Divine Addiction

Don't be caged.

We are addictive people. I believe we've been created that way. You've heard the song from Plumb that says, 

"There's a God-shaped hole in all of us
and the restless soul is searching. 
There's a God-shaped hole in all of us, 
and it's a void only He can fill."

Addiction to God will set us free. 

Addiction to anything else will cage us.  

It's from Acts 17:

"Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: 'People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: "To an Unknown God." So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.  The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  

"God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.  For in him we live and move and have our being."

We will be addicted to something. Let it be the One who created you and knows you best, but loves you most! He gave the very life of his Son to set you free from every shackling addiction. Feed your God-addiction by listening to Him, watching how He works, inquiring of Him, dreaming of Him, thinking about Him, thanking Him, meditating on his words, trusting Him, responding to Him, submitting to Him, and clinging to Him. Fill the hole, and be whole! 

God + me = a whole person. 

Be Free!

All of the Above

Day 134
One writer tells you that, in order to get somewhere with Me -- to get a breakthrough -- you've got to take risks, step out in faith. Someone else says to praise your way out of your doldrums and through your difficulty. Another author admonishes you to get into My presence for bigger blocks of time on a daily basis. One teacher says you must realize who you are in Chist, live as if you are seated in the heavenlies with Him right now -- live from heaven toward earth. Someone else tells you to discipline yourself, study and memorize my word, and cement more holy habits into your daily walk. Another preacher encourages you to spend greater amounts of time in quiet listening prayer, allow my Spirit to hover over you and minister to you. Others stress the great importance of praying in the Spirit, building yourself up on your most holy faith.

So what am I saying to you? Yes to all of the above! Deliberately come after Me with everything you've got. There is no end, there is no limit to Me. Run headlong, keep your shoulder to the grindstone, jump off the great cliff of certainty into my ocean of surprising grace. Keep your hand to the plow, laugh and sing and dance hilariously with Me in the heavens; sit on my lap, your head on my chest, and let Me sing you to sleep. Never stop pressing in to know Me more.

But even there, if you seek God, your God, you'll be able to find him if you're serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. -- Deuteronomy 4:29 [The Message]

And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. -- 1 Chronicles 28:9 [NLT]

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. -- Jeremiah 29:13 [NIV]

Are you Motivated?

Day 133
What are your core values? What is the motivation for your actions? Is it about being comfortable in this world and being accepted and loved by people? Why do you do the things you do?

If you are compelled to do and say things in order to make a way for yourself in this world, that is what you will have: the temporary, decaying teasures of this world. Nothing of this world will last. It is fading away before your eyes -- you can't deny it. Every material thing will be used up.

The Last Clematis Blossom

Then what should you be spending your time and energy on? Watch for Me. I am pure love. My everlasting love transcends time, heals all wounds, brings joy to the oppressed, feeds the hungry, mends the broken, and makes all things new. Watch for Me. See where I am moving, and move with Me. You will be my partner in these things.

Is that good motivation?

People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. -- Matthew 6:32-33 [The Message]

The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken, announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of his grace—a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies—and to comfort all who mourn, to care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, Messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.

Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness" planted by God to display his glory. They'll rebuild the old ruins, raise a new city out of the wreckage. They'll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind and make it new. You'll hire outsiders to herd your flocks and foreigners to work your fields, but you'll have the title "Priests of God," honored as ministers of our God. You'll feast on the bounty of nations, you'll bask in their glory. "Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt, your inheritance in the land will be doubled and your joy go on forever. Because I, God, love fair dealing and hate thievery and crime, I'll pay your wages on time and in full, and establish my eternal covenant with you. Your descendants will become well-known all over. Your children in foreign countries Will be recognized at once as the people I have blessed."

I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul! He dressed me up in a suit of salvation, he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara. For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms, so the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations. -- Isaiah 61 [The Message]

Cold Weather -- Mum!

Infinity

Day 132
Why do you think I gave you an imagination? So you can meditate on Me. With your finite mind, you cannot comprehend my thoughts. My ways of thinking are far beyond you. But if you give your imagination to Me, let my Spirit take the wheel and drive you into the deep of my heart, you will begin to experience more of Me.

What do you enjoy in my creation? Basking in a beautiful sunset at the ocean's shore? Riding the exhilerating white waters of a mighty river that splits through a formidible canyon? Resting in the peaceful quiet of the great redwood forest, sparking sunlight gently falling on your shoulders through the treetops? Reaching the peak of a Rocky mountaintop, sharing the eagle's view, miles of amazing beauty stretching out beneath my sky of blue? Staring into the black, star-speckled night, resting in perfect peace on a hilltop far away from every manmade thing? Walking through a beautiful garden, fragrant breezes flowing over flowers and grasses, hedges and shrubs of every pastel and brilliant color, size and shape?

Let these places be doorways of your imagination for my Spirit to take you into new discoveries of who I am and how I long to reveal myself to your heart. Fix your mind and heart on the immensity of Me.

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. -- Psalm 42:7

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. -- Psalm 23:2

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. -- Revelation 21:10

For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms, so the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations. -- Isaiah 61:11

The wall was jasper, the color of Glory, and the City was pure gold, translucent as glass. The foundations of the City walls were garnished with every precious gem imaginable: the first foundation jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate a single pearl. The main street of the City was pure gold, translucent as glass. -- Revelation 21:17-21