Showing Love?

I had a great visit with my mom and grandma Sunday afternoon.  Although we see each other on a regular basis, this was different.  Grandma shared with us so many stories about her past, mostly about growing up---so I was trying to jot everything down when she said, “well I have written a lot of things down” and with that we discovered many notebooks full of stories about her life.  I loved reading every single word and can’t wait to share some of the stories with you all.

All of this took me to I Corinthians 13.  Why there?  Well within all of her words lied a very important characteristic…LOVE!  She doesn’t just say I love you, but she shows it in everything that she does, and isn’t that the purpose of the words in I Corinthians 13.

It will never matter what you do for people, how much money you give away, how hard you work for the good, how much you know, how well you speak, or even how much of the Bible that you know, if you don’t have love, if you don’t do these things with the spirit of love then they are of no use.  That is really powerful, almost shocking when you really think about it, but it is the complete truth and if you follow Jesus, you have to follow his Word.  So what is love?  Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails (vs. 4-8).  This is so beautiful, not only does it describe what love is, but it describes who Jesus is.  So at first I think gosh, there is no way I can always love like this, it seems to be just too difficult, but then I realize that it doesn’t just happen…I have to make it happen.  I have to apply all these qualities daily into my spiritual life and I have to be honest with myself about where I am weak.  For instance, I have never been an envious person, so not doing it comes natural for me, but long-suffering, now that is a tough one for me.  As I continue to look over these few words I find myself awed once again by the beauty of Christ, he just wants us to love…love him and love others.  I think we throw around the word love so much and forget how truly important those four letters are.  Where would we be without it?  It is vital for our survival.  It is what makes us truly happy.  It is the one word that can change a situation.  It is the ultimate truth.  It will help us to endure.  It will give us hope.  It will make us believe.  And it, my friend, will never fail us.

So I leave you with a question tonight…Are you just saying you love or are you showing love?

Already There!

Daniel 3

 

I have to say that God truly spoke to me through tonight’s Bible study and I just can’t wait to share my thoughts with all of you.    The study was about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego---Daniel 3.  There is so many places you could visit with this story and so many things ran through my mind tonight---but the biggest was the thought that Jesus was already there.  He didn’t just happen to show up in the fiery furnace, he didn’t hear their distress call and come to their rescue, he was there waiting on them.  He was already there in the midst of that fire---and he is already there waiting on you and I in the middle of our fiery furnace.  He is there and has always been there, we have to trust that, we have to believe that, and we have to stand upon that.  These 3 young men did not know God’s will for their life, they didn’t know whether he would protect them from the fire or not, but they did know that he was there, they did know that no matter what happened God is still God and that He would take care of them.  They were willing to die for him!  Am I? Are you?  Their devotion to God never wavered---they stood upon the truth of God and would not allow the lies of the world to sway their walk with God.  Am I like these young men or do I let the obstacles of this world sway my walk.  I may never be threatened to be thrown into a fiery furnace, but I face fiery obstacles every day.  With everything that this world gives us we always have 2 choices, we can follow Jesus through the midst of the fire or we can allow Satan to drag us through the fire.  We have to be willing to go where Jesus leads us.  We will find ourselves in places that we don’t like, we will find ourselves in places that we can’t see a way out of, but if we say we trust God than we have to believe that he is always, always in control and that he will make a way.  He not only saved these 3 men, they were promoted and all the people were commanded to believe in their God!  That is what God does, he doesn’t just save the day, he fulfills lives!  You know if it wasn’t for these faithful men of God, King Nebuchadnezzar and all the others there that day may not have ever saw God.  Sometimes we just have to go through a fiery furnace in order for us to show God to the world around us.  So instead focusing on your situation, concentrate on ways to show God through your situation and know that God is already there waiting on you!

Just Listen!

Proverbs 4

In my words…the Lord is saying ‘just listen to me, my words are true, and if you will just listen and do what I say you will be just fine…actually you will be more than fine, you will be great!’   Now these are my words and they are nothing close to the truth of the words in this chapter.  In fact this chapter is so good, I could talk about every, single scripture, but I trust that you will read it yourself.  We question so many things, we wonder why, we think ‘if this’ or ‘if that’, and so many times we do our best to figure things out, when instead we just have to listen and trust Him.  I have heard it said that serving God is hard, I have even said this before, but I have to differ now, even with myself.  Life is hard and sometimes we make it even harder by not listening to the Word of God, but serving God, my friend, is easy.  In fact, the harder life gets, the more we need Jesus in order to make it.  It’s sad to say, but the truth is, many times it takes those difficult times to make us turn to God.  It is in those times that we find ourselves searching for answers, when all along the answers to all of our issues lie within the pages of this beautiful book we call the Bible.  Along with listening, God is also telling us to leave evil alone, in fact in verse 15 he tells us to “avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away”.  When will we learn, when will I learn to be quiet enough to hear that still small voice guiding and directing my every step, my every word?  What will it take for me to listen to the calling of my Savior?  I have said it before, but I will say it again---I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but I know that I have to stay in tune with God and that means surrounding myself with God.  I have to listen to Christian music, I have to stay in the Word daily, I have to write about what I am experiencing, I have to talk to God a lot, and I have to surround myself with friends that love Jesus too.  When I don’t do these things I find myself slipping and not fulfilling the purpose that I know God has for me.  My friend, I truly believe that this world is winding down and we have to be ready, to be prepared for what God wants us to do.  There is much to do and only a short time to do it in, and if we want to get it right, the first thing we must do is listen to the word of our Father!

Peace!

Wow, just few days ago I was writing about a heavy heart and now I am beyond joy with the safe rescue of Ethan.  Although it is still sad to me that people are so selfish that they hurt others, I am well aware that God is and always will be in control of everything.  There is nothing that he does not see and there is no feeling that we have that he doesn’t feel.  Tonight when my family and I read Proverbs 3 I was reminded of whom I serve.  Verses 5-7 have always been some of my favorite scripture, but tonight they really exploded throughout my heart.  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.                                                                                               Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

So I am once again reminded that I cannot depend on my understanding, on my fleshly vision of what is going on around me, but I have to trust in my God and depend on my spiritual vision.  So many times things may seem out of control, they may even seem like they are going in a disastrous direction, but when we acknowledge Him, when we trust in Him completely, He will direct our paths.  And when He is directing our path, nothing is out of control!  In fact, it is completely in control when we follow the leading of the Lord!  So as I lie here tonight and think of this crazy, imperfect world with so many things looking so bleak, I can’t help but to be at peace.  Not because this world is peaceful, but because I know the One that is peaceful, I know the One that can give me peace in the middle of a raging sea.  I am overjoyed tonight that I not only know the name of the One that gives peace, but I have met him and I have experienced the peace that is like no other.  So tonight as you read this, please know that Jesus is the answer to your problems, Jesus is the one that will give you a peace like no other.  It is truly an indescribable peace and I am once again humbled that I have a father that loves me so much that he chooses to give me a constant peace that no one or nothing can ever take away from me. 

If you are searching for peace, I can tell you that you will find it at the feet of Jesus Christ.  There is nothing like falling down to the ground and giving it all to Him, to release everything to Him.  It is in that moment that He will lift you up, wrap His loving arms around you, and give you a peace like nothing you have ever known.  I may not know everything about scripture, but I can tell you all this from experience.  I have been desperate, I have been distraught, I have been angry, I have been hurt, and I have been sad, but my Jesus has saw me through all these things and I am better for it.  He has seen me at my worst and he has seen me at my best, but He has always loved me the same no matter what, and he has always, always given me a peace beyond my understanding.