Daily Readings by Wild at Heart

For above all else, the Christian life is a love affair of the heart. It cannot be lived primarily as a set of principles or ethics. It cannot be managed with steps and programs. It cannot be lived exclusively as a moral code leading to righteousness. In response to a religious expert who asked him what he must do to obtain real life, Jesus asked a question in return:"What is written in the Law? ... How do you read it?" He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'""You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." (Luke 10:26-28, emphasis added)The truth of the gospel is intended to free us to love God and others with our whole heart. When we ignore this heart aspect of our faith and try to live out our religion solely as correct doctrine or ethics, our passion is crippled, or perverted, and the divorce of our soul from the heart purposes of God toward us is deepened. Want more? Order your copy of The Sacred Romance today

What is it that God wants from you? He wants the same thing that you want. He wants to be loved. He wants to be known as only lovers can know each other. He wants intimacy with you. Yes, yes, he wants your obedience, but only when it flows out of a heart filled with love for him. “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me” (John 14:21). Following hard after Jesus is the heart’s natural response when it has been captured and has fallen deeply in love with him. Reading George MacDonald several years ago, I came across an astounding thought. You’ve probably heard that there is in every human heart a place that God alone can fill. (Lord knows we’ve tried to fill it with everything else, to our utter dismay.) But what the old poet was saying was that there is also in God’s heart a place that you alone can fill. “It follows that there is also a chamber in God himself, into which none can enter but the one, the individual.” You. You are meant to fill a place in the heart of God no one and nothing else can fill. Whoa. He longs for you. You are the one that overwhelms his heart with just “one glance of your eyes” (Song 4:9b). You are the one he sings over with delight and longs to dance with across mountaintops and ballroom floors (Zeph. 3:17). You are the one who takes his breath away by your beautiful heart that, against all odds, hopes in him. Let that be true for a moment. Let it be true of you. God wants to live this life together with you, to share in your days and decisions, your desires and disappointments. He wants intimacy with you in the midst of the madness and mundane, the meetings and memos, the laundry and lists, the carpools and conversations and projects and pain. He wants to pour his love into your heart, and he longs to have you pour yours into his. He wants your deep heart, that center place within that is the truest you. He is not interested in intimacy with the woman you think you are supposed to be. He wants intimacy with the real you.Want more? Order your copy of Captivating today

You must understand an important distinction — there is Christianity, and then there is church culture. They are not the same. Often they are far from the same. The personality conveyed through much of Christian culture is not the personality of Jesus but of the people in charge of that particular franchise. Tragically, the world looks at funny hats or big hair, gold thrones and purple curtains, stained glass or fog machines and assumes this is what Jesus must be like.When you are confronted with something from Christian culture, ask yourself, Is this true of the God of the wind and the desert, the God of sunshine and the open sea? This will dispel truckloads of religious nonsense. Want more? Order your copy of Beautiful Outlaw today

We feel that God is not only unconcerned with our plight, but that he is actually working against us. And sometimes, we are right… Indeed, in the seventeenth chapter of Acts, Paul gives the Athenians the stunning news that every single thing in the lives of both nations and individuals is orchestrated with this sole objective that they might seek God (vv. 26-28). This revelation requires some reflection. We are used to thinking of the great movements of history, even the movements in our immediate relationships, as being impersonal, if not arbitrary. But with God, who notes the fall of every sparrow, the events of our lives are thoughtfully and thoroughly orchestrated to bring about our redemption. The days of our lives were ordered and numbered before there was one of them, says the psalmist (139:16). And yet, the ways of his redemption often leave us trembling and fearful."Do you really care for me, God?" Can we trust this stranger who leaps out upon us? Could it be that his glory and our well-being really are part of the same script?If only we understood his heart more clearly... Want more? Order your copy of The Sacred Romance today

Wisdom is crucial. But wisdom is not enough. Wisdom is essential...and insufficient.Saul of Tarsus was headed to Damascus, "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples," with official documents granting him permission to arrest all Christians in the city and have them sent to prison (Acts 9:1-2). Now, you and I know that Jesus changed Saul's agenda rather radically before he ever reached the city — the blinding light, the voice from heaven, the total realignment of his worldview. But the believers in Damascus don't know all this. As they wait in fear for Saul's arrival, God speaks to one of them, a man named Ananias, and tells him to go to the house where Saul is staying, lay hands on him, and pray for him. Understandably, Ananias suggests this is not such a good idea. "Lord ... I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name" (9:13-14). It's okay, God says, he's my man now. Against wisdom Ananias goes, and the greatest of all the apostles is launched.The Bible is full of such counterintuitive direction from God. Would you counsel a father to sacrifice his only child, the only hope for the promised nation? Certainly, it wasn't wisdom that compelled a fugitive to walk back into the country where he was wanted for murder, a land where all his kin were held as slaves, march into Pharaoh's palace and demand their release. Was it reasonable to take a fortified city by marching around it blowing trumpets? What's the sense of slashing the ranks of your army from 32,000 to 300, just before battle? It was dangerous advice, indeed, to send the young maiden before her king unbidden, and even worse to send a boy against a trained mercenary. And frankly, it looked like perfect madness for Jesus to give himself up to the authorities, let himself get killed. Want more? Order your copy of Waking the Dead today

Scripture names hope as one of the Three Great Forces of human existence: Three things will last forever — faith, hope, and love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT) By saying they last forever, God names these three as immortal powers. A life without faith has no meaning; a life without love isn’t worth living; a life without hope is a dark cavern from which you cannot escape. These things aren’t simply “virtues.” Faith, hope, and love are mighty forces meant to carry your life forward, upward; they are your wings and the strength to use them. I believe hope plays the critical role. You’ll find it pretty hard to love when you’ve lost hope; hopelessness collapses into who cares? And what does it matter that we have faith if we have no hope? Faith is just a rigid doctrine with nothing to look forward to. Hope is the wind in your sails, the spring in your step. Hope is so essential to your being Scripture calls it “an anchor for the soul” (Hebrews 6:19). In an untethered world, we need a hope that can anchor us. But to really grasp hope’s beauty and power, you only need to think of what it is like to lose all hope whatsoever. I shudder; my moments of hopelessness are the darkest memories of my life. When we lose hope we wander too close to the shadowlands of hell, whose occupants “abandon all hope,” according to Dante. Hope is the sunlight of the soul; without it, our inner world walks about in shadows. But like a sunrise in the heart, hope sheds light over our view of everything else, casting all things in a new light. It wasn’t merely sunlight bathing the mountain this morning — it was hope. Faith is something that looks backward — we remember the ways God has come through for his people, and for us, and our belief is strengthened that he will come through again. Love is exercised in the present moment; we love in the “now.” Hope is unique; hope looks forward, anticipating the good that is coming. Hope reaches into the future to take hold of something we do not yet have, may not yet even see. Strong hope seizes the future that is not yet; it is the confident expectation of goodness coming to us. It might be helpful to pause and ask yourself, How is my hope these days? Where is my hope these days?Want more? Order your copy of All Things New today

Through his cross he paid for our sin, cleansed us, bought us out of the dungeons of the evil one and brought us back to his Abba. Jesus established a whole new way of relating to God. He often reclined at meals with people; he stopped along the road to chat; he touched them, embraced them. He called them by name, and they him. Jesus is always closing the distance. The encounters in the Gospels are intimate. My goodness, the whole incarnation is intimate. Immanuel, God with us. Why do we feel we must help Jesus set that mistake right by pushing him off a bit with reverent language and lofty tones? I understand that much of it is done with good intention, by men and women who want to honor Christ. Just like Peter. But the irony is, this isn’t how God chose to relate to us. Want more? Order your copy of Beautiful Outlaw today

We grow during meaningful conversations with kindred spirits. But that's often hard to find in the midst of our non-stop days filled with never-ending to-do lists. Today, we want to lift up several powerful podcast conversations as a way to encourage care for your soul in this season. Simply click on any of the titles below to begin listening:Simple Soul Practices — Part 1, Part 2 Enforcing the Kingdom of God — Part 1, Part 2Why Summer Wasn't EnoughLong-Term Recovery PlanGuarding Against DesolationOur Eden HeartsYou can automatically receive our new podcast each week with the Wild at Heart app. It's free and features the Daily Reading, Prayers, and more. Click here for the Wild at Heart app. Want More? Click here to sign up for the Wild at Heart Weekly Podcast

I don't fully understand the modern church's amnesia-plus-aversion regarding one of the most central qualities of God understood for centuries before us:The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. (Ex. 15:3 NIV)The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies. (Isa. 42:13 NIV)But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. (Jer. 20:11 NIV) [The NASB translates mighty warrior "dread champion." Goliath was a dread champion; the mighty men of David were dread champions. King James has it as "a mighty terrible one."]Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. (Ps. 24:7-8 NIV)Our God is a warrior, mighty and terrible in battle, and he leads armies. It is this God that man is made in the image of. I spoke of this in Wild at Heart, but some things bear repeating, because a man will be in a much better place to enter the stage of the Warrior if he knows this is thoroughly grounded in Scripture, supported by Scripture, compelled by Scripture. Want more? Order your copy of Fathered by God today

Imagine the stories that we'll hear. And all the questions that shall finally have answers. "What were you thinking when you drove the old Ford out on the ice?" "Did you hear that Betty and Dan got back together? But of course you did — you were probably involved in that, weren't you?" "How come you never told us about your time in the war?" "Did you ever know how much I loved you?" And the answers won't be one-word answers, but story after story, a feast of wonder and laughter and glad tears.The setting for this will be a great party, the wedding feast of the Lamb. Now, you've got to get images of Baptist receptions entirely out of your mind — folks milling around in the church gym, holding Styrofoam cups of punch, wondering what to do with themselves. You've got to picture an Italian wedding or, better, a Jewish wedding. They roll up the rugs and push back the furniture. There is dancing: "Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well" (Jer. 31:13). There is feasting: "On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples" (Isa. 25:6). (Can you imagine what kind of cook God must be?) And there is drinking — the feast God says he is preparing includes "a banquet of aged wine — the best of meats and the finest of wines." In fact, at his Last Supper our Bridegroom said he will not drink of "the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes" (Luke 22:18). Then he'll pop a cork.And the people came together and the people came to dance and they danced like a wave upon the sea. (Yeats) Want more? Order your copy of The Journey of Desire today

Life on the road takes us into our heart, for only when we are present in the deep sentences can God speak to them. That's why the Story is a journey; it has to be lived, it cannot simply be talked about. When we face trials, our most common reaction is to ask God, "Why won't you relieve us?" And when he doesn't, we resignedly ask, "What do you want me to do?" Now we have a new question: "Where is the Romance headed?"There is another great "revealing" in our life on the road. We run our race, we travel our journey, in the words of Hebrews, before "a great cloud of witnesses" (12:1). When we face a decision to fall back or press on, the whole universe holds its breath—angels, demons, our friends and foes, and the Trinity itself—watching with bated breath to see what we will do. We are still in the drama of Act III and the heart of God is still on trial. The question that lingers from the fall of Satan and the fall of man remains: Will anyone trust the great heart of the Father, or will we shrink back in faithless fear?As we grow into the love of God and the freedom of our own hearts, we grow in our ability to cast our vote on behalf of God. Our acts of love and sacrifice, the little decisions to leave our false loves behind, and the great struggles of our heart reveal to the world our true identity: We really are the sons and daughters of God. Want more? Order your copy of The Sacred Romance today

The things that have happened to us often suggest that the real script of the play we're all living in is "God is indifferent" rather than "God is love." Deep down in our hearts, in the place where the story is formed, this experience of God as indifferent drives us to write our own scripts. Job apparently lived with this anxiety about God even before his tribulations descended upon him, as evidenced by his exclamation from the ashes of his home and his life: "What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me" (Job 3:25, emphasis added).Job was a God-fearing man and yet something in him suspected that faith in God did not necessarily translate into peace and safety. Of course, Job had no inkling of the discussion going on in heaven between God and Satan. It was a debate over whether the foundation of God's kingdom was based on genuine love or power. And astonishingly, God was placing the perception of his own integrity as well as the reputation of his whole kingdom on the genuineness of Job's heart. (See Job 1:6-12; 2:1-10.)Indeed, when we consider how central a part Job was given in the drama God was directing, we are confronted with the reality that we, too, could be in the same position. It seems that the part God has written for us is much too big and certainly too dangerous. Paul confirms this thought in Ephesians when he tells us, "The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence" (1:22-23 The Message). Every human being is of great significance to God, but those whom God has drawn to believe in him are center stage in a drama of cosmic proportions. Want more? Order your copy of The Sacred Romance today

Creation sometimes screams a confusing message — fear, pain, grief. Fire burns, rivers flood, winds go hurricane, the earth shudders so hard it levels cities. But you must remember — this was not so in Eden. Mankind fell, surrendering this earth to the evil one. St Paul says that creation groans for the day of its restoration (see Rom. 8:18–22), making it clear that everything is not as it was meant to be. People come to terrible conclusions when they assume this world is exactly as God intended. (An assumption that has wrought havoc in the sciences.) The earth is broken.Which only makes the beauty that does flow so generously that much more astounding. And reassuring. Want more? Order your copy of Beautiful Outlaw today

We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline. (Hebrews 6:18–19 The Message)The hope and promise of the restoration of all things has been planted in your heart — whether you are aware of it or not. It is the only hope strong enough, brilliant enough, glorious enough to overcome the heartache of this world.One morning you will wake, and sunlight will be coming in through the curtains. You will hear the sound of birds singing in the garden; delicious scents of summer will waft in on the breeze. As you open your eyes you realize your body feels young and whole. No tormenting thoughts will rush in to assault you; you realize that your soul feels young and whole too. As you sit up to look around the bedroom filled with light, you hear the sounds of laughter and running water outside and you will know — it is going to be a wonderful day.Only this hope can serve as the anchor for your soul. The renewal of all things, including you, is the only hope strong enough, brilliant enough, glorious enough to overcome the heartache of this world.So chase it now with all of your being.———————————Take the time to pause here, and dream. When you imagine the first few moments when your life is restored, what are the first three things you will want to do? Who will you want to see? Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT)The thing you are made for is the renewal of all things. God has given you a heart for his kingdom—not the wispy vagaries of a cloudy heaven, but the sharp reality of the world made new. This is one of the most important things you can know about yourself. Did you know this about yourself? When was the last time you told yourself, as you looked in the mirror in the morning, Good morning; you have a heart for the kingdom? This explains so much; it will be such an enormous help to you. It explains your anger and all of your addictions. It explains your cry for justice, and it also explains the growing hopelessness, resignation, cynicism, and defeat.If you will listen with kindness and compassion to your own soul, you will hear the echoes of a hope so precious you can barely put words to it, a wild hope you can hardly bear to embrace. God put it there. He also breathed the corresponding promise into the earth; it is the whisper that keeps coming to you in moments of golden goodness. But of course, the secret to your unhappiness and the answer to the agony of the earth are one and the same — you are longing for the kingdom of God. You are aching for God’s promise of the restoration of all things.———————————Jesus — restore my hope this year. Renew my hope that you are going to renew all things, including my life.Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. (Psalm 139:5)At the Fall, why did God curse Adam and Eve with an emptiness that nothing would be able to fill? Wasn’t life going to be hard enough out there in the world, banished from the Garden? It seems unkind. Cruel, even.He did it to save them. For as we all know, the heart shifted at the Fall. Something sent its roots down deep into their souls — that mistrust of God’s heart and resolution to find life on their own terms. So God thwarted them. In love, he blocked their attempts until, wounded and aching, they turned to him for their rescue.Jesus has to thwart you too. Your controlling and your hiding; the ways you seek to fill the ache within you. Otherwise, you would never fully turn to him for your rescue. Oh, you might turn to him for a ticket to heaven when you die. But inside, your heart remains broken far from the One who can help you.And so you will see the gentle, firm hand of God in your life hemming you in. Wherever it is you have sought life apart from him, he disrupts your plans, your “way of life” that is not life at all.———————————How has God been “hemming you in,” disrupting the plans you have to make life work?Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

Long before [God] laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. (Ephesians 1:4 The Message) We exercise because we want to grow stronger; we take vitamins in the hope of being healthy; we attend language classes expecting to learn a new language. We travel for adventure; we work in the hope of prospering; we love partly in the hope of being loved. So why Christianity? What is the effect Christianity is intended to have upon a person who becomes a Christian, seeks to live as a Christian?The way you answer that question is mighty important. Your beliefs about this will shape your convictions about nearly everything else. It will shape your understanding of the purpose of the gospel; it will shape your understanding of what you believe God is up to in a person’s life. What is Christianity supposed to do to a person?God wants to make people whole and holy, by his love. To make you whole and holy by his love. Whole, and holy—this is what you ache for. ———————————Jesus — do I really believe this? What do I think you are actually up to in my life? Show me, Lord. Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14)January 1. A brand-new year. It’s the time of year we start thinking about making changes. This year, rather than writing a quick list of resolutions that we’ll likely forget before February, maybe we should take a different approach. This is a good time for each of us to ask ourselves, What do I want to be different this year?Sit with that for ten minutes. Let your heart surface and then ... take it to Jesus in prayer. Lord, come into this. Show me the way. I will often ask God for his “theme” over my new year: Jesus, what is the theme of this year?I do this every January, and it has proven a mighty rescue many times over. Usually, Jesus says one simple thing. One year I heard, “Love.” All through the year, I found myself needing to return to the simple truth of love. Another year it was, “Restoration,” and that was the year I took a short sabbatical and sought needed restoration.———————————Ask Jesus, What is the theme of this year, Lord? And when he speaks, write it down! Post it somewhere you will see it often. In very big letters. Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

He who testifies to all these things says it again: “I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon!” Yes! Come, Master Jesus! (Revelation 22:20 The Message)There’s nothing like stepping out your door into the beckoning world. This is why people vacation in beautiful places. It’s also the secret to the stories you love — that magical moment when the hero or heroine steps into a “brave new world.”Dear friend, you’re preparing your heart to receive the hope that alone can be the anchor of your soul. One day soon you will step into a renewed earth, sparkling like an orchard of cherry trees after a rain shower. Joy will be yours. How do you open your heart to this after so much pain and disappointment? You have lost many things as you’ve passed through the battlefields of this war-torn world; your humanity has been stripped of such essential goodness. One of your greatest losses is the gift of wonder, the doorway into the kingdom heart. But you have special places and favorite stories that will awaken it.Sometimes even a single phrase like “they strode away into the night” can awaken a sense of longing that almost pierces. There are parts of you, no matter how deeply buried, that still remember you were made for this. You have been looking for the kingdom all your life. It is the most beautiful, hopeful, glorious promise ever made. And it is real. And it is yours.———————————Just stay with that for more than a second: It is real. And it is yours. Repeat that to yourself. The restoration of all things is real. And it is mine. Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many “righteous ones,” as he himself carries the burden of their sins. (Isaiah 53:11–12 The Message)If you woke each morning and your heart leapt with hope, knowing that the renewal of all things was just around the corner — might even come today — you would be one happy person. If you knew in every fiber of your being that nothing is lost, that everything will be restored to you and then some, you would be armored against discouragement and despair. If your heart’s imagination were filled with rich expectations of all the goodness coming to you, your confidence would be contagious; you would be unstoppable, revolutionary.Dear friend — don’t you let anyone or anything cheat you of this hope. You have barely begun to take hold of it. Do not let anything diminish the beauty, power, and significance of this hope above all hopes. Jesus lived the way he did in this world, for this world, because his hope was set beyond this world; that is the secret of his life.You need to take this hope so seriously you sell everything to buy this field. You must make this utterly real and tangible, so that your soul becomes truly anchored by it.———————————It’s true—you must make this utterly real and tangible. Begin to journal about your plans to enjoy your unending life. Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

“After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. ... His master commended him: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’ ” (Matthew 25:19–21 The Message)You are created to accomplish a work worthy of God; it is one of your deepest yearnings. And you will, in the kingdom; not just once, but many, many times over. Are you employed in the actual restoration itself? I don’t know for certain. “They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated” (Isaiah 61:4) certainly hints at it. And you know your God is a God of process — look at how long your sanctification is taking.You might think I am merely daydreaming about what we actually do in the kingdom. But remember — God creates you to be a creator like he is. You are promised you will reign; you will be given estates; you will have a vital role in the kingdom.He says to you, “Be my partner”—that’s the perfect way to put it. The idea behind the parable of the three servants in Matthew is promotion. And notice that the servants are promoted in the very things they are good at! God puts his renewed sons and daughters — creators like he is — in a re-created world and tells them to do exactly what he told Adam and Eve to do in the beginning.———————————As the old year fades, and the new year approaches, what are you hoping to do with your life? You should let yourself dream ... and then let those dreams carry right on into your wonderful, unending life! Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

“Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride. Whoever hears, echo, “Come!” Is anyone thirsty? Come! All who will, come and drink, drink freely of the Water of Life! (Revelation 22:17 The Message)Two ideas are absolutely basic to a Christian understanding of this world: first, you are created for happiness and second, that you’ll not truly be happy until Jesus brings into fullness the kingdom of God. So what’s with the awkwardness of Christians talking about his return, and, more fascinating (and troubling), how come no one really prays for it?I want to venture an observation: if you’re not personally longing for and praying for the return of Jesus, you’re still committed to making life work here and now. Your prayers reveal what you are after. If you’re not praying for the return of Jesus, you’re not banking on it or looking forward to it much. But ... you’re created for happiness, and you’re not going to truly find it until the kingdom is yours.In the book of Revelation we see the church longing for and praying for the return of Jesus: “Please come! Come now! We want you to come!” This isn’t a fear of dying. This is hopeful, eager expectation of every dream you ever had coming true. This is the expectation of life coming to you in all its fullness. Not to mention your Jesus coming to you. And never ever losing it again.———————————Dear friend, pray for it daily! It will do you good to begin to pray for Jesus to return! Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Indeed, you are our glory and joy. (1 Thessalonians 2:19–20)Where is this supposed coming? The current expression of that is often: “But every age has thought Jesus was about to show up. It might take another thousand years.” It sounds so reasonable. Yes, every age has thought that Christ would return any moment, and they were right to do so because “any moment” could have been their moment. They were right to have expected his return because they were commanded to by Christ himself. They were wise to do so because it’s the antidote to so many harmful things; when it’s embraced that the master is still far off, the heart turns toward indulgences of this world, trying to slake kingdom thirst with everything within reach.Friend, turn your soul toward meditating on Christ’s return. As we draw closer to the Day itself, the church begins to turn its focus from “heaven” to the coming kingdom, the restoration of all things. (The church at the end of Revelation is crying out for his return!) I guarantee you one thin — we are closer now than ever before. There is every reason to expect to hear that trumpet blast any day. If what this world is going through does not count as birth pangs, I honestly don’t know what will.———————————Are you looking for signs of Christ’s return? We are supposed to be; in fact, we are commanded to! Begin to turn your heart toward the return of Jesus right now—what if it happened today?! Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

Then I looked, and, oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, “Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.” (Revelation 4:1 The Message)The dreams I have about the kingdom only started this year. Then one day it struck me: Maybe I don’t get pictures from God because I don’t ask for them. So I began asking.And God began answering. Not only in dreams, but in all sorts of ways (he is eager to fill your heart with hope!). The sunrise out my window has become a regular reminder for me; I’ve come to look for his promise there every morning. I cut pictures out of magazines for a scrapbook of images of the new earth, images that have a special magic for me of the Great Renewal.Dear friend, you will be greatly helped by filling the treasury of your imagination with images of the coming Renewal; without them, it will be nigh impossible to make this the anchor of your soul. If you would take hold of this hope with both hands and never let go, you need to know what it is you are taking hold of. If you can’t imagine it, you can’t hope for it. The foggy and vague do not inspire, ever.Ask God to show you his promises, and then hold tightly to them.———————————Take some time to look at photos that speak the promise of the Restoration to you. Create a journal with these and revisit the hope it offers regularly. It will feed your heart with goodness and the joy it needs. Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me.” (Revelation 22:12 NLT)Reward—it fills the pages of both Testaments. C. S. Lewis writes: “If you consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Your Lord finds your desires not too strong, but too weak.”Unblushing means boldfaced, unashamed. Did you know the promises of reward offered to you in Scripture are bold, unashamed, brazen? Reward is a central theme in the teachings of Jesus, in the Bible as a whole.God seems to be of the opinion that no one should sustain the rigors of the Christian life without very robust and concrete hopes of brazen reward.Consider that pastor who serves a small and petty congregation for forty years. What about the believer who struggled under mental illness, largely alone? What do they have to look forward to? No doubt every noble deed of their hidden faithfulness, every misunderstood action of love will be individually and specifically rewarded.Oh yes, rewards will be given out in the kingdom with great honor and ceremony. And I believe one of our greatest joys will be to witness it happen.———————————I know very few contemporary Christians who have a hope of coming reward. The old saints did, but not our age. Is reward something you allow yourself to hope for? If not ... why not? Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

“Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I’m creating.” (Isaiah 65:18 The Message)Certainly storytelling is one of the great pleasures in the kingdom. Would you like to write? Illustrate? Act? Produce? These are not obliterated when you step into the life to come; God renews all things. Dallas Willard assures:We will not sit around looking at one another or at God for eternity but will join in the endlessly ongoing creative work of God. It is for this that we were each individually intended, as both kings and priests (Exodus 19:6; Revelation 5:10). ... A place in God’s creative order has been reserved for each one of us from before the beginnings of cosmic existence. His plan is for us to develop, as apprentices to Jesus, to the point where we can take our place in the ongoing creativity of the universe.Just as Adam and Eve were commissioned to, only this time around on a higher level, with greater powers, creatively engaged in very real and tangible things. You eat in the city; surely the joy of eating doesn’t end with the feast. Who grows the food? Who brings it to market? What chefs prepare it? It’s unlike God to just “zap” these things into existence while you sit around doing nothing. No, friend, he creates you to create — in your full glory.———————————If God allows our gifts to be fully used in his coming kingdom, what gifts would you love to bring to the Story? What would you love to do? Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:10)What will it be like to be crowned with everlasting joy? To be “overtaken” with gladness and joy? There is certainly the joy of relief. People who survive accidents often break out in giddy laughter afterward, relief overtaking the fear of the event. But there is also the joy of anticipation, the joy that comes when you know the road has opened before you and life will now happen the way you’ve always wished it would. Both shall be yours, the relief, followed by the thrill of anticipation—probably in that order.It may be a difficult thing to imagine your soul’s complete restoration. But perhaps you can get there by thinking of the restoration of the ones you love. Think of the joy it will be to see them young and well, alive and free, everything you knew they were! You always knew there was a shining greatness in there, though they never could quite take hold of it for themselves. And you see it. How many times over will we hear at the feast, “Look at you! You’re glorious!”?Oh, to see again the ones we have lost and know they can never be taken from us again. Imagine the tears of joy and the very long embraces!———————————Whom are you looking forward to seeing again? Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

“God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8 NLT)According to the Scriptures, the heart can be troubled, wounded, pierced, grieved, even broken. How well you know that. Thankfully, it can also be cheerful, glad, joyful, rejoicing. The heart can be whole or divided — as in “Well, part of me wants to, but the other part of me doesn’t.” It can be wise or foolish. It can be steadfast, true, valiant. (All of these descriptions can be found by perusing the word heart in any concordance.) It can also be frightened, cowardly, wandering, dull, proud, hardened. Wicked and perverse. I think you know that as well.But friend, according to Jesus, your heart can also be pure. The Bible sees the heart as the source of all creativity, courage, and conviction. It is the source of your faith, your hope, and of course, your love. It is the “wellspring of life” within you (Proverbs 4:23), the center of your being, the fount of your life.There is no escaping the centrality of the heart. God knows that; it’s why he made it the central theme of the Bible, just as he placed the physical heart in the center of the human body. The heart is central; to find your life, you must make it central again.———————————Jesus — I keep losing track of my heart every week. Thank you that you keep calling me back. Where am I needing to “come back” today, Lord? Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)There’s an expression that is used to describe someone who’s out of sorts, who’s not acting like the person she’s known to be: “She’s just not herself today.” It’s a marvelous, gracious phrase, for in a very real way, no one is quite himself today. There’s more to you than you have seen. I know my wife is more beautiful than she imagines. I’ve seen it slip out, seen moments of her glory. Suddenly, her beauty shines through, as though a veil has been lifted.You have moments like this, glimpses of your true creation. They come unexpectedly and then fade again. Life for the most part keeps your glory hidden, cloaked by sin, or sorrow, or merely weariness. How truly wonderful it will be to see the entirety of this restored to you.When the disciples saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, they got a peek at his glory. He was radiant, beautiful, magnificent. He was Jesus, the Jesus they knew and loved—only more so. And you shall be glorious as well. Jesus called himself the Son of Man to state clearly that he is what mankind was meant to be. What you see in Jesus is your personal destiny.———————————Have you dreamed about who you will be when your full restoration is complete? It might do you good to let your heart go there. Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today

The child-heart wants to know, “Will there be animals in heaven?” The calloused heart dismisses this as theologically unworthy. Friend, the whole debate ends when you realize that heaven comes to earth. How could your creative God renew his precious earth and not fill it with a renewed animal kingdom? That would be like a village without people.You know there are horses, for Jesus and his company return on horseback. I wonder what Jesus named his horse. Does he come to his whistle? Does he need a saddle? Oh yes—there are horses in the kingdom.Now, unless you want to dismiss this as completely allegorical, we have wolves, lambs, leopards, lions, and bears in the kingdom as well. The kingdom of God operates in its fullness on earth. And animals are clearly a part of it, praise our loving Father.The animal kingdom will be your joyful partner. They will not be afraid of you, nor you of them. They will long to love and serve.———————————Dream, my friend. What animals would you love to have come to your call, to have a deep and holy friendship with? Will your childhood dog run to meet you? (God makes all things new.) Will you fly on a golden eagle? Ride the waves with a whale? What does it look like to you, to partner with nature as God intended? Want more? Order your copy of Restoration Year today