What is Love?

Most of us are familiar with the "love chapter" found in the Bible - 1 Corinthians 13.  We've heard it recited at weddings or may have glanced through the verses ourselves.  But have we ever slowed down and really dug into the passage to see exactly what it says?  Did we let it penetrate us to the point where we are making a conscience effort to love others as we are commanded to do? 

Let's break down what the Word says about true love, the God kind of love, the love that is placed within every person who comes to Christ. (Romans 5:5)

Love is patient (Suffers long, capable of waiting, able to endure delay without becoming annoyed or upset)
Love is kind (Refers to divesting your life. When you divest, you expect nothing in return)
Love is not jealous (Does not stew with envy)
Love does not brag (Bringing attention to oneself, pride on ourselves and our accomplishments)
Love is not arrogant (Making pretensions and claims to importance, excessive pride in onseslf)
Love does not behave rudely (Does not dishonor others, does not act unbecomingly)
Love does not seek its own (Doesn't pursue selfish advantage, not self seeking, lets God "run the show")
Love is not provoked (Not easily angered, irritable, touchy or resentful)
Love thinks no evil (Keeps no record of wrongs, takes no account to evil done to it)
Love rejoices in the truth (Shares the joys of those who live by Truth)
Love bears all things (Knows no limits to its endurance, bears up under anything)
Love believes all things (No end to its trust, ever ready to believe the best in every person)
Love hopes all things (No fading of its hope)
Love endures all things (Endures everything without weakening)
Love never fails (Does not drop away, goes on forever, wins out in the end)

Lord, we want to love like You.  We want to develop true, lasting relationships that are grounded in the love that only comes from You.  You tell us that even if we abound in spiritual gifts, possess all knowledge, give graciously to the poor, sacrifice our lives - but we do not sincerely love others - we have gained nothing.  May Your Word penetrate our spirits so that we can come to a better understanding of what the God kind of love really is.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Fly on the Wall

Remember times you have wanted to be a fly on the wall? ...to listen in and see what someone truly thought of you or if they even spoke about you at all?  Likewise, we have all had conversations that we dreaded anyone ever hearing or repeating.

God IS interested in what we are saying or not saying. Because of His omnipresence - (and I say this with absolutely no disrespect or demeaning of who God is) - He is a "fly on the wall" in our life.  He not only hears and sees what we are doing, but is keeping notes!

"Then those who feared the Lord talked often one to another; and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who reverenced and worshipfully feared the Lord and who thought on His name." Malachi 3:16

He loves it when we not only talk about Him, but OFTEN!

Notice the reciprocal of that Scripture:

"But I tell you, on the day of judgment men will have to give account for every idle, [empty, careless] word they speak. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37

The God of all creation is listening to us! May the conversation of our lives bring Him the glory He desires and deserves!

(Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 3:8, Psalm 19:14)

Are We Walking in the Truth?

We must stop bending the Word to suit our lifestyle and start bending ourselves to the Word.  When we don't, we are creating a god in our own image. What a harsh reality to face one day that we served the god of self rather than the God of the Bible.

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to being a Christian. We are told in the Word to study to show ourselves approved to God.  It's not an option if we truly desire to know the God we say that we serve. If we truly love Him, we will want to do all we can to get to know Him.  The Bible is a detailed manual of who He is and His plan for His children.

Time to dive into the Bible.  If we lack the desire, what is it that we are loving more than Him? Is it possible we ARE erecting a god that suits us like the children of Israel did in the wilderness?  They even worshipped this "god" saying it is the Lord who delivered them out of Egypt! How easily we can be deceived into thinking we are serving Jesus when really we are only picking and choosing Scriptures that suit us.

Let's examine our lives.  What parts of our lives are we not surrendering to God's ways?  What Scriptures do we skip over because it will force us to face the fact that we are living disobediently in areas of our lives?  What traditions do we hold onto rather than challenge our thinking with what the Word really says? 

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind." 

(Exodus 32, 2 Timothy 2:15, Colossians 2:8, Mark 7:8, Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Timothy 4:1-4)

Alyssa Grace

Lord, I thank You for entrusting Alyssa into my hands - to care for her, to raise her to know You, to learn to hear Your voice, to one day return back to You.  I ask for Your  help, Your guidance, Your wisdom. I want to present You with a daughter one day that has made You proud with her life.  I pray for protection and long life for Alyssa. May Your hand of blessing and favor follow her everywhere she goes.  I commit her once again to You - that she would live a life unashamed of You - a life wrecklessly abandoned to Your will...

I loved you the moment

I knew you were on your way

Such anticipation I had

For your arrival day

Great plans for your life

I held deep in my heart

Never thought for a moment

You’d have such a rough start

You were such a fighter

So little - yet so strong

I watched my baby endure

Five months way too long

Now it’s nine years later

I’m so proud of you

You’ve faced so much

But God carried you through

I look at you now

Your soft, beautiful face

I’m so blessed to have you

My sweet, Alyssa Grace

Happy 9th Birthday! 

God's Beauties

I was reflecting on God's beauty seen throughout creation. As I thanked Him, I felt Him say, "I see beauty in you." It really set me back for a moment. How often we notice the beauty around us, but we fail to see it in God's most cherished creation, US! He sees beauty in us! 

As magnificent as the wonders of the world are - the crashing waves of the ocean, the mountains and all it's splendor, the vastness of the universe  - WE are what Christ came and shed His blood for.

Look at your children. Look at your spouse or significant other. Look at your neighbor, a homeless person, the rich, the poor, the beautiful, the rejected - all of us are the same. Our status according to the world's eyes may be different, but to God we were all made in His image.  Because of the hands of the Almighty that intricately formed us, to Him - we are beauty defined. He cherishes and adores us.  Out of that love, Christ laid down His life in order to make a way to eternally fellowship with us.  He didn't do it for the things in this world - He did it for us, humankind. 

May we see others the way He does.  Beauty.  A soul He longs to have for eternity.  A person made in His image who has a purpose.  As frustrating as people can be, let's look a little deeper to what God sees.  Let's encourage one another to grow and to become all that we were meant to be.  Let's walk in love and treat others how He has commanded us.  He's entrusted us to to be His voice, His hands, His feet.  May we see every opportunity as a chance to share the saving message of Jesus. 

I often call my children "my beauties."  May our words and lifestyle play a part in bringing forth God's longed for desire - for all of His beauties to return to Him.

(Genesis 1:26-28, 2 Peter 3:9, Romans 5:8, Psalm 139:15)

"When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers - the moon and the stars You set in place -what are mere mortals that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them? Yet You made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.  You gave them charge of everything You made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O Lord, our Lord, Your majestic name fills the earth!" (Psalm 8:3-9)

Videos everyone should see!

Indescribable:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewKtSKbWZUI  I encourage you to watch all 5 parts of this series

How Great is our God:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KqziOKZ4AE