Tag: GodSoLoved

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Wrapped in Love

I have a big basket of knitted blankets in the living room. When the grandkids come they each want their own blanket. There’s just something about being wrapped up, all snug as a bug in a rug.

There are two fleece blankets in that basket, not homemade, but given to me by two dear friends and each time I snuggle in beneath them, I feel the love that their friendship has blessed me with through the years.

Wrapped in love!

As I read God’s word each morning. it gives me a feeling of peace, strength, security and love. Oh my…it’s much greater, so much greater, that snuggling in those blankets, but that warmth gives you a tangible example of how God’s word touches my life.

“Lord, your faithful love reaches to the sky. Your faithfulness is as high as the clouds. 6 Your goodness is higher than the highest mountains. Your fairness is deeper than the deepest ocean. Lord, you protect people and animals. 7 Nothing is more precious than your loving kindness. All people can find protection close to you. 8 They get strength from all the good things in your house. You let them drink from your wonderful river.9 The fountain of life flows from you. Your light lets us see light .10 Continue to love those who really know you, and do good to those who are true to you.” Psalm 36:5-10 ERV

Love, faithfulness, goodness, protection, loving kindness, strength – all these words and so much more are a description of the Father’s love for us!

“Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. ” I Peter 4:8 NLT

Christ covered our sins with His death on the cross. The Apostle Paul says they were blotted out – the edict containing all our sins and failures, was saturated with the blood of Christ until the handwriting against us was no longer visible.

Our sins were covered by His love! And not just our sins but the sins of the whole world!

“ He paid for our sins with His own blood. He did not pay for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.” I John 2:2 NLV

I hope that you will sense God’s loving arms wrapped around you and that you are consciously aware of His faithfulness, goodness, loving kindness and strength.

May you start each day wrapped in love!


    

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Forever & Always

My mind is filled with absolutes this morning. Do you know what I mean? Words like forever, never, always, everyone, only – these are absolutes. When using them to describe something or someone there can be no variation, no deviation, no substitute.

Sunday afternoon Dave and I watched a movie with absolutes. It’s one I’ve seen before, and I always come away from it with the same thing – an absolute. In fact, I think Dave may have tired of me saying, “Wait for it, just wait for it”.

“This is my word… and, as such, is beyond contestation.” spoken by Prince Edward in the movie, “A Knight’s Tale”.

Chaucer wrote a story, one of the Canterbury Tales, about a young man from humble means who lived with a dream of changing the stars, of changing his destiny. He took on the identity of a fictious character and fought hard to prove himself to be a royal. At the end of the story his charade is revealed, and people turn on him. All but one.

Prince Edward comes to his defense and proclaims, “He may appear to be of humble origins, but my personal historians have discovered that he is descendent from an ancient royal line.” And then Prince Edward has William take a knee and says this, “By the power vested in me by my father, King Edward, and by all the witnesses here, I dub thee Sir William.”

It’s a simple story but for me it’s an example of what the power of God does in changing our lives; we go from common sinners to heirs and joint heirs with Christ.

“ The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:15 ERV

What God speaks over us is beyond contestation. With God there is no variableness. We are His chosen children, adopted into His family.

“Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing.” James 1:17 CEV

“ Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 CEV

“But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things he has done. The Scriptures say, 10 ‘Once you were nobody. Now you are God’s people. At one time no one had mercy on you. Now God has treated you with kindness.” I Peter 2:9-10 CEV

“All who call out to the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 CEV

“Your kingdom will never end, and you will rule forever. Our Lord, you keep your word and do everything you say.” Psalm 145:13 CEV

Absolutes! All, never, forever, always. God’s word spoken over us is beyond contestation – we are part of a royal family. We are sons and daughters of the King of Kings!

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Falling In Love

Do you remember when you first fell in love? I do.

It’s been over 50 years ago now but I still remember the day I received the first letter that Dave wrote me. It was short and sweet. It changed my life!

I remember us writing several times before our first phone call when we set up a day to meet. He lived 245 miles away. We both had jobs and our schedules had to be worked out. We met the Sunday after Thanksgiving; I was in Yuma with family. It was only 60 miles from Dave lived – perfect!

We spent the day together; it was love at first site! Now I will interject here that I had known Dave for almost 12 years. Our first meeting came when I was 8 years old. He had been my school-girl crush, but this feeling I had was different, it was a confident love that I knew would last a lifetime.

I remember, after that first date, telling my friends at work that I was going to marry him. (He hadn’t asked yet, but I knew he would.) There’s something about being in love that fills you with joy. You just can’t help smiling and telling everyone how special it is.

This morning I was reminded of a verse that tells about joy. See if you think it fits with being in love.

“You will teach me the right way to live. Just being with you will bring complete happiness.  Being at your right side will make me happy forever.” Psalm 16:11 ERV

You make me happy forever. Pause and think about that for a moment.

I also remember the first time I realized Jesus loved me, I was a little girl. And then I also remember the first time, as an adult, that I realized God’s love was unconditional and eternal. I remember that although I had strayed in my relationship with Him, He had never strayed from me.

It was then I began to dive into the sweetest love letter ever written, the Bible. The love letters that Dave had written while we were dating were a tangible example of the love that God was telling me about in His letter.

“The Lord came to us from far away, saying, “I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. So I have helped you come to Me with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 NLV

A love that lasts forever! Joy that lasts forever!

If you have slipped or strayed in your relationship with the Lord let me encourage you to return to the One who loves you the most.

“I love You, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, and my safe place, and the One Who takes me out of trouble. My God is my rock, in Whom I am safe. He is my safe-covering, my saving strength, and my strong tower.” Psalm 18:1-2 NLV

The words of a little chorus come to mind: I keep falling in love with Him over and over and over and over again…It gets sweeter and sweeter as the days go by, Oh what a love between my Lord and I, I keep falling in love with Him over and over again”.

Maybe today you will fall in love for the first time or maybe it will be the day you fall in love with Him, over again.

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Describe Love

How do we do that? How can be adequately describe the experience of love and being love?

“But it is just as the Scriptures say, ‘What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!'” I Corinthians 2:9 CEV

Years ago, I tried to answer the question, how do I describe love. This is what I wrote then, it’s still true today.

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. Seeing our youngest daughter walk down the aisle at her wedding, my 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 bbq, our whole family together laughing & talking & spending time together; yes, it was quite a way to wake up and start the day.

But then I asked, “Father, all of these images 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, every good thing 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!

When I’m thinking on these things that I can describe, I’m describing the Father’s love. In every circumstance and situation that I live, I can sense the love of God and know that He is there because God is LOVE!

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.

I’m not saying that everything will be perfect in our lives because it won’t. 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, to bring 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 CEV

What words can I use to describe God’s love?

It really can’t be described but it can be experienced every single day!

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In Case You Wonder

I have a few questions for you this morning. Are you in love – have you ever been in love? How often do you tell the person you love, “I love you”? Your spouse, your kids, your grandkids, your friends, do they know you love them?

I don’t miss an opportunity to tell my kids each time we talk or text that I love them. Dave and I start and end our day with I love you; and there are many times in between.

So, when I started to pray about what to share this morning, I heard the Lord say in my heart “Tell them again”! It was a powerful urging. Did someone mess up yesterday and is feeling low this morning? Does someone feel alone and forgotten? We all need a reminder, a daily reminder and that is why I’m here to say, “In case you wonder, God loves you and His love is unconditional”.

“I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. 21 I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.

22 I have honored my followers in the same way you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. 23 I am one with them, and you are one with me, so they may become completely one. Then this world’s people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me.” John 17:20-23 CEV

The last few days I have taken you through Jesus’ final night with his disciples. His words constantly affirmed His love for them and now we have these verses from His agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had committed whole-heartedly to laying down His life out of love for us. Why?

Because He loves us. Not only that He prayed that the world would know “that you love my followers as much as you love me”. He wants us to know and to never wonder about the Father’s love. I want you to know that God the Father and God the Son love you – you don’t ever have to wonder if that’s true. It’s a fact that has been established on the cross.

“I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will bless you and be kind to you! May God bless you with his love, and may the Holy Spirit join all your hearts together.” II Corinthians 13:13 CEV

I said the other day that I find the love of God written on every page in the Bible. It’s the most amazing love letter.

I will say it again, just in case you wonder, God loves you and He wants you and the world to know about it!

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Much Fruit

Today will end our month-long teachings on love. That doesn’t mean I will no longer be teaching on or talking about the love of God. It’s not possible to talk about our heavenly Father without mentioning love because that’s who He is.

God is Love.

Our verses for today find us in John chapter 15. The foot washing of John 13 is over, and Jesus is getting ready to head to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. These are His words of encouragement to those He knows will be heart-broken in just a few short hours.

“If you get your life from Me and My Words live in you, ask whatever you want. It will be done for you. 8 ‘When you give much fruit, My Father is honored. This shows you are My followers. 9 I have loved you just as My Father has loved Me. Stay in My love. 10 If you obey My teaching, you will live in My love. In this way, I have obeyed My Father’s teaching and live in His love. 11 I have told you these things so My joy may be in you and your joy may be full.

12 ‘This is what I tell you to do: Love each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one can have greater love than to give his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I tell you.'” John 15:7-14 NLV

The life of Jesus was one filled with compassion. It was a fruitful life, He followed all the Father had instructed Him to do. His life was joyful. He found great joy in making others’ lives better. His final act was His most loving – He laid down His life for His friends.

He wanted, and still wants, those who follow Him to live joyful, compassionate, loving lives. He wants us living by His word; His words are life. His words are our firm foundation. They will keep us steady through the storms.

You will notice that Jesus was asking his disciples to lay down their lives, not on a wooden cross but on a cross of obedience to His word. He asked that we do what He has asked us to do.

“Love the Lord our God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as our self”, then our lives with be productive and we will bare much fruit!

Have a fruitful day my friends!

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Change the World

The love of God is world changing! It has certainly changed mine and I hope it has changed yours.

This morning, I took time to reread the 13th chapter of John, in the CEV version. The love that Christ had for His disciples encased every sentence. Please take the time to read that. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+13&version=CEV

Jesus only had a few hours left with the men who had walked side-by-side with Him for the last three years. They had seen the miracles – they had their moments of doubting and also of awe. Now, they were about to face their greatest moment of sorrow and they didn’t realize it.

What Jesus does at this time is remarkable!

“It was before Passover, and Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and to return to the Father. He had always loved his followers in this world, and he loved them to the very end…So during the meal Jesus got up, removed his outer garment, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 He put some water into a large bowl. Then he began washing his disciples’ feet and drying them with the towel he was wearing…14 And if your Lord and teacher has washed your feet, you should do the same for each other. 15 I have set the example, and you should do for each other exactly what I have done for you. 16  I tell you for certain that servants are not greater than their master, and messengers are not greater than the one who sent them. 17 You know these things, and God will bless you, if you do them…33  My children, I will be with you for only a little while longer. Then you will look for me, but you won’t find me. I tell you just as I told the people, ‘You cannot go where I am going.’ 34  But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. 35 If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13 CEV

Jesus makes one final gesture, an act of humility, an act of love. He washes the feet of His disciples. All of them, including Judas.

Peter the boisterous and the bold is the one to question why Jesus is doing this; Judas sits quietly as Jesus washes his feet, knowing that He is about to betray his teacher and Messiah.

Jesus’ love was unconditional, no one was outside the realm of His saving grace, not even Judas.

I wonder if the disciples thought about that later – thought about Jesus being no respecter of persons. He showed the same servant’s heart to John the disciple “whom Jesus loved”, as He did to the one who sold Him for 30 pieces of silver.

Betrayal of a trusted friend is one of life’s most bitter moments. Jesus turned that experience into an opportunity to teach us all about the love of God. No retaliation, no rebuke, no condemnation only love.

“ As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. 2  Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other.” Ephesians 4:1-2 CEV

When we drop selfishness and truly love like Jesus did, in a humble and gentle way, we will change our world with the power of God!

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Growing In Love

After fifty years of marriage, you would think Dave and I know everything there is to know about each other. Not true!

I learned a couple years ago that he used to walk on stilts, and he just recently learned that I ran hurdles in High School and did the high jump. Shocking, I know but it’s the truth.

I’m telling you this because although we have spent the last twenty-four days uncovering the truth of God’s love there is still so much more to discover. The Apostle Paul had grown up being schooled in the Jewish synagogue. He knew the Torah, the first five books of the Bible; he studied the book of Isaiah and he read the Psalms but look at the statement he made to the church of the Philippians.

“Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ 9 and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. 10 All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, 11 so that somehow I also may be raised to life. 12 I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize.” Philippians 3:8-12 ERV

Here is a man whose life impacted the world with the message of Jesus Christ and he says, “All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life”.

As I was writing in my journal this morning, these were my words. “My heart is full but my words are missing. I just want to know more of Your love and be able to share it”.

Then the song that was written based on Philippians 3:10 came to mind:

“Lord, I want to know you more.

Deep within my soul I want to know You

And I would give my final breathe

To know you in your depth and resurrection.

Lord, I want to know you more.”

That’s how Christ wants us to know Him. He wants us to be confident in the depth of His love.

“…We will grow to be like Christ in every way. He is the head, 16 and the whole body depends on him. All the parts of the body are joined and held together, with each part doing its own work. This causes the whole body to grow and to be stronger in love.” Ephesians 4:15b-16 ERV

Be like Christ in every way – be like Him!

To be like Him we have to watch what He did (we see that in the Gospels), we need to hear His words as recorded in the Bible and we need to listen with our hearts for the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Lord, I want to know You more. I want to grow in the knowledge of Your love!

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Favorite Places

Where is your favorite place to be? Our daughter and son-in-law took an all-inclusive vacation to the Dominican Republic this year and loved it. A few years back our younger daughter and son-in-law went to London and Paris. Our son has traveled to Italy and Costa Rica. We’ve vacationed in Hawaii and this last summer you all know we took our “trip of a lifetime” when Dave and I went to Greece.

Yes, Greece is my favorite place but I enjoy being in the mountains and at the oceanside. I love being home or anywhere that all my family gathers. However, my favorite place isn’t a tangible place, it’s a presence.

“Lord God All-Powerful, your temple is so lovely! 2 Deep in my heart I long for your temple,
and with all that I am I sing joyful songs to you. 3 Lord God All-Powerful, my King and my God, sparrows find a home near your altars; swallows build nests thereto raise their young.

4 You bless everyone who lives in your house, and they sing your praises. 5 You bless all who depend on you for their strength and all who deeply desire to visit your temple…10 One day in your temple is better than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather serve in your house, than live in the homes of the wicked. 11 Our Lord and our God, you are like the sun and also like a shield. You treat us with kindness and with honor, never denying any good thing to those who live right. 12 Lord God All-Powerful, you bless everyone who trusts you.” Psalm 84 CEV

We spent hours planning our trip to Greece. There were years of watching travelogs to determine which islands we wanted to visit, researching the country’s customs and things that were required for our trip. All of this planning for twenty-seven days and it was wonderful.

But what I don’t understand is how some people never think about spending time with the Lord. I’m not condemning anyone, but I do question why they don’t think it’s important and plan for it.

As King David said, “one day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere”. To spend time with the Father – in His word, in prayer and in quiet meditation is amazing! Nothing compares with spending time with God. In another Psalm, the old English says “taste and see that the Lord is good”.

“Give the Lord a chance to show you how good he is. Great blessings belong to those who depend on him!” Psalm 34:8 ERV

Give the Lord a chance.

Did you see that King David said the sparrows and the swallows choose to nest in the courts of the Lord?

It reminds me of a teaching Jesus did. He said the Father provides the daily needs of the sparrows. Then He makes this statement:

“ Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are? 27 You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.” Matthew 6:26-27 ERV

Do you realize how valuable you are to the Father?

Spend time with Him, allow Him to show you the depth of His love for you. Spending time in His presence will become your favorite place to be!

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A-Mazing Love

This morning my thoughts took an interesting turn. Some of you know that I like to break words down and find their root and that’s what led my wonderings today. I was thanking the Father for His amazing love – amazing grace – amazing forgiveness.

In my mind’s eye I saw one of those corn mazes that so many farms do during harvest season. I realized that much of life is like one of those mazes. We hope to start out on one path and walk straight to our desired dream or goal but that just isn’t life as we know it.

Life is filled with twists and turns. There are storms and set backs; there are disillusionments and discarded dreams. Just look at the life of Joseph. He started life with a coat of many colors and a dream of being a leader. His path, his maze, led him through a pit to a position as a house boy, then to a prison and finally he ended up before pharaoh and became the second most prominent man in Egypt. Read what he told his brothers:

“Joseph told them to come closer to him, and when they did, he said: Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. 5 Don’t worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives.” Genesis 45:4-5 CEV

A-mazing. His life was filled with twists and turns but he knew each step of the way he was being led by God.

Now, let’s look at another man who had an amazing life.

“Jesus was still teaching 3 when four people came up, carrying a man on a mat because he could not walk. 4 But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. So they made a hole in the roof above him and let the man down in front of everyone.5 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, ‘My friend, your sins are forgiven.’ …10 ‘I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.’ So Jesus said to the man, 11 ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.’ 12 The man got right up. He picked up his mat and went out while everyone watched in amazement. They praised God and said, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” Mark 2:1-12 CEV

A-mazing! This man had his friends come into his home, pick up his bed, carry him through the streets to a roof top, demolish the roof and then let him down through the roof with his bed held by ropes. He was helpless but not hopeless. He met Jesus and the result was amazing!

I want to go back to a verse that we looked at a few days back. It’s a verse about the depth of God’s love.

“ 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

The walls of a maze are meant to separate, to confuse and disorient but this verse states clearly ” nothing can separate us from God’s love”!

Maybe your life has been like Joseph’s, seemingly taking one bad turn after another or perhaps you have felt that you were being haplessly carried through life without any say so as to where you were going – no input into the decisions being made for you.

“9  But it is just as the Scriptures say,

‘What God has planned
    for people who love him
is more than eyes have seen
    or ears have heard.
It has never even
    entered our minds!’

10 God’s Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God.” I Corinthians 2:9-10 CEV

Here’s the amazing part – when we are trusting God’s love, nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate from God’s love. It’s amazing!

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