Live courageously from your heart!
How much distance is there between you and God? Do you hold back your affection due to fear or shame, or do you find yourself often sitting in His lap, leaning as close as you can…so close there is almost no distance at all?
In an article called Kiss Me (www.bobkilpatrick.com), Bob Kilpatrick described what God wants from a relationship with us:
I was consumed in justifying myself apart from God, and it left me worn out, tired, and empty. Every day, I would run as hard as I could trying to find value and worth in everything else but where it was all the time—in God. I looked for it in the approval of my father, my mother, in others, in two marriages, in money, in achievement, in position and in power…I’m sure there are more places.
I spent so much time pursuing acceptance in these places that I lost everything that mattered. I became the sum total of all the expectations that I placed on my life giving up my identity, my true self just to belong. I discovered that many of the places I looked for love and acceptance never truly accepted or loved me back. What I did discover in the journey out of the midnight of my soul was that loving God is what my heart desired and what’s really awesome—He accepts me for who I am and…loves me back.
What are you doing this Independence Day, July 4th? Spending time with family and friends? At the beach? Having a cookout? Planning to go see an awesome fireworks display?
Have you paused and thought about the significance of this day?
Do you even remember the courage, resolve and the sacrifice that hangs in the shadows of this day?
Wanted to share some thoughts regarding a description of our time. With the constant exposure and consumption of information via the internet, social networking, social media, online gaming or TV (to name a few), the world has evolved into a place where many people are making up their own standards and using a sliding scale to define their principles.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,
and shall CLEAVE unto his wife:
and they shall be one flesh. -Genesis 2:24
This is an interesting topic for today’s culture. First of all, the word cleave is not a common word anymore therefore is not very well known. The Bible refers to this word in two different forms, which are to separate or to join. I thought this was an interesting pairing, but learned that they kind of work together. Some other similar words are: unite, draw together, joined or glued. This idea of cleaving was brought up in the first book of the Old Testament, but it was also brought up again in the first book of the New Testament. Matthew 19 reads; “at the beginning God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his Father and Mother and be UNITED to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. They are no longer two, but one. What God has joined together, let no man separate.”
