Known and Loved!

Ever feel invisible, unseen, unknown?  Sometimes we feel like a gear in a vast machine, valued only for what we do, not who we are. When someone takes time to actually listen, remembers our name – it can make us cry!  We push through life, driven by responsibilities and we can forget that person alongside of us might be struggling to hang on through grief, or feeling lost and overwhelmed. Perhaps you feel as if you are sliding out of view because of aging, illness, or disability, and nobody seems to really see you, to care if you’re there, to engage with you. You want to scream, “Hey. I count. See me!”

There is One who does. His name is “El Roi, The God who sees.”

In Genesis 16 we are told the story of a person who became invisible, used, then tossed aside. Her name? Hagar. She was a slave who served Sarah, Abraham’s wife. The couple was childless and desperate, so they decided to ‘help God’ fulfill His promise of an heir. As was the custom of the time, Sarah used Hagar as a surrogate, giving her to her husband in the hope that she would become pregnant, which she did. The younger woman, having produced a male son for the patriarch, felt her status improved but Sarah felt only jealousy and responded with cruel abuse. She went to her husband and demanded that the woman be thrown out, leaving her to a life of misery as she tried to survive. The servant girl was disposable, an inconvenient reminder of faithlessness. The Bible says, “Abram replied, "Since she is your servant, you may deal with her as you see fit." So Sarai treated her harshly, and Hagar ran away. The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a desert spring along the road to Shur... Thereafter, Hagar referred to the Lord, who had spoken to her, as "the God who sees me, (El Roi) for she said, "I have seen the One who sees me!" - Genesis 16:7,13 NLT

"The God who sees me!"  Do you know that HE knows YOU? Yes, He does. He sees right into your most secret places. He knows your dreams, your hopes, your sins, your past, and your future. He loves YOU, not just for what you can do for Him, but because you exist.

In our kid’s ministry we sing a song that says -
“You don't have to be the fastest, strongest;
you don't have to hold your breath the longest.

You don't have to be a star, it doesn't matter who you are!

Raise your hands and repeat after me,
“You can trust God definitely, you can trust God definitely.”

  

And it is a truth that will alter your life. The Gospels are not written about Jesus in palaces, speaking with kings. He lived among the common, the broken, the cast-offs – with genuine love. He knows your name, your heart, your need. Let Him love you. Then, let that love spill over onto those who are invisible, a deep concern for people regardless of their usefulness or ‘value’ in your plans.

Our God is truly El Roi, the God who sees. "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." (Proverbs 15:3, NIV)

Here’s a comforting word from the Word. May it bring comfort to you today as you deepen your faith in ‘the God who sees.’

"O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. … even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. … "Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life."  (Psalm 139:1-4, 12, 24, NLT)

_________

You, You, You
(rejoice with the children’s song!)

You, You, You,

You can trust God

You can take him at his word

and give him your heart

You, You, You,

You can trust God

it doesn't matter who you are

You can trust God

You don't have to be the fastest, strongest

you don't have to hold your breath the longest

You don't have to be a star

it doesn't matter who you are

Raise your hands and repeat after me

You can trust God definitely

You, You, You,

You can trust God

You can take him at His word

and give Him your heart

You, You, You,

You can trust God

it doesn't matter who you are

You can trust God

Group Publishing

I did well, right?

Life teaches that performance earns reward, generally. We get report cards in elementary school that measure our accomplishments with a grade. Sometimes we confuse our grade with our personal worth, but that’s another subject. Unless we have been duped by entitlement that insists “you owe me,” we understand that if we want that promotion, we have to show up on time, do the work, and show initiative. Reward follows diligence. That's how life works.  Except when it comes to God’s salvation. That we cannot earn!

Disciple, if we get stuck in a performance mode, attempting to earn God's favor, we will find ourselves locked into a cycle that demands more and more of us.  Millions are working to gain some measure of peace with God and feeling only guilt. Millions are trying to be the kind of person they know they ought to be- self-disciplined, determined, and still falling far short of the goal.

Abraham heard God’s promise and believed it!  Genesis says this - "Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6, NIV)  The gift of being accepted and beloved came by faith.  Paul points to that when he explains faith that saves us. "Clearly, God's promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God's law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. If God's promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!) So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham's. For Abraham is the father of all who believe." (Romans 4:13-16, NLT)  

The Gospel of Jesus is often mixed with religion because it is just ‘common sense.’  Except that it is not!  Whatever we learned from life about performance and reward goes out the window when it comes to being right with God. He seeks to save us, not because we are worthy or because we did anything to attract His attention. Because of loving grace, He goes to find us and bring us home! Our only part is to surrender to His embrace.
What of holy living? Can we just ‘sin and grin?’ Of course not, because true grace is deeply transformative. What we truly believe and how we act are inextricably interwoven. Sinners who had dinner with Jesus were changed from the inside out. So, too, we are transformed by grace. When we experience the incredible, scandalous love of God, it causes us to change course, with a new vision drawing us higher. If we respond to God's invitation with faith, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us. "When you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him." (Ephesians 1:13-14, NLT)

Are you feeling distance from God, desperately trying to do something to earn His gift? Renew your faith; not in yourself, not in a religious system, but in the Person of Christ Jesus. Receive His grace anew!
Here is a word from the Word. "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NLT)
Believe God, and He will mark the debt that our sin has created – Paid in full! (At His expense.)
_______________

Mighty To Save
(Let the greatness of God draw you to worship as you listen)
Ev’ryone needs compassion
Love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Ev’ryone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Saviour
The hope of nations

Saviour He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Ev’rything I believe in
Now I surrender

Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing
For the glory of the risen King
Jesus
Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing
For the glory of the risen King

Ben Fielding | Reuben Morgan
© 2006 Hillsong Music Publishing (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
CCLI License # 810055

Adventurously Expectant of His Grace Gifts

Inside me there are two natures that wrestle for mastery.  Because of the new life of the Spirit I am capable of rising to heights of faith, inspired to love sacrificially, filled with profound awe for the Eternal God. Because a sinful nature remains latent, there are times when fear comes like a storm, when I am swept up in a tempest of anger, when I become a selfish man.  Paul knew the struggle and prayed, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24, NIV)  Thankfully, I know my Savior, trust His grace, and find both victory and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This struggle is not unique to me, nor is it uncommon. Abram (later known as Abraham) is the ‘father of the faithful.’  He shows us an astonishing depth of faith; yet, he fails ignominiously. In Genesis 12, we are introduced to him, as he receives the call of God.  "The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing." (Genesis 12:1-2, NIV)  He believed that promise and left an established life, a place of security, to travel hundreds of miles to the ‘promised land.’  In Canaan, he built an altar to the Lord, a public statement of his faith.

Then . . .   in the same chapter, he turns into a selfish, fearful, faithless man! During a time of famine, he took his family to Egypt. Look at what he does to his wife. "As he was approaching the borders of Egypt, Abram said to Sarai, “You are a very beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’ But if you say you are my sister, then the Egyptians will treat me well because of their interest in you, and they will spare my life.” And sure enough, when they arrived in Egypt, everyone spoke of her beauty. When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to their king, the pharaoh, and she was taken into his harem. Then Pharaoh gave Abram many gifts because of her—sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female servants, and camels." (Genesis 12:11-16, NLT)  You can excuse his actions explaining that it was a different culture, but the Bible doesn’t! God did not let Abram get away with this. It was a breach of fidelity to Sarai and a sinful lack of faith in the Lord.

My point today is not to condemn or commend Abram. The lesson for us is one of caution about the possibility of failure that is always present, if we take our eyes from Jesus, “the Author and Perfecter” of our faith.  When we start to feel confident in Self, like the Pharisee in Jesus’ story that ‘prayed’ commending himself to God and declaring that he was so thankful he wasn’t like the ordinary sinners that surrounded him, we let go of the hand of the One who saves and keeps us. But, oh what peace, what power we find in communing with Him. The counsel of the Word is this - "Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish." (Hebrews 12:1-2, NLT)

Where does this Monday morning find you?  Are you on the heights, singing “Victory In Jesus” or flat on your face, full of regret?  Whatever, wherever – look up. Our hope is not in our own righteousness, nor can we aspire to save ourselves. We trust His love, hold to His grace – and amazingly – we are changed from sinner to saint.

The word from the Word is a familiar passage. Read it and take the promise with you today, as you pray for Jesus to shine through you. "With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.  . . . This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” (Romans 8:1,2,15, The Message)

________

Reckless Love

(worship with this song about His love)

Before I spoke a word
You were singing over me

You have been so so good to me

Before I took a breath
You breathed Your life in me

You have been so so kind to me

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

O it chases me down fights 'til I'm found

Leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it I don't deserve

Still You give Yourself away

O the overwhelming never-ending reckless

Love of God

When I was Your foe still Your love fought for me

You have been so so good to me

When I felt no worth You paid it all for me

You have been so so kind to me

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

Lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

Caleb Culver | Cory Asbury | Ran Jackson

© Watershed Publishing Group (Admin. by Watershed Music Group)

Bethel Music Publishing

Richmond Park Publishing

CCLI License # 810055