John 6: 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.

66 From this time many of his disciples (not the twelve) turned back and no longer followed him.

I am reading this book called "Radical," by David Platt. It was a gift I did not know I needed. Following Jesus is hard; He calls us to so many ways of life that we simply do not want to follow Him into. He wants us to share about Him, love people no matter how they behave, and to follow Him despite the fact that we may be persecuted for doing so. He wants us to do all this to glorify God. "Radical" is a reminder of the reason God created the earth and man in the first place: for His own glory. I am reminded that Jesus brought salvation not only because He loves us, but because in showing His love for us in that way, God is glorified and worshipped.

I am reminded because of this book, that if I am not worshipping God and trying to glorify Him through my life, then I am making my life about ME. Everything aside from the Lord winds up only being about how I am feeling, how well I am satisfied, what my needs are. If I am not bringing all the glory and thanks back to God, I am showing my own selfishness. I am showing that I believe I can do this life by my own works, my own ingenuity. I am showing that I am not truly a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am desperate for God, for a relationship with Him, to love Him and know Him more. Knowing the depths of my sin and admitting that I need a Savior brought me to Jesus, God's grace for us in the flesh. I am asking the Lord to keep this desperation (longing) for Him in my heart, so that I can keep growing and knowing Him better, so that I can be more like Him and be unafraid to tell people of the reason for my hope and my lifestyle, and so that I never want to turn back from Him. I am asking that He give me a heart for His Word, the way to knowing Him. And, I am asking that He show me, here in this new place (the Azores), how I can glorify Him.