Found

10/23/2012

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by Susan Tuttle

At our church’s mid-week Bible study this week we spoke about our lives and how they’ve been changed since meeting Christ. We were asked to fill in this blank:

Since meeting Christ, the one word I’d use to describe my life is____________

One woman at our table said, “found”.

I love it! Found. We once were lost and now we’re found. It means He sees us. We’re not invisible. It means He sought after us. We are valuable. It means He has a place for us. We belong.

And this is the best part.

Have you ever lost something incredibly valuable to you? Torn places apart looking for it? Worried and grieved over the loss, only to find it later? What did you do? I bet you celebrated. Well, Beloved, God and all of heaven throw a crazy party, rejoicing, singing, dancing, feasting…all over YOU being found.

Don’t believe me? Read Luke 15. The chapter is filled with three parables telling the story over things lost and now found. In the first two parables when the item is found, here’s what it says:

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10 (see also Luke 15:7)

And then they move on to the final parable of the lost son which paints a picture of what heaven looks like when YOU are found. Go ahead, read it, and see yourself. They party!

So today, if you’re feeling lost, call out to Jesus…He’s only waiting to hear your voice. Call on Him. You will be found.

And then they’ll party in Heaven--all because of you.


Your Turn: What would YOU fill in the blank with above?

(If you are a new Christian, we’d love it if you contact one of us so we can celebrate with you, pray for you, and get you some information. Or if you have more questions about Christ, we’d love to chat.)

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Put YourBurdens in a Basket

2/20/2012

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Sometimes our burdens—or worries—get out of control.

Today I chatted with a dear friend I don’t see very often, and as we shared events and concerns in our lives, she told me about her “burden basket.”

Since the beginning of this year, she said, life had begun to overwhelm her. She worried about many things: learning to use some new technology for work, her bills, decisions her boss needed to make, her brother’s finances, an overseas trip she would like to make, her boss’s wife, her own health, her elderly mother, needing to shop for new clothes but not wanting to, updating her will, and the list grew and grew. My friend realized that she had become concerned about so many things that her worries began to multiply, as described in Psalm 94:19: “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul” (NASB).

Looking for a way to break the cycle, she remembered Psalm 55:22, “Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you” (NLT).

She decided to write each of her concerns on a separate slip of paper and put the papers in a basket on her table. She kept writing until she had listed every issue that she had been fretting over. When she ran out of things to list, she figuratively and literally lifted her “burden basket” to God and let Him take care of them.

She told me the process gave her a feeling of release and relief, knowing that the Lord is faithful.

The burden basket continues to be a tangible reminder to her of God’s faithfulness and His willingness to take her burdens. “I know that once I’ve given it to Him, I don’t have to worry or think about that problem again,” she said.

I like the idea of using a “burden basket” to give my problems to the Lord. How about you?

Photo by Kittikun Atsawintarangkul/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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