DEARLY LOVED

Last week I got myself thinking about love. This beautiful thing they call love. I thought quite a lot but for this post, I restrict it to God's love. I remembered with nostalgia my younger days in Sunday school when we would sing of how Jesus love is wonderful.From the way we sang it, one could tell we loved what we were singing and whom we were singing about.

Then somewhere along the way growing up, we lost, or should I say we felt we had lost it. We felt like we had gotten too high that His love couldn't get over us, so wide that it couldn't get round us. We felt like we had gone so low that His love couldn't reach us. We came to believe that we had gone too far from the throne of grace and the oasis of love into the desert.. Somewhere along the way we began to "have our differences " with Jesus.

The beauty of His love is that it is unconditional love. It is not determined by what we do and what we don't. No wonder 
Paul asks in Romans 8:35-39

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble orhardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we aremore than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Being that Christ's love for you never changed, what is it that came between you and your love for Christ? Was it the education, job, loss of a loved one, heartbreak,children,sins,mistakes you made..  Or was it success? Failure? What made you feel so prodigal?


 

I am not sure in which state this post finds you. You could be sincerely  wishing He could love you more "leo Kuliko Jana" .However, I wrote to remind you that JESUS LOVES YOU as He loved you then. His love never ceased.. His love did not decrease.You never went too far that His love couldn't reach you.

Honey, you are dearly loved by the best.
Care to love Him back?

LOOK MY WAY

Last weekend a friend was kind enough to invite me to their church for the umpteenth time; or should I say was "polite" enough to honour an invite that had been extended some Sundays back. Well, either of the two. So I attended the service and I must say I had a great time in the Lord's House. Thank you for the invite. I will come again. I am still nursing the blessings.The entire service was just exactly what I needed at that moment.The praise, adorable worship, deep prayer, cheerful giving and timely sermon were just a succession of blessings.

The sermon was the climax of it. The preacher  was a guest speaker from a different church but the message was what a guest like me needed. The theme verse was 2 Chronicles 16:9

This was not the first time I was hearing that  scripture but for some reason it sounded more real than ever before. I could now relate to the Scripture .In our younger years God was painted as some old man with a rod waiting for someone to wrong Him so He can punish them thoroughly. Here is the scripture painting the true picture:

 God's eyes are scanning the earth.. Looking NOT for someone to punish but for someone to help :-)  Someone to strengthen. The same words are echoed in

1 Peter 3:12 NIV

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

During Elijah's time, as God's eyes were scanning the earth they landed on the Widow of Zarephath who had just one meal left and then she would die. It is easy to pick her helplessness and hopelessness in 1 Kings17:12

¹² “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

To think of it,Elijah was sent  to her, not because he was hungry per se; after all the ravens had been dutifully doing their job,  but because the woman was in need.

The same eyes were scanning the earth and landed on a barren woman who was crying out to the Lord for a child. She had prayed so much that words had turned to sobs. As Hannah prayed, the Lord looked down upon her and granted  her a child; sorry children.

I contrast this with 1Peter 5:8 New Living Translation

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 

From Job's time it is evident that he indeed roams looking for somebody to "finish". 

Isn't it encouraging to know that much as the devil is prowling around looking for someone to devour, the Lord is scanning the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are truly seeking after Him?

As I write this; my prayer  for you is  what the preacher prayed for us; that as the eyes of the Lord scan through the earth looking for someone to strengthen that they will look your way. May the gentle saviour not pass you by.

RESTART!

The last day in campus was one confused one, or should I say one with confused emotions. Happy to have run the race to the end, sad to have been leaving the people we had grown so close to, apprehensive of what the future holds. Hopeful that life would be kind. That was us leaving campus not so many months ago. Maybe I should ask; Is it just me and my cohort or does everyone leave campus with so much enthusiasm and "wanting to do life big"?

START AGAIN!

So now I am in the out here that had been talked about for quite sometime. So far so good, I have not much reason to complain. However, I will tell us of an observation I have made:Life has a way of returning us to the starting line every time. More like a replay button on a radio. The end of one phase is the beginning of another. Today one is a senior student tomorrow you are a junior most worker. Today the boss, tomorrow the bossed. One day we are calling the shots the next,shots are being fired at us.   Tables keep turning by the day. That is life. Made of different seasons.

I have also observed that life has a way of humbling us or rather of causing us to be humble about our lofty dreams. It has a way of making us doubt if really we are as awesome as we always  thought. Well that does not make us any less awesome. It only makes us retrace your steps.

Are you one undergoing the transition at your workplace, in your relationship, marriage, school, in your finances?  Today I write  to you who is undergoing that  Transition. From stardom to scardom; From Grace to grass. One for whom the days of grace are seemingly over and you are beginning to climb all over again.

Has life brought you back to the start line and all you recall is the glory of the former days? This is what God said to the Israelites through Haggai

Haggai 2:3-10

3 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?

4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty.

5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

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9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”

 The God who could restore the glory of the House of God in Israel and make its present glory greater than the former is able to restore you and your situation as well. He is God who can change your current scars to stars again. The withered grass He can change to green pasture. He knows the transition is painful but He says He is with you and He will see you through it.

The only thing that starts at the top is a grave, am told.  How well we manage the transitions is what determines how far we go in life and how close we get to achieving our lifelong purpose.Therefore when life has returned you to the start line, prepare to run again; with even more zeal, determination and a stronger faith. I like how Zechariah asks:

Zechariah 4:10 NIV

"Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the LORD that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?" 

Then Job seems to answer in Job 8:7 NIV

Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.

 Has life pressed a restart button on you? It did the same to Job. Just when he got to the peak, the restart came. However, he will tell you that he got everything,except his children, restored in double. Therefore, don't be caught up in the low season and think that you have come to The end of the road. This is just a phase and you will rise again.Even Roses bloom again.
This is your  fresh start to a better future.

Best Wishes  
Mwarray.