Faithful to the end.. loving and leaning.

Faithful to the End..

Or Faithful till the end, for that matter. Think about it. He has no end. He died, He rose again and now He lives to make intercession for me, and you too. AND we have no end. We’re going to be with Him for eternity. So really, in saying this, it’s declaring His love is without end… yeah.. that’s intense.

AND REMEMBER…

God is always, ALWAYS, with you. Even in the bad.

Besides…… Where in the Bible does it say everything is easy and we don’t suffer? Point me there and I’ll read it. What it does say is be patient in your suffering. Be confident in your hope. God is always with us, through trials and tribulations, and during though good times when we sit underneath His shade eating apples and raisins. At all times He is there. ALL TIMES.

In our broken humanity at the first sign of hardship we assume that God isn’t there to help us. He abandoned us because we became too much for Him. He got tired of pulling us up out of the mire. And He turned His back on us. Well if you, and me too, would stop pointing fingers at God and actually look at what He’s doing we might realize He never left. He’s been there the whole time watching over us. He was leading us but we chose our own path, and that’s how we got broken in the first place. And I think that sometimes God allows hardships in our lives in order to show us are depravity that we might humble ourselves and come to Him for help… Cause He wants to help us, He really does.

Now, where was I? Oh. Yes! Nothing is easy. Adam and Eve had the whole easy living thing going for them in the Garden of Eden. Then sin entered the picture. And because of that we have to daily deal with the sin in our life. We’re always going to be weak. Life will always be hard. And so on and so forth. But the thing is, God loves us. He loves everything about us.  You’re thinking, “but I’m sooo weak and I mess up. And. And. And.”

              Ummmmm… HELLO! He created you. He knows your weaknesses better than you do. He says come to me all you who are weak… I think He doesn’t mind. And about life being so tough, think about it. Really think about it. God doesn’t give you what you can’t handle. He just doesn’t. Sure it may seem as though you’re drowning in your problems but you’re not. Jesus is your rock, your shelter from the storm. So when life’s circumstances rain down a little too hard, you don’t have to simply endure it. He’ll give you grace to make it through. All you gotta do is ask. And the hardest part about that is getting past your pride. Because asking isn’t hard at all.

     I read this quote once: “It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end.” And it has really stuck with me (and I only read it a few days ago).

   Life is a journey, I know, I know- cliché.  But it’s true. And yes it’s hard and rarely easy. That’s why it’s a journey. It only comes one day at a time. And part of that journey includes going through valleys, and stumbling in the darkness so that in the end you can come up from the wilderness, leaning. It’s a long and narrow road. But it is most definitely not lonely. There’s a Shepherd who is leading you through. All you have to do is follow. Say yes to the invitation. And on those hard days, well I can’t say they’ll be easier or even less painful, but I can say with certainty that they are a lot more bearable knowing what it is that matters in the end.

He loves me. In the end, He still loves me. Through the journey, He loves me. That’s why He leads me. He faithfully loves me- even to death. The least I can do is trek through this journey, one day at a time, loving him in return.

Amen? Amen.

Dark and Weak, yet Lovely and Sincere..

     My heart is dark. My love is weak, yet it is sincere. I know this, I accept it. I am weak; there is nothing I can do on my own. Often times I fail at loving and doing all God asks of me. In fact, I’m pretty sure I fail daily. Despite this I am not a failure. Sure I fall, and I break over and over again. But when I fall I get back up, and sometimes I try to piece myself back together then when that doesn’t work I throw it in the air and cry out. He takes my broken heart and he loves it. He sees the darkness surrounding me and inside my heart and calls it lovely. He heals my brokenness.

     I won’t say He is my strength when I am weak, because I am always weak. Therefore He is always my strength. God looks at my little effort, my small but hardest and sincerest of tries and He calls it love. My weak love moves the heart of God. How crazy is that? But it’s true.  It’s not the biggest love in the world, it’s not all the good that I do that moves Him. All He cares about is the fact that I said yes. That’s all He wants is my yes, though small and simple it may be. My weak yet sincere love is more to Him than the biggest and greatest loves that lacks the sincerity. He cares more for my little love because it is real and true.

     I am a mess. But He calls me His own. He calls me by name. The Lord God Almighty, maker of the heavens and earth knows my name. But of course He does, because He gave it to me. I have sorrow and suffering, but He takes that away to bring me joy. I’ve got burdens, though big to me they are so tiny, so miniscule to Him. And he takes them and carries them away. He speaks to me all the time, even when I don’t listen. 

     One thing He is teaching me about, that I can never get enough, of is love. You see, He made me because He loves me. And He knows how sinful, broken, and depraved man is. So before I was even born He sent His one and only Son to make atonement for my sin, to heal my brokenness and clear my conscious. Jesus carried the weight of my transgressions. What! But He did. And not just mine, but the whole world. And He did it, why?? BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE FOR US.

     The Father loves us, and the Son, who does all the Father does, loves us too—so much so that He gave up His own life for us! So that we could be with Him where He is. Sounds crazy, I know. But I believe it. He did it so He could have a bride, forever. Forever. That’s a long time, shoot, that’s eternity. And that’s where I’ll be for all eternity. I’ll be dwelling in the house of the Lord for all my days. ME. Me, with my dark heart and weak love. But it’s ok, cause that whole dying thing He did, was for my sanctification. His death makes it possible for my love to be weak. How cool is that, well I think it is anyway.

     I had this thought at one time in my life, not so long ago in all honesty. I believed that I had to be strong. I thought I was the hero and I didn’t need saving.  I didn’t really know how to love God, and I didn’t know my weak yet sincere love was enough for Him. I went around thinking all was well but knowing deep down that it wasn’t. And I definitely did not think it was ok to talk about my weaknesses, fears, and problems with God. That was why I did it on my own, because He’s God after all and doesn’t need my worries and cares. Right? Ummm.. Wrong! So wrong.

     He already knows about my petty problems, and instead of thinking, “Oh poor, you. You screwed up yet again. Well, what are you gonna do about it,” He looks at me and His heart fills to the brim with love, even to the point that it over flows with mercy. He says,” Yes, you did mess up. But I still love you, I never stopped. Come back to me and I’ll clean you up.” I fall, get back up, and little do I realize the Lord is right behind me dusting me off.

    Anyways.. What I’m getting at is that now I know it’s ok to be weak and broken. He did die for that, after all. And as I said, He knows our weakness, why not confess it and talk to Him about it? He does have some pretty good ideas about getting over it… And I’ve found the best way to deal with my weaknesses is just to love Him. Better yet, to let Him love me and in doing so I fall more in love with him. It’s good to be weak , cause He’ll carry you. Just lean, it’s easy. Well when I say easy…..

     Really, it is God’s mercy that reveals to us our weakness. He could let us go about wallowing in our own filth, doing our own thing, and just messing up time and time again. Instead His heart is moved and with His great compassion, His everlasting mercy, He shows us our weakness. He reveals our brokenness so we can come to Him for help, and ultimately He makes us whole.

     If you’re looking to find what love really means, look no further than the cross and the man who hung there to die. He poured out His heart, and stretched out His arms for the sake of His bride.

     Help me to be weak. Help me to be dependent; I want to be dependent on you Jesus. Help my unbelief. Whichever way the wind blows, I choose to lean.

spreading the London Love.. <3

peace and cheese..

-Lui J ***-->The Girl Who Loves London<--***

What must she have thought?

The Adulterous Woman (John 8)

What must it have been like for her? What must have been going through her mind? She’s been caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees have control over her life, they will decide weather she lives or dies. But the men with all the power do the strangest thing. They bring her before a man known simply as “The Rabbi”. She might have known who he was, of all the wondrous deeds he had done. Then again, she might not have. The Pharisees ask this rabbi a question concerning her, her fate. Her final minutes hang in the balance and they ask a mere teacher his opinion on the law of Moses. And His answer will determine her sentence, if is she to be stoned to death?

Confusion surfaces in the small crowd that’s gathered, no more so than in the woman condemned. The teacher bends down and begins to write in the sand. What is he writing? Why is he doing it? The Pharisees began to grumble at this nonsense; some already have stones in hand. How ready they are to end her life! The woman wrings her hands in nervous frustration. Doesn’t this man know any moment could very well be her last? He’s only making the situation worse by playing in the dirt like a small child. Her breath comes short but quick as panic arises. She is sure the end has drawn near.

The man stands slowly, with much determination. He says the strangest thing, “Whoever of you is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Once again the man bends to write on the ground.

The woman flinches waiting for a dozen or so stones to fly in her direction. Surely this is to be the hour of her death. Nothing happens. Cautiously she opens one eye then the other. She glances over her shoulder at the Pharisees behind her to find quiet the shock. The old men have already begun to walk away, moments later the younger ones also drop their stones leaving her and the rabbi in their dust. She stands still waiting, not sure if this is real. Perhaps it is but a cruel prank, her punishment shall be much worse than stoning.

The man straightens up, “Where have they gone,” He asks kindly, “Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she tries to find her voice but a mere whimper comes out. Will he condemn her? Will he hate her for her crimes and wish her to die? Surely he must.

“Then neither do I,” he replies, catching her off guard for she did not expect him to say such. His voice is soft yet holds all the power and authority of a king, “Go now; leave your life of sin behind you.” His words break something; it is as though a victory has been won.

She stares at the ground, the sky- anywhere but at him until she cannot stand it any longer. Finally her gaze settles on the Rabbi’s face. He is serious. His eyes burn like flames of fire but contain such tenderness, such love and mercy. The teacher does not condemn her. No one has ever treated her with such kindness as this man. Never has the woman ever felt so relieved as she does now. She’s never felt so free. With his act of compassion, this pronouncement of mercy the woman no longer desires to live the ways of her old life. Instead she will follow him.

In a way she did die. Not physically of course. The woman died to her old self. What must have gone through her mind? What must it have been like for her? I think I know because we must die daily in order to follow him, the man who could have cast the first stone but chose not to. Instead, He hung on a cross of wood, His arms stretched wide all to say: “I love you.”