January 15, 2023
During the Christmas season, we go to great lengths to bring joy and delight to those we love. We buy the most extravagant presents we can afford to seek a simple smile on Christmas morning. We want them to know how deeply we love them ... and it is a joy to give to those we love.
Do you want to give a present to God that delights Him? Would you like to see His eyes light up with joy? It is incredible that this is possible, but we can, and the writer of Proverbs tells us how.
"The prayer of the upright is His delight." (Proverbs 15:6)
That's it. Apparently, God would just like our conversation. Our attention fully given to Him in praise and wonder and petition. We delight in God, but it is life-changing to realize that He delights in us. That He wants to hear from us without ceasing. That He enjoys being our first thought, not our last response. That we are His familiar friend.
My pastor-Father died several years ago at age 97. As the years wore on, one thing delighted my dad more than anything: he wanted to hear from his children. A call or a visit delighted his soul. My older brother lived near him, and they would go to lunch often. My dad lived for those lunches (as did my brother). Nothing else mattered greatly but the God he loved, the family he cherished, and the people he could tell about the two!
Turn to the Father all day today ... and let your undivided attention delight His heart.
February 20, 2025
If you have questions about how real, how present, how personal and intimate the Lord is, then just read six words of travelogue in Luke’s journal as he traveled with Paul.
February 18, 2025
I have known many people who have had great joy and power in the midst of great suffering. It is humbling that the slightest inconveniences deter many of us from following God. We have not gotten to the bottom—settled the issue. Most often, we live for our comfort, reputation, or gain. When any of those goals are touched, we are troubled and discontent.
February 17, 2025
The repentant who finds God gains everything. “He who has God and everything else,” said C.S. Lewis, “has no more than he who has God alone.”
