Have YOU forgotten to ask?

In John 4 we read the famous story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. He Himself might have told us the story sort of like this:

"Remember the woman at Sychar? She was a Samaritan and I purposed to meet her at the ancient Jacob's well.

I asked her for a drink of water. She was surprised at the request. But she didn't ask Me for anything. Right there -- in front of her-- the Creator and Sovereign Lord of the Universe, the One able to bestow any gift to any humble creature.

But she didn't ask. I had to call it to her attention.

'Look,' I said. 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Me and I  would have given you living water.'

She still didn't understand. She didn't 'know the gift' and she didn't know who I was.'

I explained it to her. Just as I have patiently explained it to you.

Now you do know. You know the gift I bring and who I am.

It delights Me to give My children gifts.

So why don't you ask for more?"

[So why don't we ask for more? C S Lewis compares us to children who are content to play in the city ghetto, just making mud pies, when God is offering us a holiday at a grand oceanside resort, and we could be building sand castles!

Maybe we should rethink what we are asking our omnipotent 'wealthiest Father ever' for!

Paul reminds us, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20).]

While You are Seeking Me, I WIll be Found!

                       

                        He promises - If we seek Him we will find Him!

I'm still thinking about how our God is delighted when we seek Him -- how He wants to be found by us!

Some years ago when we were in Israel we went out to the wilderness above the Dead Sea. It was desolate and bleak. We stood on a cliff and looked around the barren landscape. It was breathtaking and somewhat frightening.

Then a woman in our group stepped closer to edge of the chasm and began singing.

Her voice echoed throughout the deep canyons around us.

I can still hear her singing in my God-given miracle of memory. I will never forget the experience. It was more beautiful that any operatic aria I have ever heard...cool and refreshing as a glacial fountain.

I especially remember these words: 

"Ho, everyone who is thirsty in spirit! 

Ho, everyone who is weary and sad!

Come to the fountain, there's fullness in Jesus; 

All that you're longing for -- come and be glad!

'I will pour water on him who is thirsty; 

I will pour floods upon the dry ground.

Open your heart for the gift I am bringing --

 while you are seeking Me I will be found!'"

In our barren lives He daily brings showers of mercy. He is the Fountain that goes on forever and never runs dry. How blessed we are!

Isaiah 55:6 -- Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He Is near.

Jeremiah 29:13 -- You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.

Matthew 7:7 -- Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

[Note: The author of this wonderful hymn is Lucy Jane Rider Meyer. She was born in 1849 and planned to be a medical missionary for the Methodist church with her husband. He died in 1875, before they were married. She decided to go on to  medical school and remained in the US. She also attended the Moody Theological Seminary for Women.  The hymn, written 1884, is in public domain.]

Revisiting an Old Truth

Lamentations 3:18-26

"So I say, 'My splendor is gone and all that I had hope for from the LORD.'

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall, I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion, therefore, I will wait for Him.' The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD."

These  words were written by the prophet Jeremiah, who chose to rise above his emotions and base his hope on the truth of God's unfailing love, reminding us it is a choice we, too, can make.

Thoughts from Gayle Rogers Foster --

"You, too, should have a short memory about the sadness of yesterday, and an long memory about God's faithfulness. His mercies are indeed new every morning. Rebuke your foreboding spirit. It is not from God. Get up every morning and proclaim, 'This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it' (Psalm 118:24).

If you tried something yesterday and it didn't work, try it again. However, this time you will have more wisdom and experience.

 Don't determine how your day is going to go based on how you emotionally feel when you get up. Just do what you know is right. Your emotions will catch up. 

And never let your feelings simmer in your soul. When you allow Christ to meet your needs you can allow His love to cover up a multitude of other people's sins. Give the gift of a fresh start to both you and everyone else who may have offended you. 

Trust God when you don't feel like it. Trust God when you do feel like it. Trust God until you feel like it. Take the next step. Don't look back. God is already there waiting. If you trust your instincts concerning the future, based on the failures of the past, you could be in for a long and painful detour."

  -- From Front Porch Moments, by Gayle Rogers Foster

Because He Lives!

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that, in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed yet in my flesh I will see God. I myself will see Him with my own eyes -- I and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" (Job 19:25-27)  

Isn't one of the happiest discoveries in reading God's Word the different ways He is described? Here it is "Redeemer." So special. A "redeemer" is not an accidental or coincidental relationship - a redeemer CHOOSES the one he is going to redeem!

Does this exclude us from the normal, usual earthly trials and afflictions? No -- it surely didn't exclude Job from his suffering. And, like Job, troubles crash in on us, driving us to our Redeemer for help. Sometimes we come humbly, sometimes angrily, scared, crushed in spirit, heartbroken.

But, as believers who trust in His sovereignty and faithfulness, we hold tightly to Him, look up and confidently declare that in the end time our Redeemer will stand victorious on this earth and we will be there to witness it!

In the meantime, for now,  we endure. We experience His comfort and companionship. We anticipate that day when we shall see Jesus, our champion Redeemer, face to face, witness His victory and be received into His Kingdom where everlasting joy awaits us!

Maranatha, Lord Jesus....how our hearts yearn!

Overwhelmed and Forgiven

 

                                    Overwhelmed and Forgiven

"When we were overwhelmed by sin, You forgave our transgressions"

                                    (Psalm 65:3).

It's all due to His grace. So how should we live?

How can we display His grace each day?

"Lord, because Your grace is underserved I should be humble; because it is costly I should be holy and loving; because it is unconditional I should be at peace...and through it all I should  be supremely grateful every moment. Amen."

"Lord, help me be to others as You have been to me. Amen."