November 25, 2009 by kathydoremus
Verse of the Week: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” (John 15:9)
Truth of the Week: Jesus loves us “just as” the Father loves the Son. This is an incredible thought. We are loved by our Savior, in the same way that He is loved by His Father. This begs us to ask the question, what kind of love does the Father have for the Son? Although any answer that we give will be incomplete, it is safe to say that the love that the Father has for the Son is immeasurable, eternal, passionate, intimate, complete, perfect, pure, unchanging, glorious, deep, unwavering, indescribable, holy, limitless, unfathomable, jubilant, boundless and endless. What an amazing thought, that we are loved in this same way!
But what does it mean to say that we are loved with such an awesome love? Does it mean that God spends His time trying to exalt us and show us how worthy we are? Of course not! Despite what our deceitful hearts might try to tell us, this would never satisfy our souls. What it does mean is that because of His immense love, God is eternally committed to showing us His worth and to graciously leading us to praise and exalt Him, for this is what we were created for, and this is where our deepest longings will find their fulfillment. What an amazing God, and what an amazing love!
Quote of the Week: “God’s highest act of love is giving us himself to love.” (John Piper, God is the Gospel)
Posted in Truth of the Week | Tagged God loves us, loved by God | Leave a Comment »
November 23, 2009 by kathydoremus
I was reading in John 15 this morning, verses 1-17. What a wonderful passage. It seems to me that John paints a beautiful picture of what the Christian life should look like. It all begins with abiding in Christ – of knowing Him intimately, depending on Him completely, and experiencing the depths of His immeasurable love. The evidence (or the overflow) that this is taking place is that we find ourselves delighting to obey Him, desiring to love others, and demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit; in other words, we see transformation taking place. No longer do we live under the weight of a duty-bound pressure to perform; instead, we begin to live out of our true identity – dearly loved children of God. Not only this, John tells us that the effect of our abiding in Christ is that we are filled with joy and God is glorified. Honestly, isn’t this what our souls truly long for?
Oh Savior, draw us closer, hold us tighter, and keep us abiding in Your amazing love. As we abide in You, may You be formed in us. Fill us with the joy of knowing You, then use us as vessels of Your grace and glory in the lives of those around us.
Posted in Reflections | Tagged abiding in Christ, fruit of the Spirit, intimacy with Christ, loving others | Leave a Comment »
November 18, 2009 by kathydoremus
Verse of the Week: “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:8-10)
Truth of the Week: I have often heard it said that God cares more about our holiness than our happiness, but to be honest, I don’t think that the Scriptures agree with this statement. To be certain, God commands that we be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16), but it is equally true that He commands us to rejoice in Him (Philippians 4:4). The good news is that these two commands are not in conflict with one another. On the contrary, they are woven together such that our holiness is directly influenced by where we find our happiness.
The way of holiness that is described in Isaiah 35 is one that is marked by everlasting joy and gladness. It was never intended to be a legalistic list of “do’s and don’ts” that we dutifully and diligently try to adhere to in order to be right with God. Instead, the path of holiness is one where both the person and the promises of God are known and enjoyed. It is a path where God is found to be One so delightful that the fleeting pleasures of sin lose their appeal. True holiness is when we find our greatest happiness in the glory of God.
Holiness and happiness are not at odds with each other, where one must be sacrificed to gain the other; rather, both are the overflow of intimacy with God. If we would be holy and we would be happy, the answer is the same – seek to see and be satisfied with who God is.
Quote of the Week: “The only thing that will guard me from being entrapped by sin is being entranced by Jesus.” (Sam Storms, Pleasures Evermore)
Posted in Truth of the Week | Tagged God cares more about your holiness, happiness in God, holiness | 2 Comments »
November 11, 2009 by kathydoremus
Verse of the Week: “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have and anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” (Isaiah 35:1-4)
Truth of the Week: Beholding and Believing…applying these two words could truly transform our lives.
Beholding the glory of God is how our souls are satisfied. This only makes sense, since His glory is what we were created for. His glory is the purpose of our lives. When the eyes of our hearts are enlightened to see God for who He really is, we experience genuine joy – not the shallow and fleeting kind that comes from the counterfeit pleasures of the world, but the deep and abiding kind that can only come from seeing and experiencing the infinite perfections of our Creator. When we learn to lift our eyes beyond our circumstances and fix them on the all-wise, all-loving, all-sovereign God who works all things for our ultimate good, we can taste the gladness we were designed to enjoy.
If joy flows from beholding who God is, strength for daily life is found in believing that God will do what He has promised to do. He will never fail to act like who He is. He will never leave us or abandon us or betray us. He will never mislead us or be unfaithful to us. He will never withhold what is good from us. We can count on him to equip us with all that we need to walk in His will. We can depend on Him to keep us from all harm – not from all hardship, as this is often the arena where we see more glory and gain greater joy, but from all harm – only allowing those things to touch the lives of His children that, in the end, will prove to be for our everlasting benefit.
Beholding and believing….it should be easy, but it’s not. Applying these two words to our everyday lives is a constant battle – but not one that we are called to enter without weapons, and not one that we are called to fight alone. God has given us His Word which, from cover to cover, reveals both His glory and His promises to us. If we want to have joy and strength we cannot neglect drinking deeply and drinking often from the Scriptures. He has also given us fellow believers to exhort us to seek our pleasure from His presence and our strength from His promises. Beholding and believing are best accomplished in a community of others who are hungering to know and enjoy God as a reality in their day-to-day living.
Beholding and believing…may we make this our all-surpassing pursuit until the day when we see Him face to face and bask in the eternal pleasures found only at His right hand.
Quote of the Week: “There is no more important issue in life than seeing Jesus for who he really is and savoring what we see above all else.” (John Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ)
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
November 4, 2009 by kathydoremus
Verse of the Week: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:10)
Truth of the Week: Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Two simple truths stand out to me in this statement: 1) God is the one who fills me, and 2) I am in need of filling!
I can’t help but wonder how different my life would look if I lived in light of this verse – if I stopped turning to other things to try and be filled. God is an abundant supply of all that I need and of all that I long for. He never tires of meeting my needs. He is never depleted. When He gives to me, I gain but He is never less than when He started. There is no need that I have that is the slightest bit hard for Him.
Not only is God able to fill me, He is willing. He does not give to me grudgingly or sparingly. He bids me to open my mouth wide. He willingly and gladly pours Himself into my soul, calling me to drink deeply and be satisfied. He offers Himself as a feast before me and beckons my hungry heart to come and partake freely and fully.
God has rescued me from the false promises, the futile pursuits, and the fleeting pleasures of Egypt. May I refuse to return to that barren land in search of fulfillment, for only the fullness found in God can fill the emptiness found in me.
Quote of the Week: “The more we discern the vanity and emptiness of the world and its utter insufficiency to make us happy, the closer we will cling to God, and the more intimately we will converse with Him. Then we will find the satisfaction in the Father of spirits that we sought for in vain in material things.” (Mathew Henry, Experiencing God’s Presence)
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
October 28, 2009 by kathydoremus
Verse of the Week: “In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: ‘We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.” (Isaiah 26:1)
Truth of the Week: As a culture, we have become quite proficient at “setting boundaries” and erecting barriers in an attempt to guard our hearts from being hurt or taken advantage of. We excel at wearing masks and are experts in concealing our innermost selves, especially those areas that feel the most vulnerable. We don’t want to be wounded or disappointed, so we do whatever it takes to protect ourselves. We have indeed mastered the fine art of wall building. The sad irony is that the very walls we build to keep us safe, end up enslaving us and blocking us from the intimacy that we long for – intimacy with God and with others.
Rather than work so hard to protect ourselves (and I’m talking to my own heart here), why not labor to entrust ourselves to the God who is more than able and more than willing to stand sentry over our lives? Why not allow God to be our “wall of protection?”
When we come to the point where we can say with confidence that God is for us, and know with certainty that He will not withhold good from His children, and believe whole-heartedly that anything that touches our heart must first pass through His hands, then we are truly on the path to freedom and the road to greater richness of relationship.
Quote of the Week: “The true story of every person in this world is not the story you see, the external story. The true story of each person is the journey of his or her heart.” (Curtis and Eldredge, The Sacred Romance)
Posted in Truth of the Week | Tagged building walls, self-protectiveness, setting boundaries, wearing masks | Leave a Comment »
October 26, 2009 by kathydoremus
Lyrics for October…
“Astonish Me With Your Majesty”
Awaken me from my slumber
Astonish me with Your majesty
Fill my heart with wonder
Oh, Spirit come and ravish me -
With love I cannot fathom
And mercy robed in mystery
You’re more than I can imagine
Open up my eyes to see
Chorus:
That nothing in this world could ever captivate my soul
And heaven’s only heaven ’cause You’re there
I was made to stand amazed at who You really are
To marvel at Your worth beyond compare
To marvel at Your worth beyond compare
Oh, heaven’s only heaven ’cause You’re there
Lead me out of this darkness
Rescue me from my empty ways
Heal my heart of its hardness
Oh, Jesus full of truth and grace -
Almighty Rock and Refuge
My shelter’s underneath Your wings
Don’t let me stray from Your presence
And forever I will gladly sing
repeat chorus
Send forth Your light and truth and lead me to the place
Where every lesser thing’s consumed by the beauty of Your face
Send forth Your holiness and bring me to my knees
With majesty and glory, Lord, oh please – astonish me
Awaken me from my slumber
Astonish me with Your majesty
Astonish me with Your majesty
Posted in lyrics | Tagged glory of God, majesty of God, rescue me | 1 Comment »
October 21, 2009 by kathydoremus
Verse of the Week: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Colossians 4:6)
Truth of the Week: I am not a fan of “chit-chat.” Perhaps this is because I am so unskilled at it, or perhaps it is because in light of the brief time we have to live on this earth it seems so meaningless. Regardless of my reasons, I would wager that God is not a fan of the idle conversations that seem to dominate our dialogue either. Sure, talking about the weather, or the latest fashion trends, or what sports our kids are playing can be a bridge to connect with others and provide the foundation for deeper discourse, but if our conversations never delve beneath the surface, then our words run the great risk of being empty and insignificant.
If we are being conformed into the image of our Savior, then the words that we speak should reflect this. When we look at the account of the life of Jesus in the gospels, we never once hear him saying to the disciples, “How ’bout them chariot races?” His words, to both strangers and friends, were full of grace and seasoned with salt. His words were a source of life and nourishment.
Not every dialogue we engage in will be a weighty discourse on the gospel, but shouldn’t our desire be that our words carry with them at least a hint of God’s glory and a taste of His grace? After all, this is what each person that God places in our path is starving for – whether they know it or not. Shouldn’t we pray for God to train our minds and tame our tongues so that when we engage in conversations with those around us we leave them with the flavor of Christ?
May God rescue us from our propensity to settle for being safe and superficial. May He give us the lips of the righteous, which nourish many.
Quote of the Week: “It is not the fashion to tell your inmost thoughts, but there are many wrong fashions, and concealment of the best in us is wrong. I disapprove of the usual practice of talking “small talk” whenever we meet, and holding a veil over our souls. If we are so impoverished that we have nothing to reveal but small talk, then we need to struggle for more richness of soul.” (Frank Laubach, Practicing His Presence)
Posted in Truth of the Week | Tagged grace and truth, idle words, small talk | 1 Comment »
October 18, 2009 by kathydoremus
I have been reading through the book of Romans lately, and yesterday was contemplating the verses in the eighth chapter where Paul poses the question – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” He then goes on to list several possibilities: “shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” His conclusion is that no, for those who have been chosen by God to be called His own, there is “nothing in all creation that will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The battles that I face day by day pale in comparison to those listed by Paul. I confess that in my life thus far I have never had to worry about famine, nakedness or sword and the danger that I encounter comes more in the form of teaching a teenager to drive. My list would read more like – “shall sickness, or stress, or conflict, or my own stubborn indwelling sin separate me from the love of God?” Although my battles seem more like skirmishes, the answer remains the same – nothing can separate me from the love of God. For certain, these things may distract me and cloud my thinking, causing me to lose sight of the promise that the sovereign God who drew me to Himself will keep me for Himself, but nevertheless, the truth remains that nothing and no one can snatch me from the strong hands of my Father. I did nothing to earn His love and I can do nothing to lose it.
On the days when I am overcome by unworthiness or feel that I am faltering in the battles of everyday life, this truth encourages me – nothing can separate me from the unchanging, unfailing, unfathomable, undeserved, love of God.
Posted in Reflections | Tagged nothing can separate us from the love of God, romans 8, who can be against us | Leave a Comment »
October 14, 2009 by kathydoremus
Verse of the Week: “Behold, God is my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2a)
Truth of the Week: God is my salvation. I am saved by God, and I am saved for God. He is both the means and the goal of my salvation.
When we think of being saved by God, often what comes to mind is what we are saved from. We are saved from the penalty of our sins, we are saved from the guilt of our past, we are saved from the anger of God, and we are saved from a future spent in hell. While this is indeed good news, the better news is what we are saved for. We are saved for experiencing intimacy with God. We are saved to be reconciled to God and to rejoice in who He is. We are saved to be eternally satisfied by His glory. We are saved to praise Him, to exalt Him, and to behold His incomparable beauty. We are saved for a noble and richly fulfilling purpose: to see and proclaim and delight in the excellencies of the One who brought us out of darkness into light.
When I was helpless, hopeless, and dead in my sins, Jesus offered up His life in my place. He did this not merely to purchase my pardon, but that I might know Him and belong to Him and delight in His awesome glory. He saved me all by Himself, but He also saved me all for Himself. This is good news!
Quote of the Week: “Propitiation, redemption, forgiveness, imputation, sanctification, liberation, healing, heaven – none of these is good news except for one reason; they bring us to God for our everlasting enjoyment of him…The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. It’s a way of overcoming every obstacle to everlasting joy in God.” (John Piper, God is the Gospel)
Posted in Truth of the Week | Tagged forgiveness, joy in God, salvation, the gospel | Leave a Comment »
