When a refrigerator was a MAJOR expense but you knew you would get at least 10, maybe more, years out of it… The fridge before my current one lasted 3 years!!

When you saved and scraped to get a car, knowing you’d have it for decades…

When you did your research to buy a lawn mower, a computer, a dishwasher, etc.

When did we start paying the same amount for cheaper made things?

This is one question we NEVER have to ask of God’s redeeming love….

For God so loved the WORLD: That’s every person, man, woman and child, made in HIS image… NOTHING cheap about that!

that He gave His one and only Son: That’s a price that is literally immeasurable… NOTHING cheap about that!

that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish: That’s a gift we could never purchase, but we graciously receive with a heart’s desire to love and serve God… NOTHING cheap about that!

but will have eternal life! If it lasts FOREVER… NOTHING cheap about that!!

Praise God that His love is not cheap and it never expires!

“Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain.

He washed it white as snow!”

I’m sure in the last few years most of us have done a little “cleaning out” of our drawers, closets, garages, etc. Often when we take on such a task, we ask ourselves, “Do I need this? Have a used this in the last few months? Have a touched it in the last year?” etc. I’m guessing if the item has an inch of dust on it, it’s probably not a necessary item, just an accessory.

Question:

How dusty is God in your life?

Is He just an accessory?

Just pull Him out when you have a MAJOR issue,

Need something desperately (that you’ve already tried your hardest to earn or acquire on your own),

In desperation you yell for Him because you just don’t know where else to turn?

OR

Is He a necessity?

You cannot imagine taking your next breath without recognizing that He’s the sustainer of your life!

You open your eyes in the morning and praise Him for the day He’s ALREADY prepared for you!

You thank Him for the big things, and the little—almost unnoticeable things.

You cry out to Him FIRST because you know you cannot even attempt to do anything without Him.

My version of Matthew 6:33: “Seek Me First…”—God

An accessory or a necessity? You choose.

The longest musical performance in history is currently taking place in the church of St. Burchardi in Halberstadt, Germany. The performance of John Cage’s “Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow As Possible)” started on Sept. 5, 2001, and is set to finish in 2640. Recently the note was changed October 2013; then in 2020. The most recent note was played on February 5, 2024. The next note will be played on August 5, 2026.

A 1997 conference of musicians and philosophers discussed the implications of Cage’s instruction to play the piece “as slow as possible”, given that an organ imposes virtually no time limits. A project emerged to perform the piece for 639 years. A pipe organ that has been properly maintained has no finite lifespan; the duration was chosen to commemorate the first documented permanent organ installation, in 1361 in the cathedral of Halberstadt, 639 years before the proposed start date of 2000.

The performance is scheduled to end on September 5, 2640.

That is a VERY LONG SONG! Do you think the neighbors, listening to it day after day, drown out the constant hum of each prolonged note? That the beautiful song is relegated to background noise?

Do you ever feel like that? Like your voice is not heard, your concerns are not noted, the longing of your heart is just a hum to everyone else around you? Do you think that even after 639 years (a bit of exaggeration here, but some days it feels like that!) all that is left of your thoughts is just a drone of A above middle C, just background noise?

Do you even wonder if God hears?

Be encouraged! You are heard! Your voice is important! Your thoughts are treasured!

2 Samuel 22:7 and Psalm 18:6 both say:

“From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came to His ears.”

Psalm 66:19 “God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.”

Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

1 John 5:14b “… He hears us.”

The hum of John Cage’s “Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow As Possible)” may last long after all of us who are reading this blog are gone from this earth. 639 years is a LONG time… But God’s living, exciting promises are eternal! Take hold of this:

HE HEARS YOU!!

You are NOT a hum, or a drone in HIS EAR!

He longs to hear from you!

in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light… Ephesians 5:8

Light is a curious thing. Here are some really cool facts:

1. It’s the fastest thing in our known universe.

2. It travels in a straight path.

3. It does not bend.

4. It is visible and invisible, due to our eye limitations.

5. When it hits something it does one of three things:

Bounces off,

gets soaked up,

or passes through.

6. It can only be seen when it hits something, thus why empty space is dark.

Think about God describing Himself as Light…

1. He is the fastest! No one else is omni-present! Now that’s fast!

2 and 3. God is God. There is no change in Him, EVER. He was, is and always will be exactly Who He is today. He does not bend, He is straight in character.

4, He is visible and invisible. (Romans 1:20) He shows Himself to us in many ways: Through creation, through His work in our lives, through others, through His Word. Yet, He remains invisible.

5. When God “hits” someone, they will do one of three things with Him. People will hear about God and His love and it just bounces right off of them. Or they hear and soak it all in, a changed life is the result. Or, upon hearing about God’s love it passes through them; it may affect them for the moment, but it doesn’t really stick.

6. There is NO EMPTINESS IN GOD. Nothing lacking, nothing needy, no void, because God “hits” everything! This resonates with me most because this is a real struggle for many, just feeling empty at times. When God hits us, and He does regularly, daily, we cannot possibly be truly empty.

First – He is light and in Him is no darkness, no emptiness. (1 John 1:5)

Second – His Spirit lives within us, so there can be no emptiness, no darkness. (2 Cor. 1:22) Finally – He has promised to be with us ALWAYS! (Hebrews 13:5b)

So, when the empty moments come, they are a lie from the father of lies!

Call it what it is and claim the truth!

Light is a curious thing, PRAISE GOD that HE IS LIGHT!

And no darkness, whether physical, mental, spiritual or emotional can stand once He is present!