Tag Archives: God’s love

April 23; The Lord Be Exalted

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Psalms 31, 56, 40; I Samuel 27:1-12; 28:1-2; 29:1-11; I Chronicles 12:1-7,19-22

I hope Psalm 40 is your testimony. David waited on God, and God heard him, lifted him up out of the depths of sin, and put a new song in David’s mouth. David knows how blessed are we who put our trust in God, who hide His Word in our hearts, who obey Him, and tell others about Him.

David is honest to say life was still hard for him. But even in that, he proclaimed God’s mercy, God’s love, and God’s saving power. Knowing God was in his life gave David reason to rejoice.

It does the same for me. God is our help and deliverer.

The Lord be exulted!

That’s my testimony. I pray you can say the same.

January 29; When You Look Into His Eyes

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Genesis 42-44

It had been Judah’s idea to sell Joseph into slavery, rather than killing him. He was part of the cover-up, to take Joseph’s coat, splatter it with blood, and tell their dad Joseph must have been killed by wild animals. Judah and his brothers watched their dad’s soul die that day. Jacob would never get over losing Joseph.

Now years have passed. The boys are grown with children of their own. But I wonder what Judah thought every time he looked into his father’s eyes, and saw the unspoken grief that was always there. Judah had to know he was responsible, and that he had the ability to return hope to his father, if he told the truth.

Something had changed in Judah according to what I read today. Where earlier, his father’s welfare was of little concern to him, now his father’s welfare was his only concern. In fact, Judah was willing to give up his own life to protect his father from any further grief.

Have you ever done something shameful, or hurtful toward your parents, and seen the hurt in their eyes? Have you ever watched your mom’s shoulders slump, or your dad silently fighting tears, knowing their pain was a direct result of something you’ve done? Have you watched your parents grieve, knowing you could change their grief into joy if you’d only make a different choice?

Then I want you to look into the eyes of your Heavenly Father. You might think the choices you make to sin has no effect on Him. But look closer. Our Dad is heart-broken, and we have the ability to do something about that.

If you’ve never repented of sin, do it. If you are a Christian battling a sin, confess it. Put on Jesus’ righteousness bought for you with His blood.

Then look into the eyes of your Heavenly Father, and see the love, the forgiveness, and the pride He has in those of us who choose Him.

Matthew 4; The Most Precious Thing

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He loved her. He wanted to marry her. They’d been dating for over a year, but he knew she deserved better. She was from a good home, educated, smart, and beautiful. His mom had never married. He’d graduated from high school with marginal grades and, with no money for college, had gotten a job as a welder in a bodyshop in town. He was still a welder in that bodyshop in town.

But today, he’d picked up the diamond he’d been making payments on for several months. He was going to do it.

She took his hand and gave it a squeeze as they slowly walked on the beach at sunset. He knew his hands were sweaty, his heart was in his throat. He stopped, and turned to look deep into her green eyes. Then, he dropped to one knee and pulled the velvet box from his pocket.

“I know people look at us and wonder what you are doing with a guy like me. I’m not rich. I don’t have an impressive career. No one has ever said I’m handsome. But I love you. I’m down here, looking up at you, knowing I have nothing to offer you but myself. But I promise, if you say yes, I will be yours forever. Will you marry me?”

She knelt in front of him and took his face in both her hands. “Don’t you understand? When you give yourself, you are giving me the most precious thing of all. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

______________

On the surface, when you look at the men Jesus called to be his disciples, you’d wonder what he was doing with those guys. They were ordinary men. No impressive pedigrees. Uneducated. But when Jesus called, they dropped everything and followed Him.

They had nothing to offer Jesus but themselves. And Jesus saw that as the most precious thing of all.

God’s not looking for perfect people to follow Him. He’s not interested in bank accounts or public speaking abilities or even Bible knowledge. God wants people who understand that all we have to offer Him is ourselves, broken, sinful, worthless people that we are.

God wants you! He wants me! He wants us to empty ourselves, fall at His feet, and give ourselves with all our imperfections to Him just as we are.

Dear one, in God’s eyes YOU are the most precious thing.

 

Psalms 62-68; Real Rest

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I love the psalms that talk about resting in God. These same psalms may be describing hardship, grief, confusion, frustration, but in the midst of turmoil we are reminded there is a place of rest in the arms of our Father. Listen to some of the verses from these psalms today:

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. (62:1)

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. (62:5)

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (63:8)

Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; (64:10a)

I wonder how often I ignore this rest while I lie awake at night with worry? Or when I replay that incident where someone treated me unfairly, over and over in my mind? Or when I get too busy to read God’s Word and pray? How often do I ignore that rest when I pursue my own agenda without giving God a thought?

One of the great joys of my life has been in being an aunt, and now a great-aunt. Is there anything more precious than when that little one climbs up into your lap, the smell of summer sunshine on his or her skin, and closes their eyes? Their breathing slows, their muscles relax, and soon you are holding that little person you would die for, while the cares of this word drift away?

Sometimes I just want to crawl up in my Father’s lap, lay my head on His shoulder, and just breathe. I can do that by opening my Bible, by shutting out the rest of the world, and talking to the One who loves me more than I can even imagine.

I am reminded my Heavenly Father receives as much joy from my times wrapped up in His arms as I do. Why would I not want to crawl up there every single day?

Psalms 17-18: I Love God

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Before I even opened my Bible this morning I prayed, “God, I just want to praise you today. Nothing controversial, nothing political. I just want to love you today.”

Does God answer prayer? Does He meet us at the point of our need? Imagine my surprise when I read the first verse of Psalm 18:

I love you, O Lord, my strength.

I love LOVE how God makes His Word come alive, how He can speak directly to our hearts from these precious pages.

So I read this psalm, not looking for the ways God worked in David’s life, not trying to identify with David’s suffering, but the fact that God did meet David’s need.

So…

To the God who is my rock and salvation (vs 2), who hears me (vs 6), who has dominion over creation (vv 8-15), who took hold of me and rescued me (vv 16-17), who delights in me (vs 19), who is the giver of every good thing, and turns my darkness into light (vv 20-29), who is perfect, flawless (vs 30), who prepares me to fight my enemy Satan (vv 30-36), who gives the victory (vv 37-45), who is worthy of praise…

I love You!

I Chronicles 26-29; That’s What Friends Are For

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I was reading all the names of David’s chief officers, overseers, and counselors, and was struck that buried in the list of assignments was “the king’s friend.” (27:33) Hushai the Arkite’s position as friend is right up there with Joab, commander of the royal army.

Do you remember Hushai’s story? I went back and re-read 2 Samuel 15-16 and reminded myself that Hushai took on a dangerous assignment when he infiltrated Absalom’s inner circle in order to spy on the son of David, and thwart his attempt to steal the throne away from David. Hushai was that loyal to David. And David trusted Hushai that much.

I can see why David considered Hushai’s friendship an important position in his kingdom.

God has blessed me with some pretty good friendships, too. My forever friends are my sisters. So thankful for their love, and support through the years.

Other wonderful friends have blessed my life for a season, then for various reasons have moved on. I have dear friends in Ohio, and others here in Georgia.

I spent yesterday with four of my friends who live on this island and who worship with me at our church. We went to a quaint little town, browsed the shops, and had lunch. We solved the world’s problems, and laughed like silly school-girls all in one wonderful day. We call ourselves The Fabulous Five, or The Little Old Church Ladies depending on what kind of trouble we’re getting into together. I think yesterday was a fabulous day.

As I think about friendships I find myself considering what these, and other women have to offer me, how they have blessed me, encouraged me, held me accountable. But then God nudged me to consider what kind of friend I am to them.

Do I take more than give? Do I wait for them to call me? Do I go out of my way to stand with them when they need it? How much of myself do I share with them?

God created us to be relational. We are people who need people. (someone should write a song). What a privilege it is to be an extension of God’s love for a friend by loving that friend in a tangible way.

Thank You for friendships, God. I see so many examples in Your Word about the importance of friends. David and Jonathan, David and Hushai, Jesus and John, and Peter, and James, Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Continue to speak to me about my friendships, and help me to be the kind of friend that honors You, and blesses them.

2 Kings 21-25; God’s Delight

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Jewish history as recorded in the Old testament is full of reports of hard times, disease, wars, famines, slavery. Weren’t these God’s chosen people? Wouldn’t that mean they’d be living on Easy Street?

As I read this morning, my mind kept going to my pastor’s Bible Study from last night’s prayer meeting. We’re going through the Psalms, and last night he spoke on 18:6-19, pointing out three things God delights in:

God delights in our prayers.

God delights in responding to our prayers, answering our prayers.

God delights in me. In you.

So as I read 2 Kings today, it occurred to me that God does NOT delight in punishing His people. Oh, discipline is part of His love for us. He will never turn a blind eye to sin. He rejects those who reject Him.

But He doesn’t like it.

He’d much rather enjoy a relationship with us, pure and holy, as we allow Him to clothe us with Jesus’ purity and holiness, through His blood. When I read the accounts of all the bad kings in Israel, and all the ways God disciplined Israel for disobedience, I find myself feeling bad, not for them, but for God. I’m sorry He had to distance Himself from his disobedient people when He so longed to wrap His arms around them and protect them.

And I am sorry for the times He has had to remove Himself from me because of my own disobedience, for the times I have robbed Him of fellowship with me because of my pride, or my neglect of Him, or some sin I haven’t confessed.

Nothing can separate me from His love. His love is a given. But my sin can separate me from a relationship with the One who loves me and gave Himself for me, from the One who delights in me.

As I thought about last night’s Bible lesson, I was reminded that this month is Pastor’s Appreciation Month, and I hope you make it a point to let your pastors know what it is you appreciate about their ministries. I’ve shared that I am blessed to be a part of two fellowships, one in Georgia, and another in Ohio. And I am blessed to call Pastor Whit and Pastor Bill my pastors.

Both men have blessed me, challenged me, and encouraged me to go deeper into God’s Word through their sermons. Both men have demonstrated examples what it means to be ready and eager to share Jesus with people in our communities.

So, Pastor Bill. I appreciate you. I appreciate your heart for the people of Bellville. I appreciate how much you do for our little fellowship, how available you are, and how true to God’s Word you are. Your time in God’s Word speaks to my heart every time I am privileged to hear you share what God lays on your heart. I pray for you and Kris, and for your ministry. May you see the fruit of your efforts in a mighty way, and may God be glorified. I know that is the prayer of your heart.

Pastor Whit, I appreciate you. You inspire me to find ways to share Jesus. I appreciate how you take us verse by verse through the Bible, even those hard passages. I appreciate how God’s Word excites you. Your enthusiasm is contagious. I pray for you and Wendy and the kids, as you serve our Lord on this island. (I love how you love our island!) And I pray that God will continue to guide you as you lead our fellowship into this building  project. May we not just grow a building, but enlarge the church for Jesus sake. I know that is your prayer, too.

Pray for your pastors, and not just because it’s Pastors Appreciate Month. When I read God’s Word I am reminded how important leadership is, not just in nations, but in our fellowships as well. God blesses obedience. Pray that your pastor will be obedient. God blesses true worship. Pray that your pastor will lead you to worship God in Spirit and Truth. God blesses the humble. Pray that your pastor will continue to humble himself before the Lord. Pray for your pastor’s relationship with God.

Pray that God will use your pastor to speak to your own heart, to encourage your own obedience, to prompt you to share the good news of Jesus Christ with lost souls.

And may our fellowships be those which God can delight in as we pray, as we recognize answers to our prayers and give Him the glory, and as we serve Him out of grateful hearts. Remember God delights in YOU. God wants to bless YOU, God wants to fellowship with YOU. He would rather not have to discipline you.

May we delight in the One who delights in us. He certainly deserves it.

 

 

Genesis 9:18-23 – Restoration

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Proverbs 10:12 says, “Love covers all sin,” and that is what we see when Shem and Japheth covered Noah’s naked body. It was the right thing to do. And the way they did it expressed their love for their father.

But covering their dad’s nakedness didn’t erase Noah’s sin of drunkeness.

I’m convinced that many of our modern churches have neglected that fact. God’s love doesn’t cancel out the penalty of sin. His love covers us like a blanket because He IS LOVE. God so loved the world…

But He is also holy and demands holiness of us, His children. He is quite clear that every sin comes with a serious consequence. Every single sin.

We can learn a lesson from Noah’s sons. And it has to do with our reaction when we see a believer sinning.

First, they didn’t ignore it, rationalize it, or judge him for it. They went to him in love and restored his modesty.

Second, they didn’t go around talking about it. Their actions were private and respectful. And they kept it that way.

When we see a brother or sister living with a sin, we need to approach them like Noah’s boys approached their dad. We shouldn’t ignore it, or gossip about it. We need to take that blanket of God’s love, and see if there is some way to restore them, to encourage them to get right with the Lord. Then, we need to walk away and certainly not talk about it to others.

May God find us faithful as we hold one another accountable out of love. And let’s be in the restoration business for Jesus’ sake.

November 10 – Love Is Not All We Need

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Luke 22; John 13

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another. John 13:34-45

What does it mean to love one another? Many seem to believe love is the same thing as acceptance, or tolerance. Some think love means giving people hugs, then giving them space to live life anyway they want. I grew up in the 60’s when the word “love” was proclaimed from drug induced songwriters and poets, and touted as “free.” Is that the love Jesus was speaking about here?

Jesus tells us to love others the same way He loved the disciples, loves us. Let’s look at how Jesus loved:

He healed diseases, forgave sin, pointed out hypocrisy, cast out demons, confronted sinners, overturned money tables, and finally and most importantly, suffered and went to the cross to die. There was no acceptance of sin in the way Jesus loved. There was no looking the other way.

Jesus’ love was not the hippie version of love, or even the Hallmark-feel-good version. Jesus loved tough. Jesus’ love was in-your-face. Jesus’ love went beyond this life into eternity.

Personally, I think we need Jesus’ love demonstrated more fully these days. I think the Church has adopted a definition of love that is meaningless in light of God’s Word. If we adopt the world’s view of love, they won’t recognize us as Jesus’ disciples. We’ll look just like them.

They won’t recognize the reality of Jesus’ love that does not want them to die in their sin. That love which sent Him to the cross so they can be forgiven and live with Him forever. We need more than love. We need to put that love into action just like He did.

We need to love one another hard enough to call sin sin, and introduce people to their Savior. Then we will be loving in the same way Jesus loves.

September 30 – God Hates

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Malachi

The Lord declares, “I have loved Jacob, and hated Esau.” Yet Jesus Himself said God loves the whole world and forgives whoever believes in Him. How can the God who claims to love everyone say He hates anyone?

Esau and Jacob were both the sons of Isaac. In fact, they were twin sons. Was God’s choice to love one and hate the other an arbitrary choice? Was Esau doomed to be hated from the start? Were Esau’s descendants considered God’s enemies just because they were Esau’s descendants?

Here’s what I know about God who is not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL people come to Him:

Jacob and Esau started out on equal footing. One chose to obey God, the other chose his own route. God would have us know He loves those who follow Him. But He views those who reject Him as His enemies. He hates them.

That’s something I don’t like thinking about, much less saying outloud. I am devastated thinking there are people I love who are hated by God. He’s that serious about disobedience. People who reject Him are God’s enemies.

But they don’t have to continue in the hate column. Jesus died to bridge the gap, to provide a way for us to get from the category of Enemy of God, to Child of God. We can’t go from one to the other on our own. We are enemies of God by virtue of unforgiven sin. We can only be God’s beloved by repenting, by being forgiven by the one we have sinned against, by accepting God’s grace through the blood of Jesus.

God, who throws a blanket of love over the world, woos and pokes and prods his enemies in order to get them to come to Him. He works tirelessly to draw all people to Himself so that He can forgive them, and demonstrate His love in a personal way.

Esau could have been loved by God just as much as Jacob was IF he had turned from sin and obeyed God. The same can be said of us. That’s why it is so important that we who know the Savior be telling others about Him, and leading them to the loving arms of their Savior, too.