doves-by-the-sea

[doves-by-the-sea]

“The cross was sin’s last move, the resurrection was God’s checkmate. The game is over.” -my church’s senior pastor, quoting one of his pastor friends.

[doves-by-the-sea]

Life without God by your side is like trying to drive 20 miles over the speed limit, in heavy, thick fog without your headlights on. You can’t see where you’re going and you are hurtling towards disaster.

Cling to Jesus. Turn to Him. He waits for you, not like an angry father prepared to scold, but a concerned father hoping for you to just come home.

Come home to the Father, His arms are wide open for you. He loves you, to the point of death and back. The nail marks in His hands and feet say so, the scar in His side says so. The cross says so, and the empty tomb says so.

It’s time to make the decision to follow Christ and to walk with Him. You don’t know if you will get another chance to make that decision, time is short and our lives are finite and fleeting. Beyond them are two options: an eternity of joy and freedom with the Lord or eternal damnation and suffering away from Him. He made the way for us to cross over to be by His side, all you have to do is accept His gift of mercy and salvation, all you have to do is take hold of His hand. I promise you He will not let you down, ever.

[doves-by-the-sea]

Did you know that sea otters hold hands while they sleep?

It’s true! Sea otters will often join hands while they sleep in order to keep from drifting apart from one another.

A touching gesture from some of God’s many amazing and incredible creatures.

If you think about it, we too must be like sea otters. We must cling to Christ our Savior in order to keep from drifting away into the gloom and muck of every day life. He is faithful to keep us secure and safe in His care, as He is our good shepherd. Take a lesson from the humble and adorable sea otter, and cling to the one who will always stay and keep you secure: the Lord God.

[doves-by-the-sea]

The Broken Cookie Jar

Picture this:

You’re the young child you once were however many years ago, and you’ve just been told that there are cookies in the cookie jar on top of the shelf, but you’re not allowed to eat them until after dinner by your parent. The cookies are, simply put, off limits.

Then, your parent leaves for a few hours to run some errands. You take this as your opportunity to get the cookies from the jar, and proceed to do just that. However, in the process, you knock the jar to the floor causing it to break.

Later, your parent returns home to find the broken jar on the floor. They ask “who broke the cookie jar?” Awaiting an answer. Eventually you step forward, with shame and guilt and admit “it was me, I broke the jar.” You await the reaction, expecting a scowl, a scolding, a lecture, maybe even to be hit.

But instead, your parent kneels down and grabs your hands, making sure there’s no cuts on them from the broken ceramic, before smiling kindly.

“Come on then, let’s go fix it up.” They say gently, picking up the pot and a tube of super glue.

Much like the parent in this scenario, when we mess up and confess to the Lord and ask for forgiveness, He will not react with wrath and anger and fury, instead He will meet us with mercy, love and gentleness. In the book of Hebrews, specifically chapter 5 verse 2, it states that Jesus can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, showing mercy to all who come to Him. He does not stand there with crossed arms and a scowl, but instead wide open arms, waiting for you to run to His tender and comforting embrace once more.

“For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” -John 3:17

(Image is not mine, all credit goes to the original owner. Message me for credit or removal <3)

[doves-by-the-sea]

What God has to say is better than what man has to offer.

Life is stressful. Very stressful. Everyone has their own situations that they find themselves in that fight for their attention and mind like wild dogs. We tend to be prone to overthinking and when we sit down and think about all of the stresses we encounter, trying to plan out every aspect of life and control every little thing it can become overwhelming. So yeah, life is stressful.

But it doesn’t have to be as stressful as we make it. Continuously the Lord is calling to us, asking that we lay our burdens at His feet and allow Him to take care of us. He will carry our burdens with ease, nothing is too great for the Lord.

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30

We needn’t worry about trying to control everything when everything is in His hands. Surrendering our troubles to Him affords us much peace and, in a way, breathing room. Not only does the Lord ask that we give our burdens to Him, He has provided us with ways of comfort when we find ourselves in stormy water. I’m not saying that a cup of tea, a fluffy blanket and your favorite movie are not excellent methods of making yourself feel better, but what I am saying is…

When you find yourself in the midst of the storm, do not look towards the sinking sand of the shoreline. Look instead to the strong rock of salvation, who reaches His hand out to you and calls to you from within the waves, wind and rain.

Remember, Jesus calmed the storm when out at sea with His disciples. There is no doubt that He can find you in the midst of yours.

Before you go crawling into your fluffy blanket cocoon with a nice cup of tea to watch The Princess Bride or whatever movie your comfort movie is, first go to God. Pray, and tell Him of your burdens and feelings. He cares, and will listen for as long as you need, and is fully prepared to offer you all of the peace and comfort He has in store. Lay your burdens at His feet, and He will give you true peace and rest. Not only this, but spend time in the Lord’s word. Whenever I find myself in a low place, in need of comfort and peace, I try my best to always tell God what I am dealing with and then read His word, finding that it brings comfort. My go to personally is the Psalms, but everyone may have their own comforting area and that is up to you to discover, and for the Lord to guide you too. After all of this, grab your blanket, your tea and your movie and settle in. Rest.

But first, remember, take your issues and burdens to the Lord. Then, spend time in His word. Because while fluffy blankets and movies are nice, what God has to say is better than what man has to offer.

Sending you love, and may the Lord keep you in His hand and His perfect peace that surpasses all understanding.

Blessings,

XOXO

-J

(Header image is not mine, all credit goes to the original owner. If it’s your image feel free to message me for credit or removal <3)