Category: God’s Love

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Dear Friends,

That sounds like the salutation of a letter but it’s the greeting of my heart.

Yesterday I sent a friend a birthday greeting and this morning she replied with “thank you, dear friend”. Dear friend…we haven’t seen each other in years; our face-to-face friendship was only a few years long, but she is a dear friend, truly.

Some people are in our lives only for hours or for days; others grace our lives for months/a few years, while others come and camp in our existence for a lifetime. I have dear friends from all of these, and I even consider some as dear friends whom I have never even met face-to-face.

The Father fills our lives with relationships; it’s His way of sharing His heart. Since God’s love is unconditional – He loves us all the same and He wants us to give that same kind of love to those we meet. He may use us to encourage others and at times He uses them to encourage us.

The Apostle Paul traveled extensively for several years preaching and teaching. Some places he stayed for a few weeks or a season and other places he seemed to stay only a few days. However, the letters he wrote once he left were letters to dear friends. In that day the only way of staying in touch was through letters – no text, emails, Facetime or convenient travel.

“From Paul, Silas, and Timothy. To the church in Thessalonica, the people of God the Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that God will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

2 We thank God for you and always mention you in our prayers. Each time we pray, 3 we tell God our Father about your faith and loving work and about your firm hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4My dear friends, God loves you, and we know he has chosen you to be his people.” I Thessalonians 1:1-4 CEV

Dear friends, who are they? They are those people whose names come to mind and a smile comes to my face. They are those who, although I haven’t seen in years, I feel a closeness, a bond and a desire to be with again. We’ve shared laughter and tears, plenty and want, struggles and victories, heartbreak and healing. We’ve shared a cup of coffee and a morning blog. We’ve shared life!

“Dear friends, I love you and long to see you. Please keep on being faithful to the Lord. You are my pride and joy.” Philippians 4:1 CEV

So, dear friends, I am praying for you. Speaking God’s word into your hearts and trusting that you will be filled with joy, peace, love, kind deeds and faith.

May you be richly blessed!

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Everything’s New

I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but our desert is getting a cleansing shower. It started midday yesterday and continued off and on through the night. About 4 this morning it increased in strength and seems to be setting in for a while.

I love the smell of the desert after a good rain. It doesn’t take long for the wild grasses and flowers to pop up and cover the desert floor with new life.

What a great example of God’s love! He showers us and we grow and blossom!

“Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. 11 It doesn’t matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian, and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

12 God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. 13 Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. 14 Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.

15 Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. 16 Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.” Colossians 3:10-17 CEV

These verses tell us God’s love is the same for all of us. It doesn’t matter what our nationality or social standing are, nor does it matter if we are enslaved or free; His love reaches out to make all of us new.

We are to let God’s love flow through us; we are to be kind, gentle, patient and forgiving. Whatever we say or do should represent the love that Christ has placed within us.

Just like the desert blossoms come to life after the rain, our lives should reflect the beauty of God’s love.

He makes everything new!

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Growing Up

I’m going to ask you to do something a little different in today’s blog. I would like you to take a few minutes and assess your growth in 2021. No, I’m not talking about any weight you may have gained or lost; I’m talking about growth in your capacity to love.

When our kids were younger, we had a spot in the kitchen where we marked their growth. It was interesting to see how much taller they had become over a year’s time. It was also interesting to see how their growth slowed once they reached their middle teens.

Yesterday, we read the Apostle Paul’s prayer that we would understand the depth, height, width and length of God’s love for us and that in understanding we would grow in that kind of love. With a true understanding of God’s kind of love we grow – we grow to be filled with everything God has for us.

The reoccurring theme of the Bible is that – understanding and growing in God’s kind of love. Remember Jesus talking to his disciples, how many times did He tell them to love one another? He said that their love for one another would be proof to the world that they were His disciples.

Paul carries that theme forward in the letters he wrote to the different Christian fellowships he discipled. Yesterday’s teaching was from Ephesians, a letter written to the Christians in Ephesus. Today I want to share with you some more of his writings from that same book.

These verses are a “growth” chart in love.

“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient and accept each other with love. 3 You are joined together with peace through the Spirit. Do all you can to continue as you are, letting peace hold you together…13 This work must continue until we are all joined together in what we believe and in what we know about the Son of God. Our goal is to become like a full-grown man—to look just like Christ and have all his perfection…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 4:2,3,13,15-16 ERV

Christians are often referred to as the body of Christ; Christ is the head, and we are all parts of His body. It’s important that we develop, we grow, to be like Christ. It isn’t enough to say that we love the Lord, there needs to be tangible evidence of that love.

I have to admit that there have been seasons in my life where there wasn’t much evidence of growth. I was concerned about my own needs and wants. There have been times that I have been selfish and unforgiving – no upward development at all.

“ Never be bitter, angry, or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. 32 Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other the same as God forgave you through Christ.” Ephesians 4:31-32 ERV

We have to be honest with the Father and ourselves if we are to grow. We need to recognize our failings and ask for His help. When we do, we can be certain that He will provide us with the strength to change.

Let’s make 2022 the year we grow up in love!

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Above All This…

This morning these are the first thoughts that came to mind as I sat to write in my journal…

“I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit. 17 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. 21 To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:16-21 ERV

Many are beginning to make their New Year’s Resolution list. I don’t have one, but I found myself praying these words written by the Apostle Paul for all of you.

To know – really know – the full depth of God’s love for us is a life-long process. The height, the length, the depth, the width of the all-encompassing, unconditional love of God is incomprehensible to the human mind; it can only be understood because the Spirit of God gives us insight.

God’s power is free to work within us when we are filled with His love – His love drives out resentment, jealousy, bitterness, hatred, prejudice, evil. His love working through us does so much more than anything we could ever ask for or think of.

God, the Father, desires to see His fullness operational in our lives and that happens when we know and experience the depth of His love. Jesus was the human expression of God’s love, and He is our example of how we should live a life of love.

I’ve been mindful of the verses above for almost 40 years now and I will admit that I still don’t comprehend all there is to know about the Father’s love but I do know so much more than I used to. It’s a continual process of growing and developing in our relationship with Him that brings us to a greater experience of His love.

As I began to write this morning, I remembered the lyrics from an old song. It was recorded first in the 1950’s and has been re-recorded many times since, “I Wish You Love”. Here are a few of the lyrics…

“I wish you bluebirds in the spring
To give your heart a song to sing
And then a kiss, but more than this
I wish you love…

I wish you shelter from the storm
A cozy fire to keep you warm
But most of all when snowflakes fall
I wish you love”

As you start each day of the new year, I encourage you to tell the Father how much you love Him and ask Him to show you, in a personal way, His love.

More than health, much more than wealth, I pray you know His love!

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A Child Is Born

I know some of you are probably getting up this morning with only a few hours’ sleep. Moms and dads work through the night putting presents under the tree and assembling others that are too big to wrap. We do this to see the joy on our children’s faces.

God knows about bringing joy to His children too. The most important gift of all was wrapped in humanity over 2000 years ago and then delivered by Mary and wrapped again in strips of cloth and laid in a manger.

The Father’s gift, planned through the ages, brings hope and peace to us even in our darkest times.

I have friends who are experiencing the loss of loved ones this year. Some just in the last few days and Christmas celebrations have been set aside to make room for grieving. Others have been diagnosed with life threatening disease. They’ve all had merrier Christmases than the one this year.

It’s easy to celebrate when you’re rested, strong and doing well. It’s something completely different to choose to celebrate in a time of sorrow, sickness and frailty. But you see, that’s the reason He came.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 KJV

He came to be MIGHTY in our weakness; He came to be PEACE in our turmoil and fear; He came to be WONDERFUL in our disappointment and He came to be COUNSELLOR in our grief and heartache.

“ I want you to know all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.” Ephesians 3:19 ERV

May you find all you need in Christ this Christmas. His life is what makes ours complete!

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Old Fashioned or Timeless

Yesterday Dave and I took time to slow down a bit. We watched an older Christmas movie, one from 1983, “The Best Christmas Pagent Ever”.

It hadn’t been re-mastered so the cinematography was grainy – certainly not high def – but the story line was timeless. It was about a church Christmas play that everyone thought would be ruined because some delinquent children were unfortunately cast in the leading roles.

But instead of being a disaster, hearts were changed. That’s the timeless story of Christmas, the story of lives being changed.

Some think that going to church, reading the Bible and having a personal trust in the Lord is old-fashioned, quaint, out-of-date, passe. Many just don’t have the time for anything of faith. But for me my faith isn’t old-fashioned it’s timeless. When something is timeless it is highly valuable and to be treasured.

“I will tell of your greatness, my God and King.
    I will praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day.
    I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great and deserves all our praise!
    No one can fully understand his greatness!
4 Each generation will praise you
    and tell the next generation about the great things you do.
5 Your majesty and glory are wonderful.
    I will tell about your miracles.
6 People will tell about the amazing things you do,
    and I will tell everyone how great you are.
7 They will talk about your goodness
    and sing about your justice.

8 The Lord is kind and merciful,
    patient and full of love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
    He shows his mercy to everything he made.
10 Lord, all you have made will give thanks to you.
    Your loyal followers will praise you.
11 They will tell how great your kingdom is.
    They will tell how great you are.
12 So others will learn about the mighty things you do,
    about the glory of your kingdom—how marvelous it is!
13 Your kingdom will never end,
    and you will rule forever.

The Lord can be trusted in all that he says.
    He is loyal in all that he does.
14 The Lord lifts up people who have fallen.
    He helps those who are in trouble.
15 All living things look to you for their food,
    and you give them their food at the right time.
16 You open your hands
    and give every living thing all that it needs.
17 Everything the Lord does is good.
    Everything he does shows how loyal he is.
18 The Lord is near to everyone
    who sincerely calls to him for help.
19 He listens to his followers and does what they want.
    He answers their prayers and saves them.
20 The Lord protects everyone who loves him,
    but he destroys all who do evil.
21 I will praise the Lord!
    Let everyone praise his holy name forever and ever!” Psalm 145 ERV

The Father’s loving care isn’t old-fashioned; it’s timeless and priceless. May we all be changed by the depth of the Lord’s unconditional love!

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Everyone? Who’s Everyone?

Each morning I read through the account of Christ’s birth in Luke 2 but there’s a phrase that has only started to impact my thinking the last couple of weeks.

“Everyone listened and was surprised.” Luke 2:18 CEV

Everyone! Who’s everyone?

The verses right before this have the shepherds running through the streets to find the baby they had been told about. The verse immediately following it tell us that Mary meditated on everything that the shepherds told her.

But who is the everyone?

“ So they went running and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the feeding box. 17 When they saw the baby, they told what the angels said about this child. 18 Everyone was surprised when they heard what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary continued to think about these things, trying to understand them.” Luke 2:16-19 ERV

The “everyone” was obviously more than just Mary and Joseph. One translation says the shepherds told everyone they saw about what the angels said. This isn’t very religious but the image I get in my head is one from the old western movies when someone finds gold.

They run into the saloon, out of breath, ordered a whisky and holler out “I’ve found the mother lode”! And EVERYONE stops to listen. This message that the shepherds gave was of more value than finding the mother lode – the love of God is more precious than silver, more costly than gold!

But back to the everyone…were these people neighbors of Mary and Joseph? Did they finally accept that Mary hadn’t been a promiscuous teenager whose hormones had run wild? We’re they strangers who had come to Bethlehem and registered in the census, who had heard the stories of the coming Messiah and now were “lucky” enough to be in the right place at the right time?

I really don’t know but I do know the shepherds were thrilled with the message they had received and were eager to share it.

Let’s be like the shepherds – let’s share the message with our group of “everyone”.

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The Best Gift

When you look back at all your Christmases which one do you remember? Is it a childhood experience or maybe one as a newlywed or empty nester? When you gather with family and friends do you still talk about it as being the “best”?

How many years do you think Mary and Joseph recalled that special trip to Bethlehem? It wasn’t even called Christmas then. It started out as a trip to pay taxes and be registered in a census. But everything changed when Jesus was born.

“Everyone was surprised when they heard what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary continued to think about these things, trying to understand them.” Luke 2:18-19 CEV

The events of that trip gave Mary much to think about. And then following Jewish custom, Mary & Joseph took Jesus on His first outing to the temple. They were greeted by Simeon and Anna. These two old people had been waiting all their lives to see this baby! Now they could die rejoicing that they had seen the Messiah.

“Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what Simeon said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, ‘Many Jews will fall and many will rise because of this boy. He will be a sign from God…38 Anna was there when Joseph and Mary came to the Temple. She praised God and talked about Jesus to all those who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem.” Luke 2:33-38 CEV

I’m sure Mary & Joseph were still recounting the events of Bethlehem when the wisemen arrived. All along the way folks probably asked where they were going, and they told the story of how they had seen the star and now they had to find the child. Their words were so persuasive and commanding that Herod was filled with fear and jealousy.

“They asked people, ‘Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east and have come to worship him.’” Matthew 2:2-3 CEV

They came to see this wonderful gift, this child who was born to be king.

We have been given a wonderful gift. This gift, relationship with the Father, should be one we talk about year after year, it’s the best gift ever.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son”

Merry Christmas Father!! Merry Christmas Jesus!! Merry Christmas Holy Spirit!! Thank you.

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The Extra Guest

This morning we leave the house that has been our home for the past seven and a half years. It’s so exciting!

I’m remembering times when friends and acquaintances have just dropped in to say hello and have stayed to share an evening meal or a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll. Those are some of my favorite memories. We’ve always had an open door and been able to set an extra place at the table.

The last few weeks have been busy with purging and packing, details and delays but there’s still been time to welcome an extra guest.

Today we will pull out of the drive, wave good-bye to friends and neighbors. I have an idea of what my day will have in store but what about your day? Where are you going? Doing anything special? I always find that even the mundane is more fun when you have someone along to share it with.

We are never alone even in the dullest moments. We have a promise that God is with us. I think it’s important that we realize that Almighty God, who created the universe, is also God, our heavenly Father. He is always present. He never leaves us. He makes life worth living. He makes it exciting and fulfilling!

May I encourage you to make room for His presence in your daily routine? Make Him the extra guest at every meal, the unseen advisor for every decision, the one you go to for comfort and consolation.

“ and while they were there, 7 she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:6-7 CEV

At His birth there was no room, He was just another baby, the citizens of Bethlehem didn’t realize that Immanuel was born in their city and so there was no room.

God loves being with His people. It’s only fitting that one of His names should mean God with us. That is His goal – relationship with us. He wants to walk and talk with us, friend to friend, Father to child.

No matter what we’re doing today, let’s take Him along. Moving to a new city, shopping, decorating, or lunch with a friend bring the extra guest. Having some down time, the two of you can sit quietly together after all He is Immanuel!

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No Christmas?

This year there are no Christmas decorations in our home. In fact, there is very little of anything in our home right now!

You see, tomorrow we move on to a new adventure! The house and most of the furnishings have been sold. The keepsakes have taken up residence in the homes of our children and grandchildren. What we have are many, many years of wonderful memories.

The Lord really put it on our hearts this summer to sell the house and move into a RV fulltime. Tomorrow is the day we start that adventure. Dave and I are excited – following the Lord does that – it brings you a sense of excitement and anticipation!

As I sit here looking around at where the Christmas tree has always been, where my Nativity sets have topped the furniture and the counter tops, my heart is flooded with the sights and sounds of Christmases past. The laughter, the music, the presence of family and friends.

I envision my Christmas tree. It is probably like yours; decorated with ornaments that have been collected over the years. Angel ornaments are my favorite. Each year as I hang different “angels” on the tree I remember fondly the friends that have given them to me. And as they are hung in a special place I pray for that dear friend or family member.

I was thinking this morning, if each ornament were a picture my tree would be filled with images of the ones I hold dear all year long. You know the Father has done that, He has filled His home with our pictures. He’s actually got them in the palm of His hand.

“But the Lord says, ‘Can a woman forget her baby? Can she forget the child who came from her body? Even if she can forget her children, I cannot forget you. 16 I drew a picture of you on my hand. You are always before my eyes…” Isaiah 49:15-16 ERV

He not only holds us in His heart but He also holds us in the palm of His hand!

Take time to cherish the memories and the love that we share, especially at Christmas, and if you feel prompted, buy an ornament to give to someone you hold dear. It will be a memory in the making.

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