Driven to Drink

"I can't do this..." He exclaimed with a cracked and trembling voice and then looked away from her and straight into my eyes before continuing. "I love her with all my heart, but she is the one who is driving me to drink."

I was asked to sit in on this meeting to help mediate and as I looked at these two people who God had made in His own image and pronounced them as "Very good", the mess of a situation across the desk from me seemed to be anything but "Very good". I had heard the phrase, "You drive me to drink" before and even heard a few song in regards to that thought, but I had never until that moment stopped to really listen to that statement.

Have you ever been pushed to your very limits edge?

Have you ever found yourself to be in the middle of a hurricane experience and looked up into the dark clouds above you where you expected to see bright blue sky and just cried out in sheer frustration?

Paul, who is accredited with speaking such powerful passages of faith in God had something to say about these seasons in life.

"For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life :" ~ 2 Corinthians 1:8

It is a bit shocking because we love to quote things like, "God will never put more on you than you can handle." as if that is Bible. I have heard people throw that out in difficult times, and I have even thrown that out there myself, but the simple fact is God DOES indeed allow times in our life that are more than we can handle.  Before you stone me as a heretic and after you are done searching through your bible to find the passage that says,

"God will never allow more on you than you can take."

just consider this thought with me please.

If there were no place where we are forced to come to a grinding halt in our own strength then there would be no place when we would ever realize that the only way we can truly make it is In the power of Christ in us.

I would venture to suggest to you that if you are in a place in life where the end of what you can do is absolutely gone, that you my friend are in need of a good drink!

So, let's take a minute and just have a drink.

 

I was told by a good friend that a life lived in the psalms will be a life lived well.

I find so much comfort in the psalms and even more so when He drives me to drink.

Did you know that God designed our ability to experience thirst?

In fact, every single thirst that we have was designed by God because every thirst that we have can only be satisfied BY God.

In the above passage, Paul goes on to say that it was the Lord that SUSTAINED them and as thought about this feeling that sometimes overwhelms even the strongest of us and the reason why we struggle I find a similar word for this in Psalms 42.

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.2   My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" ~Psalms 42:1-2

Jesus made a statement that really caught my attention.
 

"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying , If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." ~ John 7:37

 Did you notice what a person had to thirst for in order to come to Jesus? If any man thirsts for things that are good right?If any man thirsts for things that are noble, moral and good right? No.
Did you know that God designed our ability to experience thirst?

In fact, every single thirst that we have was designed by God because every thirst that we have can only be satisfied BY God. So the question is in the middle your crisis, what are you thirsting for?
What is it that you are thirsting for today?
Significance?

You can pursue any avenue you wish to try to gain this and many people do. It is a God implanted thirst, but it was planted with the only way to be satisfied being found IN Him. Our significance will only be found IN Him. If you are being driven to drink for significance, then rest assured the thirst is for Him and will be satisfied IN Him.

Intimacy?

True intimacy is not found in a relationship with anyone other than Christ. We were created to be in fellowship with Him and once we take our thirst to Him we will find fulfillment.

Security?

There has to be a time when each of us come to Him as our strength and shield. He is able to take care of us tomorrow just as He has every day leading up to today.

If you are driven to drink, understand that this is a good thing and that it is an awesome time of choice.

What source will you choose to quench that thirst.

Most people will continue to go back to the same empty wells that frustrated them before. Arms of another that will not satisfy them,substances that rob their very soul from them, faces and jobs that will continue to always hold the measuring stick of approval just out of reach.

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." ~John 6:35

Driven to drink? This may just be the very best day of your life!


Thanks for sharing this drink with me... I feel so much more refreshed!

Climbing with you,
~Dan

God's Signature

It was a warm July afternoon and the room was full of academic scholars, financiers, and movers and shakers in the agricultural world. They were gathered in this stuffy room to watch the timid man who now made his way slowly to the lectern in front of the room. This man had some revolutionary experimental data to tell them about that would change the world and thirty minutes to tell them about it.

The man reached the podium and nervously looked down at the stack of note cards in his hands and mouthed the words "Mr.Creator, i need you now." He then laid the cards down out of sight and calmly looked up and introduced himself and began to tell these "Educated" individuals about a really, really big God and what He could do with a really, really small peanut!

George Washington Carver wanted to help Southern sharecroppers: their soil was exhausted from years and years of growing cotton and the boil weevil had destroyed thousands of acres of new crops. Mr. Carver needed to find alternative crops to restore the soil and create new markets. Carver, the President of Tuskegee Institute, turned to the Lord for help.

George Washington Carver was one of our great scientists, and he often prayed, addressing God as “Mr. Creator.”

One night he walked out into the woods and prayed, “Mr. Creator, why did you make the universe?” He listened, and this is what he heard: “Little man, that question is too big for you. Try another!”
The next night he walked into the woods and prayed, “Mr. Creator, why did you make man [meaning, the human race]?” He listened and he heard this: “Little man, that question is still too big for you. Try another!”
The third night he went into the woods and prayed, “Mr. Creator, why did you make the peanut?” This is what he heard: “Little man, that question is just your size. You listen and I will teach you.”
"Mr. Creator" did teach George and as you may already know,  God used George Washington Carver to invent some three hundred ways to use the peanut.

 In the post "Who am I and How Did I Get Here", there is passage that is discussed about God doing more with us than we could ever ask and think. George Washington Carver is an example of that passage.

I read this story and then my mind is drawn to this passage.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."  ~Psalms 19:1-6

I have had a strong desire to begin to learn Hebrew and how to read it. I have never desried to do this before, but I am drawn to it and it is just a matter of time before I find myself up to my eyebrows in the levels of this beautiful and complex language.What I have been finding is an absolutely stunning display of God in this language.

In Genesis chapter one, there is a little mark referred to as a "Yodh" that is placed in some really significant words.
 

You would pronounce it as "Yud".

The Yud in a word designates the name of God Adonai and what I find amazing is that in Genesis this little mark is in everything that is created .

As Yud is the smallest letter and powerful significance is attached to it. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus mentioned it during the mention of the Law when he says: "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Jot, or iota, refers to the letter Yud; it was often overlooked by scribes because of its size.

As you read through Genesis one this little mark is placed within everything that God created. "Light", "firmament", and on down the line.

You find the Hebrew word for Light, and right there in the middle of that word, is one of these little marks. God's signature is on everything that He creates! His signature is in everything that He has created.

As an artist this blows me away.

You sign your name to an expression of your self that you have just created. It tells everyone who sees it, who created it and it literally shares their life with you. The art work or music is an expression of the person who created it, so in essence you are looking at their life on display.

 

 

"Father's Arms"

An Artist is defensive about their work because it is not just a picture or a piece of music that you are seeing, it is their inter most feelings and emotions on display in the image created, colors used, or notes and words arranged and on display.

Their inter most thoughts and feelings are on display for the entire world to see and hear.

Creation speaks of its creator.

"But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:  Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these things that the hand of the Lord wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind." ~Job 12:7-8
 
I like the way Paul talked about us as God's masterpiece.

 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."~ Ephesians 2:10

You do not have to believe this in order for it to be true. You were hand designed by the creator, and you are an expression of Him. There are so many arenas and galleries that He designed you to be displayed in and more than ever, He wants people to see you because when you are surrendered to Him, He is on full display and when people see you they are seeing Him.

 I will praise thee; for I am fearfullyand wonderfully made : marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." ~Psalms 139:14
 
 I want to challenge you today at some point to take a moment and look in the mirror and say, "_(Your Name)____, You are God's masterpiece! You were created in His image and His signature is all over your life. He does not make junk, He made me to display Him!"
 
The gallery is full, and people are looking to see the heart of  "Mr. Creator" on display. What are you waiting for?

Climbing with you,
~Dan

Where am I and How Did I Get Here? (Pt 3)



Understanding who you are In Christ is the first step that propels you smack dab into the second step in the information "piece together" process.

This past Monday i started this three part study in a post that asked the question, WHO ARE YOU?

If you can realize who you are in Christ, there really is nothing that can rise up and take advantage of you unless you make a conscious decision to trade your established identity for one that is offered in a source other than Christ.

The day I truly looked at God as my Father was a transforming day. It was like I was given a new set of glasses to read the Bible from and I saw father and son relationship over the entire thing!

In the very first post of this blog "God's Created Picture of Us", I talked about this picture that I had drawn of my first born son and I.

It resonates with my spirit that God is my Father and He wants me to receive His love. There is nothing that He needs from me other than for me to enjoy Him and to be in His presence! He wants our fellowship to resemble this picture. A son enjoying his Father and completely secure in the fact that "Daddy" has His child safe and delights in him.

Does my your prayer life resemble this picture?

Does your conversations with the Father look anything like this image above?

This is what son ship looks like!

The next step in our identity process was to understand fully what happened when the Holy Spirit came to reside within us.

People say, "Well if God is all love then people will just go do what ever they want to do and grace becomes this limitless licence to sin!"

If the Crucifixion was the end of the story than yes it is. Jesus rose from the dead defeating sin and death and the Spirit now empowers us! You can do whatever you want, now what do you want to do?

Notice what Paul says to the Christians in Rome.

"What shall we saythen? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound ? God forbid.
How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?  Know ye not , that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed , that henceforthwe shouldnot servesin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shallalso live with him:" ~Romans 6:1-8

He explains the Spirit's role in our lives and as he writes to the Christians please notice that he never refers them to a law, but rather to the remembrance of who now indwells them. He says repeatedly through out the epistles, "Know ye not?". In other words he is asking them the same thing that this post would ask, "Don't you know" whose you are? "Don't you know" Who that makes you now?

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"

                                                                                                            ~ Romans 6:16

 

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" ~ 1 Corinthians 3:16

In the first two posts of this series we looked at those aspects a bit more, but now that those foundations have been laid, let's look at the remainder of this passage where Paul is teaching our "Born Identity".

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." ~ Ephesians 3:17-19

The direct result of understanding who you are to Him, and who you are IN HIm is the awareness of His love for you. If you stop and just think about the dimensions of God's love for you as His child it is absolutely overwhelming because it tramples all over our paradigm of love.

God really does love you you know?

When you are filled withe understanding of His love for you as His child, your "wanter" changes. He fills you with an understanding of His love and it is not a matter of remembering a law, but rather a reflection of what you have been given that changes you. You cannot help but operate in and through that love.

 

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."~ Ephesians 3:20-21

I love the close of this passage. It prompts me to ask so many questions and the answers that come are mind blowing.

"Father, in light of who I am in you and to you, what can we do together?"

I think that i know my limitations, but God knows that I can do through Him more than I could ever think or ask of Him. God gave me "The Man and The Wall" simplistic concept and when I ask Him where He wants to go with it, He tells me so much more than a book or a weekly blog. I get goose bumps peeking in on the possibilities that He has in store for this message and the way it has and will impact His kingdom!

Climbing with you,
~Dan

 
 

Where Am I And How Did I Get Here? (Pt 2)

In the first part of this three part series we looked at the very first piece of information that helps us to find our identity In Christ.

Our true relationship to the Father.

Who are you?

I would dare say that if you were to be asked who you are, one of the very first things you would tell me right after you told me your name would be your occupation.

We tend to find our identity in what we do. This seems normal, but God did not create us to be "Human Doings", but rather He created us to be "Human Beings". If our identity is found in what we do, what we have, or what others think of us then I would venture to say that our identity has been stolen from us. Who we are is who Christ sees us to be.

I may not be the most intelligent dad, nor would I claim to be the best dad in the world. I am a dad that has set some goals to accomplish with my kids. They are not enormous and in fact I would say that the goals that I have as a Dad are remarkably simple. There are two things that I want to impart to my children before it is my time to "check out".

The first would be to teach my children how to SEE and HEAR God in their lives. If you can teach your child that, then it will never matter where they go or who they are with because they will always know that God is with them.

The second thing that I want to help them learn is who they are to Him. If they can catch that then they will never be in a situation where anyone can manipulate them  into doing something for approval, not even using God as the tool.

I have talked with a lot of people and I believe it would be safe to say that the majority of the Christians that I have spoken with are completely unaware of who they are IN Him. This is a sad statement to make, but an even sadder statement to see on full display in the world around us.

As Paul helped the Christians in Ephesus lay out their scraps of identity information on the table in front of them, he first reminded them of the relationship that they now had with God. This was not something granted by a church or any organization. It was given freely by God to us to accept and there is no power that can ever separate us from that love!

There may be people with agendas that are disappointed or frustrated because you do not gain your identity from their acceptance, but God IS your father and there are certain privileges that come with that relationship that can never ever be changed no matter what you do or do not do here on this earth! (See a list of those here)

Let's look at the next scrap of information that Paul pulls into view!

"That he (Your Father) would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;" ~Ephesians 3:16

You have an inner man! Whoa? Who is the inner man?

It is the Holy Spirit of God!!!!

Paul used the words "Chayay" and "Zoopoieo" to express this process. We translate it to our English word of "Quicken". It means to make alive, or to come to life! It is the process of our spirit coming to life IN Him! Our spirit is rejoined with God in fellowship as the Holy Spirit makes His home within our earthen temple. This is huge because it means that we are Holy!
 
Wait, wait, wait... We did not do anything yet. How can we be Holy? Don't we have to do anything to be Holy? I mean what about a list of activities to perform or abstain from?

The Holiness that we have did not originate with us, nor could we manufacture it. It came from God alone, the scandal of grace is that He gave us His Holiness.

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;"

                                                                                                           ~ Ephesians 2:1

 

"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved ;)" ~Ephesians 2:5

 

Paul goes on to add that it is God's grace that saved us.

 

Mercy is not getting something that I deserve, but Grace is me getting something that I do not deserve! It truly is amazing grace!

 

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;" ~Colossians 2:1

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit;

                                                                                                            ~ 1 Peter 3:18 

So what does all this mean?

"Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:" ~Ephesians 1:9

Paul is essentially saying that there is no way to do His will for your life unless He is living through you. This is incredibly AWESOME!!!

His will for us is not some great "Mystery" that you have to search for your whole life hoping to find. His will is for us to be in His presence and to be seen through us and the kicker is, He is the one who teaches and leads us on how He wants us to shine and express Him!

You can live your life trying to "make" God see you as a worthy investment of His grace if you want to, and unfortunately there are a lot of people out there who are looking for just such mindsets. They have an agenda to fill, a building program to pay off, a name to make for themselves, and a multitude of reasons why they will never seek to teach who you are IN Christ. Once a person realizes who they are to Him and IN Him, then the control of that person is taken away from another human being and placed in the hands of His Holy Spirit.

He literally is able to transform you from the inside out!!!

This coming Saturday, I am looking forward to us looking at the final piece of identification that once they are all put together, reveals a picture that is absolutely amazing!!!!

Meditate on this thought today. Not only is God your Father and you now wear His name, but you have been given His Holy Spirit within you!

I cannot wait for you to see this Saturday's post as we conclude this study of who we are IN Him!

Climbing with you,
~Dan

Who am I and How Did I Get Here?

Who are you?

Your name is a big part of it (see Hello my Name is), but more than just the surface answer what I have found as I ask Christians this, is that most of them do not even know.

I had posted a two part series some time back called Born Identity and in that post I began to look at the subject of our true identity IN Christ!

There was a movie some time back called, "Bourne Identity". It was about a man named Jason Bourne.  The movie opened with the scene of a man floating in the water and when he is fished out of the water he is at a loss for who he is and how he got into the water.

This was a man who spent the entire film trying to find out who he was and how he was able to do all of the things he was able to do. He was frustrated because all he had to work with were fragments of information that were in his mind.

I have been in church my entire life and the most common thread I have seen within the walls of the church are Christians who have very much the same struggle as the fictional character Jason Bourne.

They have no clue of their identity in Christ. They are straining internally and externally to succeed at the "Christian life" and all they have to show for it at the end of the day are more questions.

They dot all of the i's and cross all of the t's. They sing the great traditional hymns of the Faith in church on Sunday and all of the contemporary classics in their car the rest of the week just to be considered balanced. They read every edition of Our Daily Toast, Swords of the Father, Ehud's Dagger and every kind of Christian periodical they can find.
Standards and convictions? You betcha Stan! They got every base covered. If it's out there then they have taken a stand against it entirely or justified the portions that they allow.

They sign every "Worker's Agreement" form that their church can print out, and show up a minimum of three times a week to hear every word they can about their need for "giving God their all".
Tithing? At least 30% and you would never catch them putting an "empty envelope" in the plate just for appearance sake. No collection counter can ever accuse them of giving the "Parson's empty Packet". No Sir!

The problem is evident. They do all that they know to do and forgive my light tone on effort here, but the answer they are looking for will never be found here. True identity is NOT found in activity.

They have all of the fragments of information available, but the direct answer is rarely taught.

I know this from experience, because this was my experience.

I looked at the Spiritual Mirror (James 1 refers to the Bible as a mirror) and asked myself, "Who am I"?

Paul makes a startling statement in the book of Ephesians when he tells the Christians at Ephesus that he is praying for them. What is so startling about a person telling you that they are praying for you?

Paul gets specific. He outlines the prayer need that these Christians had. It is the same need that many Christians have today!


"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,  "~Ephesians 3:14-15

I love this passage because it reminds me of whose name I carry. In the post, "Hello my Name is",  we take a good look at our name and the significance that it bears in our individual purpose and message on this earth, but this passage goes a bit deeper in the fact that it reminds me whose name i am IN.

There are certain things that my kids have in a relationship with me as their Dad that people outside of that bod have. If you have kids of your own, then you will understand this. Just bearing the last name that has been given to them by birth automatically transfers a relationship that is unique to them. I love the fact that Paul reminds these Christians of something that we tend to forget all the time. OUR NAME.

While we, as a culture, glorify and in some cases idolize movie stars or athletic heroes it is our parents that we become. Most likely it is our father that we ultimately mold into. Our view of our heavenly "Daddy" is so crucial in our Christian development. His relationship with us completely steps outside of the bounds of our logic and He is relentless and consuming in His desire for us. The thing that makes this so hard for us to understnad is the fact that we are human and because of that it is seemingly impossible for the finite to fully explain the infinite. We do have the Holy Spirit within us to "Lead us into all truth" about Him and His love for us as our Father.

Understanding our identity starts with understanding whose name we now carry at the "New Birth" of salvation. If you are a child of the King, then it literally means that He has become your heavenly Father! The relationship drastically changed when you accepted the shed blood of Jesus as payment for your sins.

"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying , Abba, Father."~ Galatians 4:6

Your understanding of your identity IN Christ is started with truly understanding that the relationship you have with God changed at salvation.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to becomethe sonsof God, even to them that believe on his name: " ~John 1:12

In the blog post "What is It?", I outlined at least twenty ways in which my relationship went from separated to son when I entered the family of God. This is incredibly powerful because a proper understanding of where I stand with God will affect the way that I see Him, and the way that I see Him will drastically affect the way that I present Him and how I approach my life IN Him.

On Wednesday, I would like to continue reading Paul's prayer for these Christians and look at how the statements that are made absolutely unlock who we are In Him. Until then, can i challenge you to just ask the Holy Spirit that is within you to remind you that you are His son and daughter and to show you what that relationship looks like. He is THE PERFECT TEACHER!

Climbing with you,
~Dan

I think something is missing.

 

I like art.

I am the kind of person that it "speaks" to. We used to live near the St.Louis Art Museum and I loved just going and looking at the paintings. Yep, I am one of those guys and I enjoy playing chess too! I could spend hours at a gallery just enjoying understanding how an artist may have been feeling or what the artist was going through internally by the colors used and stroke patterns they selected to express themselves.

There are some artists that seem to capture so much about life in their work and those are some of my favorite pieces. One of those artists is the sculptor Bruno Catalano.

The French artist Bruno Catalano was born in southern France in 1960. Though he had admired art since his youth, Catalano didn’t start sculpting until he was 30. He taught himself and with remarkable talent. Since starting with clay, more than a hundred of his trademark "travelers" have come alive under his capable hands. Since then, he’s had numerous exhibitions in France, the United States, England and China.

Bruno Catalano’s bronze sculptures have one thing in common: they’re drawing a blank, literally. Where there should have been a body, a shirt or an arm there’s, well, nothing.

Regardless of whether one calls the series by its original name, “The Travelers” (“Les Voyageurs” in French), or as sometimes suggested, “In Search of Missing Pieces”, the viewer always has to fill in the blanks. Sometimes, that might not even be necessary as the sculpture  shows. The picturesque landscape that they are placed in seems to add what’s missing. Maybe a message to all of us to become a bit more transparent?

Other sculptures in the series, however, grip the viewer and throw up a seemingly endless string of questions: Where is the man portrayed off to? Why doesn’t he seem to care about his missing piece? Is he in a rush?

But what’s behind his desire to leave out parts and to portray people traveling?

One also has to admire the perfect balance these imperfect travelers have attained. Though they might be missing something, they are in perfect harmony with the air around them. The incredible lightness of being after all? Only one thing seems sure with Bruno Catalano’s work: The more information one gets, the more questions one seems to have. Not even considering the biggest of all – are the sculptures half full or half empty?
 

People nearly complete with something obviously missing and the killer part of all of it is that as the person observing, you can tell them just what is missing!

King Solomon to me, first expressed the artwork of Bruno Catalano long before this artists ever picked up a lump of clay and began to sculpt.

"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought , and on the labour that I had laboured to do : and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.:" ~Ecclessiasties 2:11



He had done as much as a human being could do on this earth and when he looked back in reflection on his lifetime of achieving, he saw that life lived to simply achieve the "Next level" was empty.

It is not material things nor is it the level of busyness in your life that fills you.

So many people are rushing back and forth trying to scratch out a "life" and find significance and they find in the end that the emptiness that they were trying to fill was unable to be filled. It is only Christ that can fill the void. He fills in the blanks!

Here is what Paul said about being empty.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseeml, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we knowin part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
For now we seethrough a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I knowin part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abidethfaith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." ~ 1 Corinthians 13

They walk all around you. People with their baggage that are empty and wandering in search of fulfillment. The thing about being empty on the inside is that you can spot someone who is filled when you see them. When you spend your life feeling alone, you recognize the presence of The Comforter.

If people cannot see Him in you, then they do not want what you have. He is life, and people are looking for life all around you.

If something is missing in your sculpture may I suggest the one who fills completely! Life is not found in a program it is found in a person and His name is Christ!

The best day of my life was the day that I set down my baggage of busyness and just asked to meet Him. He absolutely has made me whole!

Climbing With you,
~Dan