Deep calls to deep

I had trouble understanding this phrase when I first encountered it. The context, in Psalm 42, is of discouragement and of the Psalmist thirst for God. Most of my life was lived at a level that can only be called shallow. It was all about me, my wants my needs my goals my ambitions. To a lesser extent this was true even after I became a Christian. But I was not satisfied, I had no peace, I knew there had to be something more and I wanted it, no matter what the cost.

Oh I knew a lot about God, I knew a lot about the Bible and I could debate this issue or that issue with the best of them, but there was something missing. I tried harder, trying to find (or perhaps loose) myself in ministry. I was driven (rather than lead) to find my destiny, and all the while deep was calling to deep. But I was not listening, not until my world fell apart with my now ex wife taking the four children and leaving. It was not my choice, but now out of the ashes of my life I was finally still long enough to start to hear the unfathomable depth of God calling out to the unfathomable depth in my soul.

Does it sound like I am bragging, saying that I am a deep person? If so let me tell you that there is an unfathomable depth within your soul too. And I know this because you are a reflection of His depth. This is just part of what it means for you and I to be made in the image of God. But is also means you and I are significant, we are valuable, precious in His sight, and we are made for better things than for selfishness. We are made for greatness.

Mike Bickle talks about seven longings of the human heart, the longing for the assurance that we are loved by God, the longing to be fascinated, the longing to be beautiful, the longing to be great, the longing for intimacy without shame, the longing to be wholehearted and passionate, and the longing to make a deep and lasting impact. Does any of this ring a bell with you? Perhaps you had (some of) these longings, but the school of hard knocks left you disillusioned. I see that school as a crossroads, I can be disillusioned or I can return to the Shepherd and Guardian of my soul. We all can. Deep is calling to deep. Can you hear it, can you feel it? It is a He, be still and know that He is God.

Guilt deficit

I have heard people say that if God is just he will weigh my good deeds against my bad. Well God is just, but does justice really work that way? “Yes mi lord, it's true that I stole $10,000, but I am good to my mother, and I help little old ladies across the street!” What would the Judge say? “Guilty, five years.” Now God has a record of all the bad things we ever did, as well as of all the good things we should have done, but didn't do. I think of this as a guilt deficit and I certainly have one, how about you?

If I am overdrawn at the bank, the only one who can help me is somebody in credit. In the end there is only one who is in credit with respect to guilt, Jesus Christ the righteous. Now the Bible tell us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. ” What I am trying to say is that the only way to overcome our guilt deficit is to receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ as a gift. When we do we are told “Your sins and iniquities I will remember no more,” and “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Have you received His gift?