Andy's Inspiration Box

"The God who made us gave us freedom to wander astray from him. His love for us did not curdle into control of us. Rather his love prompted him to give his son to us as the means by which we can come back home to him. He knows we go off into all sorts of dead ends and it is there he reminds us there is in fact a way out, a way home. The God who comes looking for us is no stern moralist just itching to give us a lecture about how bad we have been. He comes in love to pick us up and bring us to where we belong. He doesn’t seem to mind messy, scruffy, unkempt lost sheep on his shoulders. Our task is not to clean ourselves up but to allow ourselves to be found by him. Just as we are." - David Reay

Psalm 77:13-20 Good News Translation (GNT) 13 Everything you do, O God, is holy. No god is as great as you. 14 You are the God who works miracles; you showed your might among the nations. 15 By your power you saved your people, the descendants of Jacob and of Joseph. 16 When the waters saw you, O God, they were afraid, and the depths of the sea trembled. 17 The clouds poured down rain; thunder crashed from the sky, and lightning flashed in all directions. 18 The crash of your thunder rolled out, and flashes of lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 19 You walked through the waves; you crossed the deep sea, but your footprints could not be seen. 20 You led your people like a shepherd, with Moses and Aaron in charge.

2 Peter 1:3-4 Good News Translation (GNT) 3 God's divine power has given us everything we need to live a truly religious life through our knowledge of the one who called us to share in his own[a] glory and goodness. 4 In this way he has given us the very great and precious gifts he promised, so that by means of these gifts you may escape from the destructive lust that is in the world, and may come to share the divine nature.

"Being a Christian is not just about getting to heaven when we die. It is about embodying and expanding the values of heaven here and now. It is not just about life after death, it is about life before death. We are not merely passing through this world like travellers on a plane or train. We are immersed in it as it is even as we anticipate its eventual renovation." - David Reay

"Jesus loves his church and is working to present the church to himself with all its wonderful potential fulfilled. But that is yet to come. In the meantime, his much loved bride has quite a few spots and wrinkles which nevertheless don’t cause him to cease loving her. So too we don’t wait for the church to be what it should be but rather love it for what it is." - David Reay

Psalm 139:1-3 New Living Translation (NLT) 1 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. "To be known is one of the most wonderful experiences of life" - Mick Brooks

Isaiah 64:8 English Standard Version (ESV) 8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.