Category: I Corinthians

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Straight from the Heart

For the past several days I have been thinking about the day’s devotional and how to share it with you without rambling or becoming too sentimental. I hope you read yesterday’s devotional on God’s unfailing love because that sets the tone for what I’m going to share today.

I have people ask me frequently what I enjoy doing the most and why I get up each morning to share with all of you. I can answer honestly that the thing I love most is teaching/sharing truths from the Bible and God’s amazing love.

You see I was raised in a Christian home. My parents took me to church from a very young age. I loved singing the songs, hearing Bible stories and memorizing Bible verses. My friends were at church – it was a good place to be. I don’t remember how old I was when I started hearing the list of do’s and don’ts. When the messages became more about how I’d better behave and do right or God wasn’t going to love me – I wouldn’t be acceptable but it was there. All the things you had to do right and if you messed up God was going to punish you and I wasn’t going to be good enough for Him.

I hope you didn’t grow up that way but if you did I want to tell you that there is no amount of good that you can do to make God love you more than He does right now and there’s no amount of bad that will make Him love you less.

“Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us. 7 Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person. Someone might be willing to die for an especially good person. 8 But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.” Romans 5:6-8 ERV

God loves us so much that He had Jesus die to pay the price for our sin when we were at our worst! His love for us isn’t based on our merit but on who He is; God is love!

Anyway, as I got into high school and college I tried to “do enough” for God and for people to feel that I was “serving God”. As much as I tried to feel better about myself, I didn’t and eventually came to a place where I attempted suicide. And that’s when I heard a wonderful message on the unconditional love of God that changed my life.

Did you realize that the people God used in the Bible were real misfits? Moses was a murderer, King David committed adultery, Solomon was a bigamist, Peter betrayed the Lord, the Apostle Paul was on a crusade to kill all the Christians, Zacchaeus was a dishonest embezzler, Rahab was a prostitute and the list goes on. God used people with all their flaws and faults not because they were so great but because of His great love.

Now I want you to read the verses below and substitute the word Love with either God or He. That’s an appropriate way to read it because the Bible tells us that God is love. He doesn’t have love, He is love!

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 6 Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.

8 Love will never end.” I Corinthians 13:4-8 ERV

I have certainly had my failures; my times when I haven’t measured up to the standards that people would set for me. Heck, many times I don’t measure up to the expectations that I have for me and I know I don’t always measure up to the plan and hopes that God has for me but He loves me still. He loves me in spite of my failures.

“When the time comes, I will make an agreement
with them. I will write my laws on their minds and hearts.
17 Then I will forget about their sin and no longer remember
their evil deeds.”

18 When sins are forgiven, there is no more need to offer sacrifices.” Hebrews 10:16-18 CEV

That time has come – Jesus died to pay the price for our sins and brought us to a place of reconciliation with God!

Why do I get up early to spend time with God? Because He loves me! He will never leave me or abandon me and when I realized just how much there’s nothing I want more than spending time with Him.

So maybe you are like I was and think that if you don’t do things just right that there’s no way God could love you. Maybe you’ve quit trying and given up. Good! Because we can’t do it, we just need to accept what He has done for us.

“In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:37-39 CEV

And I love reading God’s word and trusting what He has to say. God doesn’t lie and so if He has made a promise He will keep it. He’s more trustworthy than anyone. He’s a loving Father who wants the best for His kids.

So again, what do enjoy doing most…telling people about my wonderful heavenly Father and talking about His amazing, great, unconditional and unfailing love and the promises of His Word!

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Thankful that His Love Has No End

I woke up this morning and lay in bed for a while thinking – my mind filled with beautiful thoughts; a Montana sunrise, an Arizona sunset, snow sparkling on the branches of a fir tree, a baby’s smile, my husband’s blue eyes, a cup of steaming hot coffee, a plate full of rolled tacos with guacamole. Seeing our daughter as she tried on her wedding gown, our oldest daughter and I as we sat in the middle of a mountain stream in our lawn chairs, our son at the helm of his boat, friends gathered on the patio of our home for good bar-b-q; yes, it was quite a way to wake up and start the day!

But then I asked, “Father, all of these images that I see can be described but how do I describe your love?” For the most part, I’m pretty good with words but when I try to describe God’s love I am seriously at a disadvantage. However, this morning I heard the answer to my question and it was “You just did!”

You see, every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father and with Him there is no variable or shadow of turning. Which basically means – every good thing that we enjoy comes as an outward expression of God’s love; that’s the way He’s always been and that’s the way He’ll always be! So when I’m thinking on these things that I can describe, I’m describing the Father’s love. Because in every circumstances and situation that I live, I can sense the love of God and know that He is there because God is LOVE!

“In the past God spoke to our people through the prophets. He spoke to them many times and in many different ways. 2 And now in these last days, God has spoken to us again through his Son. He made the whole world through his Son. And he has chosen his Son to have all things. 3 The Son shows the glory of God. He is a perfect copy of God’s nature, and he holds everything together by his powerful command. The Son made people clean from their sins. Then he sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3

Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth was to bring God’s love to each and every one of us. He brought the message that God isn’t mad at us and that God desires to have relationship with us – not some experience that is staunch and unfeeling or condemning and angry – but a real, where-the-rubber-meets-the-road, every day, I’m always here type of relationship.

“Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. 8 Love will never end.” I Corinthians 13:6-8 ERV

I’m not saying that everything will be perfect in our lives because our lives aren’t perfect! But I do know that in the imperfect, trying, challenging, frustrating, ugly times of our lives that God is always there and He doesn’t abandon us! He’s always there to offer comfort, help, wisdom, peace and joy even in the midst of our storms. God is love! Jesus brought comfort to those who had lost family and friends to death, He brought compassion to the prostitute, food to the hungry, wine to the wedding, sanity to the demonic and love and forgiveness to all.

“You know about Jesus from Nazareth. God made him the Messiah by giving him the Holy Spirit and power. Jesus went everywhere doing good for people. He healed those who were ruled by the devil, showing that God was with him.” Acts 10:38

So what words can I use to describe God’s love?! This love can’t really be described but it can be experienced. I will leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul:

“I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you. 20 With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.” Ephesians 3:17-20

Yes, I am thankful that God’s love has no end!

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Clean the Windshield

I have a thing for clean windows. I’ve been known to wash windows when it was dark, in fact the other night Dave and I were sitting on the patio and I had to get up and clean the sliding door because I had seen all the smudges on it earlier in the day.

I also want to have the windows in the car cleaned. We do a lot of driving and I’m always wanting to get a good picture but if the windshield or the side windows are spotted with bugs it ruins the shot.

And if you’re not concerned enough about my compulsive cleaning I should mention that I have this same drive to clean mirrors and my glasses. I know, I know but I have a need to see clearly.

I realize that I come by this “need” for clean windows naturally. As a child, my dad was always cleaning windows. When I got married, Dave & I would go to visit my folks and as we were in the car ready to drive away, Daddy would stop us and clean the windshield. It didn’t matter we were heading to the gas station and would do it there. We couldn’t leave with a dirty window.

So as I was cleaning the windows in the dark (windows don’t streak if you wash them at night), I realized that not only had my earthly father given me a desire for clean, clear windows but my heavenly Father had as well.

“When we were children, we thought and reasoned as children do. But when we grew up, we quit our childish ways. 12 Now all we can see of God is like a cloudy picture in a mirror. Later we will see him face to face. We don’t know everything, but then we will, just as God completely understands us. 13 For now there are faith, hope, and love. But of these three, the greatest is love.” I Corinthians 13:11-13

Sound familiar – these are the verses from the end of the “love chapter” I Corinthians 13. Paul draws a comparison between our thinking like children and the way we see God. We don’t have full understanding of things when we are children and while we are here on earth we really don’t have a full understanding of God’s character and His purpose for us. It’s like looking through a dirty glass – we just can’t see clearly but we will someday.

As children we don’t completely understand many things that we gain knowledge of as we grow into mature adults. And we don’t understand the depth of God’s love and His character as long as we are here on earth. That’s where faith, hope and love come in.

Our hope in God and His word is what feeds our faith to not only believe that God can do all things but that He will! Why? Because of His great love. Gaining knowledge of God’s love is like cleaning the windows, we get a clearer picture of who God is. Once we get to heaven, we will know as God does but until then we an keep growing.

“But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful. 9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life.” Romans 5:8-10

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Love and Protection

Now before we look at the final few verses of Psalm 91 I must make a statement. I hear from time to time from well-meaning people, “You can’t just take verses out of the Bible and really believe that they will work for you. Sometimes God doesn’t work like that.” Well, if you or I made a promise and we didn’t keep it we would be lying and God’s not a liar. When He makes a promise He keeps it!

He is a loving, compassionate Father and He desires the very best for His kids. When you come face to face with the love of God, you find He is so much greater than we can possibly comprehend. God’s love is the basis of all He does. He is love! When you see how love works, you see God! The verses in I Corinthians 13, the love chapter, are a description of God.

Love is “patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, 5 not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not gloat over other people’s sins but takes its delight in the truth.7 Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures.8 Love never ends…” vs 4-8 CJV

Now replace love is with God is “patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful,5 not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered, and it(He) keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love (God) does not gloat over other people’s sins but takes its (his) delight in the truth. 7 Love (God) always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures.8 Love (God) never ends”.

That’s who our Father is! Now let’s look at the last 3 verses of Psalm 91. This is God talking about what He will do for those who live in the “secret place, under the shadow of the Almighty”.

“Because he loves me, I will rescue him; because he knows my name, I will protect him. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him when he is in trouble. I will extricate him and bring him honor. 16 I will satisfy him with long life and show him my salvation.” Vs 14-16 CJV

Now one more thing – replace the 3rd person pronoun “he” with your name and read it again. This is who God is and what He desires to do on our behalf!

“Because he (Kristi) has set his (her) love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him (her); I will set him (Kristi) on high, because he (She) knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him (her), no, never].

15 He (Kristi) shall call upon Me, and I will answer him (Her); I will be with him (Kristi) in trouble, I will deliver him (her) and honor him (her).

16 With long life will I satisfy him(Kristi) and show him (her) My salvation. Vs 14-16 AMP

There’s an old song that talks about the love of God. One verse says this

“Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.”

Next time you see that beautiful expanse of sky imagine that it is filled with the words “I Love You”. Written there over and over again, the Father conveying His love for us. His love has no end.

Knowing God’s word and fellowshipping with the Father in prayer is the greatest thing we as His children can do!

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