Today’s huddle I arrived early to, not by choice but by having not been for a while.  Life’s demands have kept me away, but a sense of purpose has drawn me today, and not knowing things got going I showed up thinking it started at 7.  It gave me a chance to help set up and meet some guys.

As we get started we pray and sing a number of songs that we have all come know like Here I am to Worship (one of my favorites) and Amazing Love. Sometimes I think that these songs should have notes on the sides that remind me not start tearing up, as singing about how great and awesome God is and has been to me can move me to tears.  Crying in the proximity of other men isn’t what I tend to think of a being a man. Amazing Love sung by nearly 100 men who have sung a few songs and suddenly start feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit brings the volume up as the intensity of God’s love becomes palpable. Then the words

Amazing love, how can it be
That You my King would die for me?

come out from my lips with as much intensity as I can muster and I am perplexed by the staggering love that manifests itself in the self sacrifice of God’s own life.  Why would God love me so much to come down and offer Himself for me? I know without any doubt or reservation that I don’t have anything to offer God.  I am not a good guy or have a spark of good with me.  I know the horrifying things that I have thought and done, I know the mistakes I have made in how I have wrongly poorly and shamefully treated those who love me the most, and I know that what I know about me is only scratching the surface of just how gross I really am – so why on earth would God love me?  And with a second look at the question the answer is obvious – why oh why on E A R T H … well, the love from God isn’t of this earth.  God’s love came from heaven, and there really, positively isn’t any reason on earth why God should, would or does los me, you or any one of us, and yet He does.  He loves us so much that stepped off His throne where He is worship night and day to become a peasant preacher who was hated and marked for death and murdered by all of us. Yeah, you, just like me have to admit with a straight face and an honest heart that “I killed God!”. Disgusting isn’t it? Yet so overpoweringly wonderful is the good news that despite me murdering God, God loves me!

My name is Mike (obviously) and I spend a lot of time writing software to test software – Software test automation.  My site is all about the different things I have learned and do as well a some personal thoughts about the industry, the world we live in and life in general.  Since I do a lot of consulting, I write here on this site so that would-be customers have a chance to see a small sample of what I do.

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