Glory to Jesus!  I am so struck today by God’s deeply intimate knowledge of us, his deeply intimate care and attention to every detail.  Yes, I know we don’t often realize it – and seldom “feel like” it.  But that is never a reflection on him – and always a reflection on, well… us.

Yes, we live most of every day so remarkably distracted, pre-occupied; so very distant, actually, from him in our busyness and racing from one thing to another. 

Am I the only one thinking that all these tech tools we have today – which supposedly make our lives easier and more fun - actually only make us busier and more stressed?

I mean, even in this pursuit of Jesus… No Greater Love.  It wasn’t long ago, getting the word out on something like this was pretty simple.  But now you need to have the website, and then there is Facebook, and Twitter, and Tangle, and newsletters… and all of it needs constant updates – but keep them short because people are busy!  

And its true!  I mean, when posting videos on this site it’s a huge thing that they have to be less than two minutes.  Why?  Because people won’t watch anything longer.  Cell phones are ringing, friends are texting, Facebook is waiting, American Idol is in the semi-finals (and that surely can’t be missed!), the boss needs your work yesterday… and somewhere in there the Lord needs his voice to be heard. 

I will never forget a few years ago, seeing a Christian book advertised (I don’t remember the name exactly, but it was something like…) Five Minute Prayers for People On the Go.  Like, read between those lines!  And it was such a hugely popular book that they published a sequel, More Five Minute Prayers…! 

And we wonder why we continue to travail, living our lives in our own human sense and without his specific guidance.  Yes, it’s not his fault in the least.  The fault is – just as it has always been throughout history – ours.

I think of Jesus as he walked among the people 2000 years ago.  As Matthew records (9:36), “He had compassion on the crowds because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” 

Brothers and sisters, can you see that nothing has changed in 2000 years?  With all the church we enjoy, we still don’t get it – we’re still (most of us, anyway) racing around like crazy people, rushing to/fro, living life “harassed and helpless as sheep without a shepherd.” In our excitement to not miss anything (that this world has to offer), we end up missing him.  Oh Father, have mercy.

I also think of his promise – what he desires for our lives, how he wants for our lives to be constructed and conducted… “You will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way in which you should go.’” (Isaiah 30:21). 

Yes, it is that simple – this is the way he intends for us to actually live.  Can you imagine the rest, the confidence, the calm… of living like that.  Oh glory to the name of Jesus!

And yet, the great testimony to his astounding love, his astounding faithfulness… is that he continues to do his bidding, continues to save us from ourselves, continues to carve goodness out of our self-designed stumbling…

And he continues to care.  Oh, how he cares! Especially unto you who stop and force yourself to actually take the time, to seek him in the quiet, to get off these computers and toss the cell phones into the glove box… and stop to listen…  stop to receive him… stop to allow him to love you.

I received an email from Ireland recently (it is so exciting to me to see so many nations gathering to make Jesus… No Greater Love happen!).  I thought I must share it, that someone out there needs to read it, that God wants to meet many of us in this very same way – this precious, deeply intimate, remarkably faithful… way.

I pray you be blessed by it - as I was.  I pray it causes you to stop – as it did me.  I pray it causes you to seek, and rest, and look unto him… that he may exhibit his love for you too… if only given the chance.

Glory to the name of Jesus!

Dear Bruce,

I would just like to share with you, if I may, something which happened to me last week – a moment that had great significance for me.   I was feeling very low – thinking about my dad who passed away recently; feeling stressed about many pressures, despairing that my work wasn’t progressing as I’d like. 

I decided the best thing I should do was to get out of the house and take my dog for a good long walk.  I took him on a different walk that morning from the one I usually take him, and we went down on to the sands, looking out over the Irish sea. 

I had been walking for about five minutes, when I suddenly saw something written in the sand.  I first ignored it, but something made me go back and take a look… 

Someone had written in huge capitals ‘JESUS LOVES YOU XX’.  There was not a soul around on the sands, I was completely alone with my dog, and seeing those words on that day when I was feeling so downhearted… 

I will remember that morning always, and think back to those words that “some stranger” wrote for me to read.  How amazing is Jesus’s love for us all!
 
God bless you in the wonderful work you are doing.
With best wishes
Sarah