love potion no.9

All you need is love - woah buddy is that not the cliche statement of the century!! But this week, I have found it to be so true. Ever seen Love Potion No. 9? It's an oldie but definitely a goodie. It was just on TV the other day so I plopped myself down on the couch to watch. Sandra Bullock (this is one of her first films), an awkward and lonely young lady, buys this love potion from this genie lady. This potion is so potent that just one little diluted spray into her mouth has the most handsome guys on their knees begging for her attention.

One little drop did the trick.

This weekend was flooded with fatique, exhaustion, and deep craving and need for the affection of God. Why is it that I chose to go through days without it? I get so fed up with my self-destructive habits. Is it laziness? Is it bondage? Who knows. But there is no doubt that the sweet Spirit of Jesus knew exactly what He was doing. So I was brought to a point of brokenness because I just couldn't go any longer without Him and cried out (outloud) to Father in desperate need for His mercy.

• In a snap of the fingers, Katie B is calling on the phone and invites me to her house to sit, talk, cry, and rest.

• An hour later, I got a voice mail from a dear friend telling me that she was just thinking about me and wanted to tell me that she loved me.

• The next hour I receive a text from another friend (yes, these are somewhat out of the blue) saying that she also loved me and wanted to hang out soon.

• The next day I receive yet another text message from my dear friend Cassie saying that I had been prayed for at 4:09 p.m. that day.

Is this not the Lord showering me with His love all over the place or what? And this is merely a DROP, a mere shadow of how GREAT, how IMMENSE, how INTENSE His love for me (and you) is. How great of lengths He goes every day to show us that He just honestly and genuinely CARES about US.

Since then I have been learning a lot about "present risenness" of Jesus. What is this? Brennan Manning (Abba's Child) explains...

"the present risenness of Jesus as 'life-giving Spirit' means that I can cope with anything. I am not on my own. 'I pray that you may realize...how vast are the resources of His Spirit available to us' (See Ephesians 1:18-19.) Relying not on my own limited reserves but on the limitless power of the risen Christ I can stare down not only the imposter and the pharisee, but even the prospect of my impending death."
...........And it is a daily choice to live in realization of this fact. And it gets hard, I've realized. There are days when feelings run rampant - frustration, anger, resentment, fear, self-pity, depression, etc.

"So HOW does the life-giving Spirit of the risen Lord manifest Himself on days like that? In our willingness to stand fast, our refusal to run away and escape into self-destructive behavior. Resurrection power enables us to engage in the savage confrontation with untamed emotions, to accept the pain, receive it, take it on board, however acute it may be. And in the process we discover that we are not alone, that we can stand fast in the awareness of present risenness and so become fuller, deeper, richer disciples. We know ourselves to be more than we previously imagined. In the process we not only endure but are forced to explain the boundaries of who we think we really are."

"the mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory" - Colossians 1:27

"Standing on a London street corner, G.K. Chesterton was approached by a newspaper reporter. 'Sir, I understand that you recently became a Christian. May I ask you one question?'
'Certainly,' replied Chesterton.
'If the risen Christ suddenly appeared at this very moment and stood behind you, what would you do?'
Chesterton looked the reporter squarely in the eye and said, 'He is.' "