You Did Not Choose Me

You did not choose me, but I chose you.

I chose you to love, to cherish, to hold.

I chose you to have affections for, affections far above those of anything and anyone else, and to hope you'd return those affections.

Why did I choose you? My child, not for war, nor for offering, nor power. I did not choose you for what you can do or offer, but I do and offer all things.

For purity? I am holy and righteous, and no more pure with you than I'd be without you.

I did not need you, for I need nothing. I am not a god created by man's hands, nor a rose grown from the dirt of the earth. I am not a God that I should need what you offer.

I chose you. I saw you and I was captivated. I knew you and I rejoiced. I met you and danced over you. I rejoiced with loud singing. I wrote your name on my hands.

I did not see your value through your eyes, but through mine. You are altogether beautiful my love, and there is not a flaw in you. You are a bride cleansed, now without spot or blemish. There is no one I'd rather keep. There is no direction I would rather look. There is no option I would rather choose.

Dance with me. Eat with me. Sing with me. Speak with me.

And our love will be sweet
Sweeter than the rain
Or the petals on the rose
Or life in your eyes

The Deepest Darkness

Lately I've been studying the idea of light. Not simply that it allows us to see, but that where it is, darkness can not also be. That when light is present, shadows flee.

I've been studying the idea of change, of how when a man or woman such as yourself, who is tainted with this thing we call flesh, has light shine on you and into you, it changes you. It allows you to see things you've never seen. It allows you to believe things you never considered before. My only fear is that men no longer seek the light because they've lived in darkness for so long that they don't remember what light looks like. My fear is that we are able to walk into the light and live in it, but we don't realize the full possibility and the need.

In the bible there was a man named Saul. He was not only absent from light, but delving in the darkness- dwelling in the darkness. If the normal person is just absent minded under stars in the night sky, Saul was several hundred feet in a cave. He even says about himself "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners- of which I am the foremost." You might ponder what it was the Saul did that was so bad, and what could drive him to say such a profound statement.

Saul was a murderer.

Worse than that, he was a hypocritical murderer who believe that was he was doing was right, and that he was serving God by killing.

But God. God one day revealed His light to Saul, and it was so bright that Saul became blind. Saul became humbled. Saul became different. And God, in His infinite kindness and mercy, redeemed Saul to not only give Him life, but to use him to bring others to life. Saul was changed so much that even his name changed from Saul to Paul. This brutal man whom everyone feared became so bright and loving that God used him to write most of your New Testament.

The point is this. If God's light can shine in even this deepest darkness, He can shine in your darkness too. "The light shines in the darkness." God purposefully seeks you out so that you may no longer be blind and bound, but free to see and believe. He hopes that you will be no longer stumbling and falling in this dark world, but will come into the light where there is peace, joy, and hope. He wants this for you. I want this for you.

"And the darkness has no overcome it." The darkness only has two options when light comes- flee or dissipate. God, whose light is bright, whose holiness is pure, has no darkness at all. His light shines and it can shine in you. But you might ask how? How do I do this? First, you confess. You confess that you have darkness and you don't qualify it, you don't justify if, you simply expose it. Secondly, you seek Him. The deeper you get into Him, the less of you there is. Where do you seek Him? In bible studies, in services, in prayer, in Scripture, and in loving friends. It is my hope that this inspires you, and that darkness would have to flee. May the God who is all expansive and the source of light find you gently and move you in.

Heaven

No weakness. No hurting. No pain. No shame. No heartbreak. No darkness. No brokenness. No sick. No lame. No blind. No loss. No deficiencies. No insecurity. No death. No separation. No poor. No sadness. No depression. No chains. No bondage. No aching. No falling. No hate. No judging. No wandering. No evil. No end.

This is Heaven. This is the offer of Christ. This was the creation of God. P

erfect harmony with His will and our desires. This is eternal life. Believers-this is what you signed up for. Unbelievers-if this is what you desire, it can be yours.

The fact is that we are broken. All philosophers, psychologists, and authors agree. There is something wrong with humanity. What is it? Separation from our original purpose, from our original essence, and our original unity. The problem was and still is sin. That we turned from light to darkness. From worth to worthlessness. From selflessness to selfishness.

But there is One who thought we could be redeemed. One who thought and thinks we are worth saving. And this love abundant came and lived among us, and taught us, and died among us, and lived once again. Why? Why do it? Simply this. To bring us back to ourselves-our original selves. To bring us back to the origin. To bring us back to Himself.

And to anyone that should call upon Him, they shall be saved. Will life be sudden bliss? Is that the promise? No. The promise is that one day we will enter into His perfect and spotless kingdom. And in this kingdom...

There is peace. Full peace. Full joy. Full prosperity. Full unity. Full hope. Full purity. Divinity. Wonder. Amazement. Health. Abundance. Fruit. There is love. There is light. There is Christ.

Furious

Furious

His love is deep. It goes into the depths of us, into the most secret and quiet places. Is he safe? Yes, but He will change you and remove you in every way. He is gentle and lowly in Spirit.

His love is wide. It is strong as death. It is sure. There is no one and nothing that is not affected by His love. It is all expansive, reaching all places and all hearts.

It covers us. It doesn't j

ust touch one place, but every place. From hearts to minds, from bodies to finances. It covers all there is to be covered. There are no gaps. No insufficiencies.

He love is fierce. It is forceful. Will He barge into your house? No, but He will knock on the door every single day in hopes that you'll answer. He will do all there is to do to reach you, and to show you Himself.

His love is strong. It doesn't fail. There no odds with God, and no limits to His power. His grip on you is no weaker or less capable than it was yesterday, and could not be greater tomorrow. It can not be measured, and it does not give up.

It is furious. He will defend you and redeem you at any cost. It will love you to the point of all emotions, that He is so obsessed with you it overwhelms you. This is not of works, but by grace and through faith.

His love is sweet. It is pleasurable and altogether desirable. There is no greater craving we could have, and no greater satisfaction that comes from anywhere else. Like a mother holds her child, so the love of the Father comforts us.

His love is wild. No one could ever talk Him out of it, and no one contains it. It is not hold back, even by you. He can not be tamed, but will seek you in hopes that you find Him.

It awakens hearts to life. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Though you were dead in your sin, His death in love made you redeemable, so that you could live, and that your life would reflect His life. Wake up sleeper...

The Unlovable

Matthew West has (still relatively) new song out called Forgiveness. I don't know how many people have researched it, but the story behind it is powerful.

Matthew decided to write all of the songs for his newest album about real life stories people had sent him. In this story a mother's child was driving home. As the daughter was driving, she got hit but a drunk driver. He survived, but the daughter passed. There was of course a court hearing, and after x amount of months he was sentenced to 22 years in prison for DWI and manslaughter.

The mother started going around to various schools and organizations talking about the importance of driving safely, and the dangers of drinking and driving. She became a spokesperson for what she had experienced, and a warning beacon that has hopefully saved lives. I respect her a lot for that. After somewhere between a few months and a few years of doing this, God began to speak to her about forgiveness. She of course responded with the natural responses that all of us would give. "I have forgiven him/her. I'm not holding a grudge. I'm fine God." But after enough time and prayer, she realized she hadn't forgiven enough, and definitely hadn't forgiven this poor and lost young man who had killed her daughter.

Through radical change and a radical God, she forgave him. No, not just in her heart. She went to the prison to visit him, and told him she forgave him. The story doesn't end there though. She now considers him to be a friend, even a member of her own family. I don't know about you but I don't have a lot of confidence that I could do that. As if this wasn't enough, she also pleaded with the judge to have his sentence cut in half. That's right, 50%! If I remember correctly, he gets out this fall/winter some time.

So what's the point? Why write about this? First, it's to show the power of forgiveness. It's to remind us that forgiveness isn't just for the forgiven, but the forgiver. Second, it's to remind you that the word "impossible" is not in God's dictionary. Third, it's to demonstrate loving the unlovable.

Here's the thing. This story is a perfect allegory to the Father, Christ, and us. The Father is the mother, Christ is the daughter, and you and I? We're the drunk driver. We spat in His face. We crucified Him. We slaughtered Him. Even now we sin against Him. But His forgiveness, His love, His mercy is strong enough to go past us-for love is as strong as death. He didn't just forgive us, but He welcomed us to be with Him. He invites us to enjoy life everlasting. Truly there has been and never will be a greater love story than this. The Father, lover of the unlovable.

Of Mud

John 9:6-7 Having said these things, he spat on the ground, and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him "Go,wash in the pool of Siloam." So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Jesus, a man of all kindness and glory, sees a blind man whom we learn in the next verse has been blind and poor for some time. He used to sit and beg on the street side. Jesus then spits in the dirt to make mud, rubs it on the man's eyes and tells him to go wash. The man washes and comes back, and for the first time in a long time (or maybe ever) sees color, light, darkness and beauty.

When I first read over this I just saw it as a miracle. Not that miracles are amazing, but they're sort of expected when I read about Jesus. It's easy to pass them by. But the last time I read this I just had the sense I was missing something...and here's what it was.

First, God has seen one of the "least of these" and not only stopped to recognize him, but heal him. So Jesus, a King, the one whom through all things were created, the full explanation and exact copy of the Father in Heaven, stops and cares for this man- a man whom He has not practical human attachment to. It's incredible to think that God would notice this man, but also notice me, and also you.

Secondly, Jesus spits in the dirt to make mud. I asked myself "why use mud? Why not just speak as before?" Here is why. Dirt is the most worthless thing on the planet, We have it in abundance, and unlike water, it isn't necessary (directly) for sustainence. It is the cheapest and most free thing in the world other than air. God took this thing that we don't just not value, but that is disgusting and avoided, and He used it for glory. In the same way, He uses us. We were lost in sin, in total death and helplessness and utter sorrow, and He, in His goodness and love, decided to save us. He adds Himself to the dirt, and through it comes a miracle. Sight.

We serve a God who is not only mighty and strong, but compassionate and kind. Yes, He has higher standards than we could ever reach on our own, but He has continued to give and in His generosity, Has given His son so that we could be free of sin and death. He has loved us. He loves us. He will continue to love us. Come.

Crazy Thought

Crazy thought.^

We were created as wholly intimate with God. In perfect harmony and shalom, we walked with Him. Then one day man turned away, and sin caused us to die.

It's well known that conflict, when occurred and resolved properly, can bring the conflicters closer than they were before the conflict. We see this not only in healthy marriages, but also in Song of Solomon. Solomon goes to his wife's chambers but she denies him. He leaves, she repents, is punished, and goes to find him.

What's incredible is that after we resolve conflict, which in the case of Christ and man is sin and forgiveness, we are drawn a little closer to Him, but not as close as we were originally. And if our fellowship with Him is this great while living in our flesh, how much more glorious will it be when we are once again in His likeness? When we no longer see through a mirror dimly, but see Him as He is, and are His perfect and spotless bride.

Maybe though, you haven't begun to walk in the Spirit here on earth. Even though it isn't perfect fullness, it is communion. In that communion there is comfort, peace, and forgiveness. There is also suffering, but power and purity. We have the promise that we will be rewarded both here on earth and in heaven, and that the rewards far outway the costs.

How do we enter into this communion? We learn of Him, who He is and what he's done by reading His Scriptures, and we believe and accept Him. He is faithful to not only be present but moving.