I can't stop...

I can’t believe You’re here close to me
It’s getting hard to stand
But I don’t want to leave
Your beauty stands out
Like a bright light shining through the clouds
It’s overwhelming just to be with You now

I can’t stop, I can’t stop falling in love with You
-Leeland

I love Jesus. I really and sincerely do. I was telling Adriana last night that there is nothing that brings me more encouragement and happiness than sitting around talking about the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ. It makes me start to tremble and talk too fast. I get this obnoxious smile on my face that I can't take off and keep shifting in my seat. Funny enough, that's similar to how I get from time to time when I'm with Adriana. It's a bi-product of love--the world admits this! When I get the chance to talk about Jesus I don't shirk from the opportunity and change the subject. No! I leap at the situation and probably cause the other person to say, "what did I just open up?!" haha!

I'm not saying this to brag or anything. How can you brag on yourself about how much you love someone? I do not talk to people about God's love like they are missing out on some exclusive club membership or some super vitamin that makes all things better--like I am a scout or salesman. No, I tell people about their Father that loves them--even though we're the runaways, the rebellious, and the lost. The Father is calling for His runaways to come back home.

Jesus told a story about a runaway once. He talked about how a young man wanted his inheritance from his father early. The father gave it to him and the boy left home. He spent everything--every last coin until he was at the place where he was eating out of a pig's trough. He thought, "If go home, then maybe my father will take me in as a servant." He said this because he knew that even his father's servants never went to bed on an empty stomach. When the father received word that his son was coming back home, he sent servants with fine clothing and rings to put on the young man! The son was amazed at his father's love. The father didn't think about the boy being gone, but that he was now found!

We're the runaways. We have all walked away from our Father whether we know it or not. You see, this is why I love Jesus! He looked at me, Jamie Howard, and saw my mistakes and insecurities. He saw my sins and my attempt to cover them up. Not only did He welcome me back home, but He went on the cross and took the punishment for those sins. He paid my rebellious debt. He redeemed my life at the price of His!

That is what compels me to speak about Christ! I cannot stop, not out of obligation, but out of an understanding of the love that I did not earn. I haven't done anything to repay Christ, nor could I ever. I did not earn His love, it was given freely!

It breaks my heart when Christians refuse to share Christ's love with others, but infinitely more important than that, it breaks Christ's heart. The Father's calling for the runaways to come home. If you are one of those, know that your Father loves you with a fierce love--He desires for you to love Him as He loves you!

I'm praying for both the runaways and the redeemed.

In Christ,
jamie