Just Let Me Love Jesus...

So... after two years of Grad School, various papers on all manner of Theological, Historical, Practical Ministerial areas of interest and assignment, it all still just comes back to Knowing and Loving Jesus more and better and then Loving people like He did. It's still so simple...

Lord Jesus, please just let me love you as my first love again. Sorry that things have been 'cluttered' for so long... I just want to rest in You and abide in You and be Yours, first and best... Sorry I've let so many things and so many people 'toss me about' for so long! Spirit of God, could you, would you... take me back to where I once was...? Simple faith, trust... Simply believing, simply trusting, simply Yours?

I'm thankful for all You've given me... thankful for all I've learned... yet I STILL long to 'live in Your Presence' and to love others as if they were You, Yourself here.... Lord, please turn Your ear to me and 'hear my cry... for I am weak' and weary and STILL needing You... only You!

I would have my little ones learn of You through my life... my love for You... I would have my wife and kids and extended family and friends learn of You through me... daily. May You be lifted up in me and through me (or if need be, inspite of me).

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord... My Rock and My Redeemer!

King David...

Sometimes doing what God wants...

means running from cave to cave, sleeping on rocks and singing laments.

means holding on to God with 'white-knuckled' faith - until God does within us
that which He's been doing in us.

means trusting in God
- that He will absolutely finish the things He promised Himself
He would do in us and through us -
before He thought of creating us.


Faith, Love and Hope to you...

In Jesus,

TDJ

This is my Gospel...

Remember Jesus Christ... raised from the dead, descended from David.

This was Paul's gospel handed down to his 'son' in the Lord, Timothy. Don't you love it when phrases 'shape' your world? I'm not talking about 'bumper sticker' religious slogans... I'm talking about 'truth' that 'slices...' 'cuts deep...' penetrates our being!

Jesus was right in saying that "People do not live by food alone." We live, exist, 'find reason to continue on' because we 'get life' from the 'words' of God.

Truth doesn't fix everything... but it feeds our souls and keeps us going!

God's Word is vast...

I just finished a 'sermon brief' that covers eleven verses in the Book of 1 Thessalonians, chapter Five. I've copied, diagrammed, syntaxed, and translated the verses from Greek into English (as best I am able at this 'front end' of my knowledge of the language) in no less than about 30 hours. And I am still 'just scratching the surface' of my understanding of these verses in their Literary, Historical, and Theological contexts. I could probably spend the next six years of my life on a Doctoral Thesis about these verses and still feel overwhelmed by them!

Oh Lord, my God... How unsearchable are your thoughts, how vast are your imaginings. How is it that you even think of us, much less love us and 'bleed' for us? How amazing to think that your 'Blazing Glory' came near to us through the Incarnation of Jesus. How mysterious that transcendent Divinity would/could 'taste' of humanity and become 'her' sacrifice? Lord God... thank you, thank you.... thank you.

Serving the Body of Christ...

So... I've been thinking about how every Christian is a part of Jesus Christ's Body a.k.a the Church. If EVERY follower of Jesus is exquisitely fashioned to do EXACTLY what our Lord intended for her/him to do in His Kingdom, then one of the things I can do to love you is to help you discover 'where you fit' in His Body. This means that, together, we can embrace our differences (in His Body) instead of trying to 'help' each other become more like ourself for the sake of our comfort or insecurity. This, then, would define an 'inclusive love:' I love you by welcoming your diversity and by helping you serve Jesus with me - in unity - in Jesus' body. And if I fail to do this, I do not love you. If I do not love you, the Body of Christ suffers. And if the Body of Christ suffers, I suffer from that as well. Hmmm....

Technology...?

Wow... the pace of techno-change is staggering, isn't it? The last time I tried to 'upgrade' my 'savvy' I think I posted two or fewer 'items' on some mysterious 'blast from the past' called FANDANGO...

I hope that I can 'keep up with things' this time around! I'm happy to be 'reconnecting' with some people that I haven't seen or spoken with for 'years.' But I'm also finding that all this 'time-saving' technology is slowly stealing hours from me. If I'm not careful, I'll waste time FACEBOOKING, or BLOGGING, or just trying to figure out more about how these things are supposed to work (to save time, of course).

Nonetheless, I'm hoping to 'use for the Kingdom' these opportunities to 'be in people's lives' again - regardless of how 'synthetic' some of this feels to this 'old-schooler!'

Faith, Hope, and Love to you....

TDJ

Languages....

I've been trying to figure out which translation of the Bible I am going to use to study with, read for pleasure, preach from, and learn to memorize scriptures from. As result, I've spent a couple of HOURS, literally, looking through Bibles - at bookstores, in libraries, even on the internet. And I still have not picked one...

Two things have come to my mind in this process: 1. How thankful I am to HAVE A CHOICE of Bible translations to choose from (I think I will find a way to 'pour support' into some new 'Bible Project' in the near future) and 2. How grateful I am that our Heavenly Father was able to 'choose a translation of Himself' to share with us; and that Jesus is not only God's 'translation' to us, but He... is 'translatable' into every language here among us...!

Faith, Hope, and Love be yours, more and more...

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life...

Lately, I've been finding comfort in the simple truth that Jesus is indeed who He said He was; One with the Father, the Son of Man, the Way, the Truth, the Life...

This must mean that any who are looking for life, truth, or God in any sort of authentic manner will find Jesus Himself, waiting for them... And this will happen because they have looked and He has 'let Himself' be found by them... for them...