Two Way Street

O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!  - Psalm 130:2. Why do we have to cry out to God asking Him to hear our pleas for help? He is God, He should know all our difficulties and just fix them, right? I think this question hinders many people in their relationship with God, especially in our current culture. Honestly, this culture thinks this way in more areas than God. Why doesn’t our government fix the poverty situation, the drug situation, the fill-in-the-blank situation? This mentality is common in families. If my dad loves me why doesn’t he…. I don’t know the answer for the culture mentality but I find in God’s Word the answer to the original question. God’s Word says, we don’t have because we don’t ask. So why ask? The answer is from Genesis to Revelation, relationship. God wants us to relate to Him intimately. This is His entire purpose of creating us and the creation we enjoy. Think about it, expectations without communication leads to dysfunctional relationships. I hate it when people just expect something of me and I bet you do to. Think about it from God’s perspective and the next time you find yourself wondering why God doesn’t act the way you think He should, try talking to Him about it. It may change everything for you. 

The Best Connection

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. - John 15:1. The shear vastness of the Word of Bible is far more than I can comprehend. For instance, in the 15th chapter of John lies the beauty of the purpose of God and all that He has done, is doing and will do for those that truly love Him. He promises a connection to Himself. A joint venture between the God of love and those that He loves and loves Him. A covenant of protection and power, of belonging and purpose. In this beautiful picture we can see why we should live, how we should live and how we can truly live in peace. It is amazing! The Son of God, by the obedience of God offering an unworthy creature life in Him. Jesus simply said, I am the true vine, stay connected to me and you will be free. Can I encourage you today to truly meditate on this? Jesus didn't give this as a commandment though in one way it is. In Jesus' love for you, He showed you how to have confidence, peace and satisfaction that is found no where else but in a love connection with Him. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

A loud world

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.  - Zephaniah 3:17. We live in a world that is loud. To compound the ongoing reality of busyness, most of our worlds have so many things trying to get our attention that we find ourselves hearing only a fraction of what is important. As an example, I remember being so busy and so focused for success in life, or at least survival in life, to the point that I had times where I missed the voices of those I loved the most. I am pretty sure you have been there too. Within the mad race that most of us tend to run everyday, we are missing the blessing and peace of being quiet. Rest, peace and joy is found in quiet places. The best kind of relationships are found in the quiet atmospheres. It is very frustrating when you think about it, but what are we to do? The answer lies within the pages of the Word of God. Zephaniah wrote, "the Lord your God is with you, in your midst and He will quiet you by His love. Take time to be with Jesus regularly, outside the busyness and noise of your all too busy world and allow Him to take you into places that are special, beneficial and rewarding to the soul. It will change your world.