The hole in our heart

 We have a God shaped vacuum in our heart Eccl 3:11

Psalm 139

When the Bible says you were made in God’s image, it means you possess a desire to know and adore him and that he has gifted you with your personality, interests, and abilities to radiate his beauty in the world.

1 Cor 2:9

From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.  --Isaiah 64:4

Soul is the essence of your being that brings together the beautiful mystery of who you are: your physical body, desires, thoughts, emotions, hopes, and passions. According to Dallas Willard, “The soul is that aspect of your whole being that correlates, integrates, and enlivens everything going on in the various dimensions of the self. It is the life-center of the human being.”5

Our truest self is screaming for air, desperate to break through the surface of a shallow, hurried life and breathe deeply of God himself. To exhale failure and inhale grace. To come alive again.

Flourishing - what is it 3 John 2

God’s purpose for your life isn’t necessarily to make you wealthy, give you a bigger house, or make you TikTok-famous. His dream is that you become someone who reflects the image and beauty of his Son. Sometimes you’ll hear people pray, “Make me like Jesus.” But don’t be surprised when the answer to that prayer resembles betrayal, pain, and crucifixion. The path to a resurrected, reborn self is forged in the shadow of the cross.

Romans 8:28

All things work for the good are gritty, raw, desperate words that speak to us with auspicious hope; despite every secret sorrow, tragedy, hostile person, stab in the back, unmet longing, season of grief, and disappointment, he desires to shape your soul to make you more Jesusy—forgiving, gracious, loving, contagious, joyful, and alive. As Jurgen Moltmann, one of the more astute theological minds of the last century, affirmed: “God weeps with us so that we may one day laugh with him.”13

Questions to ask

What would you do if you weren’t afraid

What crossroads are you at

If you does tonight what regrets would you have

What do you want to celebrate a year from now

How do you want to be different 5 years from now

Can you be yourself where you are at

When was a time you had to make a major change in your life

What has worked well in your life 

What are you most confident about

Which of your 5 senses is the strongest

How have you handled the times you have been most lonely

As you have aged, what has become clear to you 

Each person is a mystery and it takes questions to draw out the mystery. 

Isaiah 43:19

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

        now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

    I will make a way in the wilderness

        and rivers in the desert.

Proverbs 20:5

The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,

        but a man of understanding will draw it out.

Loneliness leads to meanness

Peggy Noonan- people are proud of their bitterness

Victim hood turns into Villainy 

Root cause is a moral problem. Our symptoms of meanness, social media declining church attendance, political division racism 

The following is a quote from Oswald Chambers - I thought of you and your growth in Christ as I read it:

“All God's revelations are sealed to us until they are opened to us by obedience. You will never get them open by philosophy or thinking. Immediately you obey, a flash of light comes. Let God's truth work in you by soaking in it, not by worrying into it. Obey God in the thing He is at present showing you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. We read tomes on the work of the Holy Spirit when... five minutes of drastic obedience would make things clear as a sunbeam. We say, "I suppose I shall understand these things some day." You can understand them now: it is not study that does it, but obedience. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens up and the profoundest truths of God are yours straight away. God will never reveal more truth about Himself till you obey what you know already. Beware of being wise and prudent.”

Davis Brooks - we perceive the world not as it is but as it is for us. 

David Powlison

“Contraconditional” love > "Unconditional" love

David Powlison:

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When you look closely, God’s love is very different from “unconditional positive regard,” the seedbed of contemporary notions of unconditional love.

God does not accept me just as I am;

He loves me despite how I am;

He loves me just as Jesus is;

He loves me enough to devote my life to renewing me in the image of Jesus.

This love is much, much, much better than unconditional! Perhaps we could call it “contraconditional” love.

Contrary to the conditions for knowing God’s blessing, He has blessed me because His Son fulfilled the conditions.

Contrary to my due, He loves me.

And now I can begin to change, not to earn love but because of love.

. . . You need something better than unconditional love.

You need the crown of thorns.

You need the touch of life to the dead son of the widow of Nain.

You need the promise to the repentant thief.

You need to know, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

You need forgiveness.

You need a Vinedresser, a Shepherd, a Father, a Savior.

You need to become like the one who loves you.

You need the better love of Jesus.

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