Day Forty: John's Jesus

      I've believed in God as long as I can remember but I truly began a relationship with Christ in the spring of 1999. I was standing in a church in Lawrence, KS doing my best to avoid Jesus propoganda and convinced no one would convince me. "Where is the evidence?"  I asked. My beloved friend, Ineka, who I miss very much replied, "I used to ask for evidence and believed intellectually but now I just believe on faith."
       So I asked God to show me who Jesus was and having soon satisfied my intellectual thirst I began to seek Christ by faith and have been on that quest ever since. "For we live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)."  If my life were examined for evidence of Christ in it, people would see Jesus in it as my provider of unconditional love, grace, and forgiveness. The evidence for his unconditional love, grace, and forgiveness are abundant and yet, unconditional love, grace, and forgiveness are only received by faith not by intellectual pursuit.
        Although I started my quest standing in a church, it is outside the church that I found Jesus on a deep personal level. It is where Jesus meets me in my most private world that I couldn't share with anyone if I tried. That is where Jesus finds me driving down the interstate weeping and wipes a tear from my cheek. That is where Jesus finds me running on a trail as if running from my own heart and opens the floodgates of tears and lets them flow refreshing my soul. It is Jesus holding me through years of unanswered prayers so he could bring me to this place and present me with an even greater gift than I could have imagined on my own.
      There is no intellectual explanation for the unfolding of faith that happens in the very depths of one's soul. It is greater than a human mind can comprehend and more loving than a human heart can express. Sometimes you just have to believe it by faith and let it happen then look back and see the evidence Christ left in the wake.
     On day forty, Beth Moore asks,  "If your life were a Gospel like John's, who could people "believe" your Jesus to be?" If your life were examined for evidence of Christ, who would people think Jesus is?
  
STUDY GUIDE

Follow along in JOHN: 90 Days with the Beloved Disciple by Beth Moore pages 189-194
 Read John 1:6-13
 Answer the questions in your study guide.
 Share a brief highlight or two from your thoughts and answers in a comment posted to the group. (Read guidelines and cautions posted August 1, 2010 before you post).
 Read the comments of others and share your thoughts and encouragement with them by replying to their comments. Identify which post you are responding to by addressing them and their subject or pasting a brief portion of their reply at the start of your post.
PRAY WITH ME:
Lord, thank you for the big impact you make our lives by being in the small stuff. Thank you for allowing us to draw close to you in faith and yet, not lacking evidence of you in our lives should we seek it. Thank you for being a friend who wipes a tear or provides a hand to hold just when we need it most. Let the examples of our lives testify to the evidence that you are who you say you are; the lover of our soul. In Jesus Name, Amen.

3 Basic Human Needs

    After food and water, there are three basic humans needs which are referenced in scripture. Meaning & purpose is referenced in Ecclesiastes 3:22, "So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot," To love and be loved is in 1 Corinthians 13:13, "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love," and security & hope as referenced in Hebrews 6:19, "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

The Greatest of These is LOVE

    Our need for meaning and purpose, to love and be loved; and for security and eternal hope are fulfilled by the God who created us. No person, place, or thing can truly fulfill the needs that beckon in the depths of our human soul. People, no matter how hard they try, let us down. Places can not penetrate the depths of our hearts or souls and things lose their value quickly. But "God gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade (1 Peter 1:3-4)."

    There are books written on finding meaning and discovering your purpose in life. Some are biblical, some are not. Feeding on God's word daily is the best way to ensure that no matter what you are doing you are staying on the path He has prepared for you. Here is some food for thought:

Proverbs 20:5 The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.

Exodus 9:16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Romans 9:21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

Galatians 4:18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.

To love and be loved is something that humans search for all their lives. Those that find it realize that loving others is the beginning of being able to be loved. Without being able to love another, it is impossible to truly ever "feel loved." Knowing God's love for us is the beginning of being able to love others without unrealistic expectations on the returns of that love. 

Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Ephesians 5:1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

Security for today; hope for eternity.

Psalm 25:3 No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

Psalm 33:20 We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

1 Timothy 4:10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Opening Trail Ride March 19

Plan to join us for the first trail ride of the season, March 19, 2011 at R4C Ranch. We'll be riding the trails at the ranch and meeting up at the retreat for an evening campfire fellowship.  Mark your calendars so you don't miss out. All horses trailered in must have a current negative coggins and up to date health certificate. Haul-in fees are waived for this ride!!

Our first overnight ride is scheduled for April 16-17 at Rockhaven Campground, Clinton Lake, KS.  Come join us for the trail rides, BBQ, and evening campfire fellowship.

Check back for more details.

Day Thirty-Nine: Believe It!

Do you believe that Jesus died for you and you will spend eternity with him when you die? Are you believing in Christ every day so that you may have life with him now? There is a difference.
 "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:31
There's more than eternal life in heaven. Yes, there is "life in his name" now.

Believing for Life

As I waited for a call from the veternairy hospital where my beloved cat of 13 years was under going surgery, I feared the worst. I waited for the call to let me know the surgeon could not repair her wounds as the vet had feared. He warned of a likely possibility that I would have to tell them it was okay to put her down. I wasn't ready to say goodbye. My 13 year old son sat beside me and put his arm around my shoulder and said, "She is going to be alright mom."
"You seem sure about that," I said.
"God knows how much you love her. I believe He is going to fix her," he said.
"I am going to believe with you." I decided. Together we prayed for the surgeon's hands. And after that I got up and prepared a place for her to rest when she got home. A few hours later the clinic reported that my precious cat was out of surgery and resting comfortably. The vet was amazed at the amout of damage he'd found but happy to report that he believed he was able to repair it all.
How often do we forget that Christ died for us-- now.  "So you may believe and by believing have life." Life now and forever. Life with Christ is filled with ongoing acts of believing and trusting in God's promises. Not only are we saved but we are being saved. Not only do we believe but we are believing.

Day Thirty-Seven: I Could Say More



You don't have to plow through on your own



   

    Jesus came into my adult life unpretentiously. I was prideful in my suffering and thinking, really God? You want me to believe in Jesus after all of this. God said "Blessed child-- you can come and let me show you or walk out the door. I will never force you." I can still remember the day I almost chose to walk out the door but something tugged at my heart and I am so glad I turned around. "Show me God. Show me who Jesus is."

     That day changed my life. God gave me a new perspective and made me whole, filling every crevice that was once empty. No person, place, or thing could fill those bottomless pits of emptiness. I began to walk with Jesus- he wiped my tear, called my name, held my hand, caught my fall, and whispered courage in my ear. There are so many other things that Jesus did that if I wrote them down one by one "I suppose not even the world itself could contain" them.
    I love reading God's word. It is amazing how much hope and encouragement one scripture can give you. Just when I have forgotten my first true love--- I remember, "There are also so many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one," John writes, "I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written (John 21:25). I know! And that is just in my life. How in the world can you explain that to someone else. I want to share those volumes with my loved ones. I want them to have the things Jesus does in their life so they can write their own books.
   Hear the words of Jesus in God's word. Jesus is the word and the word became  flesh and God's word does not return void. Just speaking his words sends out a mighty force into the world around you. What verse is speaking to you today? What is your favorite?
   A verse I like to call my life force is Hebrews 11:1-2, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." It is one that I speak out when attacked by the all the descenders of the world. It is full of God's power and always returns with more things about Jesus I can write in my book. "There are so many other things that Jesus did..." I could say more... but what is your story?