Category: Relationship

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The Greatest of These

I know you’ve probably heard that often quoted phrase, “The greatest of these is love”. I completely agree. At the beginning of that verse are two other virtues which play an important role as well.

“ Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 CEV

Hope works with faith which works with love and the greatest of these is love.

“For now there are faith, hope, and love. But of these three, the greatest is love.” I Corinthians 13:13 CEV

I have the following verses written in the back of one of my Bibles.

“ I say this because our hope of being right with God comes through faith. And the Spirit helps us feel sure as we wait for that hope. 6 When someone belongs to Christ Jesus, it is not important if they are circumcised or not. The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.” Galatians 5:5-6 ERV

God has created us with a spiritual DNA of hope, faith and love.

We all have a hope for something/Someone greater than ourselves to help us through this life. No one is a “self made” man or woman. No matter how hard we try to be completely independent we rely on God.

Let me explain. We depend on our body to function properly; our heart beats and circulates blood throughout our body – life giving blood. Our lungs process the air we breathe and fill that blood with oxygen that is needed for the reproduction of cells. I could go on, but you get the point. We rely on God, knowingly or unknowingly, because He’s the one who causes our body to work in concert with itself.

We hope for a better future. Our hope builds our faith; without faith we cannot please God.

“It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 MSG

Our faith brings us to God. The One who not only created us but also cares for us and loves us.

“ God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them!” John 3:16-17

God’s love devised and implemented a plan for mankind to be reconciled from our sins. His was a plan of love! Not willing for anyone to perish and go to hell, He sent His Son to be our Savior.

We hope for a better life, we put our faith in God and His love never fails us. Our hope, our faith but His love.

The greatest of these is love!

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Start With Love

Each morning I start with love. I profess my love to the Father, Son and Spirit of God. Then I search His word and hear Him speak love over me. It’s an amazing way to begin each day.

When Scripture is put to song, it really stays with me. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to end, they are new every morning, new every morning, great is thy faithfulness, oh Lord. Great is thy faithfulness.”

Steadfast: a. firmly fixed in place : IMMOVABLE, b: not subject to change: firm in belief, c: determination, or adherence : LOYAL

God’s love is steadfast: firmly fixed in place; immovable; not subject to change; determined; loyal. And His love is towards me!

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. 24 ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ 25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. 26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” Lamentations 3:22-26

We have all failed. God knows that and His love never ceases. It is new to us each morning. He sees what no one else sees; the times we’ve tried and the times we’ve grown tired from trying. He loves us in our efforts and loves us in our failures.

“ Only those people who are led by God’s Spirit are his children. 15  God’s Spirit doesn’t make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father. 16 God’s Spirit makes us sure that we are his children.” Romans 8:14-16 CEV

The great thing is that the Spirit, living in us, will remind us of that deep and abiding love of God. Failure is not a reason to be condemned, it propels us forward straight into the arms of our loving Father.

“Jesus, our high priest, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways we are tempted, but he never sinned. 16 With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:15-16 ERV

God’s love for us is steadfast, immovable. Heads up and Move forward!

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Stop the Leak!

I had the strangest experience yesterday afternoon.

I went in to clean the bathroom, you know, give it a good scrub and I was almost done. Just had the sink left and that’s when it happened. I was wiping the water spots off the faucet and the faucet broke off in my hand.

Water was squirting everywhere. I holler for Dave to come help. I had my finger over the hole but if I moved it water went everywhere. Dave came in and said, “Shut off the water.”

“I can’t reach it,” was my reply. At that, Dave simply pushed the handle down and the water stopped. Oh my! I was thinking the water supply needed to be turned off under the sink, in my desperation I didn’t realize it was as simple as turning off the water flow with the handle.

Now, he still has a faucet to replace, and we are currently brushing our teeth in the kitchen but the leak has stopped.

You might be thinking that was a dumb story and asking yourself what that has to do with the blog. Let me tie the two together.

We’ve been looking at the depth of God’s love for us and I hope you are coming to a greater awareness of His love. When we first come to Christ to receive Him as our Savior, we have this drawing from the Spirit that helps us understand that in spite of all our failings, our sin, and our shortcomings, God’s love for us is so great that it covers all those sins. By faith, we receive His sacrifice and His love.

As we go along in our walk with Christ, we begin to let that faith in God’s unconditional love leak. Looking in the mirror we see a few extra pounds and some gray hairs, and we become discouraged. Someone at work gets the promotion we think we deserve, and we question our talents. A marriage ends and we feel unlovable. We go to church and a preacher tells us we must do this and that to be good and since we have failed, we deem ourselves unworthy.

A guilty conscience puts our focus on our failures, and our focus on God’s love decreases.

“Then he says, ‘I will forget their sins and never again remember the evil they have done.’… 21 And we have a great priest who rules the house of God. 22 Sprinkled with the blood of Christ, our hearts have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. So come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of our faith in Christ. 23 We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what he promised.” Hebrews 10:17-23 ERV

This verse tells us that the blood of Christ has freed us from guilt and filled us with confidence in our relationship with the Father. There’s only one way I know to be rid of a guilty conscience.

“We can trust God to do what he promised”. He has promised to never leave or abandon us. He has promised to be there to help when we are in need. He has promised us peace and joy. He has promised to never lie to us.

We must fix the leak caused by a guilty conscience and allow God’s love to flow freely in our lives. Focus on Him!

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Love Covers

Yesterday I was talking with some friends about our Christmas and what a wonderful time it was for me. Our children, with one simple act, made this my best Christmas ever.

As we were talking Steve mentioned the Scripture that “love covers a multitude of sins” as it says in the book of Proverbs. That really resonated with me and I thought on it off and on throughout the day.

It was on my mind again this morning as I sat down to write to all of you but this time it exploded in my heart!

“Hate starts fights, but love covers all sins.” Proverbs 10:12 NLV

Our prejudice, misunderstanding, cultural differences, and backgrounds are responsible for a great deal of malice. Wars are fought over such things. Families are divided, companies are destroyed, and friendships are broken.

But love covers! Love seeks a way to resolve and repair, to reconcile and restore. Take a look at what the Apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 13.

“Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride. 5 Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone. 6 Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. 7 Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things. 8 Love never comes to an end.” I Corinthians 13:4-8 NLV

Now, let me remind you – this is what the love that God has for US does and when we follow the instruction in yesterday’s blog of love the Lord and our neighbors, this is what we should be doing as well.

God, who is love, and who loved us first covered a multitude of our sins with the blood of His Son.

“ Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;” Colossians 2:14 KJV

“We had broken the Law many ways. Those sins were held against us by the Law. That Law had writings which said we were sinners. But now He has destroyed that writing by nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:14 NLV

Blotted out – covered. In the writings of ages past, there were no erasers, no back space, no white out or auto correct. If there was a mistake, it needed to be blotted out either by covering with more ink making a big spot on the parchment or by trying to remove the unwanted wording with a damp cloth which smeared the ink.

In our case, concerning our sins, the handwritten charges against us were blotted out when they were nailed to the cross and “blotted out” by the blood of Jesus!

Don’t let our enemy satan start a fight by throwing up our past sins. Love, God’s love, has covered them.

His love covered our multitude of sins! Amen!

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Scratching the Surface

Yesterday I started to talk to you about unimaginable love. Started, yes started. If I spent every day this year focused solely on the love of God, I still would only be scratching the surface of the subject.

There is an old hymn, The Love of God, written in 1917 that expresses it better than I can:

  1. The love of God is greater far
    Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
    It goes beyond the highest star,
    And reaches to the lowest hell;
    The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
    God gave His Son to win;
    His erring child He reconciled,
    And pardoned from his sin.
    • Refrain:
      Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
      How measureless and strong!
      It shall forevermore endure—
      The saints’ and angels’ song.
  2. 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.”

To write the love of God above would drain the oceans dry and the whole sky would be filled with the acts of the love of God. And, that still wouldn’t adequately contain the depth of His love.

I think Paul and John were the best at conveying God’s love through Scripture. Back to Romans 8 this morning.

“God knew them before he made the world. And he decided that they would be like his Son. Then Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. 30 God planned for them to be like his Son. He chose them and made them right with him. And after he made them right, he gave them his glory.

31 So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right…35 Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love?…37 But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:29-39 ERV

Is there something in your past that keeps haunting you – telling you, “You aren’t good enough”? None of us are, that’s why God’s love is so amazing. He sees our failings and loves us in spite of them!

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Time With Dad

I got up this morning thinking about my dad. He’s been in heaven now for almost 20 years, 19 years tomorrow, as a matter of fact.

Times with him were special. He worked out of town a lot, so I treasured the days he was home. Dinner around the table, playing a rousing game of 42 (dominoes), times when I got to go along on the hunting trips and sitting beside him on a riverbank or the shore of a lake as we fished.

Special times.

I miss the times we talked. I also remember the tone in his voice when I was about to get a spanking for something I had done wrong. Growing up wasn’t always easy but it was always loving.

Dave asked me last night if I felt I had a happy childhood. I did. His wasn’t.

Regardless of the experiences we have/had with our earthly fathers, the relationship we have with our heavenly Father is one of unconditional love, forgiveness, acceptance and guidance/correction for our well-being.

Our son would follow Dave through the alfalfa fields trying to match his steps stride for stride, he wore his hat like his dad and the same kind of boots. Then when he got older Dave would take him to his surf competitions. Now the two of them enjoy fishing trips and just being together. Father and Son.

Our girls still call Dave daddy. When they write him notes or call on the phone it’s always “Daddy”. He would read to our youngest daughter when I was at work and comb her hair in the mornings if I had to go in early. Our oldest daughter had him chaperone her sweet 16 party and they went ice skating – then there were the times they went horseback riding together.

Times with Dad are special! They make an indelible impact on our lives and just because we may not have our earthly dads with us any more, we most certainly have our Heavenly One who desires to have us spend time with Him.

“Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. 2 Let love be your guide. Christ loved us and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 CEV

“Since you are now God’s children, he has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, “ Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are not slaves like before. You are God’s children, and you will receive everything he promised his children.” Galatians 4:6-7 ERV

Make a commitment to spend time with your Father this year. He loves spending time with you!

“Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 16 So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:15-16 CEV

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It’s The Beginning

A New Year, a blank slate, a clean page, a new horizon, a fresh start. How many more clichés can I come up with? You get the point.

Will this year start any differently than those in the past? High expectations are easily replaced by disappointment unless the beginning has a solid foundation.

I used this verse yesterday but it’s the only way I know to start something new, with God!

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 KJV

“In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God.” John 1:1 CEV

The best way to start this new year is to have God in our beginning! God the Father and His creative power is here to fill our beginning. God the Son, Jesus, the Word, is here as our example of what life is like when we depend upon the Father.

Oh and one more verse.

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:26-27 KJV

God the Holy Spirit has come to remind us of what the Word says about our relationship with the Father, and this will bring us peace! What a great way to begin this year and it’s a great way to walk through each day!

Happy New Year!

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Walk Free

How many steps do you think you’ll take on this last day of 2023?

For several years I wore a Fitbit and it was a constant reminder that I wasn’t getting enough steps.

Physical accomplishments are important because they help us stay strong and healthy, we all know that. But do we give the same recognition to our spiritual growth and activity?

“Training your body helps you in some ways. But devotion to God helps you in every way. It brings you blessings in this life and in the future life too.” I Timothy 4:8 ERV

This morning part of my Bible reading took me to Romans 6. Have I mentioned that I love the book of Romans? (Spend some time reading & studying this book.) The Romans prided themselves in being forward thinkers and specimens of physical strength. The Roman soldiers were highly trained and disciplined.

Now that they were coming to faith in Christ Paul’s letter was like a training manual for them spiritually.

“We know that our old life, our old sinful self, was nailed to the cross with Christ. And so the power of sin that held us was destroyed. Sin is no longer our boss. 7 When a man is dead, he is free from the power of sin. 8 And if we have died with Christ, we believe we will live with Him also. 9 We know that Christ was raised from the dead. He will never die again. Death has no more power over Him. 10 He died once but now lives. He died to break the power of sin, and the life He now lives is for God. 11 You must do the same thing! Think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But now you have new life because of Jesus Christ our Lord. You are living this new life for God.

12 So do not let sin have power over your body here on earth. You must not obey the body and let it do what it wants to do. 13 Do not give any part of your body for sinful use. Instead, give yourself to God as a living person who has been raised from the dead. Give every part of your body to God to do what is right. 14 Sin must not have power over you. You are not living by the Law. You have life because of God’s loving-favor.” Romans 6:6-14 NLV

“Think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin.” “ Sin must not have power over you. You are not living by the Law. You have life because of God’s loving-favor.“

When we have new life in Christ, we die to our old life and become a whole new being.

“ For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun.” II Corinthians 5:17 NLV

Consider this. A dead body, a corpse has no power of its own. It has to be carried from place to place and can be manipulated by the one holding it. The only real power it has is to stink as it decays.

Our old life, our life before Christ is dead. One translation says it has passed away and all things become new.

If you have been struggling with a fear, an emotion, a habit that has been holding you back turn it over to God and let Him show you the victory that He has provided.

“Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. 6 With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way.” Proverbs 3:5-6 ERV

Take the first step, trust the Lord completely and then walk free into the New Year.

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Year End

Good morning!

Today I slept in. I think the activities of the last week and the two days of travel caught up with me and my body needed the extra rest. But now that I’m awake, I’m ready to go. Sitting here with coffee in hand I’m thinking about the year of 2023.

There were some great moments of joy and excitement, unexpected blessings, times of peace. Some once-in-a-lifetime moments. There were also some days of heartache and loss, times when we needed to comfort and encourage, times when we needed comfort.

How will our year end?

If we trust in the Lord it should end the way it started – with expectancy.

“Christ has made us a holy nation of religious leaders who can go to His God and Father. He is the One to receive honor and power forever! Let it be so. 7 See! He is coming in the clouds. Every eye will see Him. Even the men who killed Him will see Him. All the people on the earth will cry out in sorrow because of Him. Yes, let it be so. 8 The Lord God says, ‘I am the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of all things. I am the All-powerful One Who was and Who is and Who is to come.'” Revelation 1:6-8 NLV

Our Father has been here from the very beginning, He always was and has always been.

“In the beginning God made from nothing the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 NLV

In the beginning God!

“ I am the First and the Last. I am the beginning and the end. ” Revelation 22:13 NLV

At the end of all things is God!

It is my goal each day to encourage you in your walk with the Lord. I want you to know that God desires to be a part of everything you do – the mundane and the marvelous. He wants to be your first thought in the morning and your final thought each night.

His love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness are limitless. The character of God has no end.

As this year ends celebrate! Celebrate the goodness of God. As the new year begins celebrate. Celebrate the faithfulness of your loving heavenly Father and thank Him for the marvelous plans He has for you!.

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Windy Roads

One thing Dave and I always had to consider when we traveled in the northwest was the snow-covered mountain roads. It made winter travel dangerous at times and always required the upmost caution.

When we lived in Montana, we had at least three mountain passes that needed to be navigated on our way to visit family. With a covering of prayer and Dave’s excellent driving skills we always arrived safely, although somewhat stressed.

Our drive home this week was much less stressful. The roads were dry, crowded but dry. I like the straight dry roads of the desert. I guess that’s why these verses have such meaning to me.

“A voice is calling, ‘Make the way ready for the Lord in the desert. Make the road in the desert straight for our God. 4 Every valley will be lifted up and every mountain and hill will be brought down. The turns in the road will be made straight and the bad places will be made smooth. 5 Then the shining-greatness of the Lord will be seen. All flesh together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’” Isaiah 40:3-5 NLV

These words were written about the coming of Christ over 400 years before he was born.

“ In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert in the country of Judea. 2 He said, ‘Be sorry for your sins and turn from them! The holy nation of heaven is near.’ 3 The early preacher Isaiah spoke of this man. He said, ‘Listen! His voice calls out in the desert! ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him!’” Matthew 3:1-4 NLV

John the Baptist was chosen by God to deliver the message of repentance to the Jews prior to Jesus’ public ministry. He brought a message of hope.

Some of you may need that same message. Do you ever feel like you’re on a long crooked, treacherous road? Lots of twists and turns, ups and downs.

Jesus came to change the world, your world and my world. The tangled switchbacks of life become straight as we put our trust in Him. We don’t have to ride the emotional roller coaster of mountain top to valley and up again. He has come to give us peace. Christ came to make our rough places smooth. Remember, He is the One who spoke to the wind and the waves and commanded “Peace, be still”.

It may seem like you have been skidding out of control on an ice-covered road. Call out, like the words of the song, Jesus take the wheel!

“Let us go with complete trust to the throne of God. We will receive His loving-kindness and have His loving-favor to help us whenever we need it.” Hebrews 4:16 NLV

The power of God in our lives will make crooked places straight, rough places smooth; turn struggles into strength and battles into triumph.

Keep your eyes on Him who ALWAYS causes us to triumph in Christ Jesus.

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