God is not your Genie!!!

God is not your Genie!!

Psalm 147:4-5

New International Version (NIV)

⁴ He determines the number of the stars
   and calls them each by name.
⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
   his understanding has no limit. 

Remember the song, "When you wish upon a star"? How many times have I gazed into a crystal clear, starry night and sent a prayer into the brightest part of the stars' fiery canopy??? Oh, only about a million times!! Remember dreaming that your wish might come true? Remember thinking that if it did, you would have true, lasting happiness!! Remember the hope of your wishes and dreams?? Guess what? There is only one desire that can be met perfectly in our lives, resulting in perfect peace!! Instead of wishing upon stars, we need to be praising the maker of the stars and the heavens, the Lord God Almighty!! When we worship the Lord God in spirit and in truth, then we are no longer listening to the lies of the world! In contrast, when we listen to the lies of the world, we miss the true identity and plan of the one, true God!!

Jeremiah 23:16-18

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹⁶ This is what the LORD Almighty says:
   “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
   they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
   not from the mouth of the LORD.
¹⁷ They keep saying to those who despise me,
   ‘The LORD says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
   they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ 
¹⁸ But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD
   to see or to hear his word?
   Who has listened and heard his word?

What does God's word say about His peace?

John 14:26-28

New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 

Again, the God of peace gives you graciously all things, understanding that He knows what you truly need to have peace; all humankind will ever need is to be made right with Jesus!!

1 Thessalonians 5:23
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Good Lord God has proclaimed His good intentions toward us if we would let Him lead!!






   ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:9-11, NIV).


God says in His word that He has come to save us, He is mighty to save!  God says again and again in His word that He will be our God and we will be His people and that no one will ever make us afraid!!  So, how's your fear factor this morning?? Are you afraid? Perhaps you may have forgotten that God has a plan that is mighty to save you, able to save you, and ready to save you?? When was the last time you just wished for something that could save you? When was the last time you realized that Jesus is the fulfillment of every true desire ever placed inside your heart? I hope for you that you know in your inner most places that Jesus fills every single desire!!  My prayer for all of us is that we understand that it is He, Jesus that is our Salvation, the treausure and everlasting peace!! Please meditate on Scriptures such as Jeremiah 29:11 and Proverbs 3:5-6 and again in the Psalms,
   trust in him and he will do this.

We have to understand that God has a plan and that the plan is good and that the end results are beautiful!! Yes, God will give you the desires of your heart only because He knows what your heart needs! Friends you need Him, not what you think He can do for you...you simply need Him.  Yes, the answer is Jesus.  His name is Jesus and He is your peace, your Salvation, your friend, your Advocate, the lover of your soul, your protection and He is the plan for your life!!  Oh, Praise the Name of Jesus...!! He Saves you from your sin and gives you His righteousness leading to eternal life with Him, the Hope of Glory!! Sound good??? Can I get a witness?? How about an Amen??? Want things God's way...??? If your heart is saying, "Amen", then save yourself from keeping God from blessing your life with His ways!!  How??? Let God be God!! He is not your Genie!! Let God be God!!  Know God as the only source, with out limits, of true light!!  Never allow yourself to put God in the wrong role, unless you would like to star in the wrong play on a very precarious stage!!   God is not your Genie!! God is not your Genie in a bottle, or your Genie in a box, or your servant in any shape or form!!!! GOD IS NOT YOUR GENIE! "Provisos, limits on wishes??? What kind of a genie are you??" complained Aladdin. "Infinite cosmic power, and teeny little living space, answers the Genie!!" (Line from Aladdin, the Disney version).  In part 3 of the Magic Carpet ride, I want to tell you a story about my life and how I still saw God as my genie in a bottle!!

FIRST KISS:  I remember moving to Southern California, my original home from childhood! I was now 14 and almost 15 when we moved into our new house in Temecula!! I'll never forget thinking that California promised peace to my stormy battle with rejection! Entering the 9th grade, even in California, my supposed home of comfort, did not mean acceptance for me at all!! Evidently, my magic carpet ride out of Kansas didn't have a very long shelf life in promises!! "There's a big surprise! I think I'm going to die and have a heart attack from that surprise!" (line spoken by Iago, the parrot from Aladdin)  Well, after a year in high school, the reality was written on the wall: almost everyone in my public high school lived a standard that conflicted with Christ! Where was I going to have friends?? A boyfriend?? Truly, we did have a youth group at our Nazarene Church, but we had to drive pretty far a way to find it and therefore, social outings with the group were not easily arranged!! Loneliness encircled my heart, as I waited for my wishes to come true..!! Genie? I want a boyfriend to comfort me and help me not to feel alone! Genie, I want a friend that I can trust completely! Genie, I want to fit in at school! Oh, Genie, if you love me so much, why do I feel so alone??Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer!!! Darling Sophomore in high school, lost and tossed by two classic mistakes..!! Did you not know that God was your comfort, that God was your friend, and that God accepts you, Jennifer?  Mistake number one: X-nay on telling the Lord how to make you happy; God is not your Genie!! When God says "no" and you see Him as your Genie, then you question His worth, His goodness, and His Sovereignty!! When God says "no" and you see Him as Lord, then you are not disappointed for you know the plans He has for you, plans to Prosper you and not to Harm You!!!!  Mistake number two: No thing can ever satisfy you but God himself, praise His holy name!! So, a big X-nay on the wishing for more wishes...!! No matter how many times you wish for the next best thing...things will never be enough, when you are a fit only for God!! Please tell everyone you know the truth??? The truth is, "We are all a perfect fit for God and for God alone; only God can satisfy!!"

Enter another story in my life that made me question if God was worth the battle~!

After piano lessons over in San Diego, mom and I would always stop by the mall on the way home to Temecula!! Always hungry, our routine included stopping for teriyaki bowls at Panda Express and then walking through Nordstrom to check the sales!  One day, during my Junior yr. in High school, mom and I were walking through Nordstrom. Suddenly, we heard the piano being played just beautifully! Rapidly, I grabbed my mom and my sister and went up the escalator to see who was playing the music! Completely expecting to see an older woman or man pounding on the keys, I was shocked to find a very handsome young man of about 17 yrs. old!! Oh, be still my heart!! From the blue eyes, to the blonde hair and the tuxedo, my mind had completely forgotten all about Timothy or even Aladdin!! Yes, the young man was gorgeous, not to mention the fact that he could really play the piano; I loved to play the piano!!   The moment our eyes met, the young man smiled and said, "hello"! Uh oh!! Not only was he cute and talented, but the young pianist had a gorgeous, foreign accent!! Sorry, but I love foreign cultures and language! Obviously, the attraction was going to sky rocket the moment I knew he was foreign!! C'est la vie, C'est l'amour!! Not even!! Let's call him, Sasha!! No, that was not his real name, but that is a foreign name that I like very much!! Sasha asked for my phone number as butterflies raced around in my stomach!! In fact, I gave him my phone number and told him that I played the piano too and how much I loved hearing his playing!! After a little conversation, I glanced back and flashed my best smile at those blue eyes!! Yep, it's safe to say, that "I was a goner"!  As though all my lonliness had been kicked by the genie into another galaxy, I began to dance, lighter than air all week long, waiting for Sasha to call! Well, Sasha did not call me and the week passed me by slowly as the time came for another piano lesson in San Diego! Alas, when the lesson finished and we headed to the mall, I was not thinking about Chinese food!!! After eating quickly, my mom and sister and myself headed to Nordstrom! My sister suggested that if I saw him, to simply walk on by like I didn't know he was there at all!! Well, older sisters, who are crazy beautiful and have a lot more dating experience than you must give the right advice, right?? Ha! Who am I kidding?? More dating experience than me?? Well, that is an understatment!! In fact, "I'd never been outside the palace walls, and Raja was not even my friend" (Jasmine quote paraphrased)!! Yes, here I was at the age of 16, and definitely never been kissed!! So, I walked up the escalator, saw Sasha at the top of the landing, playing the piano, and continued to walk slowly past him like I didn't care at all!! Wow, my sister was right!! If only you could imagine my delight that Sasha could barely play the piano as he watched me walk by and tried to get my attention!! Well, I simply continued straight down the walkway and then made my way to the ladies room! My genius sister followed me and let me know that I executed that move very well!! Frantically, I asked her what I should do next and she let me know that I needed to go back out there to see if he might say something about why he didn't call!! Full of anticipation, I exited the restroom and walked over by the piano! Sasha said hello and immediately began to explain why he hadn't called me! In fact, he asked for my number again and asked if I wanted to go out sometime!! Wow!! Playing it cool, I just said that that idea sounded like fun and maybe we'd talk later! After a little bit of shopping, we left the mall and went home! Not only did Sasha call and ask me to meet him that Friday night at the mall, but he was going to take me out to dinner and to play laser tag!! Of course, my immediate response was, "yes"! Dutifully, I ran down the stairs to ask my mom permission and to explain what the plans would be for my first date ever!!! Thankfully, mom said, yes! As Friday was only a few days away, the hours passed quickly till finally the day was here! No, I didn't have my license yet and no, I didn't go to the mall with friends! Yes, my mom drove me to the mall and then walked me into the meeting place, where Sasha and I said, "hello"! Just like a charming prince, Sasha was sooo nice to my mom and told her all of the plans. Also, Sasha was sure to let her know when he would be dropping me off at home. Finally, mom said good-bye and Sasha and I were on my very first date together!! Little did I know how much my standards and beliefs were about to be put to the test!! Heaven knows the decisions I was going to have to make on that first date and then on the second date would change my life significantly!! In order to really trust the Lord, we must know that He is Good!! Friends, knowing about His goodness is not the same as knowing He is good personally!! I'm going to stop this post here as I've decided to post, "God is not your Genie" in two segments! Let's end with a Scripture on which to meditate, and a few questions that will help us to ponder lessons to be learned in the next post!!

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

New International Version (NIV)

 ³ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should learn to control your own body^[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; ⁶ and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.^[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. ⁷ For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸ Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

What do you think happens when you obey and trust God without truly understanding He is not your genie, but your God? remember, we must all accept God and trust Him!! However, we must accept Him as the God he is, not as anything else!! Do you really know and accept God's role in your life?? Are you ever disappointed in life's outcomes and tempted to ask God, why? Your joy must never come from an outcome!! Never!! Our joy always must come from our Savior who is more than enough!!

Magic Carpet rides have a shelf life shorter than strawberries!!

Magic Carpet part II


Jennifer took a deep breath and looked around down the hallway at school! Well, there seemed to be no one following her! "Mom, where are you?" thought Jennifer as the bell rang, signifying that school had been out for 5 minutes! When Jennifer realized her mom was not waiting for her by the curb, a deep, dark feeling ran down her spine and stopped right in the pit of her stomach! Recent threats from certain groups of people plagued Jennifer's mind as she decided to quickly go back inside the school and call her mom. After all, maybe mom just forgot the time! To Jennifer's horror, she saw two girls from the group that had threatened her standing at the end of the hall! In fact, Jennifer had not fit in from day one at that little, Kansas Junior High School!! Surprisingly, the very standards Jennifer had always followed from her parents were making others in the school more than annoyed!! Shaking, Jennifer just turned the other way and started walking briskly toward the principle's office...! Saying a quick prayer, she began to run as fast as she could down the hall! "Come on carpet, let's fly" (Aladdin..says that to the carpet when there is a lot of trouble chasing him).  However, the two girls started running faster and faster behind her! "No", thought Jennifer, "Please! Lord..help me!!" Although she almost made it to the door, almost was not good enough. Like a train, two girls brought her to the ground and grabbed her arm and held it behind her back while threatening, "we don't need 'goody two shoes' like you around here..got it?? Say you're sorry and we'll let you go!"  Jennifer looked up frantically wondering why no one was around and hoping to find some help somewhere! Suddenly, the principle opened the door and looked out into the hall way, "what is going on" he asked?  Jennifer was let go quickly and she then proceeded to go to the principle's office and ask to use the phone...!!  The sounds of the other two girls were mocking her to tears!! Tears inevitably started to pour out of her eyes as Jennifer dialed her home phone number! Trembling, and crying, Jennifer hung up the phone when there was no answer! Within a few moments, Jennifer saw the car pull up to the curb from the Principal's office window. The principal said, "I want you to be in my office tomorrow after school with those two other girls to discuss fighting in school!"  Choking back the tears, Jennifer nodded and left the office, darting for her mom's car: safety! No, Jennifer had not started a fight, but there was a fight for her affections that was going to do battle really soon!! There are moments for all of us when we have not felt safe, comforted, or understood! At that moment, I will never forget feeling so alone, terrified and confused! Oh how my thoughts began to race that night!! Even though there was comfort in knowing that mom and dad told me how sorry they were that this happened and that they would help in any way they could to talk to the school, the problem was eating at my core! Every ounce of self esteem was under attack as the day's assault yelled into her mind that Jennifer was not accepted; Jennifer was not protected.  For sure, my only crime was the fact that a group of girls didn't like me or my morality!   How on earth was I going to fit in, or feel safe?? Remember when Jafar knocks out Aladdin and he sinks down to the bottom of the sea?? Without the Genie stepping in, and the exchange of a second wish, Aladdin would not have survived!! Why didn't they like me?? Just because I wasn't allowed to date, or swear, do drugs, have sex and pick on others, get bad grades ect, did not mean that I was trying to hurt them!! More than the fact that my body ached from being knocked to the ground was the ache in my heart! Why wasn't I accepted?  The devil seemed to whisper, "maybe it's not your standard, but you?" Wow..! "Maybe, I was not good enough to be accepted," entered my thoughts as I cried myself to sleep! "Oh Lord! I want to be liked and I want to follow you too! "Genie, I wish for you to make me a prince!" Don't we all remember that scene in Aladdin where the Genie warns Aladdin to just be himself?? Well, I think we all can admit that being yourself starts with knowing that God does not make junk!! Truly, many adults still do not understand that God, who has ultimate cosmic power and who is not limited to small tiny living spaces, (Genie reference) made you the way you are on purpose! When you are under attack for your standards, or for the little things that make you who you are, I hope you know that your attacker is picking a fight with the Lord Almighty! Not only does every battle belong to the Lord, but the Lord is the Victor over every fight and the greatest defender of all!! Tragically, many do not know that the Lord is a strong tower! What's more is the fact that even when we know that the Lord is a refuge and a tower of strength, we don't always know how to hear His voice and follow His lead!! Whenever we have difficulty hearing the Lord's love calling, the reason is because we are listening to the voice of another: the world! The hidden agenda of the devil is always to mislead God's children to take the wrong path and to think in a fallen way!! Now we are going to bring in the "Jonah" of it all!! We make our own plans and we have our own agendas, preconceived ideas and conceptions about how life is supposed to go!! Jonah had every intention of growing up to serve the Lord and to serve Israel...ooopse...and who?? Who was Jonah going to serve??? And Israel??? Uh ohhh!! Jonah! Jonah! JONAH!!!!! We serve the Lord our God and He alone sets our feet upon the rock of Salvation, the path that leads to life everlasting!! We simply are not created to tell the creator how we are going to serve or live or be accepted by certain people. Now, before we start picking on Jonah again..because we will do that allot a few blogs from now, let's look back at Jennifer! Jennifer had an agenda to "fit in" didn't she?? In fact, we can all remember believing that fitting in was the idea in school, right? If you are reading this knowing that you are in a situation right now where you would really like to fit in and to be accepted by someone, then please hear this verse,

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10, NIV).  


The truth is simply put in black and white terms for us, but we continue to seek to please two masters!! We are such children of our culture and contemporaries of our time!! When in reality we need to be children of the most High God, the Eternal one who sits outside of time and seeks to deliver you from the world so that you can start being a part of showing the world the way, the truth and the Life: His name is Jesus!! Alright, by now I'm sure that some of you are resisting the fact that Jennifer somehow did something wrong by wanting to fit in with her school friends?? Friends, the one who we listen to is the one with whom we are in a relationship!! The voice of the world is subtle and its message is crafty; God really wants you to be happy!! What a hoax..!! Truly, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not that now we can have our fairytale because our Genie in a bottle lives in our hearts to give it to us!!!! God's good news is not that there will not be trials and that you will be liked and appreciated by humans!!!! God's good news is that because He lives, you can face tomorrow..in His strength, in His love, In His grace and In His timing and that in the end...Eternity awaits..!! 

“[Trials and Temptations] Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3NIV  


Jennifer was not expecting the trials and was not sure why any of the rejection was taking place!! The truth is that rejection hurts! More importantly is knowing what to do when you are rejected by man!! 

Remember how afraid Aladdin was? Aladdin kept saying in the beginning of the movie, "I'm not a street rat and I'm not worthless!"  Jennifer kept saying that night as the tears kept gushing from the day's assault, "I'm not worthless!" Yet, both were angry and scared to death that a lack of acceptance from the world meant that their value did in fact go down somehow!  Friends, your value is not measured by this world unless you give yourself over to the Prince of this world, His ideas and His schemes!! In contrast, we have a plan "B" and it's a beautiful plan!!  Even though we are trapped like live bait in the clutches of a roaring Lion, falling faster and faster into the sin that entered the world so long ago; there is hope.  No, it's not the magic carpet and it's not the Genie!!! The hope is that if we so choose, we can be saved and accepted into the family of God!! For God sent His one and only son, Jesus into the world to save us and to redeem us to the be the praise of His glory!! Yes, that no one should perish but have everlasting life!! Wait..!! The hope is even more juicy than the fact that Jesus came to rescue us from the Lion!! Jesus not only loves you enough to die for you, even while you were still sinning, but he purifies you from all sin!! You are accepted!! He was forsaken, and you are now forgiven..He was rejected and you are now accepted!! You are in the arms of a Savior that forgives you unconditionally, and then purifies you perfectly and then offers you every single bit of eternity with Him!!!  Yes, I'm not only invited to the big party, I'm going as Jennifer, dressed in white and ready to please the one I was meant to please; His name is Jesus!!  We simply need to accept the fact that when the world rejects you, you have the only living God, arms open wide, waiting with full acceptance of you, His creation!! Somewhere in the notion that we are all sinners, we sometimes loose the message that God doesn't see where we are today, or yesterday!! God sees the beauty that He intended to make us into from the beginning!! There is nothing you can ever do to please this world and this world can never give you the eternal and unconditional acceptance that Jesus offers!! Did the World create you?? Does the World know you or your potential?? Only the master potter knows how to work the clay, knows its impurities and sensitivities, its thresholds and breaking points!! The question is not whether or not we are the clay; the question is who do you want to be your potter?? Sadly, Jennifer was about to find out that no matter how much her desire to fit in, be liked or have happy endings seemed to be what God must want for her, there is nothing shorter than the shelf life of magic carpet escapes and fairytales promises! Finally, Jennifer still had to learn that God was the prize and not what God could do for her; God is treasure more than enough!! Of course, one must really know that God offers us Himself!! We always talk about what He did for us on the cross and how we should be thankful!! Not that we shouldn't be thankful and talk about the Lord's sacrifice, but we must also talk about why He did it!! God is completely in love with you and has a perfect plan for you to live happily ever after with Him, totally safe and warm and completely accepted.

 In part III we will discuss the Genie effect; God is not your genie and you cannot keep Him hidden away in a little golden lamp!!  Sometimes we do hope to just get away and escape, don't we?? When the questions we have in our hearts scare us so badly that we just cannot hear the answer, the world normally tells us it's time to hop on a magic carpet and fly! Jennifer's parents are about to sell the house in Kansas and move back home to California!! "Is it safe??" asked princess Jasmine  "Sure! Do you trust me?" answered Aladdin ( who was lying to her by the way about his ID!! )  I hope you read part III as Jennifer learns that the world's promises have a shelf life shorter than strawberries,

Isaiah 40:7-9

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
   Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   but the word of our God endures forever.”
 ⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
   go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[a]
   lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
   say to the towns of Judah,
   “Here is your God!”

When was the last time that you really wanted to be accepted? Have you ever been afraid that someone might think badly of you or not like you?? Realize today that you were created for God!! God made you and God sees you for your potential in Him; you were wonderfully and fearfully made!! God does not make junk; God is a master craftsman and everything you are has a purpose in Him!! 

The Magic carpet, rejection persists and God still accepts us!

Oh Lord, take me away to your Kingdom forever!! 

Part 1 of 3
The anticipation of a romantic rescue and a daring magic carpet ride held Jennifer's heart for ransom! "Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling, on a magic carpet ride! A whole New World! Don't you dare close your eyes!" (Lyrics from the Disney hit, "A Whole New World", written by Alan Menkin).
As though Jennifer was actually on the magic carpet, she could feel the breeze and the force of the wind carrying her heart high in the sky! Freedom! Freedom! All the trials and all the troubles of Jr. High school were suddenly gone, as Jennifer flew higher towards the call that promised freedom; a magic carpet ride and a magic kiss from a handsome prince were promising to take her away from all of the pain. For a young girl who was trying to close her eyes through a difficult time, the promise of a prince that would take her away where she could experience life where it was safe just grabbed Jennifer! As we study together the call God gave to Jonah, we will also discover so much about the call God is sending to all of us; we are all called to surrender our lives in full. That's right!! No refunds, no excuses, and no turning back when we decide to follow Jesus! Oh! Freedom, glorious freedom will abide for us all in the Lord Jesus Christ!! As we will all discover through our study and wild ride upon the waves of doubt, the fastest way to sink our dreams is to run away from God's extreme! Yes, the fastest way to sink our dreams is to run away from God's extreme!! As well, the only way to follow God's extreme is to know Him and that He is good all the time!!
The truth is, there are many bumps in the road as we dare to follow Jesus! Yes, we can all relate to times when trusting left a bad taste in our mouths! No worries! As we will see, there is no taste that a little living water cannot wash away..and there are no scars that cannot be made beautiful in the potter's hand! Incidentally, the Lord took more than a few blows to lead us home. Perhaps we can remember that when the enemy tries to bring us down, or when the world leaves us lonely?? Perhaps we forget too easily how well the Lord can relate to feeling alone, abandoned, and abused?? For any of us to realize the reality about God, we must first start knowing Him and not just knowing about Him. Let's talk about how a young girl of 14 faced a few giants, wished for a magic carpet ride out of reality, and ended up finding out that she only knew about God, and she didn't know Him.


Growing up in the Lord is not really the best way to make friends!! Now, some of you are going to resist that statement. So, if the hairs on the back of your neck are standing on end for a minute...keep reading while I attempt to explain! Please understand that as Christians, we have all made a choice!! Sometimes it's so easy to forget that when we say yes to something wonderful, we are saying no to something else, the world! The Holy Bible is very clear about God saying, "no" to being friends with the world; we must not love the world or anything that is in the world, right?  Let's look at the word of the Lord and let Him answer everything for us,  


¹⁵ "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[a] is not in them. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world" (I John 1:15-16, NIV).  


Furthermore, we learn from the book of James,




"You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God" (James 4:4, NIV).  


Ultimately, we are all choosing a different king, a different influence, and the wrong direction when we choose anything other than God alone!! Just like Jonah, we choose another path that promises freedom and we run from the presence of the Lord!!


Consider a word from Joshua,
"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15, NIV).

Friends, we are not friends with this world and friends with God!! When you choose to become a Christian, you have chosen one God and one God alone!! He name is Jehovah, Emmanuel, Elohim, Jehovah Rafa, and Jesus, for He saves you from you sin! We are monotheists, not polytheists right?? There is no room in your heart for two masters, two ways to go, or two voices waring for your soul! Not surprisingly, a few of us will experience rejection if we endeavor to friend God, right? As a result, we find Jennifer, a Christian in Public Jr. High school, with no room for anyone or anything that might distract her from God!! "Yeah! Go Jennifer!!" we all shout. However, before you think Jennifer is so strong and needs some applause, let's take a look at what was really going on inside! I suppose all of you will humor me a bit as I attempt to share some really difficult struggles of mine through the book of Jonah, with hints from the movie, "Aladdin"???  Funny how this blog is about finding Nineveh and following God's call, considering the fact that Aladdin's story takes place in the middle east, not far from ancient Assyria and the capital city of Nineveh!  


So, here we find a lonely girl of 14, who was following what she knew about God! To be sure, loneliness and a lack of a deep, personal relationship with the Almighty is not good combination. So many young girls out there struggle with self image and end up not believing that they are worth very much! Well, I'm one of those who really struggled with the idea that when the world rejects you that that means you must not be valuable!! Yes, I did choose Christ alone and following Him sometimes meant the world said, "no" to me!! Even though God completely values us more than we could ever imagine, we don't always understand that do we?? What's more, we don't always understand the lengths God went to rescue us from death and destruction; God's rescue tops 10 times over any magic carpet ride or any daring rescue mission. However, make no mistakes about rejection and how the enemy will use it to tear down the Christian!! Yet, the enemy can never win in the attempt to destroy the light, if we are truly plugged into the source, Jesus! Therefore, if any of you reading has a daughter, sister, or if you are a young teen, I hope this post will show you what I wish I could have seen at the age of 14!  Oh how I wish that I had known my Savior intimately and not merely accepted Him on the basis of what I knew about Him!! Have you ever done that?? Have you ever kept using a product on the basis of the testimony others have made about the quality or usefulness? Well, how many rashes later do we throw the product away from our own personal encounter?? Honestly, we don't wait too long before we decide the product must not be good based upon our own experience! Have you ever been reluctant to try something another insists is good because you know that it could burn you?? Perhaps you, like me have been burned before?? Are you reluctant to trust God on the basis of fear???  How many times, as we will read, would it take Jennifer to get burned by rejection before she just said, "enough"!! Friends, we must stop knowing about God and start Knowing Him, if His perfect Love is going to drive out all fear...!!


 Ok! OK! Let's get into the story of the magic carpet, the rejection, and how God still waits to accept us, if we'll only let Him!  We will have this magic tale in three parts, so make sure to read more about the God that always has a plan to free us! Well, Let's talk about Aladdin!! 
Can you remember wanting that first kiss?? I know you know what I mean, right? Well, when the movie, Aladdin came out, I was going through a really tough time! To be sure, I wanted to follow God and completely had accepted that He was good for my life. Well, let's just say that that's all I had ever been taught and I had no reason to believe that the greatest story ever told was not true! In Fact, I believed that God was good and would therefore produce a great fairytale ending to my lonely teenage predicament in no time!! I had no idea that God was the prince, and the happy ending to every tear and to every struggle.  Would you like to hear the tale?


Jennifer shuddered walking down the hallway at her JR. High school between classes! So many were involved with drugs and sex and I'll save you the details!! Knowing that the Bible teaches that all those things were wrong and taboo, Jennifer stayed away! As a result, many tears were shed during lonely weekends and long classes with no one to whom Jennifer could relate. Yes, I'll never forget turning 14, living in Kansas and really feeling lonely!! I know meeting Timothy was a great thrill for me, a 13 yr. old looking for a fairytale, but the reality was that Timothy could not save me from the friends I didn't have!! Timothy couldn't take me away from the fact that my Christian standard eliminated any chance I would ever have of fitting in at school. As well, I remember how Timothy even wrote me a letter after I returned home from the beach that summer and how my heart just soared! As it appeared to me, Tim accepted me and no one was accepting me!! On November 24th, 1992, Aladdin hit the box office!! I was barely 14, and I completely could not believe my eyes! Oh my heavens!! Aladdin looked just like Timothy!! Wow!! Seriously, the Disney animators mind as well have asked Tim to pose for Aladdin!! Now, I know that I was barely 11 when the Little Mermaid captured my heart (I posted that incorrectly on my other blog, sorry!!), but I had not thought it possible for Disney to top the magical escape Ariel beckoned me to take!! Never could I have been more wrong about Disney!! When I first saw Aladdin come on the screen, I was completely smitten!! Not only did I get out all my sketch pads and start to draw his adorable face, but I learned every bit of that song, "A Whole New World"!! As well, I proceeded to sing the lyrics all the time, almost as if I was sleeping beauty dancing the dark fears away in an enchanted forest!! Being a classical pianist, I also purchased the musical score from the Aladdin movie and learned to play the songs by heart!! Naturally!! Inevitably, I began to dream of a whole new world, where Timothy and others accepted me for who I was and the pain of rejection and the traps of the world could be taken away with one single kiss!! Hold it...!!! Wait just a minute!!! Magic carpet rides and Cartoon fantasies are not the hope that we have in Christ!!!! Are you kidding me?? How on earth did I not realize that Jesus was offering me His love, love that could never be taken from me, never!! Look at this tale of my life!! "Look! I'm so ticked off that I'm molting" ( from the scene in Aladdin where Iago just lost the chance to have the golden lamp).  As for what Jennifer would have needed to know, let's read the promises of the Bible,


As the Scripture says, 



 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37-38, NIV).

Again, I did not know or understand how personal God really wanted to be with me, or that His love was really accessible!! Rejection hurts, and when you are rejected because of your chosen standards at 14, you either rejoice because God accepts you or you turn to something else that promises to accept you!! Confession time is upon us, and I declare to you that Jennifer had turned to something else that would accept her for lack of understanding that the only one who's acceptance she needed was God's! The trouble is the same as always when we make friends with the world! The whole new world that promises freedom will always disappoint and will always fade away...!! In large contrast, the hope of God is eternity with Him in His Perfect Love!! Nothing!! No, Nothing can separate you from it and it can never ever die!! Now, that's happily ever after...!!


However, we have to know that the greatest story ever told in the gospel is not just good news about God...!! We have to understand the freedom it truly offers to us all!! We will continue with the crash of the magic carpet, the crash of a first kiss, and the beginning of a dark cave of wonders, where Jennifer wondered deep down if God was worth the fight! Again, Jennifer turns to a safe distraction..a delay of sorts on the narrow road to God's grace and Love. Sadly, Jennifer was about to find out that those little distractions would not last, and her false image of God would never hold up against the arrows and disappointments that this world affords!! As we tell more about my life in the next few blogs, we will discover that rejection from the world will kill you fast, without a true understanding of our personal God and how He is good all the time!! Truly, I appreciate the readers allowing me the detour away from Jonah for a blog or two!! As the story unfolds, we will read more about how an authentically personal walk with the Lord makes all the difference. Moreover, we will learn more about how Jonah needed a face to face encounter with the Almighty, where knowing about God would become knowing Him!! If you've ever felt rejected and wondered if you cannot take it anymore...please keep reading...whether you are 14 or 74..I'm certain the message will touch your life the way it's touching mine; God's still in Love with you and He accepts you! Oh for sure, He accepts you where you are, for who you are! Finally, God is completely willing and able to take you on a magic carpet ride where the magic never ends, for the Power of God's Love can never run dry!!

Follow me, says the Lord, only trust me first!!

Even the Wind Obeys the Lord...
"Jonah, Jonah, Jonah!" God persisted to call into the storm.  "Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer!" God beckoned through the lightening.  "Follow me"says the Sovereign Lord!  Even so, Jonah, a dove with a broken wing, tries to fly far far away from the presence of the Lord to preserve a life of comfort that he could never keep in the first place! Even so, Jennifer, a young lady of 21, attempts to devise a similar plan, a plan to serve God in a way that kept comfort on the throne! Silently, Jennifer and Jonah sleep deeply! The winds began to roar and the waves began to crash and the boat began to break away!! Resolved in the effort to carry out a plan, devised by man, not God, the storm simply rocked Jonah into a deep sleep of denial and deception!! Jennifer, determined to make a plan work, a plan wrought by a lack of trust in the King of Kings, allowed the storm to brew! Tragically, Jennifer ignored the waves as they crashed and slammed her boat, blocked out the thunderous rain, and closed her eyes to the severity of the lightening as it flashed all around the sky! Oh if only we knew how good God really is, we might trust Him! We have such a poor and broken image of what is offered to us that we accept so much less than God's best for our lives! In fact, as we are about to learn from the prophet Jonah, we will even tempt a great storm to keep a poor imitation of God's plan; we will close our eyes and wait out the voice that calls us to the unknown!  Oh, if only we understood that there is only life full, abundant and free in complete surrender to His will! Our life is not ours to preserve, or plan! Truly, as the Bible makes plain, we cannot add one single hair to our head or one hour to our lives!! One of my favorite quotes reads, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose" (Jim Elliot, martyred missionary). Pamela Reeve collected beautiful quotes from missionaries around the world about the topic of faith. I'd like to share with you two of my absolute favorites,  "Faith is the conviction of realities I cannot see or feel." Also, Pamela quotes, "faith is knowing that the kingdom of God is based upon His promises, not upon feelings."  One of the reasons I love Pamela Reeve's book is largely due to the fact that I've always treasured the lives of the missionaries! To be sure, I treasure the faith it takes to just say, "yes" to the Lord no matter the cost. Undeniably, and unashamedly, I will boast about the surrender that our Nazarene missionaries display every time they get on a plane and head out to situations unknown and to cultures that are not comfortable.  Never, Never take for granted the fact that those God calls, he also equips, but all that to say, the life of the foreign missionary takes great surrender. My Grandfather, Bill Little, now deceased, wrote about the way our Nazarene missionaries spoke to him, "If we could only slice off a corner of the Missionaries' faith! Does God call a missionary because of his faith, or is his faith developed out of a dependence on God?  Whichever the case, it is a faith to be envied and a goal to be reached"  (Scalpel Please, p.29).  My grandfather, volunteered in Manzini, Swaziland as a medical surgeon and really had his eyes opened wide to the sacrifice and the miracle of surrender in each of the missionaries' lives.  The truth in Grandpa's quote is that it is a goal for all of us to reach, for God calls all of us to serve in total surrender.  Yet, most Christians on the home front don't truly follow that call, whether it's a call to go on foreign soil, or a call to be a pastor, or something else! In fact, many of us do not get out of our boat and say, "yes" no matter the cost.  We will read more about my own personal battle in trusting the Lord many blogs from now!! We struggle to trust God whenever it gets in the way of our fallen image of what we thought God was doing!!  Yes, there is a trust issue we all must come to terms with if we want our compass set at true north!! We must be willing to stand upon His promise; we must not base anything on sight, but upon He who gives true sight to us, God!  Let's close with a Scripture, and a question!

Matthew 19:19-21

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’^[a] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b]”
 ²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
 ²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”


Wow!! I have a question for you and for me..for the missionary and for the layman...What dream...or possession are you still trying to keep with you on earth...?? What do you need to send into God's hands, in heaven?? Truly, when we do that...we will say, "yes" to the Lord and follow Him to the ends of the earth..where He will be with us forever!! 

The Golden Ticket to Tarshish...

 O.k. we will return later to Jennifer's whale of a tale..for that story gets wet and wilder!! However, let's take a look at her ancient look alike, Jonah!! According to Biblecharts.org, there were some pretty interesting facts about Jonah!! First of all, did you know that Jonah's name means, "dove"? Seeing how Jonah is later used as a sign and or symbol by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I found this intriguing to say the least! Being a Nazarene and missions guru, I have always cherished seeing the logo of our Church's seal put on Churches around the World.  Symbols always point the way to something greater don't they?? Well, as you can see from the logo above, there is a dove and a splash of Holy fire; holiness is the main point of victory in our church's doctrinal base! All that to say, the dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and His role in bringing conviction through the fiery process of Sanctification for those who surrender it all to God!  Wow, the prophet Jonah is a real person and yet a symbol and representation of our lives when they are not fully surrendered to the Savior, not totally under the control of the Holy Spirit! Friends, peace only comes like a dove, when our hearts are surrendered, our sin consumed like fire, and our steps ordered by the Holy Spirit!  Alright, so what are the facts! We have Jonah, a dove, not yet sanctified in His call to be God's prophet.  Yes, Jonah is a symbol to all of a life that needs the power and wisdom of the Holy spirit; all of us can admit that we need the Holy Spirit every hour!!  Not only do we need the Holy Spirit every hour, but we need to allow the Spirit to help us get a grip on directions.  Just like a treasure map that has been rent in two pieces is humanity after the fall of man!! Only through the reading of the word along with the guidance of the Holy spirit to understand it, will we ever be able to navigate in the right direction.  Heaven knows that we need a compass and we need to make sure that we understand how to read that compass.   Let's examine exactly where Jonah was located and how he might have ended up so far from the right place!! When Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, he was a resident and native of Galilee, only three miles away from Nazareth. Interestingly, Jonah  enjoyed being a prophet amongst his own people and right outside Jesus' future hometown! Sometimes we are on a journey to find the world's greatest treasure; we have a treasure map to take us to the gold. However, while we are walking the roads and rowing across the rivers of life, we sometimes find ourselves under a very shady Oak tree, beautiful Olive branch, or a gorgeous rainbow of promise! In fact, sometimes we tell ourselves that we have arrived and that God's dream for us can stop because our surroundings make us happy and content!!  After all, if we like to read the newspaper, why try a novel?? Therefore, we must understand that life will sometimes offer you a deal that is really convenient and wonderful; many times good is not great, and nice is not God's best!  Is Jonah's nice situation in Galilee like any of your situations in ministry?? Have any of you set up ministry in a very sweet spot? Furthermore, have any of you followed God's call into ministry and not been inconvenienced very much yet??  Finally, have any of you ever asked yourselves if you would be willing to give up one ministry that is completely delicious and perfectly pleasurable to you and been shocked at your own level of resistance??  As we will learn later as I give more of my own personal testimony, I became resistant to the change that following God would have brought to the ministry I had planned.  Let's jump back into the book of Jonah shall we??  

Jonah 1

New International Version (NIV)

Jonah 1

Jonah Flees From the LORD

 ¹ The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” ³ But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
 ⁴ Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
   But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”




Alright, time to buckle up and resist the wind if you dare!! Let me paint a picture for you!! Imagine with me for a minute that you are snuggled up in your bed!! Completely exhausted, you have finally reached that blissful moment of perfect sleep! Moreover, imagine that the warm and inviting covers and blankets are holding you just right. In fact, your head has found that spot in the pillow where comfort carries your worries away! Now, suddenly your alarm goes off and two hours too early!! AHHHHHHH!! What is the first thing that we all do when that horrible situation takes place??? We shut it ____!! You fill in the blank!! We bury our head into the pillow and desperately try to find the serenity that has been lost!! Just like Jonah...we try so hard to hold onto our serenity, not realizing that the road ahead is more than serene, it's eternity with the Prince of Peace!! Just like Don Quixote, we chase the windmill and try to build castles in Spain...Yikes!! Jonah...the prophet of God, tried the best he could to get out of the picture so that God would send someone else and he could keep his sweet picture of what he had settled for somewhere long ago: Fools Gold!! Jonah bought a golden ticket to Tarshish to hold onto a life that he mistakenly thought was golden!! Yet,  the ticket turned out to be a fool's golden ticket to the bottom of the sea...!!

⁴ Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. ⁵ All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

   But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

  Wow, to think that Jonah even went to sleep as the sailors were fighting off the storm!! Fools Gold!! We try and try so hard to make something work, when we cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip...and we cannot make our plans into the plans of God!! Go ahead and close your eyes in order to wait out the storm!! I dare you!! However, you will find that the waves will only get bigger and the thunder will only become louder until you realize that you are not your own!! You were all bought at a price..therefore honor God with your life!!


The reality is that we all have a treasure map written on our hearts...and the real gold for us all is God, His Son Jesus and His precious Holy Spirit! Do not be fooled by fools Gold...Go for God's gold..for the life He brings will last forever..don't settle for temporary...wait on God and reap eternity!!


When was the last time you settled for temporary happiness and missed a piece of His eternity?? I'll leave you with an encouragement on this matter,

Ephesians 3:7-9

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁷ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. ⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, ⁹ and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.


The greatest hope we have is that our Hope is in the God of grace!! Praise the Lord..even when we run..he is faithful..Even when we sin..God forgives..Only by the gift of grace we partake in a calling that brings us to the true treasure and then beckons us to bring the same treasure to those who do not know the Hope of Jesus!!  Go for the Gold and then by His grace..tell the whole world!!

His Love doesn't run!!!

 God's Love doesn't Run!!!
Now I admit that the last post was a little mean, I guess!! I sort of left everyone hanging out to dry!! So, where were we?? Without further delay, let's continue my story about a boy, a California beach and a dream for something that only God could give.  Now, I'm going to rename this person because it's one thing to talk about your own testimony and quite another to name someone else, alright?  Let's call him Timothy! So there I was enjoying the peace of a breezy and peaceful day at the beach, when I saw a young teenager, about my age, coming out of the water.  From rich brown hair to tanned skin and dark, mysterious eyes, Timothy had my full attention!! My heart began to race and I suddenly became very aware of every little hair that might be out of place and how every single inch of me might appear to anyone that was watching!  Notice please that I cared very little about how my heart was doing, only how my physical attributes might measure up to a worldly standard that suddenly mattered to me.  Noteworthy for us all is the fact that the moment we exchange the truth of God for a lie, we are following the world and not God..we are being led astray!!!!!!

Romans 1:24-26

New International Version (NIV)

 ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.  

Alright I'm sure the readers are thinking that is a bit extreme?? The moment we desire something of the world more than we desire God, who stands in judgement over this world, we are worshipping something else!! Perhaps the reason that we don't become convicted by certain verses of the Bible is because we do not fully grasp how personally they were written for us! Moreover, we remain unaware that these warnings are very applicable to our situations and struggles; never detach yourself from any admonition in His Word lest you fall into sin and stumble. Again, in 1 John 2:15

On Not Loving the World

 ¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[a] is not in them. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.


Friends, if you are loving the ways and the things or anything of this world, you are not loving God; the two are diametrically opposed! Yes, we are to love the people with God's love to save and to redeem them, but we are not to love them and treasure what they offer at any point in time!!


 Treasuring every moment of the rush I felt and craving to have a shot at the fairytale, I shoved my sister and told her to look over where his towel was and frantically asked her if I looked alright! My sister just completely laughed, "It's about time you noticed boys! Well, which one is he?  Wow! He's actually pretty cute!" she admitted.  "So what do I do?" I asked quickly with a slight edge of nervous energy.  "Go say, 'hi'", she retorted, not believing for a second that I would actually have the courage to do or say anything.  Well, in short, she was wrong! I walked right up to where Timothy was sitting and said, "Hi"! A little surprised, he said, "Heah!"  "I'm Jennifer! What's your name?" I asked on sheer adrenaline as my sister stared over at us with her mouth open! We began to talk and to exchange real small bits of information. For instance, Timothy gave me his name and asked if I was here with my family! After telling him that I was here with my mom and dad and brother and sister, the one who still had her mouth open in shock, something inside me started to stir!  You have to understand that when you have given your life over to God at an altar and then been baptized in front of the body of believers that those actions are not just outward signs; every outward sign is followed immediately by an inward grace! I remember thinking I could just get lost in those deep brown eyes, so full of mystery and the promise of a love that I thought I understood to be good! Yet, something beckoned me to ask him if he believed in God and in fact was a Christian!!  Even though my little 13 year old brain had subconsciously chosen a fairy tale over the Love of God, I still knew that I needed to keep God in the picture! We're very good at understanding that God can be useful to us and we therefore attempt to keep Him at arms length! Well, Tim answered, "yes, and in fact we go to the Nazarene Church in Glendora, California! Oh my heavens, how incredibly perfect!!  With God in my pocket and a very cute "Nazarene" boy right in front of me, love was in the air!! The truth is that I was being convinced of so many things based on nothing other than feelings and distorted fantasies! Don't get me wrong!! I still love the Little Mermaid and I still love to watch my son and my nieces and nephews light up inside when good conquers evil and Cinderella meets the prince!! However, there is a really big point here that I don't want us to miss!! Somewhere in the poor imitation Walt Disney or Hollywood have to offer and the moment when we realize that fantasy is not real and that people are not perfect, we forget that there is a God that IS PERFECT!!!!!!!!  Yes, the ideas that Disney puts out really do beckon us all don't they?? Yet, what is the real message and the real hope behind each fairytale?? Behold, the lie: somewhere out there is a person who is perfect!! Did you get that?? The lie we are all being told is that there is a person who is perfect, who can rescue you, who can be the answer to any problem and who can overcome insurmountable odds!!! Friends, we have all hopefully come to understand that no PERSON is perfect, and that no PERSON can save you from anything!! Yet, once we discover that people are fallible, we simply have the tendency to lose hope in any good purpose for our lives. Tragically, we forget that just because people cannot save you doesn't mean that that's it for us!! Praise the Lord, He offers us sooo much more than the fairy tale!! A few posts ago, I asked you to read Jeremiah 29:11 because God knows He has great plans for you!! When we first meet someone like Timothy, or any other that becomes significant to us, we have a very small window into who they are or what we can really know about them. Remember always that man is fallen and we cannot know the heart of a man like God does; we only know that we are all sinners and that not one is righteous.  Romans 3 declares that "not one is righteous for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"!! Put your trust in God because His Love is unfailing..it never ends and His light will never lead you astray!! When you long for peace in a trial and when you yearn for something to take away the pain consider the truth God wrote to you in Lamentations 3:7,

⁷ I have been deprived of peace;

   I have forgotten what prosperity is.

¹⁸ So I say, “My splendor is gone

   and all that I had hoped from the LORD.”

 ¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,

   the bitterness and the gall.

²⁰ I well remember them,

   and my soul is downcast within me.

²¹ Yet this I call to mind

   and therefore I have hope:

 ²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

   for his compassions never fail.

²³ They are new every morning;

   great is your faithfulness.

²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;

   therefore I will wait for him.”

 ²⁵ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,

   to the one who seeks him;

²⁶ it is good to wait quietly

   for the salvation of the LORD.

²⁷ It is good for a man to bear the yoke

   while he is young.

 ²⁸ Let him sit alone in silence,

   for the LORD has laid it on him.

²⁹ Let him bury his face in the dust—

   there may yet be hope.

³⁰ Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,

   and let him be filled with disgrace.

 ³¹ For no one is cast off

   by the Lord forever.

³² Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

   so great is his unfailing love.

³³ For he does not willingly bring affliction

   or grief to anyone.

Consider that what most of us want is the security that we will be loved for who we are and that that love   will be perfect and eternal! Friends what we are longing for is God and we forget that so easily!!
To continue with reality, Timothy and I talked on the beach, went swimming together in the ocean and then in a few days the whole romance was over!! Regrettably, I went back to Kansas and Tim continued to go to Jr. High School in Glendora! The truth is that, "Happily Ever After" always ends right after it begins with humanity!! There is not one person that can claim to love perfectly, or who can claim that their life will last one moment beyond what God allows!! All men are like grass and the body withers and the flowers fail..but the Word of the Lord stands forever!! Verily, there is only One Everlasting Father, who's voice is like the rushing waters and who's light fights for you with all consuming fire! Praise the Name of Jesus, Praise the Name of Jesus...He's my Rock, He's my deliverer, He's my fortress and in Him will I trust...Praise the Name of Jesus...!!!!!! The greatest news of all....guys and gals...is that He is available..and He is interested in YOU!!!!! He is pursuing you!!!!!! He has conquered death...even death on a cross and is sitting on His throne as King..asking you..to let Him Love you with a love that doesn't run...!! A Scripture to ponder...

Jeremiah 31:2-4

New International Version (NIV)

 ² This is what the LORD says:
   “The people who survive the sword
   will find favor in the wilderness;
   I will come to give rest to Israel.”
 ³ The LORD appeared to us in the past,^[a] saying:
   “I have loved you with an everlasting love;
   I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
⁴ I will build you up again,
   and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt.
Again you will take up your timbrels (tambourines)
   and go out to dance with the joyful.

Also remember that Zephaniah 3 brings us great promises of Love and Mercy concerning our God,

"The Lord you God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV).

Just a question: When was the last time you hoped for something good to come from a person? When was the last time you hoped Man would love you with an everlasting kind of love?? Perhaps even as adults, we desire something from people that we can only receive from the Lord God almighty!! Only when we choose God to be our Love, our only Love will He fill our surrendered hearts with unbelievable fullness of Joy, blessing, mercy and peace! "Oh fill my cup Lord! I lift it up Lord! Come and fill the thirsting of my soul! Bread of Heaven fill me till I want no more..I lift my cup, come fill it up and make me whole" (Fill my cup Lord, Nazarene Hymnal). More on the Prophet Jonah tomorrow!! Get ready to get shipwrecked, and a bit bewildered, beguiled and then beckoned by God!!