Bringing EVERYONE back into the fold

Many think that God is looking forward to casting people away into judgment and dooming all of those who do not believe in the Son. On the contrary! Is that what a Father would desire for His children. Look at how Anne Cetas of Our Daily Bread puts it eloquently:

In our Bible-study class, we were reading Ephesians 4:17-24 out loud when Alyssa began to cry. Most of us were wondering why, when she quietly said, “I’m crying because hearing this passage read out loud makes me see the condition that lost people are in. They’re separated from God and are blind to it! That breaks my heart.”

One person in the class admitted later that he was embarrassed he had never felt that sad about nonbelievers and had in the past even talked excitedly about the judgment they would receive one day from God.

The apostle Paul laid out the condition of the lost with these words: “[They have] their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God . . . because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:18). He testified that he had “great sorrow and continual grief in [his] heart” because his fellow countrymen had not yet come to know the love of Christ (Rom. 9:1-3).

As we think about the condition of nonbelievers, we can remember God’s heart toward them: “The Lord is . . . longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). When we share the Word of God and pray earnestly for others, eyes will be opened to His love. — Anne Cetas

God wishes to commune with all members of His one big, happy family. Just as He yearns to bring back the lost, so should we.

"The Love of God"

What a beautiful, vivid hymn this is...

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies
of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll
contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." -Ephesians 3:17-19

And, furthermore...

Following up the previous post:

[Paul prayed], "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." -Ephesians 1:17 (I came upon this during my daily morning devotional. See how God works?!)

And, furthermore:

[The Lord says], "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity." -Jeremiah 29:12-14 (WOW... Talk about a verse sending shivers down the spine. So powerful.)

The wisdom of this world may help you understand a few things, but the wisdom of God will help you know HIM better - the God who created ALL of these things you so futilely try to understand on your own. Know God, then everything else will follow.
Seeking the treasures and satisfactions of this world can only satisfy you so much, and that satisfaction is temporary and fleeting. God knows that when you have exhausted all of the worldly options, you will see that God is the only satisfaction you ever really needed. God knows that you will seek Him and you will find Him. "I will be found by you," says the Lord. He waits patiently. He knows how foolish His children are, trying to satiate themselves with the ways and desires of the world. But, still, He waits, the loving and patient Father that He is. When we have nowhere else to turn, we turn to Jesus, where we should have turned to all along. With all your heart, when you take that first step to Him, you will be free, freed from "captivity." No more shackles, no more burdens - the wisdom of God sets us free. PTL, AMEN!!


On a totally random tangent, how can you not think that this is the funniest thing you've ever seen? Man, he's quick for a Dubya.