JESUS’ LOVE DRAWS US NOW

I cannot prove to you that Jesus will accept you, should you come into His presence to let down your guard. I can tell you that the whole character of Jesus as we meet Him in the Gospels suggests this kind of love. "Come to Me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest," said Jesus in a famous passage (Matthew 11:28).  I can tell you as well that this love has been true for me and others… In Jesus' presence we may safely drop our strengths and reveal our weakness…

It takes faith, in the presence of all the voices that condemn us, to open up the old wounds before God. Jesus' love… draws us now. One elicits the other: faith and forgiving love. They circle around each other in glorious harmony.

I wish you the courage to enter that loop and be swept up in the healing love of Jesus. 

-- Gerrit Scott Dawson in “Heartfelt”

#6400

WE THINK OF DEATH AS AN ENDING

We picture death as coming to destroy; let us rather picture Christ as coming to save. We think of death as an ending; let us rather think of life as a beginning, and that more abundantly. We think of losing; let us think of gaining. We think of parting; let us think of meeting. We think of going away; let us think of arriving. And as the voice of death whispers, "You must go from earth", let us hear the voice of Christ saying, "You are but coming to Me."

Jesus said to His disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”  (John 14:1-3 NIV)

-- Norman Macleod

#5710

COME TO ME

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  (Matthew 11:28-29 NIV)

Jesus speaks to those like me (and you?) who are weary and burdened by the stresses of life, whether self-imposed or unavoidable. Come. One simple action is all that is needed. An entreaty. An invitation. Come. Sit in a nest of rest -- near My altar. It’s what I want for you. 

-- Elisa Morgan