faithMile

The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh the king of Egypt.
(Dt 7:7-8)

I’ve seen this scripture more times than I can count, and I knew it was a representation of God’s mercy, but today, it seems as if I read it for the first time. God, our God, has ALWAYS wanted to bless people. From the creation of the world, the gift of Eden, the gift of marriage and even the tree of life, God’s will has been that mankind was blessed. Before Christ, God created a way for people to atone for sin through sacrifice, and to restore a relationship with him through obedience. Then, he made promises to one or two men that spanned generations. He made covenants and promises to the Jews, but he included “the foreigner among you” in the promises as well.

Of religions that believe in a God, only the Abrahmic God (ours) appears to love humanity in this way. He is not capricious and does not demand worship for the purpose of asserting his authority and dominion, but calls us to repentance when we sin against him and others and desires worship as obedience and service. Our God desires to lead us on paths of righteousness. Our God desires justice, mercy, and love for him and for one another. While a lot of religions call their adherents to ethical living, these make it seems that the people are capable of perfect lives, and there is no provision for ultimate forgiveness. As a result, many people end up being “good enough” but that leads to pride in their own accomplishments. God says that we are all sinners, because the comparison isn’t to ourselves, it’s to him and he is perfect. This leaves no room for pride, and the good works of Christians are not done to earn God’s love and favor (that is freely given) but to honor the place we have in the divine family as joint-heirs with Christ.

When the bible says that God’s yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matt 11:30), it doesn’t mean that we won’t ever experience life’s troubles. It means the burden of salvation is light and the carrying out of the Christian life is easy. That is because of the quote above in Deuteronomy. God didn’t choose Israel – or us – because of our own accomplishments, qualifications or attributes. In God, the requirements to reconciliation are easy: just believe. It’s already done. It can’t be earned. There is no “burden” on us whatsoever. God, in Christ, has done EVERYTHING already.

Believe God. Receive Christ. Rest in mercy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F44d2IzCrKo[/youtube]

Carol of the Bells – Monique Daniels

What if you could combine the cheerfulness of Christmas with the dazzle of Independence Day? They did!

The Holdmans are an artistic bunch. They live in Pleasant Grove, Utah and their non-Christmas endeavors include photography and stained-glass making. What they are most famous for, however, are their annual Christmas displays.

This one happens to be my favorite, but you can see the rest at their website and on their Facebook page.

by Katryna Starks

A few years ago, I watched a brand new sci-fi show called Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The show featured a space crew who went around responding to intergalactic incidents. In the premier episode, the crew encountered an empty ship in space. When they boarded the ship to investigate, they realized that they were not alone. Mysterious aliens were on the ship. They were made of light, and they communicated in both words and pictures. The crew was on the ship for several days, and periodically they would seize captain Sisko’s mind and replay the moment his wife was killed. Eventually, the crew figured out how to communicate with the aliens. The first thing captain Sisko asked the aliens was “why do you keep torturing me?” but they answered him with a question of their own, “why do you exist here?” The aliens informed that they were not bringing Sisko the image of his wife’s death, he was taking them to it. Although his physical life had moved forward, mentally and spiritually, he never left the moment his wife died. He existed there.

Like captain Sisko, we can exist at some painful point in our past, stuck and unable to move on. God lovingly comes and takes us back to those times, not to torture us, but to heal us. There are several times in the Bible where someone will have a strong desire for something and pray to God for it. Sometimes they will have a promise from God that doesn’t happen for a long time. The wait is painful. But these times are always followed by a wonderful phrase. “And God remembered . . .” God remembered Noah, Sarah, Rachel and Joseph. He lifted them out of their pain, blessed them and helped them move on.

I have an example of this from my own life. My parents divorced when I was seven years old and at first it was amicable, but later it turned ugly. In those years, every time I needed something, it would be the catalyst for my parents to argue. When I was 14, I stopped telling them my needs and my grades dropped. When I was 16, I wondered why they continued to speak to each other when they weren’t married anymore. Then I realized. It was me. I was the only connection they had to one another. I was the reason they fought. If I didn’t exist, they would be free. Mercifully, God reminded me that I would be an adult and away at college shortly, and that would also free them from any obligation to communicate. That was 20 years ago. Still, last year I thought of that situation, and the pain was as fresh as if it all happened yesterday.

Recently, I was on Facebook and I noticed that my cousins were encouraging one another in the Lord. The thing is, they are not directly related to one another. One is my mother’s niece, and the other is my father’s nephew. They are both musicians, and they were talking about a worship concert that he was in and she attended, and another performance where she took the stage and he was in the audience. They called each other cousins. And then it hit me. I am the only connection they have to one another. I am the reason they are family. If I didn’t exist, they wouldn’t necessarily know each other. Through that incident, God healed the pain I felt for tying my parents to each other. I realized that God had a greater purpose for my existence, and it wasn’t to cause others pain.

In our pain, we can be assured that God will remember us, too. When we start being reminded of painful events in our past, sometimes that is a sign that God is coming to heal, restore, and bless.