A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunitic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. -- C. S. Lewis

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a
lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in
the morning. -- Psalm 30:5

"I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you
known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and
that I myself may be in them." -- John 17:26

Jesus reveals God to us. One of the reasons he does this is so
that we can know who God is and what is important to him. Clearly,
one of the most important things on Jesus' heart in this prayer is
that we share His love for us with each other. In this way, Jesus
comes to life in us.

But now, this is what the LORD says -- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemedyou; I have summoned you by name; you are mine." -- Isaiah 43:1

We belong to the LORD, God of all creation and God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. 1 Pet. 2:9-10). We are recipients of God's grace and are blessed by His love for Israel's fathers. We do not have to fear because God is in control of our future, just as He worked through the history of His chosen people to send the Messiah. He will accompany us through the difficult trials we will face. He will make sure our redemption is realized. Why? Because we belong to Him. We are His. He knows us. He formed us. God's people are His possession forever. We are children of the Almighty God!

"I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." -- John 17:4

You are free to choose, but the choices you make today will determine what you will have, be, and do in the tomorrows of your life. -- Author Unknown

THE QUESTION that CHANGED MY LIFE
-by David Ryser.

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school
of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly
searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with
Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across
a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short
version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:

Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece
and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an
institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to
America and became an enterprise. Some of the students were only
18 or 19 years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to
understand and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified
it by adding, "An enterprise. That's a business." After a few moments
Martha, the youngest student in the class, raised her hand.
I could not imagine what her question might be. I thought the little
vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly.
Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha's raised hand, "Yes, Martha."
She asked such a simple question, "A business? But isn't it supposed
to be a body?" I could not envision where this line of questioning was
going, and the only response I could think of was, "Yes." She
continued, "But when a body becomes a business, isn't that a prostitute?"

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or
spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the
presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were
on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was,
"Wow, I wish I'd thought of that." I didn't dare express that thought
aloud. God had taken over the class.

Martha's question changed my life. For six months, I thought about
her question at least once every day. "When a body becomes a
business, isn't that a prostitute?" There is only one answer to her
question. The answer is "Yes." The American Church, tragically,
is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we
love Him? We don't even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

... I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not
know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates
in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what
we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would
bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him
for His money, and we don't care if He lives or dies as long as we
can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business,
merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded
to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ--that's pretty
intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love
someone we don't even know? And even if we do know someone,
is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or
prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha's question again one day, and considered
the question, "What's the difference between a lover and a prostitute?"
I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does
what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but
only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, "What would
happen if God stopped paying me?"

For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover
my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of
God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He
never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please
understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The
issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is
the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings
in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have
earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any
conditions? It took several months to work through these questions.
Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by
my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed
with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in
my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved,
but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute?
There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for
that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both
places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no
substitute for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I
mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another
look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.

"Each time you raise the standards for leadership, you bring everyone else in the church along a little bit. As the phrase goes, ‘A rising tide raises all the boats in the harbor.’" - Rick Warren

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached toyou, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:1

Our hope, our salvation, and our foundation for faith is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Gospel is the same as that Gospel first preached by the apostles and passed on to the believers in the early church. With so many confusing and conflicting ideas present in the world, we need to go back and be reminded of our simple faith in Jesus and his death, burial and resurrection. We need to un-clutter our hearts from all the ideas and issues that so often divide our churches and rip apart our fellowships and hear the words of the old hymn, "Simply to Thy Cross I cling." Today, let's be reminded of that simple Gospel of Jesus and build our life there.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
-- Philippians 4:5

How can we be gentle, how can we restrain from over-reacting
to the wounds, offenses, and slights that come our way? The
Lord is near! He is our vindication. He is our example. He is our
comfort. He is our hope. He is our strength. We are not alone and
our destiny, reputation, and value are not up to us to establish or
to defend.

O LORD, my God, please be ever near me as I seek to be
your person of character in the middle of the chaos and conflict
around me. I ask that your presence be made known and that my
character reflect that presence in all that I do and say today, and
each day that follows. In Jesus' name I pray.

He Will Carry You