Tag: LoveOneAnother

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Moved By Compassion

These are the words on my heart.

Compassion: sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it

We are surrounded by so many people who are hurting. They have experienced betrayal, loss, reversal of circumstances, destruction and heart ache. I don’t think there’s ever been a time when there has been such heart ache culminated among my world of friends as there has been recently, and I know that God is moved with compassion on their behalf.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;” Lamentations 3:22-25 NIV

In those times, when we feel we are all alone and no one sees how our hearts are breaking our Father sees and He is moved with compassion. He is faithful every morning and His compassion never fails.

“Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalm 34:3-5 NIV

The Father’s compassion isn’t just for our personal application. We are instructed to be compassionate toward others.

Jesus was asked once who we should consider as our neighbor. This came from His teaching on how we are to love the Lord with all our strength and our mind and that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.

He replied with the story of what we call the good Samaritan. A man had been badly beaten and robbed, left on the roadside to die. A priest came by and saw the man but did nothing to help him. Then a religious official came by, and he too ignored the man. Finally, a Samaritan came by. (As a side note, the Jew and the Samaritans had been at odds with each other for hundreds of years.)

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’” Luke 10:33-35 NKJV

Jesus then asked which of these men do you think was his neighbor.

“And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” Luke 10:37 NKJV

I know for a fact that the Lord’s mercy and compassion are poured out on me each day. That’s His promise to me and He does not lie. And I pray that I will be moved with compassion each day toward those around me.

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The Debt of Love

This weekend commemorates those who for love of country and countrymen made the ultimate sacrifice. With grateful hearts we should say a prayer of thanksgiving for those who gave their all.

Add to that thankfulness for the One who died to redeem us from death and the destruction of sin.

It is a debt of love that we owe. Debt can be stifling, the cause of much worry and stress but the debt of love is freeing.

Jesus said we should love the Lord, our God, first and foremost and then love others as much as we love ourselves.

“ He said, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”

37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’40 All of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commands.” Matthew 22:36-40 ERV

Working to be debt free is an admiral and honorable thing but there should always be one debt that stays, the debt to love.

Reading Romans this morning I came across the Apostle Paul’s command. He said we should be indebted to LOVE!

“You should owe nothing to anyone, except that you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has done all that the law commands. 9 The law says, “You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not want what belongs to someone else.” All these commands and all other commands are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.” 10 Love doesn’t hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.” Romans 13:8-10 CEV

Love balances on both sides of the spread sheet. It is an asset of the highest order but it is also a debt, although, not a liability.

Who in your life needs your love today? Your spouse, your children, grandchildren, your parents, co-workers, friends, casual acquaintances or a stranger on the street?

Look for opportunities to go into debt today, it will make your life richer!

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Kindness & Peace

Two things we can always use more of is kindness and peace.

It would mean a great deal if people treated us nicer, right? And I think we can get a hardy amen to having less drama in our lives. What can we do to see that we are being used to bring those two elements into the lives of those around us?

“This letter is to all of you in Rome. God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own people. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!” Romans 1:7 CEV

Well, we can begin by praying for God to bless those we know with kindness and peace. And then we can follow through with being kind to those around us.

Kind to the other drivers on the roads, to the sales clerks and waiters. To receptionists and executives. To the person sitting at the next desk or our biggest competitor. To our kids and our spouses.

Paul said just a few verses later in the Book of Romans that

“You surely don’t think much of God’s wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don’t you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?” Romans 2:4 CEV

It’s God’s goodness that brings people to Him. When we emulate God’s character we are being used to bring others to Christ. We must never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit working through us.

“God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.” Galatians 5:22-23 CEV

Today I’m praying that God’s goodness and peace will overflow in your lives!

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Time to Reflect

This morning my thoughts naturally go to what God has to say about marriage. Dave & I are celebrating our 52nd anniversary today! Wow, where did the time go?

I did a teaching on marriage once. Marriage is a growing relationship, and this verse took on new meaning.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7

You see the Lord showed me if there were things I wanted to see in my husband then I should be sowing them into his life; tenderness, kindness, respect, consideration, allowance for shortcomings. You get the picture – when we give those things, it’s like planting seed and we reap what you sow.

In our time, “love, honor and obey” weren’t really popular words to have in your wedding vows but they were in ours.

“Always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Be willing to serve each other out of respect for Christ.

22 Wives, be willing to serve your husbands the same as the Lord. 23 A husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the Savior of the church, which is his body. 24 The church serves under Christ, so it is the same with you wives. You should be willing to serve your husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. 26 He died to make the church holy. He used the telling of the Good News to make the church clean by washing it with water. 27 Christ died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that the church could be holy and without fault, with no evil or sin or any other thing wrong in it.

28 And husbands should love their wives like that. They should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself, 29 because no one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church 30 because we are parts of his body.” Ephesians 5:20-30 ERV

In those times when we don’t live out the verses above, we repent when we fail.

“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” Ephesians 5:32-33 ERV

A godly marriage is an example of how Christ loves us and gave Himself for us. He protects, provides and nurtures us. He longs for us to meet our full potential and be secure in His love.

Thank you to my husband for being an example of Christ’s love to me and for continuing to grow with me in our marriage and our love.

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Not By Sight

There’s an old expression that says “seeing is believing”. The picture I’m sharing with you this morning reminds me that isn’t true.

I took this picture from the balcony of our room while we were in Greece. Each morning and evening we would look across the bay at the tall masts of the sailboats and think what a wonderful place this must be to anchor in. We imagined the peaceful cove and the crystal blue waters.

After about ten days, we took a water taxi to a beach resort that was near that cove. What we had been believing and imagining was completely wrong. The tall masts of the sailboats that we could see, believing them to be serenely anchored, revealed that they were all in dry dock. Not in the water at all. We laughed; we were convinced they had been enjoying a wonderful anchorage.

When I came across this picture last week, I was reminded of our misperception once again.

Life is a lot like that. We make a first impression or jump to a conclusion without knowing details and we judge a person or a situation based on limited knowledge.

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Eliab is tall and handsome, but don’t judge by things like that. God doesn’t look at what people see. People judge by what is on the outside, but the Lord looks at the heart. Eliab is not the right man.’” I Samuel 16:7 ERV

Samuel was the priest in Israel and he had been sent to a man named Jesse. He was to choose one of his sons to be the new king of Israel. Samuel saw the oldest son, Eliab, and thought surely this is the man. But he was not God’s choice. God looks at the heart.

David was Jesse’s son, the youngest, that God chose. Then David was misjudged by his brothers when David took nourishment to battle. Goliath defied the armies of God and David questioned why Israel was allowing him to do that. His brothers thought he was being obnoxious, and they chastised him. But David was defending God.

“ David asked the men standing near him, “What did he say? What is the reward for killing this Philistine and taking away this shame from Israel? Who is this Goliath anyway? He is only some foreigner, nothing but a Philistine. Why does he think he can speak against the army of the living God?” I Samuel 17:26 ERV

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day thought His disciples were a congregation of unlearned men. They were fisherman, tax collectors, common folk. Surely the Messiah, the Son of God, would have had a more distinguished group that this.

“ The Jewish leaders understood that Peter and John had no special training or education. But they also saw that they were not afraid to speak. So the leaders were amazed. They also realized that Peter and John had been with Jesus.’ Acts 4:13 ERV

Have you been misjudged? I know I have but I have also been guilty of judging others incorrectly. It’s important that we look at the heart of a person and not judge them by sight.

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So Much Better

Happy Valentine’s Day!

These are verses I always like to read on February 14th – Valentine’s Day. They are such a wonderful reminder of the greatest of God’s love for us.

I don’t normally include the footnotes with verses but this morning I did. You need to read it and absorb the meaning of grace – some much better than we deserve.

“3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God’s gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. 7 God did this so in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.[a] This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are.” Ephesians 2:3-10 CEV

Footnotes

2.8 treats us much better than we deserve: The Greek word charis, traditionally rendered “grace,” is translated here and other places in the CEV to express the overwhelming kindness of God.

God’s gift to us!

“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

When we seek the Father with all our heart, we will want to be like Him. Imitate Him. Then others will be drawn to Him like we were when we came to Christ.

Jesus wants us to have an abundant life. King David knew that when he wrote the Psalms, hundreds of years before Christ was born.

“A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully.” John 10:10 CEV (Jesus)

“Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, Lord.” Psalm 23:6 CEV (King David)

” God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23 All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:22-24 CEV (Apostle Paul)

Our heavenly Father isn’t looking to quench our lives, on the contrary, He has given us an abundant life filled with His love which is so much better than we deserve!

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A Child’s Love

Glitter and goggley eyes, glue and glitter. Red construction paper, pink crepe paper, scissors and markers – these are the tools of a young child making masterpieces at Valentines Day.

The giggles and the laughter come from the heart. “Mom, how do you spell Grama”? “What’s Dad’s favorite animal”? All the creativity and ingenuity of a 5- or 6-year-old is being harnessed and put on paper.

I think I still have a couple of these masterpieces stored away!

A child’s love – sweet, sincere, innocent – and the expression of it makes an indelible imprint on the parents’ heart and in their mind.

My mom was 97 when she passed and those last couple of years, she would relive my childhood with me when I went to visit. The heart doesn’t forget!

I pause and wonder, what memories am I making for my heavenly Father. How do I express my love for Him? What do I do that makes Him smile?

” Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” I John 3:1-3 CEV

The Father’s love is so great! How do we express our love for Him?

“When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, 36 and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”

37 Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38 When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39 or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”

40 The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.” Matthew 25:35-40 CEV

When we show God’s love and compassion to those who are in need, the Father sees those acts as if we have done them for Him.

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John 15:9-12 NLT

“Love as I have loved you”, Jesus said. Compassionate, encouraging, correcting, protecting, always teaching to exemplify the Father. That’s the love we are to have for one another.

So, maybe today you want to break out the glitter and the glue. Write words of love to the Father and place a card on the table…or, maybe you just want to lend a helping hand, give a word of encouragement, reach out to someone in need.

Give a Valentine that will make an indelible imprint on their heart!

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There is One

I just felt you could use a chuckle to start your day.

We’ve all seen this child. Perhaps this is your kid or even more honestly, perhaps you are this child. Never predictable, always unorthodox, always challenging. Always loved!

“Live and work without pride. Be gentle and kind. Do not be hard on others. Let love keep you from doing that.” Ephesians 4:2 NLV

For those of us who have raised this child or perhaps work with them, the above verse is an admonition from the Apostle Paul.

Sometimes we try too hard to be perfect or to make others into what we think is perfect. I’m sure Peter gave the Lord a chuckle and a head shake on more than one occasion. Impetus, speak-before-you-think kind of guy. Walking on water one minute and rebuking Jesus the next. Yes, definitely one to make the Lord stand back and shake his head.

God was working in him, refining him, but using him – this bold, unconventional, burly fisherman – for His glory. He went from being a brash fisherman to one of the pillars of the early church.

” 3 Work hard to live together as one by the help of the Holy Spirit. Then there will be peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit. There is one hope in which you were called. 5 There is one Lord and one faith and one baptism. 6 There is one God. He is the Father of us all. He is over us all. He is the One working through us all. He is the One living in us all. 7 Loving-favor has been given to each one of us. We can see how great it is by the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:3-7 NLV

One God over all of us, working through us all, living in all of us. He has given each one of us His loving-kindness. Including that “one”. They, too, are loved by God.

Each of us are unique and we are called to be part of the body of Christ. We are one in Him; our talents and contributions are for His glory. Our imperfection points to His perfect love.

“ I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 CEV

There is One and He is worthy of all honor and praise!

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Keep Life Spicy

Yesterday I was making homemade pizza for our dinner. I really enjoy cooking with fresh vegetables. As I was slicing and dicing, my mind began to wander. How many kinds of peppers are there?

I had just chopped jalapenos, green bell peppers, used diced green chili peppers and sprinkled on some fresh ground black pepper. When the pizza was done, we would sprinkle on some red pepper flakes. There are ghost peppers, habanero, poblano, serrano, and those are just the ones that I am familiar with. How many other kinds of peppers are there around the world?

Why didn’t God just stop after he had created three or four varieties? Wouldn’t that have been enough to add spice to our lives?

As I was pondering that I began humming a children’s chorus from Sunday School days: Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

God did with people what He had done with peppers. He created variety.

“The Scriptures say no one who has faith will be disappointed, 12 no matter if that person is a Jew or a Gentile. There is only one Lord, and he is generous to everyone who asks for his help. 13  All who call out to the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:11-13 CEV

Jew or Gentile (all of us who aren’t Jews), the Lord is generous to us ALL. ALL who call on Him will have salvation. No one is excluded from God’s plan of reconciliation. No one has been set outside of His grace. No one will be rejected. All people have infinite value to our God and heavenly Father.

The family of God is an all-inclusive melting pot from the nations. Jesus told the disciples to go into ALL the world and preach the gospel.

John wrote this in the book of Revelation.

“After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, 10 as they shouted

‘Our God, who sits upon the throne, has the power to save his people, and so does the Lamb.’” Revelation 7:9-10 CEV

Heaven will be filled with those from every tribe and nation. The message of God’s love reaches to the whole of humanity. If it could be bought, it would only be available to the wealthy. We receive salvation by grace so that no one would be excluded.

We have so much we can learn from all who are in the body of Christ.

My meals would be bland and boring without the use of peppers. I’m glad God saw fit to make so many varieties to spice things up. But I am even more thankful that He has included ALL who come to Him with sincere hearts into the family of God.

Together we have a way of spicing things up for His glory!

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First We Have Coffee

This book is a favorite of mine. Some of the stories touch a personal chord since I was raised in the home of first-generation Norwegian Americans.

First We Have Coffee, a book by Margaret Jensen, describes her life in Canada in a Norwegian pastor’s home. I read this book many years ago and it intrigued me because she was Norwegian, and she was a pastor’s daughter. Being Norwegian, I found many of the things they did in their home very humorous and oh so familiar.

But the thing I liked most was that her parents built relationships with people before they felt they had a right to minister to them. The full title of this book is First We Have Coffee Then We Talk. What an example of Jesus this is. He found himself constantly developing relationships – helping fisherman who hadn’t caught any fish; rescuing a prostitute; having dinner with a tax collector; supplying wine at a wedding…on and on it goes.

Without relationship we really don’t have a right to bring a message. Folks need to know our heart, to know that they aren’t being “preached” at or being judged. Jesus didn’t judge – He loved unconditionally. Yes, He definitely had a message of salvation for all He met but He didn’t judge. He encouraged, corrected, cured and showed compassion but He didn’t judge.

When He was asked a trick question by an attorney – which is the greatest law, He wasn’t flustered or ashamed. His answer was clear.

“He said, ‘Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?’ 37 Jesus answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’ 40 All of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commands.” Matthew 22:36-40 ERV

When we love God the Father with our whole heart it changes us and we develop a sense of self-worth we can’t get any other way. God’s love elevates the way we think about ourselves because we begin to see ourselves the way He does – we have value, we were worth dying for.

And when we begin to accept the love God has for us, we can then see He has that same love for others that He has for us, and we begin to see they have value too. We can love them the way the Father has loved us, the way we love ourselves.

A few weeks back I had a wonderful conversation with a friend. She told me she had been tainted by preachers, you know, religious people. In her honesty, she said she had been skeptical of me. We both cried as she told me that she had judged me wrongly.

I had never felt anything but friendship and kindness from her, yet she had been holding back because of skepticism. She told me she realized I was genuine. That meant more than words can express.

This morning, I had my first cup of coffee with the Father and now I get to share one with you. Thank you for allowing me into your computer. Thank you for sharing your mornings with me. I appreciate the relationships that are being built.

Let’s have coffee again tomorrow and we’ll talk some more.

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