Tag Archives: loving God

August 15; A Broken Heart

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Ezekiel 20:30-22:31

Do you know how, when you are close to someone who is grieving, you can feel their heart break? You ache because they are hurting so badly, and you know you just can’t fix it for them. Watching a loved one go through the darkest time of her life was probably the hardest thing I have ever done.

The thing about reading the Bible as God’s love letter to me, expecting Him to speak to me, and getting to know His heart through His own words, there are times I feel like I’m watching Him grieve, and my heart breaks for Him.

Today I read His words, His pronouncement of judgment on His disobedient children. I heard His anger, realized the fierce punishment that was coming their way. God is really mad.

But through the years of reading the Bible, I’ve come to understand – in part – God’s heart. Of course I don’t claim to totally get Him, but I know Him enough to know that when He is angry, when He is bringing judgment on His people, He’s doing it from a broken heart.

He says things here in Ezekiel like, “I will pour out my wrath on you…,” “I will make you an object of scorn…,” “I will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made…,” “I will gather you in my anger and my wrath…”

I read His words, but I also see His tears. The God I know takes no pleasure in punishing His children. The God I know longs to walk with us, fellowship with us, bless us. That’s His will for each of us. It’s we who prevent that by our choices to sin. It’s we who break His heart.

When you were a kid and your dad stood in front of you with that belt in his hands, both of you knowing you deserved what was coming, did you ever hear him say, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you”? I hear my Heavenly Father saying that today, and I believe it’s true.

My Heavenly Father, I don’t want to cause You pain. I don’t want to break Your heart. I don’t want to be a rebellious child you need to discipline, because today I see how much that hurts You. God, I want to bring you joy. Forgive my sins. Create in me a clean heart. And may all I do and say today put a smile on Your face. I love You. 

 

Song Of Solomon; Pursuing Love

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Who doesn’t want to be loved? Unless there is mental illness or emotional baggage, I think all of us would admit a longing to be loved, passionately, exclusively, intentionally loved by another. The entertainment business thrives on the topic of love because they know love is the driving force behind nearly everything we do.

But I wonder, then, why there are so many divorces because one or both parties have “fallen out of love.” Friend, the Bible is pretty clear that true love is never out of our control. You don’t believe the lie that says “you can’t help who you love,” do you?

The Song of Songs is a beautiful picture of the passionate, exclusive, intentional love we all long for. In here you will see the man and woman seeking each other at various times. You know that sometimes your spouse needs you to take the initiative, don’t you? Sometimes you need to be the one to reach out, to plan something romantic or surprise them with something special. One person can’t always be the instigator of affection because true love is a two way street.

You will see in Solomon’s Song that neither of the lovers is willing to simply listen to what someone else has to say about their loved one. The watchman said one thing, the lover went and checked it out personally.

You will see examples of the couple taking time for each other, to study each other, to rest in each other while shutting away the rest of the world. You will see mistakes, and forgiveness, a love that thinks less of what it takes than what it gives.

Your marriage depends on the choices you make, not just the feelings you feel.

And so does your relationship with God. Everything in the Song of Solomon that applies to marriage applies to a healthy relationship with our Savior.

We know that He pursues us. Do we pursue Him, too? Do we spend time in His Word and in prayer? Do we long to know Him passionately, exclusively, intentionally the way He longs to know us?

Do we reach out to Him during the day? I remember watching my parents, the way Dad would reach out and touch Mom’s hand, or pat her leg. No words, just that gentle touch that said “I love you.” Do we, likewise, let God know during our day that we are loving Him, too?

All of us long to be passionately, exclusively, intentionally loved, AND WE ARE, if we know the Lord.

Let’s determine to nurture that love, and love God passionately, exclusively, and intentionally back.

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!

October 27 – Counting The Cost

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Luke 14&15

Have you ever agreed to do something before your really checked it out? Or bought something before you read the fine print? Started a project you weren’t sure what to expect? Or even accepted an invitation without knowing the details? How did that work out? Yeah, bummer.

Luke shared that Jesus wanted His disciples to know what they were getting into, because it’s not easy being a disciple of Jesus. It wasn’t when Jesus was walking this earth in bodily form, and it’s not easy today. Jesus wanted all of us to know this. So He spelled it out so we’d know exactly what following Him costs.

In 14:26 He said the first requirement of being a disciple is to love Him more than anything or anyone. He went as far as to say that, in comparison, our feelings for our family should look like hate. Now, Jesus wasn’t advocating we turn on our loved ones. We need to remember to read every verse in light of all of Scripture, and Scripture talks an awfully lot about how we should love one another. But Jesus wants me to ask myself if my love for Him is so complete, so intense, so exclusive, that all other relationships pale in comparison? That if I put it on a scale of 1-10, other relationships would be at zero, while my love for Him is at an 11.

In verse 28, Jesus asks us to consider the cost of discipleship. Can following Jesus strain our pocketbooks? He might call you to pastor a tiny church instead of being CEO of some big company. He might ask you to give sacrificially to His work to the point where you are unable to drive a new and fancy car. You might be overlooked for a promotion at work because of your stand for the Savior. So, yes. Being a disciple of Jesus might effect your finances.

And it might cost you in other ways, too. Relationships, certain parties or social events, not being able to join in the conversation in the break room when people are talking about the latest episode of Modern Family or Dating Naked. Being a disciple of Jesus might cost you your social standing.

Jesus also asks us to consider the fact that His disciples have battles to face (verse 31). This is war. There will be times when He asks us to stand and fight, others when seeking peace is the answer. Are we ready to follow His lead in both cases?

Then, in verse 33 Jesus says this:

So then none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

That’s the fine print we need to read. Being a disciple is not a part time job. It’s not Sunday thing. It’s everything.

Are you a disciple of Jesus? It’s not easy. It’s not even politically correct these days. But if you are His disciple, I imagine we both can agree it’s worth it. I know for myself, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but right there with the One who loves me more than even I can understand. I count everything else a loss except for knowing Him.

June 2 – Everything

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Song of Solomon

When I read Solomon’s Song I can get caught up in the flowery words between the lovers. Their’s is an intense, consuming love. But I have to admit I often chuckle at the imagery. Hair like a flock of goats? Teeth like ewes (but thankfully none are missing), a belly like a heap of wheat, and a nose like the tower of Lebanon? Not very flattering if you ask me.

If I get caught up in the details of this beautiful book, I miss the point. It occurs to me that the things the lovers used to describe each other are valuable things, expensive things. They are things needed to sustain a person, to bring comfort, to provide for every need and pleasure. The things they used to describe each other are, well, everything.

That’s what God wanted me to see today. The love these two share means everything to them. Literally everything.

God loves me like that. He loves me with every fiber of His being. He sees me as beautiful, and treasured, adored. He loves me with all his strength, nothing is held back. Not even His Son.

Can I say the same about my love for God? What makes Solomon’s Song so beautiful is that the lovers feel the same about each other. That love is the most important thing to both of them.

I am convicted as I consider what I might be holding back from God. Do I open myself up to Him and offer Him everything? Or do I hide a relationship behind my back, keep my finances out of His reach, hold on to my pride?

I want a relationship with God as intense and honest and complete as Solomon’s was with his bride.

My Loving Bridegroom, I am Yours. I recognize that You love me completely, totally, intensely. And I want to love you like that, too. So here I am, Lord. My arms are open. My heart is open. Nothing held back. It’s all Yours, and I give it with all the love I have. My family, my future, my past, my today, my finances, relationships, dreams, my health… everything I have or hope to have, everything I am or hope to be. It’s all Yours, Lord. I love you with everything.

 

May 5 – God. Period.

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Psalms 1-2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68

These psalms remind me that God is God. There is no one like Him. He is the One who blesses His people with everything we need for this life – He blesses us with Himself!

He protects. He strengthens. He clothes us with His righteousness because we have none of our own. He died for us, paying what we cannot pay.

Yes, He is to be feared because of His holiness. But He also deserves our worship and our praise, our obedience and our love. We are blessed because GOD IS WHO HE IS!

Loving my Lord today!

July 1

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Hosea 5:8-7:16, 8:1-9:17; 2 Kings 16:10-18, 15:30-31; 2 Chronicles 28: 22-25

The title my Bible gives Hosea 6 is “God Wants Israel’s Love”. If you read it from God’s broken heart you can hear the agony, the longing for his people to come back to him. If you read it as though it was talking about the spiritual kingdom in 2013, the church,  you will also read God’s desire that we love him, too. And it brings him no pleasure when we reap the consequences of our rejection of him.

“Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.”

“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”

“…they don not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them: they are always before me.”

“Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it.”

“(the church) is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless.”

“I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me.”

Do you love God? Do you have that deep down, honest, passionate love for him? Do you talk to him every day? Do you listen to what he wants to say to you through the pages of his written word?

That’s really all he wants. He wants us to love him.

Dearest Father, we often speak about your love for us, that unending, unconditional love that we don’t deserve. But today I want to love you. Just love you. May everything I do and say reflect how much you mean to me. May I love you without expecting anything in return except the privilege of loving you.