day no. 13,338: desert souls

John 7:37-38

37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

Jesus shouted, "ANYONE THIRSTY? I'VE GOT REFRESHMENT!"

Anyone who thirsts for righteousness, who longs for heaven and completion and to be done sinning and being sinned against WILL find refreshment and satisfaction in the Son of God.

Not only will Jesus bring crisp, cold refreshing water to weary, thirsty souls, but He will cause them to well up into RIVERS of water flowing out from their hearts and pouring over into the hands and head and feet and lips.

Those that confess that they are a desert and cry out for water will be refreshed and made into an oasis of hope for other weary travelers.

Check out this song:  Rend Collective - Desert Soul

day no. 13,337: happy birthday penelope!

Today little Sissy turns 5 years old!

You are a delight little lady.

You are smart as a whip.

You are a reading machine.

You are a cute as a bug.

You are my little girl and I love you so.

It is a joy watching you grow up.

You are a great little sister to Atticus and big sister to Finneas and Laurelai.

You make me laugh.

ALL.THE.TIME!

Seriously, I just want to record all the things you say.

You love Jesus and wearing dresses.

You like Pink and Purple and  mac n cheese.

You are my little lady and it is a joy being your daddy dearest.

Happy Birthday Penelope!

day no. 13,336: when you yell, "stop!," you should be more specific

I came across this little diddy the other and loll'd. 

Oh Internet,  you've gone and done it again!

day no. 13,335: Kings and Kingdoms‏

John 6:15

When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.

Isn't that an odd response?

Doesn't Jesus want to be king?

Not like this.

He deserves adoration and fanfare.

But unless He dies for His people, they can never enter His Kingdom.

If He allowed the people to anoint Him King now, the Kingdom would remain closed.

day no. 13,332: your hopes will accuse you‏

John 5:45

“Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes."

If you have set your hopes on being a good person, or at least a person who is good enough compared to others and assume that on that basis you will enter eternal rest in Heaven with God, you will find yourself falling short of the very standard you are trying to leverage to your aid.

The Law REQUIRES perfection.

You either are perfect or you fall short.

It is A+ or nothing.

Even if you muster up a B+, it won't pass.

Only perfection.

If you appeal to being more good than bad as the reason you should get to go to heaven, the very logic you are employing to your aid will be the very standard by which you are condemned.

day no. 13,331: unless you are born again...‏

John 3:3

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

We are all born children of wrath, enemies of God deserving His righteous revenge.

But by grace through faith in Jesus alone we are granted the opportunity to be born again, born fresh, born into a different Kingdom with a different destiny.

day no. 13,330: God's friends

I read this the other day in my New Testament read through plan:

John 15:13-15

13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

What an amazing descriptor, right?

People often talk of having a relationship with Jesus.  I assume what they mean by that is a positive relationship with Him, one where they obey, He leads, they follow, He dies, they are saved, etc... 

But everyone has a relationship to Jesus.

Some are enemies, some are blasphemers, some are haters, some are ignorers.

But each and every one has a relationship with Jesus.

What an amazing thing that "friend" is even an option when it comes to the types of relationships we could possibly have with Him.

It reminded me of a man named Moses, God's friend.

Exodus 33:11

Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.

We can be God's friends because He laid down His life for us.

Because He initiated that possibility.