Category: God’s Love

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What We Can’t See

Knowing that God is in control and that He is working things out even/especially when you can’t see what’s going on is a great place of peace and comfort.

“God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way” by Don Moen

The words of this song ring true in so many of our life’s circumstances. Like the words of this song, the Apostle Paul gave us an instruction filled with hope and promise.

“ Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us.” II Corinthians 5:7 NLV

The Lord delivered Noah in the flood, David from Goliath, Daniel from the lions, Joseph in Egypt, Paul in prison, the thief on the cross and He won’t quit on us!

“Great blessings belong to those who are tempted and remain faithful! After they have proved their faith, God will give them the reward of eternal life. God promised this to all people who love him. 13 Whenever you feel tempted to do something bad, you should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. 14 You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you. 15 Your desire grows inside you until it results in sin. Then the sin grows bigger and bigger and finally ends in death.

16 My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled about this. 17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.” James 1:12-18 ERV

Sometimes we get things backwards. Sometimes we say God is testing me or putting me through this trial to see what I’m made of. God doesn’t do that. When the trials, tests and temptations come they come from our own making or the influence of Satan in the world. God steps in to give us the strength to win the battle.

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 NLT

The Lord rewards us when we seek Him. Afterall, He is the One with all the answers. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift.

“We thank God for the power Christ has given us. He leads us and makes us win in everything. He speaks through us wherever we go. The Good News is like a sweet smell to those who hear it.” II Corinthians 2:14 NLV

Our Father will lead us into victory. Thank Him for all the good and perfect gifts that He has provided. He’s working even when we don’t see what He’s doing.

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Wanting More

This morning I was greeted by this photo I had taken a few years back. It brought a smile to my face and a thought to my heart. This little fellow and his many friends came every morning, afternoon and evening to my feeders, always wanting more.

I have no idea how many pounds of sugar and gallons of water I would prepare each summer for the hummingbirds who visited my yard.

Come they did – 50+ at a feeding. I would take the feeders down, all eight of them, wash them and refill them. From the inside of the house I could hear their little wings whirling as they waited impatiently for me to bring them back to the yard, filled with nectar.

They were always wanting more.

Do you know that our heavenly Father does no less for us?

“Then Jesus said, ‘I am the bread that gives life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who believes in me will ever be thirsty.'” John 6:35 ERV

“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14 But anyone who drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give people will be like a spring flowing inside them. It will bring them eternal life.’ 15 The woman said to Jesus, ‘Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty again and won’t have to come back here to get more water.’” John 4:13-15 ERV

He planned for all of life’s other necessities as well.

“‘Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need.'” Matthew 6:31-33 ERV

The Father provides for our needs and Jesus said what we should want most, our number one need, is to know Him and His kingdom. The Apostle Paul said this in his teaching to young christians:

“…now I think that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Christ, I lost all these things, and now I know that they are all worthless trash. All I want now is Christ. 9 I want to belong to him. In Christ I am right with God, but my being right does not come from following the law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with him. 10 All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him from death.” Philippians 3:8-10

Just like those little hummingbirds who were always wanting more, “All I want is to know Christ”, I want more.

The Father has meticulously planned for our every need. His plan is perfect. Our responsibility is to trust Him and make relationship with Him our top priority.

We should always be wanting more!

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Answering the Why

Sometimes it may feel like you’re a flower amongst the weeds. So much around us is negative, pessimistic and ugly.

Then comes the “why”?

Why am I placed among these people? Neighbors who are unfriendly, co-workers who are antagonistic and family who are unloving.

Why?

Jesus may have asked that very question, but He also knew the answer. His Father loved the world…He was sent to bring knowledge of that love and forgiveness to us all.

Now here’s another “why”.

Why do I love the Lord? Why am I willing to stand for Him when others think my ways and ideas are old fashioned, out of date, archaic and foolish? Why do I believe in a God I can’t see and why am I willing to base my life on His word?

Why?

How do I answer these questions to others and how do I answer them in my heart?

In a nutshell – I love the Lord because He loved me first! In all my life my heavenly Father has never had a bad thought about me; He has never belittled me, never lied to me and He has never abandoned me and He never will!

Has He approved of everything I’ve done? NO

Has He corrected and instructed me? ABSOLUTELY

He has loved me unconditionally and without embarrassment.

My greatest form of worship is to love Him and then to love others as He has loved me.

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him. 10 True love is God’s love for us, not our love for God. He sent his Son as the way to take away our sins.

11 That is how much God loved us, dear friends! So we also must love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us. If we love each other, God’s love has reached its goal—it is made perfect in us.

13 We know that we live in God and God lives in us. We know this because he gave us his Spirit. 14 We have seen that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world, and this is what we tell people now. 15 Anyone who says, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” is a person who lives in God, and God lives in that person. 16 So we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love.

God is love. Everyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them. 17 If God’s love is made perfect in us, we can be without fear on the day when God judges the world. We will be without fear, because in this world we are like Jesus. 18 Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love takes away fear…19 We love because God first loved us.” I John 4:8-19 ERV

Like that flower among the weeds, we are here to bring the beauty of God’s love to the world.

I pray that you have an intimate knowledge of how much God loves you – it’s life changing!

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Over the Top

I spent quite a bit of time thinking about heaven yesterday. It would have been my Mom’s 99th birthday but she left earth for heaven fifteen months ago. At 97 her body was weak but now that she’s in heaven her energy, strength and overall well-being is restored.

As Dave and I took some time to talk about the joys of heaven, we concluded that it really is impossible to comprehend the amazing home the Father has planned for each of us who love him.

The garden of Eden was perfect and wonderful, but heaven is over-the-top. All of this pondering brings me to a place of worship. Not worship because of things that He has done for me, although those are many, but worship just because of Who He is!

One defintion in Merriam-Webster for worship is excessive admiration for someone. Excessive – our God is excessive.

He didn’t just create five colors and quit – He was excessive. He didn’t just create six kinds of fish or seven different fruits or eight varieties of flowers. He created thousands of animals, birds, and trees. He created millions of stars, countless galaxies, hundreds of millions of people with individual fingerprints and unique DNA.

Excessive!

He gave us one Son who willingly paid the price for the sins of the whole world.

Excessive!

“My Lord, there is no God like you. No one can do what you have done. 9 My Lord, you made everyone. I wish they all would come worship you and honor your name. 10 You are great and do amazing things. You and you alone are God. 11 Lord, teach me your ways, and I will live and obey your truths. Help me make worshiping your name the most important thing in my life. 12 My Lord God, I praise you with all my heart. I will honor your name forever! 13 You have such great love for me. You save me from the place of death. 14 Proud people are attacking me, God. A gang of cruel men is trying to kill me. They don’t respect you. 15 My Lord, you are a kind and merciful God. You are patient, loyal, and full of love.” Psalm 86: 8-15 ERV

Will you join me this morning in worship? Let’s show some excessive admiration and love to the One, the Only, Father God, creator of heaven and earth. He is incomparable – His character is over-the-top!

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Learning New Things

Yesterday a friend posed a question, if you only had a short amount of time to teach someone the ways of Christ what would you focus on?

The list could be endless, however, he prefaced it with “a short amount of time”. This morning I believe I found how Jesus would answer that question.

“‘My Father has given me everything, and he is the only one who knows the Son. The only one who truly knows the Father is the Son. But the Son wants to tell others about the Father, so they can know him too.

28  If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. 29  Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. 30 This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light.'” Matthew 11:27-30 CEV

Jesus wants us to know the Father!

He wants us to know the Father’s heart – his love, mercy, grace, power, strength, protection, rest. The Father gave Jesus everything he needed for his life on this earth. Jesus was content to know that the Father was willingly supplying all, nothing was excluded. And He wanted to tell others, us, about the Father so we could know Him too.

Let’s be honest as we assess our lives and current circumstances. When we are tired of carrying heavy loads, all the day-to-day responsibilities, the financial pressures, the need to make a good living, where do we turn? Do we take some sort of sleep aide, maybe another glass of wine, or just work until we are exhausted and are forced to sleep?

Jesus’ words are clear. “Come to me and I will give you rest. Learn from me.” In context, He is telling us to come and learn about the Father, come to know the Father as He does. It’s in learning about the Father and all He is and has provided that we will find true peace and rest.

The word picture that Jesus is giving us here is a farm scene. Take my yoke.

In Jesus day the fields were plowed with a team of oxen. A younger ox would need to be trained to accept the yoke and the proper way to plow. It would be paired with an older, more experienced ox. A yoke would be placed across the neck of both, linking them together. Then the farmer would drive them through the field.

The weight of the yoke would rest solely on the neck and shoulders of the older ox since he was stool taller. The younger ox just needed to learn to walk alongside without straining to go his own way.

The yoke is easy and the burden is light.

When we walk alongside of Jesus, watching His life and learning from Him about the Father and His love, our burdens get lighter. We learn to let the Lord carry the load.

“God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.” I Peter 5:7 CEV

Now, going back to the question my friend asked yesterday. If I only had a short amount of time, what would I teach? I would teach the goodness of God and the unconditional love of the Father.

“Come learn of me and find rest”!

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Needing Support

Last night a memory came to mind. It’s coming on the end of summer and when we lived in Montana that meant it was time to harvest the apple tree.

The branches of this tree were heavy laden with fruit. I would have to place wood posts under the branches to hold them up and keep them from breaking. But that’s not the only support this tree needed.

The wind in Montana seems to never stop. So, the folks who planted the tree tied it to a very sturdy post to keep if from blowing over when its trunk was young and easily bent . Those ropes were still providing it with support when we bought the home some years later. We left them in place.

Maybe you’ve felt like that apple tree, in need of support. I know I have.

As children we are nurtured and supported by our parents, grandparents, teachers at school, coaches and loving friends. They are there to give us instruction, correction and guidance. They pick us up when we fall down. They help us develop and begin our journey in living fruitful lives.

As we grow older, we still need a support system. Loving family and caring friends are a priceless treasure but even then, we have dark days when we feel alone. That’s when we need the support that only the Father can provide.

“You have helped me, and I sing happy songs in the shadow of your wings. 8 I stay close to you, and your powerful arm supports me.” Psalm 63:7-9 CEV

I’m sure each of us can remember a time when we were without hope, feeling wind-blown and insecure. But then we experienced a strength and grounding that only the Lord could give. We might not have recognized it as such, but it was the Father’s help just the same. It could have come as the kind words and prayers of a friend or perhaps, just an inner strength and determination that kept us tethered. God has a way of providing us with what we need in those times.

“Since childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to make you wise enough to have faith in Christ Jesus and be saved. 16 Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. 17 The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds.” II Timothy 3:15-17 CEV

His word gives us support and instruction, instruction that will keep us strong.

“Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it was built on solid rock, and so it did not fall.” Matthew 7:24-25 CEV

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

There is no more reliable and sure counsel, no other place of unfailing support than what we will find in God’s presence and in His written word!

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Be Practical

Practical. God is practical.

Everything He does has balance. Gravity, sunrise, sunset, changing seasons; earth, sky and water created before fish, plants and animals. Sun produces light and heat which induces plant growth. The moon places a pull on the tides. Balance.

What’s out of balance and impractical about God is His unconditional love. It doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do, God’s love for us will be the same. (Now that doesn’t mean He approves of everything we do, not in the slightest but He always loves us.)

Men won’t go to hell because God hates them. They will go because they don’t accept His gift love and His sacrifice for them.

God expects us to put His love in action. Since we have Christ living in us it’s His love that should be flowing out of us.

“Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body. And always be thankful.

16 Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.” Colossians 3:14-17 ERV

The most important thing we can do is love each other. Love brings us to a place of peace. When we love we know that we have done all God has asked of us and we are responsible to let God do the rest. When we trust God to do what only He can do we can be thankful because He definitely has the talent and capability of handling His part.

We love not because those around us deserve our love but because God first loved us and so we can extend that love to others. It makes our Father happy to see us acting like Him. It is a reflection of His goodness.

“But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 CEV

I’m not asking you to go out and love the whole world today, but I am asking you to extend God’s love to your co-worker, your neighbor, child, spouse or sibling.

Love unconditionally the way God loves you. It’s our way of putting His love into practice.

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Thirsting For More

Last night after dinner, Dave and I took Kim and Austin to look for wildlife. We drove several miles down the highway searching the meadows.

When we started out there was a light rain falling and the further we traveled down this mountain highway the heavier it got. It seemed we wouldn’t be spotting any animals this night so we turned back to and were going to head to home.

Then there they were. A small herd of cow elk and their calves. Right off the road’s edge, in the meadow. I’m sorry the image is a bit blurry but I only had my phone and when I zoomed in, it distorted the image.

Anyway, back to the elk. We know there are hundreds that live in that wooded area but they stay hidden in the day, coming down to the meadow in the early morning and just about dusk. They eat their fill of the green grasses, covered with the rain’s moisture. They are content.

“As a deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for you, my God. 2 In my heart, I am thirsty for you, the living God.” Psalm 42:1-2 CEV

Thirsty for the living God.

What brought these elk out into the meadow, out from the protection of the trees, was their hunger and thirst. They came to this place to feed, to a place to find nourishment.

“Those who are hungry and thirsty to be right with God are happy, because they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6 NLV

God promises that when we have a hunger for Him and His ways we will be filled. Satisfied. Content.

“You should praise the Lord for his love and for the wonderful things he does for all of us. 9 To everyone who is thirsty, he gives something to drink; to everyone who is hungry, he gives good things to eat.” Psalm 107:8-10 CEV

I am determined to thirst for the more of God and His love. I know I will be filled.

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Appraised Value

One of the first things I saw this morning was a posting of things to do to improve your own “self worth”.

Oh my!

I tried that for years. In high school I wanted to be part of the in-crowd, I never was. That meant I had to have the right friends, wear the right clothes, be a cheerleader or a cheerleader’s friend and the list went on.

As an adult that same challenge follows us. The right job, house, spouse, car, vacation spot. It can be devastating emotionally when these things escape our grasp.

God’s opinion of us is so much greater than our opinion of ourselves. He sees us, created in His image. Like a jeweler examining a precious diamond, He looks us over and sees a beauty that others don’t see.

“And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.” Malachi 3:17 AMPC

He sees us as valuable, priceless and worth the ultimate sacrifice.

He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us so that we could live in Him!

Now that alone should drive out any feelings of low self-esteem or worthlessness!

” Brothers and sisters, God chose you to be his. Think about that! Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence, and not many of you came from important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 And God chose what the world thinks is not important—what the world hates and thinks is nothing. He chose these to destroy what the world thinks is important. 29 God did this so that no one can stand before him and boast about anything. 30 It is God who has made you part of Christ Jesus. And Christ has become for us wisdom from God. He is the reason we are right with God and pure enough to be in his presence. Christ is the one who set us free from sin. 31 So, as the Scriptures say, “Whoever boasts should boast only about the Lord.” I Corinthians 1:26-31 ERV

Christ gave his life to purchase our salvation. He gave all He had, He established our value.

“Also, God’s kingdom is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 One day he found a very fine pearl. He went and sold everything he had to buy it.” Matthew 13:45-46 CEV

God’s appraisal is complete. He has examined us and in His expert opinion we are priceless.

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Too Much

Yesterday evening some campers were returning from a walk to the lake and they stopped to tell us what they had seen. When they were standing at the lake’s edge, they had five or six osprey fly directly overhead.

They had told us, just the night before, they had hoped to see some and then tonight there they were. Their comment was “it was almost too much to take in”.

Too much!

Our Father is the God of too much.

“From far away, the Lord will appear to his people. The Lord says, “I love you people with a love that continues forever. That is why I have continued showing you kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 ERV

“So remember that the Lord your God is the only God, and you can trust him! He keeps his agreement. He shows his love and kindness to all people who love him and obey his commands. He continues to show his love and kindness through a thousand generations,” Deuteronomy 7:9 ERV

“This faith and knowledge make us sure that we have eternal life. God promised that life to us before time began—and God does not lie.” Titus 1:2 ERV

Too much! Too much love – it continues forever. Too much – His kindness extends to a thousand generations. Too much – He gives eternal life and He is always truthful, He cannot lie.

“Lord my God, you have done many amazing things! You have made great plans for us—too many to list. I could talk on and on about them, because there are too many to count.” Psalm 40:6 ERV

“There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I think the whole world would not be big enough for all the books that would be written.” John 21:25 ERV

“The Lord’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed 23 The Lord can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. 24 Deep in my heart I say, ‘The Lord is all I need; I can depend on him!” Lamentations 3:22-24 CEV

Too many great plans, too many miracles and good things; unending kindness, always trustworthy, daily mercy. He is ALL we need.

Too much – like the mountain skyline. Each day I stare, sometimes breathless, it seems impossible to take it all in.

“You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need…You honor me as your guest, and you fill my cup until it overflows. 6 Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, Lord.” Psalm 23 CEV

We will never exhaust the mercy, the kindness, the provision or the love of our heavenly Father or of Christ Jesus, our Lord.

They have no end. They are simply too much!

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