"Oh heart of mine, why must you stray?
From one so fair you run away
And one more time you have to pay
The heaviness of needless shame

Oh heart of mine, come back home
You've been too long out on your own
And He's been there all along
Watching for you down the road" - Chris Tomlin

Fight apathy. Fight pride. Fight laziness.
Christ was not apathetic. He was full of the Holy Spirit, in submission to the Father, he came to seek and to save the lost.
Christ was humble. He gave up his rightful place and put on flesh. He endured separation from the Father for the sake of His glory and for our sins.
Christ came to give us life, life in full and life in abundance. For we have died and our lives are hidden in Christ.

Some thoughts from reading the book Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Why do we reject the Gospel? Why am I so prone to forget and try to save myself? Because it takes the focus off of myself. The Gospel is not about me, it's about what Jesus has done. When I truly believe the Gospel, in a way I disappear. What I do is not of ultimate importance, or of any at all in light of the cross. Jesus said "It is finished." There is nothing left to complete the Gospel's redeeming and justifying power. I cannot justify myself. I can do nothing. I can only accept and live in light of the Gospel as He has called me to Him. The Gospel is for the humble, the Gospel humbles, the Gospel demands humility. The pride in my heart stops the Gospel from penetrating those deep places. But Christ came to conquer that. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but went to the cross and bore our sins, and was exalted, for His everlasting joy and glory, and for our own joy, our own lives, that we may be with him. Grace, oh mysterious wonderful grace.

1 Corinthians 3:23

Ye are Christ's. You are his by donation, for the Father gave you to the Son; his by his bloody purchase, for he counted down the price for your redemption; his by dedication, for you have consecrated yourself to him; his by relation, for you are named by his name, and made one of his brethren and joint-heirs. Labour practically to show the world that you are the servant, the friend, the bride of Jesus. When tempted to sin, reply, I cannot do this great wickedness, for I am Christ's. Immortal principles forbid the friend of Christ to sin. When wealth is before you to be won by sin, say that you are Christ's, and touch it not. Are you exposed to difficulties and dangers? Stand fast in the evil day, remembering that you are Christ's. Are you placed where others are sitting down idly, doing nothing? Rise to the work with all your powers; and when the sweat stands upon your brow, and you are tempted to loiter, cry, No, I cannot stop, for I am Christ's. If I were not purchased by blood, I might be like Issachar, crouching between two burdens; but I am Christ's, and cannot loiter. When the siren song of pleasure would tempt you from the path of right, reply,Thy music cannot charm me; I am Christ's. When the cause of God invites thee, give thy goods and thyself away, for thou art Christ's. Never belie thy profession. Be thou ever one of those whose manners are Christian, whose speech is like the Nazarene, whose conduct and conversation are so redolent of heaven, that all who see you may know that you are the Saviour's, recognizing in you his features of love and his countenance of holiness. I am a Roman! was of old a reason for integrity; far more, then, let it be your argument for holiness, I am Christ's!

- Charles Spurgeon

Oh heart of mine, so far do you go. Come back to fountain of life, the streams of mercy, the rivers of grace. Lean on the pillar of truth and Word of life.

Psalm 63:1-8
Oh God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

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When the soul does not. When my heart is empty and seemingly stuffed full with nothingness. When all of me knows that at the hand of the Lord are glorious riches and blessings, that through His Son I have peace in God and peace with God, that in Him there is grace that is found, grace that finds me. And yet the vacuum is not filled, the space stays empty. When grace abounds and my heart is limp. When love is steadfast and my soul reaches out and yet finds no satisfaction. Will I still say, "It is well with my soul", will I still declare, "Your grace is enough for me", will I still life my hands and say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord", will I rejoice and be glad, will I still go to the edge of the waters when my soul is not "as the deer panting for streams of water", will I carry my cross, when I know not to where I carry it? When I am at the door of light, the gate to life, will I still sit in the darkness? When I am sitting in broken cisterns hewed out by my own hands, will I place my trust in the One who has called my name, who has called me child, who has made a way and torn the veil, will I claim Him as my God, as my Lord and my Saviour? Will I eat my fill of this world, and forsake what is best, will I take from all else that is not His and leave what I know can satisfy?
Oh Lord will I "praise you as long as I live", when I have no strength, when I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are my God, that you are my Saviour, that you came to give me life, that your Spirit holds me fast, that you are my light, you are my shield, you are my defender, you are my helper, you sustain me, you save me, you sanctify me. Will I speak with my lips to glorify you and profane you with my heart, will the attitude of what is inside put to shame the outward appearance. Will my soul lips sing and my heart be hard as stone.
Lord breathe into me once again, touch this heart and transform it into flesh that beats for your name, that seeks your glory, that seeks your face, that knows your name: Justice, Mercy, Grace, Abounding Love, Father. Be my all in all.

By Christ I will live, by Christ I will stand, by Christ I will kneel and know you God. By Christ I will pour myself out to you, even as I feel I have nothing to pour, even as I feel foolish, a failure, unworthy and utterly far from you. Lord would your Spirit bear witness with mine that I am your child, that I am loved and that I have been drawn out of the fire and into the kingdom of light. By your Spirit may I mortify the deeds of the flesh, live in the light, and live by grace. For it is by grace that I have been saved, through faith in Christ. Let me not falter Lord, though I am prone to wander, oh Lord I feel it, I know it. Bring me to my knees, bring me to dependence on you, on your Word, on your Spirit, on your grace, on Christ. Let it be on Christ that I stand, this solid rock, and not this world of sand and fleeting pleasures, but on the cross, to lift my eyes up to be saved. How great, how mysterious, how glorious.

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell."

- C.S. Lewis

His love endures forever.

His love: I cannot fully grasp.

endures: I cannot fully grasp.

forever: I cannot fully grasp.

So I stand in awestruck wonder of what I cannot fully grasp or know.

"..they can't believe in something they've never heard.."

"...for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard... "

- Acts 4

Jesus tells us to go through the narrow gate and down the narrow path. He tells us that it leads to life, and the wide path leads to destruction. The wide gate is indeed wide, and many are going through and walking that path. The narrow gate is narrow, and is the path is harder, but leads to life. Because Jesus went down the narrow path ahead of us, and was raised to life. The narrow path leads to life. But the only things that will fit through the narrow gate is myself, and the cross that I am commanded to carry. Easier doesn't mean better. Harder doesn't mean worse. Harder leads to life. Easier leads to destruction. We all have a choice to make. I've made mine, and I know He's with me, and is right there, infront, beside, and behind me, all around, to keep me on that path by His grace.

I miss my blog.

'Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth, unite my heart to fear your name.'

Psalms 86:11

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'Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.'

Matthew 5:5


"The way of meekness is natural, in the sense that it's part of our nature, but not easy. Becoming like a child in a culture that tells me to be grown up and important is a step downwards. Dying the death of submission in a world that rewards those who seize control feels foolhardy. Giving away money to those who are in need now means I have to trust God for all I need for the future. It is difficult to follow Jesus in a calling that others are better qualified to accomplish or requires me to sacrifice something that Jesus doesn't seem to be requiring my friends to sacrifice. And adopting the attitude of a slave means that I must set self aside day after day. Finally, obeying people I perceive to be inferior or whom I simply don't want to obey means that I tie myself to others when I would rather worship freedom and independence.

These are painful deaths to die. But they enrich the soil in which good things grow."

- Scott A. Bessenecker