I woke up today to a thick blanket of snow.  It’s a little unexpected since the calendar announced yesterday that springtime has arrived.  Apparently the nor’easter that blew through, dropping the better part of a foot of snow, forgot to check the date!

 

Ordinarily I would be beside myself.  Growing up in northern Ontario gave me ample experience of late winter storms in March, but after six months of snow I was always desperate for spring to arrive.  Today, though, I feel relieved and thankful.  I know—weird.

 

Easter is just a little more than a week away, so this little forced slow down feels like a welcome respite.  March has been busy with some really great things, but it’s also been heavy and hard as we walk through the waters of grief with more than half a dozen friends who have lost loved ones.

There is always a temptation to simply go through the motions, especially when life feels hard and all you want to do is just survive.  Can I tell you something?  There is more—Jesus has more for you than just getting through.  That is the message of the Gospel and the promise of his amazing grace.

 

So, today I thank God for a thick blanket of snow, because it provides a space to shift gears, slow down, and an opportunity to pace myself.  This snow day reminds me to stop and behold the beauty of my God.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude for an interruption that invites me into deeper intimacy.  The nearness of Jesus is extraordinary, so just breathe.  This is what it means to taste and see; to trust the LORD.

 

“Taste and see that the LORD is good.  Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!”  Psalm 34:8

 

 

 

 Amazing grace

 

I am thankful for the saving grace of God. This perfect love of the Father saves me, but it also restores me.  It is an active healing grace, always calling me to come closer for more.  Oh may my heart never be content with what is before me now.  I pray, LORD, stir in me a hunger for more.

 

“My heart has heard you say, ‘Come and talk with me.’  And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.”  Psalm 27:8

 

What amazing grace! It is the invitation to come, the gift of access, and the promise of complete healing and restoration.  Oh how very good, indeed.  You see, God doesn’t just save us from death, he saves us for life!

 

This perfect saving grace is about resurrection and life.  God doesn’t hold off until we enter eternity, his love ushers us into wholeness and life starting this moment—eternity starts on the day of your salvation.  Grace brings us close to God again.

 

“But now you have been united with Christ Jesus.  Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.”  Ephesians 2:13

 

 

 

Pursuing the abundance of God

 

Amazing grace opens the door to abundance, but not in the way the world imagines.  It is about God’s presence.  If we could just remember that abundance is not about acquisition, it is always, always, always, about intimacy with the Father.  This is God’s heart.

 

Jesus, who took the sin of all humanity to the cross, paid our debt with his blood.  The Gospels tell us that when Jesus died the temple veil, which separated the holy of holies, tore from top to bottom. (Mark 15:37).  Access was granted by his spilled blood and then three days later, he rose from the grave canceling the power of death.

 

The grace of God gives us access to his presence—an invitation for deep intimacy, which restores, renews, and revives.  This extravagant love makes a way for us to do what we were first designed for—intimate relationship with the LORD.  His love provides the way for fulfillment.

 

You may need to reposition your understanding of fulfillment.  Our world view looks at it as full of happiness and success, but the LORD designed fulfillment to be oneness with him.  Grace initiates the process, but surrender activates the work of the Spirit, who helps lead us home.

 

In recent years, I’ve come to think about salvation as healing.  God’s intent regarding the redemptive work of the cross is to heal and make new.  Salvation is the process of inner healing, which restores and revives; it is about dying to self and being resurrected to life again.

 

Living from the presence of God is way better than living for it.  So when you think about provision, think presence.  Deep intimate communion with the Father brings about glorious, holy transformation. This is salvation.

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Be Intentional

 

Consistent intimacy doesn’t just happen by itself, wouldn’t you agree?  Every relationship I have, I work at.  Life has a way of getting busy with events and responsibilities, which easily allow for deep communion to fall through the cracks.  If it is difficult to maintain physical relationships, how much harder is it to nurture relationship with the LORD?

 

We are all walking this road, so I speak from among the crowd.  My exhortation to you is: be intentional.  Guard your heart, set your boundaries, and establish your commitment.  If you want to hunger after the things of God, then you need to feed on the things of God.

 

“But whenever someone turns to the LORD, the veil is taken away.  For the LORD is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom.  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the LORD.  And the LORD—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

 

Being intentional sets priority on what you value.  Pursuing the abundance of God will not just happen on its own, you must surrender to it.  It begins with desire, but desire must be backed up with obedience.

 

Pray about it, asking the LORD to help you find your way into the more.  That is a great starting place.   God’s love always meets you where you’re at, but when you hunger for more it usually requires an intentional move on your part.  God initiates through invitation, but he will not force you into the deeper places.  Obedience is an intentional active discipline of faith.

 

 

 

 

Be faithful

 

Faithfulness is about being consistently true to your word.  Let’s be honest, it’s not easy. In fact there are some people who don’t even make an attempt at faithfulness.

 

God asks us to be faithful.  His extravagant grace demonstrates his value for intimacy with his children.  Though we are prone to faithlessness, his presence provides us with love enabling us to love him back.

 

Faithfulness is about being present back.  God is here, willing, and able, always waiting for us to lean in.  He has done everything possible to make pursuing his heart attainable.

 

Faithfulness means walking surrendered to grace.  This is what it means to show up—heart, body, soul, and mind—yielded to the fullness of the King.

 

Protect your heart from things that distract and take away your affection.  Cut down the idols, because there is no room for both in your heart.  Hidden passions that oppose the LORD will always lead you away from his abundance.

 

You can practice faithfulness as you discipline your heart.  When you pursue the LORD, meeting him in the secret places, your choice to faithfully show up without an agenda is what creates intimacy.

 

“Take delight in the LORD.  And he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.” Psalm 37:4-5

 

Faithfulness begins with delight in the LORD.  Learn how to do that, because that’s what faithfulness looks like.

 

 

 

 

Pursue the more

 

Pursuing the more is easier by God’s grace than it was by Mosaic Law.  Moses was invited by God, who appeared in a burning bush, to participate in his redemptive plan for Israel.  Moses walked and talked with God—a lot—yet there is this passage toward the end of Exodus where he asks God for more.

 

“If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor…” Exodus 33:13

 

If Moses, who was a prophet and leader of God’s people, felt compelled to ask God for more intimacy, then shouldn’t we?  God is far too magnificent for our finite little brains to contain.  There will always be more!

 

I believe it is God’s grace that we don’t see the fullness of who he is all at once—such glory would surely kill us.  In his mercy, he reveals himself, a little bit at a time.  Each revelation brings about transformation, which is what we walk in.  This is the process.

 

King David also enjoyed deep intimacy with the Father.  He lived as a King, anointed by God to lead the people of Israel.  Read through the Psalms and you will see the depths of love shared between God and David.  These are examples of what it looks like to pursue the more.

 

 

 

 

The gratitude of grace

 

Take a moment and gather up God’s gifts of grace.  Don’t miss the moments he prepares every step of the way—fold them in.  As we move through these final days of Lent and step into Easter remember grace.  Breathe it in and hold it close.

 

Don’t be afraid to hit the stop button so you can catch your breath and gather your bearings.  Take time to read through the Gospels this week, meeting with him as you read his testimony.  Go slow and deliberate over the details, trusting him to reveal his heart.  It’s not about getting through the scripture; let it be about communion.

 

“Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him.  Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given, you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.”  Psalm 105:4-6