" Come as you are..front page story"

I saw a Pittsburgh Post Gazette printing press through a window from the street.
It was setting idle, not sure why, but I thought maybe it was idle waiting for the front page story.

The stories in much of the news have been going on-
 in Ferguson, Missouri and some protests were in Pittsburgh the night I was in the city.
News from Iraq, the murder of an American reporter by Islamic state extremists,
 Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Ebola survivor,
 Ukraine fighting Russia-
 All these stories seem to capture the news and rightly so, but I started thinking,

 "What is the front page story of your life today?"

If I had a chance to write it ,what would I write.
What would I be passionate about? 

If I knew I had little time left, what would I want my friends, family and those I see on the street to know?

The words
Come as you are
 came to mind from recently hearing a song by David  Crowder that would be
  my front page news:

So lay down your burdens

Lay down your shame

All who are broken

Lift up your face-

Come as you are

There’s joy for the morning

Oh sinner be still

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can’t heal

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can’t heal"

"Come as You Are"

"Come As You Are [feat. Crowder]" Lyrics
by Passion Worship Band | from the album Take It All

Come out of sadness
From wherever you’ve been
Come broken hearted
Let rescue begin
Come find your mercy
Oh sinner come kneel
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are

There’s hope for the hopeless
And all those who’ve strayed
Come sit at the table
Come taste the grace
There’s rest for the weary
Rest that endures
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t cure

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
Come as you are
Fall in his arms
Come as you are
There’s joy for the morning
Oh sinner be still
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
Come as you are
Come as you are

The following Bible verses illustrate how simply the Gospel message can appeal to me, and the common person in need.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28 ESV)


“Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;...

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;...

....let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
(excerpts Isaiah 55 1,6,7 ESV)

Fountain at the Point

It is not complicated, but is Free, abundant grace -a free gift.

...“Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Rev 22:17 ESV)

Yellowstone River Canyon

I looked up a reference for “Come unto me.” Matthew 11:28 and I read in Morning devotion that 

 The law repels, the gospel attracts. This is good news!

Morning

The cry of the Christian religion is the gentle word, “Come.” The Jewish law harshly said, “Go, take heed unto thy steps as to the path in which thou shalt walk. Break the commandments, and thou shalt perish; keep them, and thou shalt live.” The law was a dispensation of terror, which drove men before it as with a scourge; the gospel draws with bands of love. Jesus is the good Shepherd going before his sheep, bidding them follow him, and ever leading them onwards with the sweet word, “Come.” The law repels, the gospel attracts. The law shows the distance which there is between God and man; the gospel bridges that awful chasm, and brings the sinner across it.

From the first moment of your spiritual life until you are ushered into glory, the language of Christ to you will be, “Come, come unto me.” As a mother puts out her finger to her little child and woos it to walk by saying, “Come,” even so does Jesus. He will always be ahead of you, bidding you follow him as the soldier follows his captain. He will always go before you to pave your way, and clear your path, and you shall hear his animating voice calling you after him all through life; while in the solemn hour of death, his sweet words with which he shall usher you into the heavenly world shall be—“Come, ye blessed of my Father.”

Nay, further, this is not only Christ’s cry to you, but, if you be a believer, this is your cry to Christ—“Come! come!” You will be longing for his second advent; you will be saying, “Come quickly, even so come Lord Jesus.” You will be panting for nearer and closer communion with him. As his voice to you is “Come,” your response to him will be, “Come, Lord, and abide with me. Come, and occupy alone the throne of my heart; reign there without a rival, and consecrate me entirely to thy service.” (CHS Morning Dec 16)

Port of Olympia

At times we could have regret in our lives that causes depression and prevents us from moving on with all the good things that are overshadowed in our lives.

Paul David Tripp states in a book Lost in the Middle- Midlife and the Grace of God.

"The harvest at your feet- is what it is. Yet, in all of this there is hope because your Lord is the Lord of new seasons.
God made you and your story. Your story is His story.
He has watched over you and kept you amidst life’s seasons.
“If you’re a sinner living in a fallen world, it is impossible for you to look back at a legacy of perfect choices. You and I will have reason to regret until we are finally home with our Lord. Think about it: no reason anymore to want to unthink a thought, unsay a word or undo a choice. Therefore, in the middle of your regret, live with one eye on a regretless eternity to come. [i]

“You’re standing in a pile of leaves of your marriage, your extended family, your friendships and work. It’s tempting to sit down in the pile of leaves and examine leaf after leaf and wish you were holding a new bud from a new sapling, but you aren’t. With the new season comes the freedom to plant new and better seeds. With the new season comes the expectation of a new harvest of new fruit.”

It is vital that we arm ourselves with biblical strategies for dealing with regret. There is much that is still before you. You can participate in a real turn in your story. As God’s child, you have a reason to step forward in faith, hope and courage, embracing the new life that is always available to you because of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ."

[i] Tripp, Paul David. Lost in the Middle- Midlife and the Grace of God. Pages 108, 123-133. Shepherd Press. 2004.

Storey Peak - Sun Mountain WA

"He will always be ahead of you, bidding you follow him as the soldier follows his captain. He will always go before you to pave your way, and clear your path, and you shall hear his animating voice calling you after him all through life...

"God has not cut you off from mercy so there is no room for despair.."

 REFRESHING - FRONT PAGE NEWS that I wish was in every newspaper and news program.

"inlet and watching"

Recently I was walking along the beach toward an intracoastal waterway inlet. I saw two things that got me thinking. 

1. Inlet and a stream of water

2. Seagull - sentinel, watching

The inlets provide navigable routes inland along natural rivers or bodies of water.

The inlet prompted a few thoughts:

- What we let into our lives can change us for the good. Thankfulness can be a source of refreshing joy. I do struggle with being thankful as I ought and want to make thankfulness a habit.

- Also need to be careful what I allow into my mind and heart.

 We can drift little by little, just as the water in the inlet keeps wearing away the sand and soon overflows.

As the water level rises as life's cares and worries they will choke the life out of me if I do not guard my heart. 

Soon the narrow inlet and sandbars become covered and the ocean is indistinguishable from the inlet waterway. We lose our zeal for good and the disciplines of grace.

Photo by Arlia

So on this morning I was challenged again to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

"so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:10-14 (ESV)

Now to the seagull

it looked like a sentinel keeping watch - looking for the sunrise after the night.

The Seagull  was determined to get the morning catch necessary to survive and grow and seemed to wait, not caring that it was alone on it's pursuit.

I thought of how i need to watch and pray for a desire to please God-

 "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Matt 26:41 (ESV)

One of my heroes,William Wilberforce, wrote to his son concerning being a man that would benefit others, ".. the mainspring must be the desire to please God, which, in a Christian, implies faith in Christ and a grateful sense of the mercies of God through a Redeemer, and an aspiration after increasing holiness of heart and life"

So i do not want to get off track. I want to finish this life well and do not want to go back to the old ways. I daily need to recall the washing and renewal.

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,  whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.  Titus 3:3-8( ESV)

There are times in our lives that we need to wait- this can be one of the hardest things for me but I want to be expectant and look up in faith. God can provide all that we need and provide hope.

"I wait for the Lord, I expectantly wait, and in His word do I hope.

I am looking and waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, I say, more than watchmen for the morning."

 Psalm 130:5-6 (AMP)

“I wait for the Lord; from him I expect relief and comfort, believing it will come, longing till it does come, but patiently bearing the delay of it, and resolving to look for it from no other hand. (MHC)

Though storms or waves break upon us, and they will,
 we can stand firm. Our God will stand unshakable as an Anchor to our souls in the middle of the crashing waves of this life.

ANCHOR

Published on Jul 5, 2013

Hillsong Live Album Glorious Ruins, 2013, Name of Song: Anchor

VERSE

I have this hope

As an anchor for my soul

Through every storm

I will hold to You

With endless love

All my fear is swept away

In everything

I will trust in You

CHORUS

There is hope in the promise of the cross

You gave everything to save the world You love

And this hope is an anchor for my soul

Our God will stand

Unshakeable

VERSE

Unchanging One

You who was and is to come

Your promise sure

You will not let go

BRIDGE

Your Name is higher

Your Name is greater

All my hope is in You

Your word unfailing

Your promise unshaken

All my hope is in You

Zugspitze- Highest Peak in Germany Photo by Dirk Kiesewetter