Hugs from Jesus

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The biggest thrill in my life right now is when my 11 month old hugs me tight. Lately, he grabs hold of some part of my body (legs, neck, arms) and grasps hard letting me know that he loves me. Oh this is such a wonderful feeling. When the crack of dawn (5:45am) rolls around and he is calling out for me to come get him, all is well once I walk into his room, pick him up and he squeezes me tight. Ooooh!

I have been thinking, that as a mother, this is such a precious feeling that I crave and desire. Then I started thinking about how much pleasure and joy the LORD must feel when we call out to Him early in the morning and cling tight to Him as He gets us going for the day. God made us for His pleasure and His glory and I have no doubt in my mind that He wants you to hug Him tight all day long!

But, also, think about this… The very God of the Universe is hugging you back! Does that blow your mind?

Hebrews 4:16
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The way the LORD hugs you back is that He bestows upon you mercy, grace, strength, peace, joy and on and on. Its like a never ending embrace from your Lord.

Today, I needed a hug and I got one from my child. This warmed my heart to no end. But, even better, my LORD hugged my neck and filled my heart with exactly what I needed-His amazing love.

1 Kings 18, HE Shows Off Big Time

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God has been doing some awesome things in my life lately. He has put people together for His purpose and lined up other things for His glory. Too much to explain in detail, but just know that He has it all laid out meticulously and its really cool to see how the Lord brings it all together. Sorry for the vague words…

I call this Showing Off! God does it all the time, but do we open our eyes to see it and then open our hearts to give Him the credit?

Check out 1 Kings 18: 20-40. The prophet Elijah is boldly demonstrating why Israel needs to get rid of their Baal worship (totally a false and worthless god) and turn back to their One True God. I will let you read it and get the thrill of seeing how God blows them away-literally! But, take a look at the description of what the Lord does and then the reaction He gets from His people:

1 Kings 18:38-39 (New International Version)
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!”

Oh that I would have this dramatic of a response to the Lord Showing Off as the Israelites did!

What ways has God blown you away and Showed Off His glory? Do you think you have missed seeing it by not simply paying attention?

Just a thought…

1 Kings 10-11, He Gives and Takes Away

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Take a look at this video. This is one of my all time favorite worship songs and I think it describes what happens to King Solomon perfectly. It is by the NewsBoys.

Solomon took His father’s place as King over Israel and became known as the wisest man on earth. This wisdom came straight from God.

1 Kings 4:29-30
29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

Did you catch the first two words of that verse: God GAVE Solomon the wisdom. He instilled this knowledge and wisdom in Solomon to bring Himself glory. When we use our gifts of talent in a pure and holy way, this pleases God greatly. Keep in mind, you don’t have to just use your talent with in the area of ministry to please God. When we use our talent at work, or in raising our family and we do it 100%, this brings glory to God, too.

Solomon’s wisdom was known to all around the world, when they came to visit him, you better believe that the visitors got a taste of who this Lord that Solomon worshiped. His talent and wisdom brought foreigners to God.

But…
God can easily TAKE away the things He gives. After warning Solomon of what would happen if he turned away from worshiping God alone, Solomon did in fact do just that. Solomon followed after his many wives(this is in and of itself wrong!) and began to worship their idols. Can you imagine?! The very God of the universe, who visited Solomon personally, was forgotten and mocked as he built temples and idols to these false gods. Here is why God TOOK it all away:

1 Kings 11:11 (New International Version)
11 So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.

Our God is a jealous God. He demands nothing but full devotion from us. In return, because He loves us, God blesses us with material things (like the wealth of Solomon) as well as non-material things (like the wisdom of Solomon) But, because these things are the Lord’s to begin with, He has all power and prerogative to take them away. Now, hear me on this, the Lord has His own reasons for taking away. It is not always because we are disobedient. BUT, if I have a gift from the Lord and I am misusing it, it is up to Him how He reconciles that with me. Oh man, I don’t want to ever be in that position.

In the end, the Lord’s Name should Always be blessed. It is all for His glory-what He gives us AND what He takes away. Blessed Be Your Name, Jesus!