God twisted his lips ....

From a book titled "Mortal Lessons," by Richard Selzer, M.D.

"I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face postoperative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be thus from now on. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had to cut the little nerve. "

Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily?

The young woman speaks. "Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks. "Yes," I say, "it will. It is because the nerve was cut."

She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. "I like it," he says, "It is kind of cute."

All at once I know who he is. I understand and I lower my gaze. One is not bold in an encounter with a god. Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that there kiss still works."

Touching story. Brennan Manning makes an observation on this passage which I thought was so cool. In 2 Corinthians 5:19 it says, "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." KJV

Even though in this world we are touched by our own consequences and the consequences of others action, sickness, alcoholism, broken relationships, insecurity, hatred, jealously, cancer and on and on. This was all experienced by our Lord, "a thing despised and rejected by men" Isaiah 53:3. Its as though God twisted his lips to accommodate our sinful selves, scripture shows He loves us so!

Just thought I would bring this up ... Tim

Another Christian Atlas

"God's love is based on nothing (we do), and the fact that it is based on nothing makes us secure. Were it based on anything we do, and that "anything" were to collapse, then God's love would crumble as well. But with the God of Jesus no such thing can possibly happen. People who realize this can live freely and to the fullest. Remember Atlas, who carries the whole world? We have Christian Atlases who mistakenly carry the burden of trying to deserve God's love. Even the mere watching of this lifestyle is depressing. I'd like to say to Atlas: 'Put that globe down and dance on it. That's why God made it.' And to the weary Christian Atlases: "Lay down your load and build your life on God's love." We don't have to earn this love; neither do we have to support it. It is a free gift. Jesus calls out: "Come to me, all you Atlases who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you."

- Brennan Manning

A Blessing of Brennan's

A Blessing...

May all your expectations be frustrated;

May all your plans be thwarted;

May all your desires be withered to nothingness...

That you may experience the powerlessness and poverty

of a child and sing and dance in the compassion of God

Who is Father, Son and Spirit.

Amen

-Brennan Manning

A Fathers Love

I don't share that many devotionals but I really liked this one!

Tim

Reflections For Ragamuffins - A Daily Devotionalby Brennan Manning Copyright © 1998 by Brennan Manning

ABBA'S LOVE - Sunday, February 8th

The prayer for the poor in spirit can simply be a single word: Abba. Yet that word can signify dynamic interaction. Imagine a boy trying to help his father with some household work or making his mother a gift. The help may be nothing more than getting in the way, and the gift may be totally useless, but the love behind it is simple and pure, and the loving response it evokes is virtually uncontrollable. I am sure it is this way between our Abba and us. At the deepest, simplest levels, we just want each other to be happy, to be pleased. Our sincere desire counts far more than any specific success or failure. Thus when we try and pray and cannot, or when we fail in a sincere attempt to be compassionate, God touches us tenderly in return.

A couple of Tolkiens and a Manning

A Blessing...

May all your expectations be frustrated;

May all your plans be thwarted;

May all your desires be withered to nothingness...

That you may experience the powerlessness and poverty

of a child and sing and dance in the compassion of God

Who is Father, Son and Spirit. Amen

-Brennan Manning

"This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. And neither strength nor wisdom will carry us far upon it. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world; small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere."

-J. R. R. Tolkien

"I will not give you counsel, saying do this or do that. For not in doing, or in contriving, nor in choosing between this course or another, can I avail, but only in knowing what was, or is, and in part also what shall be."

-J. R. R. Tolkien

We're Going to Feast!!!

I have a question about a quote that appears in at least 2 of Brennan Mannings books that I have read. He writes about imagining these words coming from our loving Lord Jesus:

"Do not be afraid I am with you. I expect more failure from you than you expect from yourself."

Every time I come across this it makes me stop and wonder.

What I hear in that line is "my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in...weakness. My whole living sacrifice to Him is based in this truth. Cannot thank Him enough! I have not found a verse in God's word where it says we can disappoint Him. We can grieve Him most certainly, but there is a difference, I think the best example of grieving the Father, as opposed to disappointing Him is portrayed in the parable of the prodigal son. I am pretty sure when we stand before God, each and every one of us will have reason to believe that He is disappointed, the prodigal son most certainly did, but look at the Father's response to him. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! ( Luke 15 : 11 - 32)

If we hear of revival somewhere, let us not go and try to find the faults that may exist in their doctrines or positions. "Well, Lord, they didn't follow us so we told them not to do it." Jesus said, "You should not have done that. If they are out there doing it in My name, they can't very well be against us. Don't stop them." God deliver us from narrow sectarianism, from an attitude of the Pharisee, but to the same heart of Jesus. Let us rejoice that the Lord receives sinners and eats with them.

So while some people down here are saying, "When are they going to clean up their act?" The angels are up having a whoopee time rejoicing that the lost has been found. Joy in heaven ... We're gonna feast!!!

Any thoughts?

Abba's Love

I don't share that many devotionals but I really liked this one.

Tim



Reflections For Ragamuffins - A Daily Devotional

by Brennan Manning Copyright © 1998 by Brennan Manning


ABBA'S LOVE - Sunday, February 8th


The prayer for the poor in spirit can simply be a

single word: Abba. Yet that word can signify dynamic

interaction. Imagine a boy trying to help his father with some

household work or making his mother a gift. The help may be

nothing more than getting in the way, and the gift may be

totally useless, but the love behind it is simple and pure, and

the loving response it evokes is virtually uncontrollable. I am

sure it is this way between our Abba and us. At the deepest,

simplest levels, we just want each other to be happy, to be

pleased. Our sincere desire counts far more than any specific

success or failure. Thus when we try and pray and cannot,

or when we fail in a sincere attempt to be compassionate,

God touches us tenderly in return ...

For the love of God!

“Living in awareness of our belovedness is the axis around which the Christian life revolves. Being the beloved is our identity, the core of our existence. It is not merely a lofty thought, an inspiring idea, or one name among many. It is the name by which God knows us and the way He relates to us.”


–Brennan Manning

“Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation that you believe to be the will of God.”


–Jim Elliot

"The great spiritual task facing me is to so fully trust that I belong to God that I can be free in the world - free to speak even when my actions are criticized, ridiculed, or considered useless; free also to receive love from people and be grateful for all the signs of God's presence in the world. I am convinced that I will truly be able to love the world when I finally believe that I am loved far beyond its boundaries.

-Henri J.M. Nouwen



Just some thoughts ... The hospitality that Jesus demonstrates and further offers us, creates space for moral failures to be accepted, to be loved, to be given possibilities, opportunities, and the room for further growth and failure. What would it be like to offer this kind of hospitality to myself? To give myself the space for failure and growth, and to learn to accept and love myself as opposed to the false self that I have created? There are many of us who feel that their lives are a grave disappointment to God. Sheesh! I am beginning to see that God does love us so much more than we can know. "Morning by morning, new mercies I see." That's day after day, new sins I commit. I feel a tremendous optimism! God's is the author of all our lives. God wants to forgive, heal, restore, show us endless mercy, and see us come home!