One of my favorite phrases in all of scripture is "Steadfast Love". It is found mostly in the Psalms, which are mostly meditations and poetry of men who deeply experienced the love of God.
At first notion, steadfast love speaks of the fact that no matter what we do, God will always love us. I am reminded of this type of steadfast in the way I love my kids.Many times I have told them that I will always love them no matter what. I say this frequently in the early ages so that when the real hard stuff happens as they get older, the idea that I love them not matter what is pressed deep into them and they never doubt that I love them.
But there is a second notion with this phrase that I want to get you to think about. I pray that this notion is pressed deep into your soul so that you will never forget it.
The God of the universe loves you with a steadfast love. That means that not only will his love never change based on your actions; but it also means that it will never HAVE to change to completely satisfy your soul.
This is a very impractical notion. It does not make in sense in the light of life. If God loves me with this sort of love that does not need to change in order for me to be completely satisfied, then why is my heart restless, why do want for things?
The simple answer is that we are so easily distracted. As C.S. Lewis puts it, "a child go on making mud pies in the slums because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea."
A.W. Tozer says, "God wills that we should push on into his presence and live our whole life there. This is to be known to us in conscious experience. It is more than a doctrine to be held, it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day."
God has been pressing in on me much lately to pray with passion and fervor for those he has connected my heart to, tonight I pray this for you, "God would you give us a burning heart for you? Show us the steadfastness of your love. Remove distraction of the things that this world offers that will pass away. Capture our imaginations with the wonder and beauty of you. Give us fire to rest in you."
Thank you for reading and know that I love you but God loves you perfectly and completely and with a steadfast love.
I am thinking a lot lately about suffering. I am thinking about it even more as 9-11 approaches. I remember being asked about God's role in it. I am not sure of God's role in it. I have ideas but they are flawed and my ability to communicate those ideas is even more flawed.
Romans 11:33-34 puts us in our place in this regard. What I do know is that God loves us. He loves us more than we can ever know. He loves us with a redeeming love that never changes and does not need to change to bring us to complete fulfillment.
I want you to click on this link. The voice you hear of the preacher here is a man who is a pastor in Dallas who has brain cancer and doctors say the average life expectancy of man his age with stage of cancer is 2-3 years. The song you here mixed in in was written by a man whose best friend died in an accident.
I pray that God gets your attention. I pray that you know the beauty of a God who is so magnificent and satisfying that his glory eclipses even the greatest of tragedies.
Thanks for reading.
Rik
Romans 11:33-34 puts us in our place in this regard. What I do know is that God loves us. He loves us more than we can ever know. He loves us with a redeeming love that never changes and does not need to change to bring us to complete fulfillment.
I want you to click on this link. The voice you hear of the preacher here is a man who is a pastor in Dallas who has brain cancer and doctors say the average life expectancy of man his age with stage of cancer is 2-3 years. The song you here mixed in in was written by a man whose best friend died in an accident.
I pray that God gets your attention. I pray that you know the beauty of a God who is so magnificent and satisfying that his glory eclipses even the greatest of tragedies.
Thanks for reading.
Rik
A Lesson From Job
Take a minute to read Job 38:1-13
Know that God is in charge. Know that God knows what is best. Know that God is moving in your life to make you aware that he is in charge and can do what he wants. Know that God is in charge and loves you more than you can ever understand.
Know that God is faithful and does not forget or lead his people. Know that God is bringing you to a place where every longing that you have ever had will be fulfilled in a deeper way than you could ever imagine.
Know that God is not trying to take from you, he is trying to give to you. Know that God is smarter than you and knows how to give gifts to you. Know that any joy that you might experience on this planet is a mere shadow to what is to come for those who love him.
Know that the time you spend here in the body you currently occupy is less than the smallest amount of time you can think of. Know that pain is temporary for the one who places hope in Christ. Know that pain is a tool in the hand of God.
Know that I love you, but God loves you more and sent his son to be brutally abused and abandoned so that full and complete redemption could be yours.
Thanks for reading. I love you and I long to pray for you.
Rik
Know that God is in charge. Know that God knows what is best. Know that God is moving in your life to make you aware that he is in charge and can do what he wants. Know that God is in charge and loves you more than you can ever understand.
Know that God is faithful and does not forget or lead his people. Know that God is bringing you to a place where every longing that you have ever had will be fulfilled in a deeper way than you could ever imagine.
Know that God is not trying to take from you, he is trying to give to you. Know that God is smarter than you and knows how to give gifts to you. Know that any joy that you might experience on this planet is a mere shadow to what is to come for those who love him.
Know that the time you spend here in the body you currently occupy is less than the smallest amount of time you can think of. Know that pain is temporary for the one who places hope in Christ. Know that pain is a tool in the hand of God.
Know that I love you, but God loves you more and sent his son to be brutally abused and abandoned so that full and complete redemption could be yours.
Thanks for reading. I love you and I long to pray for you.
Rik
A Clear and Present Battle
Fact: There is currently a high level of spiritual battle and restlessness present within many that I am close to and those close to those I am close to.
I have heard many statements like these lately, "I feel like I am under attack", "I need you to pray for me" and other general thoughts about knowing truths about God, but believing lies about myself or God's plan for me. I could get more specific, but for the sake of the public nature of this forum, we will leave it there. The point is that we all are in desperate need of God to minister peace, love and perspective to our souls.
When I say minister, I mean he is pouring into us from and unending fountain the things that we lack. Like a pitcher pouring into an empty glass, we are in need of God to minister to our souls. I use the word soul to convey a depth way below the surface; so deep that it impacts our view of every situation in our lives.
I am praying this for many. I am praying it for specific people and I am praying it for general people. By that I mean people who have needs that I am not aware of. If this is you, please email me here rik@northchurchstl.com. God is pressing in on my spirit with an absolute need to do spiritual battle, please email me. God is leading me to pray for you.
God has ministered his peace to me through his word lately with these scriptures, perhaps they may be of some help to you now.
Psalms 37
Matthew 11:28-30
Psalms 130
Romans 11:33-36
Philippians 4:4-9
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
James 1:12
Psalm 20:6-7
Philippians 1:6
I leave you with a little something I wrote during an especially great time with God:
Hope is found in you, so I endure.
Peace is given by you, so I rest.
Grace is found in you, so I am free.
Mercy is given by you, so I breathe.
You have created meekness in me, so I look at your dealings with me and declare to to be good.
You have created steadfastness in me, so I see your suffering son and that image upholds my spirit.
Thanks for reading and may your soul find rest today in the Steadfast Love of God.
I have heard many statements like these lately, "I feel like I am under attack", "I need you to pray for me" and other general thoughts about knowing truths about God, but believing lies about myself or God's plan for me. I could get more specific, but for the sake of the public nature of this forum, we will leave it there. The point is that we all are in desperate need of God to minister peace, love and perspective to our souls.
When I say minister, I mean he is pouring into us from and unending fountain the things that we lack. Like a pitcher pouring into an empty glass, we are in need of God to minister to our souls. I use the word soul to convey a depth way below the surface; so deep that it impacts our view of every situation in our lives.
I am praying this for many. I am praying it for specific people and I am praying it for general people. By that I mean people who have needs that I am not aware of. If this is you, please email me here rik@northchurchstl.com. God is pressing in on my spirit with an absolute need to do spiritual battle, please email me. God is leading me to pray for you.
God has ministered his peace to me through his word lately with these scriptures, perhaps they may be of some help to you now.
Psalms 37
Matthew 11:28-30
Psalms 130
Romans 11:33-36
Philippians 4:4-9
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
James 1:12
Psalm 20:6-7
Philippians 1:6
I leave you with a little something I wrote during an especially great time with God:
Hope is found in you, so I endure.
Peace is given by you, so I rest.
Grace is found in you, so I am free.
Mercy is given by you, so I breathe.
You have created meekness in me, so I look at your dealings with me and declare to to be good.
You have created steadfastness in me, so I see your suffering son and that image upholds my spirit.
Thanks for reading and may your soul find rest today in the Steadfast Love of God.
Jesus Inoculation
I was listening to Matt Chandler (Pastor of The Village Church in Dallas) the other day and he said this, "People have enough of Jesus to be inoculated to the whole of him."
To be inoculated is to have a disease introduced into your system for the purpose of creating a resistance to that disease.
What he is getting at is that we have little doses of Jesus and the result is that we never get the whole of Jesus. To have a little Jesus and not the whole of him is to not have him at all. Jesus calls us to take up our cross (daily make a decision to die to self and self born desires) and follow him.
To be inoculated is to have a disease introduced into your system for the purpose of creating a resistance to that disease.
What he is getting at is that we have little doses of Jesus and the result is that we never get the whole of Jesus. To have a little Jesus and not the whole of him is to not have him at all. Jesus calls us to take up our cross (daily make a decision to die to self and self born desires) and follow him.
Lessons from the season
We have been talking a lot in recent days about our meeting location for North Church. In Elders meetings, in community groups, in text messages from one member to another and other venues there has been much conversation about where we will be.
I have included images of the different buildings that we have been in from the start of NC to the right. Think about God's provision as you read the rest of this post.
Two things that really stand out to me that make this a season of nearness to God. First, we are learning what the church is and what it is not. The church is people not a particular building or a group of people that gather in a particular place at a particular time. The church is God's people living on mission together.
The church is much more than just that one simple statement, in fact entire books have been written about the church and it is not something that can be encapsulated with that one simple statement (God's people living on mission together). But that is one very key element to what the church is. It is a key element that we are seeing come to life in this season of our church.
The second thing that stands out is a truth that God taught me years ago and is reinforcing and reminding me now in this season. It is that God brings circumstances into our lives that make us want to seek Him for the answer. Questions like, should I take this job, should I get married, should I buy this car are circumstances that make us seek God. Events like the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, losing a job or difficulties in a marriage also drive us to get closer to God.
In this season in our church, I have had countless conversations with NC people and others who care about NC that have been praying and talking and seeking God for guidance on our next step and laying down stress and anxiety.
In our minds, our circumstances or situations are what we are consumed with, but deeper more surrendered relationship is the product of our seeking God for our circumstances.
So continue to pray and live on mission together.
Thanks for reading!
Rik
"He cares for you"
Tonight as I watched Mikail play and play and play, enjoying every last moment until she fell asleep, it hit me that she really has NO CLUE how much I absolutely love her. She has NO CLUE how much I want her to learn obedience and follow Jesus with her life. She has NO CLUE how hard I pray for her, how much I sacrifice for her, how much money I spend on her, how much I stress myself out over her, how much I worry about her growing up in this difficult world, how much I think about and pray for her husband (Lord willing), how much I desire her to be successful, how much I long for her to have good friendships and how much it breaks my heart when she disobeys and makes poor decisions. I care for her SO SO SO much and while she might have a glimpse of that reality and know it to a small degree, she really has NO CLUE in comparison to the depth of my true care for her.
1 Peter 5:7 says, "cast all your anxieties on him, because HE CARES FOR YOU!"
Much like my daughter, we are CLUELESS as to the infinite depth of our Savior's loving care for us. While we "play around" in life, our cares and burdens don't even come close to comparing with the Lord's cares and burdens for us. May we be reminded of this today and run to him as often as we can knowing his loving arms are so much bigger and stronger than we even know or imagine.
Why??? Because...HE CARES FOR YOU!
Thanks for reading,
Dave
