(you are special to God)

Each One

What is it that you love?  Not in a romantic or family sort of way… but rather that thing that makes you say “I love ____”.  It might be puppies or kittens; or maybe college football.  Perhaps it could be kids; or even pizza or chicken wings.  You know, one of those broadly defined categories that really get you excited.

Now think about how much more you really love your own puppy…or your own children or your favorite pizza from that special place in your hometown. That’s a love that goes beyond a generalized feeling.  It’s a love that is filled with the personal knowledge of what makes the individual special, of what sets it apart from the crowd.

It’s said that God loves everyone. And the Bible bears that out.  Peter wrote that God desires that no one should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  But there is an even deeper truth about God’s love.  He doesn’t merely love “every one”...he also loves “each one”.  God knows every thing about us…he has that personal knowledge that sets us apart from the crowd.  Luke 12:7 says even the hairs on our head our numbered.  (And yes for some of us that is not so difficult!)  He loves me for and because of who I am… and yes… he loves you as well.

So grab hold of the amazing truth of God’s love… a love that is real… and special for you!

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 
Wonderful are your works; 
my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, 
when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; 
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:13-16

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

<>< 

Volume 6, Number 45

Carports and Garages

(some things are good... but Jesus is better)

Carports and Garages

A drive around any of the older neighborhoods in Wake County, North Carolina will eventually lead you to a quintessential American architectural icon… the carport.  Not the prefab metal contraptions you might purchase at Tractor Supply, but the real  “attached to the house Frank Lloyd Wright named” carport.  Open on two or three sides, they protect the vehicle from the sun and the rain yet allow for plenty of ventilation.

But when snow, ice, hurricanes or thieves happen by, the car port is woefully inadequate to give our vehicles the protection and safety they truly need.  That’s when having a locked garage is a blessing.

 “The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 7:18

The law the writer of Hebrews cited had a similar effect.  Even today it can make you a good person…a better person than you would be otherwise.  It can create a caring and well-ordered society where the basic tenents of interpersonal rights and responsibilities are respected.  But the law could never make anything perfect…it was woefully inadequate to protect us.

So Christ came…to be the perfect sacrifice…to stand in our place before a perfect and holy God.  To be our “better hope” and allow us to draw near to God in spite of our imperfection.

What a blessing that is…

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

<><

Volume 6, Number 44