: gold, silver, and bronze, 6and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7and rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, 8and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, 9and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece.  (Exodus 35:4-9, NASB)

As I write this, a few friends of mine have made great sacrifices to pursue a calling in their lives to follow the Lord in learning how to establish first century style churches that are built on a foundation of living by the Lord’s indwelling life as a community, and fulfilling the Father’s eternal purpose in creation to have a bride for His Son, a dwelling place to rest in, and a family to visibly share and express His great love.

As the brothers in our church met and prayed for one of these brothers as he prepares to depart us, my thoughts moved towards the willingness expressed in these brothers and sisters to let go of what they know and to embrace the Lord’s way.

It is interesting that in the Exodus passage above one observes that God is commanding Israel to offer precious materials for the building of His temporary, physical dwelling place on earth, the tabernacle (continue reading Chapter 35), yet His command is only for those who have a “willing heart.”  There is a condition that precedes the contribution, and it is a heart condition.  The giver must be fully yielding to the Lord and His ways.

Let us not for a moment think that the Lord’s dwelling can be built by offerings given from a motivation of fear, guilt, shame, or manipulation.  The giver being sought by the Lord is one who gives everything utterly to Him to use in whatever way He sees fit.

I believe that whatever the Lord seeks to build visibly is actually a picture of something invisible or spiritual.  The tabernacle is a picture of the Son, Jesus Christ.  Just as God desired His temporary, physical dwelling to be built through willing, loving hearts, so does Jesus build God’s spiritual temple today with those who willingly, without reservation, lay down themselves for His purposes.  Jesus is the perfect representation of God, and He also does not build with guilt, fear, shame, or manipulation.

This kind of willingness to follow the Lord requires us to lay down many things.  It may even require us to give up things that are very good in our eyes.

– Our own desires to have stuff, whatever that stuff may be.  It could be a house, a new car, an education, a career, security, living in one location, building a financial portfolio, being near family and/or friends, our reputation, our comfort, and so on.

– Giving up the easy, quick ways of the world and the flesh, for the longsuffering ways of God.  We may often not understand these ways, or even think that we have better ideas than Him; yet the deep things of the Lord only come about when His life is the source of everything.

– Giving up our control.  Giving up control of ourselves, our money, our future.

– Giving up our plans.  I’m not against planning ahead, and I think it is wise to do so; however, I believe it is essential to remain mindful of the Lord’s direction to change our plans at any time.  A person who has a willing heart will always be open to this.

Note that there is no mention of quantity in the passage above.  He does not say, “If you are really, really rich, and you are willing, then give some to Me.”  The condition is to give willingly and the Lord will use what is brought for His purpose.  In the building of the Lord’s spiritual house today, I believe He is still looking for “whoever has a willing heart”, regardless of the wealth of their spiritual gifts.  The Lord can do much more through a willing servant with little gifting than a stubborn servant with much gifting.

I believe that our fellowship has done as the Lord requested, to “Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD’S contribution” for the purpose of building His house.

Follow the Life!

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What is Always on the Other Side of the Cross

new life

An excerpt from F.J. Huegel’s Bone of His Bone:

In the first chapter of the Ephesian letter, Paul utters a marvelous prayer.  He says to the Ephesians:

I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of
your understanding be enlightened; that you may know… what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us
who believe.

And this power which is to us, for us, in us who believe – from where does it come?  What actually is it?  It is the “power which [God] worked in Christ when he raised Him from the dead.”

That is the matchless power which works in you – the power of Christ’s resurrection!  Paul longed to have the Ephesians realize that fact.

When we come to consider the requirements of the New Testament as they bear upon the Christian life, we realize that they all presuppose this very oneness of the believer with Christ in the power of His resurrection. No one but a Christ-centered person, one with Him in death and resurrection, could possibly measure up to the ideal of Christ in Christian life and service.  To love one’s enemies with that divine love (Greek agape, divine-type love) without a deep participation in the power of Christ’s endless life would no more be possible for the purely natural man than for a worm to play the role of a bird.  There is not a New Testament requirement that does not immediately bring you face to face with an overwhelming dilemma.  Either you must cease to move in the realm of the purely natural – find in the resurrected Christ a new life – or you must fail as a Christian.  To the new life – the life that flows from Christ – the Sermon on the Mount presents no problems; it is all natural, easy, a spontaneous expression of principles already inherent.  The ways, customs, language of jungle savages are no more unintelligible or impracticable to the average person today than is the Sermon on the Mount to one who has not been born again (i.e., died to the self-life to rise up with Christ in the power of a new life.)

A mere mechanical doing-as-Jesus-did will never bring you to the Christ-life.  For a dead frog can be made to kick as if it were alive by the touch of an electric current, but it remains dead.  Nor can my imitation of the ways of a Frenchman make me a Frenchman.  I am an American, and I would have to be reborn to be anything but what I am.

You had to be born anew.  That is why Christ took you with Himself down into the grave and brought you forth a new creation.  He terminated your old life when there upon the Cross as Representative man He died; and He imparted to you a new life when He arose from the grave.

Christ expects nothing from your flesh.  However religious its garments, however holy its appearance, however sanctified its undertakings, it still “profits nothing.”  It is still only flesh.  It is still only the realm of the natural.  It is still self.

It is not simply Christ dying for you – it is you dying in Christ!  It is not simply Christ being raised from the dead – it is you being raised along with your divine head!  It is not simply you reaching out after God – it is God taking the form of man, and then, as the Son of Man, changing life’s entire process – bringing you out from the tomb charged with the divine life, resurrection life!  This is the Christian faith – the faith of the apostles, the “faith of the Son of God.”

My old self has been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.  So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20 NLT)

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.  (Romans 6:6 NLT)

For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  (Colossians 3:3 NLT)

On the other side of the cross, there is always, new, divine, resurrected life in Christ Jesus.

Follow the Life!

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3 Powerful Resurrection (Easter) Sunday Songs

As Resurrection Sunday, otherwise known as Easter, approaches, I thought I would share three powerful songs that speak of Christ’s resurrection, His new life, and our new life in Him…

Don and Wendy Francisco: He’s Alive

http://youtu.be/HIndrry40Ks

Brad Paisley and Sara Evans: New Again

http://youtu.be/YNzub_ZNh8k

Journey Church: Brand New

http://youtu.be/Kjvrehno5AU

(I’m not sure why the youtube videos won’t embed into the post.)

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Rethinking Revelation Part 2: Discerning the Signs

Read Part 1 here: Rethinking The Book of Revelation (Read This If You Missed The Rapture)

In this short video, Greg Boyd shares his frustration with the obsession of discerning “signs” in world events and using them to predict where in the book of Revelation we currently are.  As an alternative, he points us towards putting all of trust in God and focusing on expressing His love in the present situations in our lives.

http://youtu.be/pju2kfU8unc

The danger of getting too caught up in figuring out signs is that everything can become a sign of something.  One can get trapped trying to figure out what God is saying if someone cuts them off in traffic, if you can’t sleep at night, if you find a dollar on the ground, and on and on.  You can end up living your life in fear of missing some sign from God or failing to properly interpret it.

I believe that in this present day, God speaks to us internally through the Spirit of His Son dwelling in us.  Rather than learn to discern outward signs, one may be better served to learn to listen to the Spirit’s internal leading, which can then be confirmed through Scripture.

Ultimately, as Dr. Boyd says, let us put our trust in Christ alone.

Follow the Life!

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Rethinking The Book of Revelation (Read This If You Missed The Rapture)

Growing up, I was taught that the Book of Revelation was a cryptic and terrifying foretelling of the gruesome end that the world has coming before Jesus Christ sets up an eternal reign.  Since I was a kid and this was the only thing I was ever taught, I bought it hook, line, and sinker.  As I aged, though, I began to question this teaching and presentation of this letter from the Apostle John.

On top of that, most people I knew were literally scared to read the Book of Revelation, fearing that such horrible things, including God’s wrathful judgment, could be right around the corner.  Consequently, this was rarely even talked about at all.

I don’t intend to give an in depth study of the letter here.  I’m certainly not qualified for such a task.  But I have done some reading on this subject and would like to pass on some resources that may be helpful to you if you also have decided that the theology espoused in the Left Behind novels should be, well, left behind.  (The idea that all true Christians will be whisked away while those “left behind” will suffer as God unleashes wrath on the world has only been around for a little over 200 years.)

What I consider to be of chief importance is that the letter is a Revelation of Jesus Christ, and this should be the ultimate focus when reading it.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.   (Revelation 1:1-3)

John says right up front that the letter is about Jesus Christ.  Not only that, but twice in the first three verses John writes that the contents of the letter “must soon take place”, for “the time is near”.  These opening verses alone should give us pause to reflect on how this letter is interpreted and applied.

Another factor that caused me concern was the view that Jesus plans to come back and basically wipe everyone “left behind” out (except the few who are so scared that they believe in Him, because Jesus uses fear as a manipulator…).  This led me to want to understand how this extremely violent sounding letter could be understood to have a non-violent message.

If you have also struggled with any of these thoughts, I would recommend you work through the following resources.  I recommend going through the shorter blog posts and audio messages, then moving into the books as you feel led.

– Rethinking the Second Coming of Christ blog post by Frank Viola, which is an excerpt from his book Jesus: A Theography written with Len Sweet.

– Also on the rapture topic, and excellent treatment of this is found in N.T. Wright’s book Surprised by Hope.

– Audio message by scholar Jon Zens on an alternate view of the letter.  A humble and honest presentation that brings up some good points to consider and reflect on.

– An Evening in Ephesus book by Bob Emory expands on Jon’s audio message above.  The information is presented in a creative narrative where John visits the church in Ephesus and explains the meaning of the letter.  This is a great and fairly short book.  I only wish it had footnotes.

– Revelation and the “Pride Fighting” Jesus blog post by Greg Boyd.  This post delves into how to read the letter of Revelation as non-violent.

– Audio message by Greg Boyd expounding on the non-violent topic, and how Jesus overcame as the Lamb in Revelation 5.  (Very much worth your time.)

– For more on the non-violent reading of Revelation, see John Howard Yoder’s book The War of the Lamb.

– For a more academic treatment of the Book of Revelation as an apocalyptic letter that reveals Christ as the slain yet victorious Lamb, see Richard Bauckham’s book The Theology of The Book of Revelation.

When one begins to piece together the views found in these resources, what emerges is a loving God who conquers all by laying His own life down through His Son as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the earth, leading to a profound view of the depth of God’s love for you, and for the world.

The issue as I see it is that a lot of Christian theology, thinking, and practice is potentially derived from a wrong view of this letter.  While I don’t feel a particular burden to study the technicalities of this letter academically, I do feel compelled to pass on these alternate views that I have found in my own search.

Follow the Life!

Do you have any resources that you would recommend?  Leave a note in the comments…

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Disclaimer: Obviously, I don’t agree with everything that each one of these authors has ever written or said.  I simply feel that they bring valuable insight into this topic.  Your mileage may vary.

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Experiencing Christ as Our Life Source

Below is part of a letter of encouragement that I sent to a friend a few months ago.  The letter is based on John 15:1-17.  I thought I would share it here in hopes that it also encourages you to rest in Christ and allow Him to be your life source.

It was originally written to one person, but I have updated it to be written to the Bride of Christ since it is now going out to a larger audience.

My Bride, I want you to know that I am the real and living grapevine, and my Father is the caretaker who watches over everything and puts everything into the perfect place at the perfect time. You are a branch in Me. You are part of Me. You live inside of Me. You are nourished by Me. I carry the living water to you and all the other branches in Me. All you have to do is rest in me. The living water is already flowing to you and through you.

Drink deeply my dear Bride. Don’t get too caught up in this world around you, how good you are living, or whether or not you are pleasing Me. My Father is always at work cutting out the branches in you that aren’t producing fruit to make room for the new branches that I am sprouting. Let go of the old and cling to the new!  Focus on Me and these other concerns will be dealt with through My Life in you.

The new branches that are of Me will produce more fruit than you could ever imagine. In fact, the Father has always been pruning you as you learn of Me. This is how you experience more and more of Me, by letting my Father prune. The more you depend on Me for everything, the more I will grow in you. Only divine life produces real, living, eternal fruit. As long as you continue in Me, I will bear fruit in You.

Yes, I am the authentic, eternal vine; you each are a very special branch in Me. Everyone who draws life from Me will produce abundant fruit. Realize, though, that you cannot draw life from yourself, nor can you produce any fruit on your own. You are only branches; I am the vine, the source. The life comes from Me and flows out to everyone and everything. Those that will not drink from My living water will eventually wither and die because they have no true life in themselves.

When you are consumed with My living water, you will see things just as I see and hear them because we will truly be one vine together. It will be easy for Me to give whatever you ask because you are asking from My perspective! My branches are the ones who partake of Me and manifest and express my own nature. And this is my nature: to love you exactly like My Father has loved Me. When My nature is flowing through and out of you, you will always be doing what I desire, just as I always do what My Father desires.

Don’t get down on yourself! I’m telling you all of this because it is truly joyful to those who abide in Me. My desires for you are filled with joy and are not burdensome. I simply want you to love each other the same way I have shown you love by laying My life down for you. There really is nothing greater in the universe than this! This is the most powerful thing of all! This is like a nuclear bomb in the heavenly realms, and it shames all those that stand against Me in the natural and the spiritual world! And you will do this completely naturally when you are abiding in Me and drawing from My living waters.

People will say, “Look, there is a friend of God!” As my dear Bride, I have opened up to you all of my secrets. You used to be slaves to this world, but now you know what will conquer this world: My life and My love, which is completely different from what passes for love in the world. Maybe you think that you chose Me. Actually, I chose You long, long, ago, and have hungered and thirsted to know you fully as a cherished branch in Me, and to see the fruit grow that you have already been chosen to produce. Remember, when you are one with Me, you will long for and fulfill My desires and the desires of My Father, which is that you love each other.

Follow the Life!

*****

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His Desire Is For Me: Drawing Close to Christ

his desire book coverBob Emory’s book, His Desire Is For Me, tells the story of the greatest love song every written: The Song of Songs.  Emory tells the story in narrative form, weaving an intricate story of a monarch, King Solomon, and the maiden of his desire.  The book is also written in devotional form, with about five pages per day for thirty days.  At the end of each day’s narrative, there is a Points to Consider section and a Thoughts/Prayers section that relate the story to the Christian’s daily walk in Christ.  The author often portrays King Solomon as a shadow or picture of Christ.  The book is broken into three parts: Initial Love, Increasing Love, and Mature Love.

I really enjoyed going through the intimate Song of Songs daily and seeing Christ in new ways through the story and reflections.  Emory reveals the character of Jesus and the depth of His love for us – each one just as we are.

Here are some quotes from the book:

Finally, one day, simple but powerful words began to form within me. Like a flood, a prayer rose from somewhere deep in my being and poured out from my lips: “May he kiss me again and again with the kisses of his mouth!”

THOUGHTS/PRAYERS Precious Lord, I humbly acknowledge that you are robed in light and that you are holy and without peer. You are one of a kind: the best and beyond compare.

The temptation for the maiden was to try to make herself more beautiful for Solomon so that she would be acceptable to him, as we will subsequently see. But she was altogether beautiful to him just the way she was. His love would draw her and purify her, making her into what she could only hope, at this time, to be.

When God sees us, he sees us as having been washed by the blood of Christ, which has made us perfectly righteous and holy in his sight. He sees us “in Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:30). He looks at us and loves us in exactly the same way as he does his precious Son. We are part of the divine family.

The Lord is passionately in love with us just the way we are. He formed each one of us in our mother’s womb. We were fearfully and wonderfully made. We were endowed with unique personalities, gift, and talents, all designed to uniquely magnify him. In Psalm 3:3, the psalmist said, “You are my glory and the One who lifts my head!” The Lord Jesus does not want us wallowing in the dust, nor looking down in shame. He wants to put his finger under our chin, lift it up, and cause us to look into his face, where we will hear the words, “You are beautiful, my darling, and there is no blemish in you.”

You [Christ] are the one I feed upon. Refresh me. Wash the dirt that I have accumulated from walking through this world off my feet, and fill me. Thank you that, even in those times when I struggle to find you, I am still, and always, your beautiful one.

Service should come as a response to spending time with the Lord and then responding to what he is doing within you.

This is the third of Bob Emory’s books I’ve read.  His book, An Evening in Ephesus, has the Apostle John visiting the church in Ephesus and explaining the meaning of his letter, The Revelation of Jesus Christ.

I am currently reading The New Covenant, in which Paul and Titus visit Jerusalem and Titus spends the day with John, where they discuss the New Covenant in Christ, and many of the shadows and pictures of Christ seen in the city of Jerusalem and in Jewish culture.

All three of these books express and reveal Christ in a deep and profound way, using narrative to put the revelation in a format that is easy and enjoyable to read.

See the interview at the link below to hear the author share about a comment that changed his view of the Song of Songs.

Links for His Desire is for me…

His Desire is for Me — Amazon

His Desire is for Me — Book Trailer

His Desire is for Me — Interview with Bob Emery

His Desire is for Me — Facebook

His Desire is for Me — Goodreads

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.