God is Asking You Out on a Date

Scripture: "I am my beloved's, and His desire is for me." Song of Solomon 7:10

My Secret

I want to tell you a secret. One that has totally revolutionized my life with God. Can I have a minute of your time and see if it could do the same for you?

Wanting More from God

About a couple months ago, I was at a weird place in my relationship with God, and I asked Him what to do. I wanted more out of our relationship, but I didn't know what to do about it. And here's the answer I felt He gave me: Go on walks. Go on walks? Are You serious? What is that going to do? Are You saying I'm out of shape? (Which I am.) In any event, I went, out of sheer obedience and curiosity—and I kind of like walking. Every day after work, I'd put on my walking shoes and head out the door, often tired and not feeling like it.

Going on Dates

And what do you know, but as I started to walk, I started to talk: to God—about my feelings, my fears, what happened yesterday at work, how I feel about my life...everything and anything that was on my heart. And do you want to know what's more? As I began to walk—everyday, after work—I began to hear God talk back...or sometimes just feel Him listen and care. It was like I began to "date" God. And God, smart as He is, knew this would happen. He knew that it was quality time that we needed to grow in our relationship together.

A Fresh Love

Have you ever seen a married couple that falls out of love? It's not that they hate each other; they just lost that "thing." But then, in a move of desperation, they move everything else to the side and begin to act how they did when they first fell in love. They date; they open up; they notice new, wonderful qualities in each other. They listen to every word with attention. They put each other first. Mainly, they spend time together.

God's Message to You

And this is EXACTLY what God wants to do...with you. He is just crazy about you. He wants to spend every waking moment with you: listening to your fears, talking about your dreams, laughing at funny things, and counseling you on the tough issues. Don't believe me? Listen to Him here; He's talking about you:

"“But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to Me there, as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. When that day comes,' says the Lord, “you will call Me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master'" (Hosea 2:14-16).

No Matter How Old or New

No matter where you are at in your relationship with God (maybe you've just begun, or maybe you've been with Him a while now), He wants to pursue you all over again. He wants you to give yourself to Him again. When I started taking my daily walks with God, our daily dates, I started to hear Him and feel His love in a revolutionary way. I started to hear Him soothe my fears, give me advice, and care for me with deep loyalty. And the same will happen for you if you start spending time with Him.

The Offer

Here's what Jesus says to you: "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Revelation 3:20 Do you want to have those dates with God? Do you want to let Him into your home...maybe for the first time, or maybe "all over again?"

Start Here

Why don't you simply start with picking a time of day to take a daily date with God? It could be morning, noon, or night. You just tell Him, "God, I would like to go on that date You're offering me. I'm a little surprised You'd want to spend so much time with me, but I'm honored. Let's build this relationship." Is that what you want to do? If so, why don't you tell God in the Comments below what time of day you'd like to spend together, and then take that time to talk and get to know each other this week. I personally promise you that you will not regret it. God is crazy about you, and spending time together every day will revolutionize your life.

The Fat of God's Love

Scripture: "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek You. My soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1

 

Tired?

You're probably tired. How do I know that? Because everyone is tired today. I am tired! The media, the to-do lists, the children, the job, the ministry, the hopes, the emotions...by the end of the day (or maybe by 10 am!), you're wiped! And if you're anything like me, your deep, desperate question is: How can I find the thing that is going to really, truly nourish me?

 

Unfulfilled

And that's a great question. I used to have this stockpile of things I would do when I got overwhelmed: read magazines, go shopping, watch a movie...all distractors. They didn't really solve my problem; they just distracted me from them for a while. But then, those things stopped working! Because I wasn't really feeding my true hunger. It's like I was starving for protein, but I just kept eating more and more potato chips. I was full, but not satisfied. And God knows all about this; He says here:

Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to Me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food." (Isaiah 55:1-2)

 

True Nourishment

Good food that truly nourishes you. That's the kind of life Jesus promises you in John 10:10. He said, "My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." So what really satisfies? I have recently been studying nutrition, mainly because I haven't felt very well lately. And I came upon research that suggests that you really need a certain amount of healthy fat in your diet (like olive oil, fish, etc.) for your body to work the way it should. Fat actually makes you feel full and nourishes your body. I had not been eating that much good fat—eating all these other things instead—and I think my body was kind of starving. Do you feel this way emotionally and spiritually?

 

Two Women...Which are You?

Here's a picture of two women who were both filling themselves, but one ended up full, and the other still wasn't satisfied. I want you to see who you most relate with:

"As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)

The Fat of Life

Just one thing to be concerned about: and that was filling up with the words and presence of Jesus. In your life, as with Martha, there are a million pressures that tell you they're most important: making money, looking good, having that relationship, getting to the next "level." But what Jesus is saying here is that those things don't matter. They are the potato chips, but He is the fat. David said, "Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food." Psalm 63:3,5 If you've been living like Martha (and I know I have!), having Jesus in your home but not really experiencing Him, He is inviting you to be a Mary today. Jesus wants to satisfy you with the fat of His love and a living, breathing relationship with Him.

 

First Step

The first step is just to sit down in His presence, like Mary. Read His word in the Bible. Tell Him how you feel and what you need. It's a relationship, and God wants to relate with you. Will you give Him some of your time this week? Will you ask Him to help you become more of a Mary and less of a Martha? If so, write a prayer to God in the Comments asking Him to help you be a Mary. He has a place right by His feet for you to come and listen to His satisfying words and begin to give you the rest you are really looking for.

Just Add Oil

Scripture: "Until at last the Spirit is poured out on us from heaven. Then the wilderness will become a fertile field, and the fertile field will yield bountiful crops." Isaiah 32:15

Dry and Lifeless?

Do you feel really dry in life? Like you don't want to get out of bed some days, or you don't have enough supply to meet all your demands? I know how you feel. Life can be really hard: People can drain and hurt us; and things definitely don't always go the way we planned. This can all leave us dry and lifeless. But God wants to restore the dry places in your life and even give you even more vibrance than you have ever yet experienced. And He wants to start today.

The Bread of Your Life

I want you to imagine a piece of bread: dry, crusty, with zero flavor. Does that describe how you feel? Maybe it's a lifeless marriage, a life sucked dry from addiction, or the passing by of dreams that never happened. When I read your comments and stories, I hear the pain that life has brought you, but I also hear the hope you still have. And that hope is from God. Because as I read the Bible and walk with God myself, I know that He is the master at bringing the dead back to life. So I want you to imagine that same piece of bread—dry and stale—having oil poured all over it, filling every crevice and moistening every dry spot. Can you imagine biting into that bread now? The flavor is back, and it is soft and delicious.

God's Oil

That is what God wants to do with your life by the power of His Spirit. In the Bible, God's Spirit is described as oil: "So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David from that day on." 1 Samuel 16:13 Think of the powerful properties of oil: it heals wounds, makes anything taste better, and get things unstuck, to name a few. If you are wounded, God wants to heal you. If you are lifeless, God wants to bring back the flavor. And if you feel "stuck", God wants to pour out His Spirit on you and get you free. Just like with David, God wants to anoint you today and let you experience the life-giving power of the oil of His Spirit.

Back from the Dead

Let's read this story of a widow who had nothing left, because I believe God wants to do something similar in your life:

"One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, 'My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.' 'What can I do to help you?' Elisha asked. 'Tell me, what do you have in the house?' 'Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,' she replied. And Elisha said, 'Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.' So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! 'Bring me another jar,' she said to one of her sons. 'There aren’t any more!' he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, 'Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.'" (2 Kings 4:1-7)

Unlimited

There is no limit to God's Spirit, and He wants to pour it into every dry crevice of your life—starting today. I want you to imagine each dry area of your life as an empty jar. Line the jars up in your mind and label each one. Maybe one is labeled family; one future; one health; one past memories; so on and so forth. Just like the widow, you can have as many jars filled as you can find. Now I want you to imagine the Lord God Himself filling each jar to the brim with the oil of His Holy Spirit, so much so that they are overflowing. "You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings." Psalm 23:5

Bring Your Jars

That's what He wants to do for you starting today. He wants you to bring Him every jar of your life—no matter if they have always been empty—to be filled with the oil of His Spirit. Your dry relationships, sick body, tired spirit, and dried-up dreams: He wants to nourish them all, giving them flavor and life—just like a dry piece of bread soaked in olive oil. When you bring your jars to the Lord to fill, here are some of the things that will happen:

• You will have new vision: "Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions." Joel 2:28
• Your depression will turn to joy: "To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair." Isaiah 61:3
• You will be able to obey God better: "And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." Ezekiel 36:27
• You will experience God in a closer way: "'I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel,' declares the Sovereign Lord." Ezekiel 39:29

Start Today

Tell God the names of your empty jars in the Comments below. Ask Him to fill them with His life-giving Spirit. As you go through your week and experience dry areas, ask God, "Will You pour oil on this?" He promises He will! Jesus said, "How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." Luke 11:13

Get Out of Jail Free

Are You in Prison?

Do you feel like you are in a prison? Maybe it's the prison of an addiction, a fear, or a past memory. I know how you feel. I have felt chained to events and feelings for years, and they have held me back. But the Bible talks about a powerful way to break out of prison. And It's free! Listen to this story about Paul and Silas, two Christian men who were thrown in prison for telling people about Jesus. Instead of getting bitter or depressed, listen to what they do:

"Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!" Acts 16:25-26

The Power of Worship

Paul and Silas worshiped, and it broke them out of prison. You see, worship has the capacity to break you free--no matter how long you've been bound. But it really, really matters what or who you worship. For years, I worshiped appearance, relationships, acceptance, and addictions. They were the things I sought with all my time, the things I looked to fill me. In essence, they were my gods. Can you relate? But they were dead, and the Bible teaches that you become like what you worship:

"But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them." Psalm 115:4-8

Worship the Living God

If you worship something dead, you will become dead inside. But if you worship something—Someone—that is alive, you will become alive inside too. Jesus said, "So He is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to Him." Luke 20:38 Do you want to worship the Living God and become alive inside too? Do you want your chains to be broken off? I do. Here is a worship tool that God is teaching me that I call: Zoom Out, Zoom In. I believe it can help you too!

Shift Your Perspective

I want you to think of a camera lens, how you can zoom in on something you want to focus on, and zoom out to get the bigger picture. That's how we worship things too. We zoom in on what we worship, and we zoom out on things that are less important. God wants us to zoom in on Him and zoom out on our problems. That will bring you true freedom. I want to practice this with you by using a very personal example. I really want to be married but haven't found the right person yet. My tendency has been to zoom in on my unfulfilled desire and zoom out on God's faithfulness. But God wants it to be opposite, so here's what He's teaching me:

Zoom Out: Instead of saying, "What's wrong with me? Has God forsaken me?" and trying to figure out all the things I could do to get a man, I say, "God, I know You have someone great for me. I know plenty of other people who You have provided spouses for, and I trust You to take care of me too." I zoom out on my problem, instead of making it my god.

Zoom In: Then, I zoom in on my Creator—my God whom I trust. I think about all the wonderful things about Him, all the times He came through for people in the Bible and for me in the past. I think about how He loves me, has a great plan for me, and is powerful enough to bring the perfect person from anywhere in the world. I find peace by zooming in on my living God, and He brings me life and breaks me out of jail.

 

Let's Practice!

What is your prison? I want you to be free of your fears and free to worship the God who gives you life! David said, "I prayed to the LORD, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4 Will you practice this powerful tool with me by zooming out on your problem and zooming in on God below in the Comments? Just confess your problem to God and thank Him for being the One who can meet your need. Let's break free of the prison together, just like Paul and Silas!

Why Good Things Happen to Bad People

Scripture:"God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God." Ephesians 2:8

I'm Not Good

Many people ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” But that assumes there are good people. Lately, it has become glaringly clear to me that I am not a good person. Even the couple “good” things I’ve done were mostly done with selfish motives. Can you relate at all? When you are really, truly honest, do you feel like a good person?

Are You Mean, God?

I bring this up because the last thing that God said about Himself in His description is this:

“I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34:7)

Wow! All the descriptions before were really nice (compassionate, merciful, faithful, loving), but this one is a little hard to swallow! It makes you ask, “Is that fair? Should I be punished for my parents’ sins? God, are you mean?”

The “Bad” Woman

I want to tell you about a woman Jesus talked to that no one thought was good, herself included. She likely came from a rough family and felt the effects. Married 5 times and now with a man not her husband, she was an easy target to judge. Plus, she was a Samaritan, the culture Jesus was supposed to hate. Plus she was a woman; respectable religious teachers only saw men as deserving of their time. All in all: not a good candidate for Jesus to talk to.

An Exact Picture of God

But what does Jesus do, shun her? That’s what I might do. (And remember: Jesus is an exact picture of God.) No, He does the opposite.  In fact, she is one of the only ones that He out-right tells He is the Messiah:

Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink”…She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water”…“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”…The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I AM the Messiah!” (Excerpt from John 4:7-26)

God Is Not Like You Think

Think about this: out of all the people Jesus could’ve told He was the Messiah, He chose the woman no one thought was good.  God is not like you think.  He is not looking for the person who has sinned the least; He is looking for the person who needs Him the most.  Jesus said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Mark 2:17

New Cause=New Effect

The laws of cause and effect are still in motion. That’s why God said He doesn’t excuse the guilty. However, there is a new rule with Jesus: when you give your life to Him, He starts things over for you.  The Bible says, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20 That means the past sins that held you down don’t have power over you any more. It’s as if you had inherited a car that always pulled to the left, taking you off course. That might have been the sins of your parents or your own mistakes. But Jesus comes and sets the alignment in your car aright, so that now you can drive straight ahead.  The road He has for you is His will, and it leads to Heaven. Jesus came to set the alignment aright for the Samaritan woman, and He wants to do it for you too, starting today.

AND THESE ARE THE GUYS I ALWAYS WRITTE ABOUT ON MY FACEBOOK WALL: THE EVENTS TEAM OF EMMA AND YOUNG

THE TOP FOUR IN VALLEY COMMUNITY SEASON ONE: Left to right; CHARITY(Brenda Akello), MARY(Rachael Atim), GORRETY(Barbra Auma) and RITA(Zainabo Hussein Adongo).

Can You Trust God's Love?

Scripture:"The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease." Lamentations 3:22

The Worst Feeling

Do you know the feeling of being about to run out of gas? It’s awful. You’re there, heart pounding, looking down at your gas gauge, certain that every weird sound is your car sputtering down to empty and stranding you in the worst possible location. Because typically you only run out of gas at the worst possible time.

Almost Empty

Do you ever feel that way with God? Like the tank of His love is on the verge of empty, just when you need it the most? One more press down on the pedal—one more sin or hard time—and boom, out of gas, stranded. I know how you feel. I remember when I was at my lowest point a couple years ago: disillusioned with life and people. I no longer had the dreams I used to, and everything seemed bleak. I was sure that God’s love tank for me was sputtering to empty.

Unexpected Loyalty

Naomi felt the same way. She had left her famine-struck country with her husband and sons in search of food. But not long after, her husband and sons died, leaving her with just her daughters-in-law. She dismissed them to go and start over, but Ruth refused, saying:

Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” (Ruth 1:16-17)

Ruth stayed with Naomi at her lowest, gathering food for her, and bringing a new grandson into life. Ruth brought new joy into Naomi’s life when she was at her worst.

A Picture of God

Ruth is just a small picture of how incredibly loyal God is to you. He is the most faithful, loyal friend in the universe. In Exodus 34:6, God said, “I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” What He is saying is that you’re never going to run out of the gas tank of His love. He will never leave you on empty, stranded. He knows all your sins (including the ones you’ll do in the future!), the hard and lonely times you’ll go through, and He has still promised you:

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

What Happened with Me

So what did God do with me when I was at my lowest, when I thought my love tank was on empty? He really surprised me. Instead of leaving me stranded, He actually changed my fuel source. I had been running on the gasoline of my own good deeds that were always running dry; but He wanted me to run on the solar power of His never-ending love which renews every morning. Lamentations 3:22 says, “Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.”

Change Your Fuel Source

In fact, God said the renewing of the sun is proof of His faithful love to you: “I would no more reject my people than I would change my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky” Jeremiah 33:25—meaning, the day that the sun doesn’t come up is the day you can start worrying that God doesn’t love you anymore. But if you’ve been like me, and worried that you’re going to run out of gas, He wants you to switch over to the solar power fuel of His never-ending love.

Tell Him Now!

Do you want to make the switch? Tell Him now in the Comments below. He hears your heart and will answer!