You are Loved

Yesterday a lovely young woman in our church sang a song I’d never heard before.

Not only is her voice beautiful,

(I’ve already told her I’ve prayed to have it in heaven and she seemed okay with it)

but the words were beautiful.

Amazed

You dance over me while I am unaware

You sing all around but I never hear the sound

(chorus)

Lord I'm amazed by You

Lord I'm amazed by You

Lord I'm amazed by You

And how You love me

(verse 2)

You paint the morning sky with miracles in mind

My hope will always stand

For You hold me in Your hand

(bridge)

How deep how wide

How great is Your love for me

Check out: http://youtu.be/D9S86nMqaLg if you’d like to listen to it.

It was such a lovely moment that there was this screaming silence in the sanctuary afterwards. I felt like standing up and clapping but I was too struck. 

Struck with the intensity and simplicity of the line:

“You paint the morning sky with miracles in mind”

I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget.

Every day. 

Every single day God paints the morning sky with miracles in mind. 

That is truly amazing.

I’m thinking of Ellie’s color “yerple” again.

The pastor took his place behind the podium and heard our screaming silence. 

He saw in our faces that we’d been struck. 

So he prayed. 

Right after the AMEN, he chucked his entire sermon. 

All his notes.

He felt the overwhelming nudge to tell us that we are loved. 

He told us over and over. 

Then he showed us. 

In the lesson from Luke 7 about Jesus being anointed by a sinful woman. He told us how Jesus explained to the Pharisees that those who have been forgiven much, love much. 

The pastor went on to refer to one of my favorite verses, Hebrews 12:1:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, 

and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Our pastor said that sometimes we not only get out of our lane in the race marked out for us, 

but we trip down the hill and plop right into a mud puddle.

Instead of getting up and jumping back into the race, we sit there in the mud puddle feeling unworthy and unloved.

In fact, we heap more mud onto our head, for effect. 

Wallowing in self-pity and doubt.

Jesus leaves his place at the finish line of our race, to meet us in that mud puddle and offer His hand to help us up and out.

But we resist.

“No, no! I’m not worthy. 

I’m too dirty. 

I can’t do it. 

I’ll never finish this race.”

Jesus simply points to the sacrifice He made for us on the cross.

And asks if it was not enough.

Because our denying His hand up and out 

is basically saying that it wasn’t.

And that is all selfish pride.

Our pastor reminded us again that we are loved.

We listened to “Amazed” again.

"You dance over me while I am unaware

You sing all around but I never hear the sound"

I guess it would be hard to see God dancing 

and hear Him singing 

when we are busy in the mud puddle 

heaping dirt on our own heads.

What great encouragement that sermon was,

TO GET UP!

Love requires some action on our part:

STAY IN THE RACE.

Don’t roll over in the mud puddle.

And don’t be afraid to chuck your sermon notes 

3 seconds before you are ready to preach.

God’s right there with His hand out.

“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. 

Luke 7:47

I got this in an email yesterday.

SOURCE

It made me think that sometimes we “stir up” one another by simply stirring the mud in the puddle.

It takes pointing to Jesus who is standing RIGHT THERE by the puddle to truly “stir up” anyone.

Just as I was “stirred” by the song yesterday,

And my pastor was “stirred” by the Holy Spirit to chuck his prepared sermon,

I hope you are stirred.

And know that you are loved.