Again and again.

New Morning Mercy. This past week I spent time in a love story in the bible book of Hosea. It's an intense love story. Eugene Peterson speaks about the Hosea love story this way. "It is an astonishing story: a prophet is commanded to marry a common whore and have children with her. It is an even more astonishing message: God loves us in just this way- goes after us at our worst, keeps after us until He gets us, and makes lovers of men and women who know nothing of real love." That's my story. Yours too.

We need to be reminded of the good news of Jesus again and again. We never don't need it. We desperately need it constantly. I saw this sky this morning after I spent time with a friend. It screamed New Morning Mercy to me.

The Good News.

Facing your own heart is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. If we’re able to dig down past all of the endless distraction of social noise and self noise, God can help us to become aware that we need something more than this life of fun, entertainment and distraction that we even purposely set up to keep us from facing our needy soul.

And when we dare to take notice of our broken, needy, prostitute soul, Jesus wraps us up in holy embrace and pulls us close. Our messy whoring does NOT push Him away. Astonishing. He keeps inviting, keeps embracing, keeps teaching, keeps offering life and forgiveness. He doesn’t offer so that we can keep on whoring and not have to feel bad about ourselves. He keeps offering His love and forgiveness paid in His blood because He longs for us to experience and live in the fullness of so much more than we could ever imagine possible, a life of meaning, a life that’s real.

If in any way this day, you’re aware of your broken needy heart before God, don’t run. Offer yourself to Him. Draw near, don’t run away. It’s easier to run, but it leads to further heartache and heartbreak that doesn’t have to be repeated over and over. There is something more. There is something new in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Something new again today. Something new again from the oldest, freshest originating story.....God wants you.

As you are living in this present time in your life, God is inviting you to increasing devotion to Him. He desires your love and affection. How does that happen? It happens by Him inviting your real self to His real heart over and over again, new morning mercy. If He’s inviting you even when your soul seems like its the dirtiest, then there is scandalously, great hope. You can grow. You can keep growing.

As you live in the ordinariness of these days, day in and day out, the thing that you need more than anything else, more than money, pleasure, technology, more than a great career is Jesus. You need Jesus. I need Jesus. That’s the starting point, the continuing point and the ending point. Go after Jesus. The $1000 iPhone is here. The $2000 iPhone is sure to follow. We are allured by much. Stay alert. Go deeper and deeper in your devotion to Jesus. How and why can you do it? Because He’s inviting you. He’s pursuing you. He wants you. His blood says so.

When we become aware of our dirty souls, we tend to cower and want to crawl away. Do the opposite. Run to Jesus. Run to Him for the first time. Run back to Him. He wants you. He wants you. Run to Him. Deep in the core of who you are, you long to love Jesus.

You long to love Jesus.

You long to love Jesus.

Again and again.

There's more.