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I once heard the story of a missionary who, in returning from years overseas, discovered that there was nobody at the dock to meet him.  He complained a little bit to God, saying that others were greeted with great enthusiasm, but he was given no welcome home.  But soon he recognized a still small voice in his heart saying, “But son, you aren’t home yet.” 

 Those words really touched me, my own heart skipped a beat, and I was filled with awe at the thought of God saying that to me.  “But daughter, you’re not home yet.”  Oh how comforting!

So where is your home?  You may have lived in the same city, state, or house for many years, or even all your life.  But do you ever get the feeling that you’re not really at home?  Almost every one of us feels that way at some time.

I wonder why?  Could it be that deep in our souls we know that we’re not created for this world, but for the next?  Could it be that we know there is somewhere that the wonderful welcome home awaits us.

That word “home” says “comfort, safety, belonging, welcome.”

Heaven is my home and home is a shelter, a warm place, a place of comfort in the arms of God.

Psalm 84:3 says, Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!

Won’t it be exciting when we have a place near our God, the Lord of Heaven’s armies, the King.

Hebrews 11 tells us about faith, about the confidence that God’s followers had in what was to come. From Able, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to Rahab, and all those in between. They had faith in a heavenly homeland promised by God. 

. . .  they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.  Hebrews 11:16

 

Jesus told his disciples,

 

 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:3 

We will have comfort, safety, and we will be welcomed.  We will be with Jesus.  We will belong!

 “May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you, and all your heart may desire. May joy and peace surround you, contentment latch your door, and happiness be with you now, and bless you evermore.” – Irish Blessing

There is no "I" in Love

There is no "I" in love!  

God has given us the example of love, 

Jesus!  He is self-sacrificing - no "I" there!

So to love others, I must not concentrate on myself, on my abilities, on my hurts and resentments, on my own interest.  For when we receive God's love we find that, in His love for us, none of those things we consider, are of any consequence.  God  loves us, period!

So if I'm to be like Him, I must love, period!  The Bible says to “Put others first.”

"Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."  Romans 12:10 ESV

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:3–5, NKJV.

God calls every one of us His dearly loved children.  Hey!  He even loves the rich.  God has a special place in His heart for each one of us - 

• His original chosen creation -  "humankind," 
• His chosen family - "the descendants of Abraham." 
• His chosen people - "the poor, the widows and orphans, the sick, all of us - the sinners."  

We are, every one of us, chosen and loved!

God loves us by giving.  He gives life, beauty, goodness, and what we really need the most -- forgiveness.

Father, we need and plead for your forgiveness.

We've missed our aim to be like you.

Self-righteously we claim the place of honor,

In conceit we think that it's our due.

At times we're proud of our position

and yet, we don't see us as you do.

We need your forgiveness because so much of the time we see our lives not through your eyes, but through our "I's."

Father please help us, your people, to escape the sin of pride.  Help us to overcome the life of "I."

Why?

 

God, Father, Creator, do you know Him?  It's easy for me to believe - to absolutely be assured that there is a God who is mighty and powerful.  It is easy for me to know, really know that this God made the earth, the universe, and that He can do whatever He desires.  

It has always been a little less easy for me to believe that Jesus is God.  I do believe He is God, and I know with my mind, but I sometimes ask myself - why?  Why did Jesus, this second person of the trinity, who I absolutely, assuredly believe in, come to earth as a man?  Why was there not another way? 

This morning my husband and I discussed an old story about a farmer who loved all of God's creatures. 

The winter wind was blowing, snow was beating the wings of the birds.  He knew that the birds needed to get out of the way of this furious snowstorm, so he opened the windows and doors of the barn to give them a safe place to come in out of danger.  

You’d think they would see this as safety, but they didn't.  They didn't understand that on the other side of those openings they would be protected. The man called to them, made "birdlike" noises for them, and even stayed out of sight so they would feel safe coming in.  But they didn't.

The man wished he could become a bird and lead them in, but he could not.

Is that the "Why"?  Did God become man to lead us to safety because we would not understand when He called us?

He became man - to come into our world, to die and rise again and pay the price for our sins and give us life everlasting.  Would we have understood if He had chosen another way?  

Morning Coffee

I love my morning coffee! 

It isn’t really the caffeine that’s important, although I believe it does help me to rev up this old engine.  My morning cup of coffee is a gift from God.  To me, it’s a soft way of waking up.  

Our Father God knows us, each of us, and He fills the cups of our lives.  Some people want to ease into the day, and others wake up ready to move – we all have different lives, needs and styles, haven’t we?  By the way, I’ve been known to substitute some hot water in the cup, for the coffee – not quite the same, but still a soft way of waking up.

 There are many references to cups in the Bible.  Some of them refer to cups of sorrow, or wrath, or punishment.  But many of them also refer to cups of blessing.  I’d like to talk about those today.

There’s a song that Ron and I heard some time ago – it talks of a cup that is overflowing with God’s blessing.  One of the lines is “I'm drinking from my saucer ‘cause my cup has overflowed.”  

Do you see your cup overflowing?  Jesus promised living water, and He said that this living water would flow - welling up to eternal life.  He said that if we ask Him, if we drink from the water He gives us, we’ll never be thirsty again.  We find that in John 4.

The things that this world holds are not always satisfying.  But things don’t last, do they?  In this world, there are never enough things to fill the cups in our lives – but there’s always enough of God.  He doesn’t hold back His love, His presence, or His promises. 

The earth is filled with God’s love, and He wants to teach us about Himself.  The writer of this Psalm says:

The earth is filled with your love, Lord, teach me your decrees. Psalm 119:64 (NIV)

If we love God and keep close to Him, we will have blessings – overflowing.  Our prayers will yield more joy than our lives - our cups, can hold.

I expect there are days when you wonder where that joy went.  There are days when we don’t feel happy on the surface, but we can have peace knowing that God is in control of whatever is bothering us.  God fills our hearts.  He fills our cups with joy – we just need to decide to drink of God’s love.  

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NIV) 

So as you begin your day, have a cup of coffee (figuratively, if you must) and picture the living water – that is Jesus.  Picture Him filling you with His presence, with His joy and with His love.  You won’t need the things of the world that don’t last, you’ll have Him!