Echos

God's love echoes throughout our days.  Mightily and unrelentingly, God whispers "I love you" over and over again.  For whatever reason we often fail to pick up on His gracious outpouring of love. 

Christians often take for granted the self-sacrifice of God.  When we think of sacrifice we may consider it as going home to eat instead of heading to a restaurant.  Or maybe it is a sacrifice to not buy the latest computer and make due with the old one.  However, God's sacrifice is deeply and radically different from ours.  Sometimes I have to see this sacrificial love through the eyes of another human being in order to understand. 

Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac.   Walking up the mountain to that sacrificial altar was more than morning hike.  It was a journey back to childless days because of infertility, a spoken promise of God that seemed would never come and finally the dream child Isaac who was from all outward appearances headed to a sacrificial fire.  It is a gut wrenching pain that many understand as they loose their child to disease, famine and ultimately this sinful world.

This is the sacrifice of our God.  He sent His only Son, righteous and holy, to earth.  His Son entered our world, experiencing our joys and the pain laden on our backs because of sin.  But Christ didn't stop there.  He took on death for us so we could have life today. 

This Easter I pray you experience the relentless echo of Christ's love.  May you know freedom from death and walk into the life He has given you merely for the asking.  Listen to God say "I love you forever"  over and over again.

The First Front Porch Day of 2011

It is 75 degrees on February 17.  As you can imagine, I am on my front porch both working and taking in God's creation.  Feeding the birds, sitting with Sable, listening to wind through the leafless trees, smelling the earth warm up under the sun and even Dennis' honey bees out for an afternoon flight have me ready for Spring's new life.  Thankfully Winter doesn't last long. Each season plays an important part of life on this earth.  The seasons carry out rest, renewal, growth and harvest in orderly fashion designed by the hand of God.

Our spiritual seasons have a similar ebb and flow.  Rest, renewal, growth and harvest all play a significant role in our spiritual growth.  Solomon said it best, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." (Ecc. 3:1)

Renewal is my season right now.  There is a quiet urgency to get ready for the next season of growth.  The Word, prayer, silence and counting my blessings are all spiritual exercises that renew my soul and allow my roots to grow preparing me for the next growth spurt. 

Thankfully God is very present in each season. 

Living life loved.