It all Starts with God

The building is progressing nicely and even amidst a few speed-bumps and unforeseen details (you always have this in construction and they result in additional expenses). We are re-roofing the existing sanctuary (approx 30,000 dollars) and upgrading real important things that no one sees but are essential, like roof drains, metal flashing, metal roof caps and more. We even have the smell of hot tar and hot mopping going on - yeah, nothing like that. It may sound odd, but often times God longs to be with us so that He can work on the cracks and leaks and insufficiencies while they are small and before they allow the outside storms to become inside storms. Just as we are taking care of a problem in our almost 14 year old roof - God never wants us to neglect the things in our lives that He draws to our attention.

As He brings things to our attention - we must respond - remember, it all starts with Him.

This last Sunday as we started our worship time - I reminded our congregation that our worship was a response to God's designing each of us with the capacity to worship Him. We worship Him because He calls us to worship - not in a selfish way (though He desires to be worshipped) but He also knows the powerful change that it brings to us.
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. --- John 4:23

• Worship starts with God
  

Our desire to speak to Him, sing to Him and give Him our hearts all starts with Him. We are not going to come up with a longing for God on our own. He places the longing deep within us. God is seeking worshippers and those who will spend time with Him in prayer - listening to God and then speaking what He gives us to speak in our prayers. He placed the desire to worship and to pray deep within us.

• Prayer starts with God (that was last Sunday's sermon)
  

It is all based on the longing God has to be with us and the value He sees in advance in our time together.
We love because he first loved us. --- I John 4:19
Even our love for God starts with Him.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. --Luke 15:20
The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is one of the most dramatic pictures of God's love in all the Scripture. This love started with God and even though the son tried to diminish his father's love for him, by his actions and wandering life - nothing could separate this son from his father's love. What a great picture of God in this story.
It is for us a picture of God Almighty! The love that He has for us that starts with Him. What a picture of God the Father! I like the way Phillips translates the last phrase of this verse. It says, "His father's heart went out to him while he was yet a long way off."
This is not a father who can't wait to punish his sinful son. This is not a father who has written that boy off as wasted and worthless. This is a loving, caring father who cannot wait to embrace his son and to welcome him home! That's why, when the father sees his son off in the distance, he leaves the house and runs down the road to meet him and to embrace him and bring him in.
What I hope you see here is a picture of the Father's love for you. God's love is an aggressive love...a love that's eager and excessive. His love is approachable. And His love is abundant.
The prodigal son's father didn't hold back his love from his child. And God will never withhold His love from you!
If you have drifted a bit in your relationship with God - you can come back to Him. If you have lost your first love of God - He has never wavered in His deep and aggressive love for you. If it has been awhile since you were with the Lord in worship, in the word or in prayer - run to Him.
He longs to be with you and if you sense that longing too, well, know it started with God,
Keep praying as we grow, expand, believe for greater release and see the heart and hand of God in our midst.
Pastor Bernie
GOD IS A LOVING FATHER WHO CAN'T WAIT TO EMBRACE YOU AND WELCOME YOU HOME