Jesus is the Word

Have you ever wondered how some women are so intimately connected with Jesus and why they look forward with great expectation to spending time in His Word? For the first three years after re-dedicating my life to Christ, I pondered this very question. Frankly, I really couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. I had enough to accomplish each day and adding Bible study to my never ending to-do list seemed impossible. And when I did actually try to read the Bible from beginning to end, I always got stuck somewhere in the middle of Deuteronomy. The problem, however, was with my perspective.

What I eventually realized is that reading the Bible is not something that we do; it is someone we encounter. That someone is Jesus Christ. John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The simple and beautiful truth of Scripture is that true intimacy with Jesus occurs when we become willing to linger awhile in His Word. This is because Jesus is the Word.

The reality is, if we want to know more of our Jesus, we have to know more of His Word. As we become grounded in God’s Word, we cultivate a depth of intimacy with Jesus that leaves us with an unquenchable thirst and an insatiable hunger for more of Him. Through His Word, we discover His attributes, His character, His likes and dislikes, and His plan for our lives. We can then experience abundant life because we are aligning our hearts and minds in accordance with God’s pleasing and perfect will.

I'll leave you with this question to ponder.

If your husband wrote you a love letter, what would you do with it? Would you only read it on Sundays?

Or would you cherish it...read and re-read it... until it was barely legible, tattered and tear-stained from the fullness of joy found in its presence?

The Kind of Friend I Want to Be

Have you ever thought much about what kind of friend you are to others?

Lately, I have really been searching my heart to determine the kind of friend I want to be. The answer I keep coming up with over and over is that I want to impact people. I want them to be changed for the better because they know me. I want to encourage them, challenge them, and together pursue this thing called godliness.

This is just the kind of friend Jesus was. People knew the disciples had been with Jesus because they were different after encountering Him (Acts 4:13). I so want to ooze Jesus in my relationships that His impact on my life rubs off on the lives of others.

My friend Katie recently scratched a short note to me at the end of our last GEMS session. It said, "I thank God I met you." Now you have to understand, Katie isn't thankful she met me because I am some sort of fashion diva or the funniest girl on the planet. Katie is thankful that God saw fit to set up a divine appointment for two strangers in a coffee shop because I am purposeful about leading her to the feet of Jesus.

My prayer is that through this blog I can be that kind of friend to you and vice versa. Together we can encourage and exhort one another to passionately pursue Jesus. In the process, we will become polished into beautiful gems who sparkle to reflect His glory.