Comfort....

What keeps us going in a time of deep loss and pain?  Where do we find what we need?

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word." (2 Thes.2:16-17, NASB)

We can face tomorrow, because when we have placed our faith and trust in Jesus, we have Someone who loves us.  We have been provided what we need for comfort.  We have a hope. We can find comfort.  We can receive what we need for our hearts to be strengthened.  We can continue in good works and words, because this life is not all there is.  

We may not find the answers to the reasons things happen in this life, but we can find comfort in knowing we are loved.  We can find the strength needed to face each tomorrow.  Keep following Jesus in all things, He will provide what we need to comfort us in our time of need.

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Our Refuge....

"I have called upon Thee, for Thou will answer me, O God; incline Thine ear to me, hear my speech.  Wonderously show Thy lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Thy right hand from those who rise up against them." Psalm 17:6-7,(NASB)

When life gets difficult, overwhelming, and hard to deal with, who do we run to?  The Lord is always there for us.  When we call out to Him, He does answer.  He will bend His ear toward us and will listen.  When our enemies are rising against us, the lovingkindness and protection of the Lord is always available for us.

It is nice to have human friends in times of trouble, but they are not a true refuge in life.  They are not able to be a refuge from our enemies.   We can call out to them, but they are not able to answer what is best.

Praise the Lord for godly friends in our lives.  Praise the Lord for a Savior who listens and is able to protect us in all things.

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Life Disappoints....

Years I go I heard the saying that "disappointment was God's appointment".  We all know what it feels like to be disappointed.  It is the way of life.

Paul tells us in Romans 5:5 (NASB), "And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

As long as we have hope, then we can hold on.  We are told that because of the love God has poured out within our hearts, and because we have the Holy Spirit given to us as well, then hope will not disappoint.

We become disappointed with the circumstances of our life, because we have placed our attention on the circumstances instead of our Savior.  This life is not all we have.  We are learning to love Jesus and others for the life beyond this temporary life.  This life is but a vapor.  It will soon disappear, but one day we will be with our Savior face-to-face and know Him.  

Let's focus on the love we have received and the Spirit that enables us to obey and not our circumstances.  We will indeed see that hope does not disppoint at all.

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The Plan...

Everyone likes to be in on what is happening. No one wants to be kept in the dark. How do we know whether we are a friend or not?

"You are My friends, if you do what I command you.  No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15:14-15, NASB)

According to Jesus, we are friends if we do what He commands us to do.  If we are His friends, then we can know what the Lord is up to.  He reminds us that slaves are not entitled to know what the master's plans are.  Yet, as a friend to the Lord, He says He will make known to us what He has heard from the Father.

The question is, are we listening to Him?  Are we really wanting to know His plan?  So often what the Lord wants us to know is clearly told, but we are not paying attention.   The disciples were told of the upcoming death, but resurrection of the Savior.  They did not hear the plan though until it was already over.  When they could not find His body in the tomb, they remembered that He said He would rise again.  It still took them time to see and understand.

What plans are there for us to see and hear that we might be missing?  May we pay attention and realize as His friends, His wishes to reveal to us what He has heard from the Father.

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Seeing More of Jesus

How does Jesus know whether we truly love Him or not? How can we prove our love for our Savior?

Jesus told his disciples, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him." (John 14:21, NASB)

We have His commandments. Everything we need for life and godliness has been given to us in the Word of God. We know what we are not suppose to do as well as what we need to be doing. If we are not following His commandments, then we are not loving Jesus or His Father.

The promise Jesus gives is to the obedient. The one who is keeping the Lord's commandments is displaying their love for Jesus and His Father. Jesus says he will return that love and will disclose Himself to the one who is obeying.

Do we want to see more of Jesus? If so, we need to be sure we are examining our lives and hearts for obedience to the Word of God.

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Friends?

Are we friends of the Lord?  How do we know exactly what kind of friend we truly are to the Lord?

In a disclosure to His disciples before His crucifixion, Jesus tells his disciples, "You are My friends, if you do what I command you." (John 15:14, NASB)   

What has He commanded us to do?  Just in John 15, Jesus commands us to abide in His love which is a way in which we keep His commandments (verse 10).  We are to love one another in the way that Jesus loves us (verse 12).  Jesus says the greatest expression of love is when you lay down your life for another (verse 13).  We obey the Lord when we witness the saving power of the Lord in our lives and tell others as well (verse 27).  

As you read through the Scriptures, look for the commands the Lord gives.  As we chose to obey His word, we reveal our friendship to the Lord.  Is our words and actions showing our friendship with the Lord today?

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The Lord is.....

"For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations." (Psalm 100:5, NASB)

The Lord is good.  It is Who He is.  He cannot deny Himself.  There is no one good like the Lord. He is the only one capable of good.  Even at our best we are not good.  We may try to do good things, but often times we have wrong motives.  By nature, we are not this way before Christ.  In Christ, we are still in need of the Lord's power to choose good over our flesh.

The Lord's lovingkindness is everlasting.  It will not end.  It is not dependent upon what we do or do not do.  He allows the freedom in our lives to choose what we want to do, but it does not deny His love for us.  He does not desire eternal separation from us, but it is not a reflection of His lovingkindness if we receive it.  He will not force us to love Him, but wishes we choose it freely.

The Lord is faithful to all generations.  We can always depend upon Him.  He waits with open arms to embrace us with His goodness, love, kindness, grace, and patience.  He endures all things and sacrificed His Son for our salvation.  Others may leave, but the Lord remains faithful to us.  Cling to Him.  He wants us to rely upon Him. He is always there.

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Praising the Lord....

Psalm 63:3 reminds us that "Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise Thee." (NASB)  No one loves us like the Lord does.  No matter what this life has to offer, nothing is better than knowing the Lord loves us.  He is worthy of our praise.

Are you going through a difficult time?  Praise the Lord that the One who loves you, sees it and will one day carry you completely out of it?

Are you looking for answers?   Praise the Lord that He knows all things and when you seek Him for wisdom, He gives it generously.

Is your life good?  Praise the Lord that all the things that are good in your life are precious gifts from the Lord to you.

Praise the Lord for His lovingkindness.  He loves like no other.  May we each have a heart of gratitude for a love that is always kind toward us.  We are not worthy of anything and yet He freely bestows it on us.

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How Thirsty are You?

How thirsty have you been?  What does it mean to be truly thirsty?   Have you ever been thirsty enough to feel as if you are going to pass out and be unable to continue?  

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God.   My soul thirsts for God, or the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" (Psalm 42:1-2; NASB).  

When an animal, such as a deer becomes so desperate for a drink, it will stick out its tongue and pant.  Nothing will make it happy until it has located the brook and has been able to quench its thirst.  

The Psalmist is talking about a deep need for the Lord.  A need that cannot be even fulfilled without Him.  How much do you realize your need for Jesus?  Or do you feel you can get along in life just fine without Him?  Do you feel He is something you have there for those occassianally difficult times.  This life will only temporarily satisfy when Jesus is put on the sidelines in our lives.  

May we seek to fully know the Lord as He fully knows us by being desperate for His presence and power in every part of our lives.

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What the Lord Remembers

"Remember me, but not necessarily the things that I do," is the cry of the Psalmist in Psalm 25:7 as He seeks the Lord.  "Do not remember the sins of my youth or my trangressions; according to Thy lovingkindness remember Thou me." (NASB)

The Lord is filled with lovingkindness and indeed, His love does not keep a record of wrongs confessed to Him.  He is able to remember us, but He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cast them as far as the east is from the west and remember our sins no more.  What a comfort that is when we take a daily tally of our life and see how much we have fallen short of the Lord's intentions and desires for us.

May we confess our sins, seek forgiveness from the Lord and others if it is needed, and then let us bask in His lovingkindness toward us.  It is His lovingkindness that gives us opportunities to grow and learn to surrender and obey Him more each day.  The Lord remembers us and not our confessed sin.  With each confession comes a renewed opportunity in our fellowship with Him.

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The Growing Affects of Affliction

Psalm 31:7-8 remind us that because of the love the Lord has for us and His knowing presence, we can survive those difficult times in our lives.   He is not only there with us, but He is there protecting us from our enemies who wish to prey upon us and devour us.  

"I will rejoice and be glad in Thy lovingkinkness, because Thou hast seen my affliction; Thou hast known the troubles of my soul and Thou hast not given me over into the hand of the enemy, Thou hast set my feet in a large place." (NASB)

The Lord is aware of all that we go through.  His desire is to protect us and place us in a place where things are more sturdy.  The road to larger faith and clearer understanding of the Lord is filled with afflictions.  Satan wishes to destroy us.  It takes steps of faith to rejoice and be glad in the Lord's lovingkindness when circumstances threaten to blind us to His presence.  

Yet, as we do, we come to the place that is larger to stand on and gain the power we need to go through the next trouble.  This life is filled with trials.  Someday, we will be able to see the working power those afflictions had in our life to make us more like Jesus.  For now, those afflictions are able to draw us closer to the Savior's side.  

What are we allowing those trials to do in our lives?  What affect are they having on us?

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Conquering Love

Whatever challenges a day may bring, we are able to face it and overcome it because of what is provided for us through Jesus Christ.  "In all things we overwhelmly conquer through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37, NASB).  

Because of His love for us, we who are children of the Lord have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit enables us to have power over our flesh.  The description given here is an overwhelming ability to conquer because of the love the Lord has for us.

We can face those who have persecuted us with grace and dignity, because of the conquering love of our Savior for us.  We can face difficulties in our jobs with kindness and grace, because we are loved by Jesus.  Whatever a day may bring, we can walk through it due to a love that holds us and carries us through us.   

May we look and lean upon His love in all things.

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Instructions on Walking

Ephesians 4:1-3 says "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (NASB)

The first three chapters of Ephesian teaches the believer about who they are now that they are in a relationship with the Lord.  Paul wants us to understand where we were before our salvation. Once we can grasp who we are because of Christ, we are to understand the way in which we have been called to live.  The last three chapters of Ephesians teaches us how to live.

We are told that we are to walk in a way that reflects our calling.  We are to live in a way that honors the Lord.  In these first three verses we are given enough to keep us busy for the Lord. We have been called to die to ourselves (humility).  It is not about my wants and desires, but about what the Lord knows is best for us.

We have been called to gentleness.  We are to control the words that we say.  We are to speak in a way that edifies another and encourages others to walk closer to the Lord.  We are to speak truth into each others lives and be willing to receive truth in our lives.  We are not to do this in rudeness, but with the desire to help, not hurt.  

Our lives are to reflect patience with a stick to it power.  If the person does not respond well, we are to continue to love and pray for them. Finally, we are to do all that we can to be sure that we are helping to maintain unity in our relationships.  This is done by living in obedience to the Lord and treating others with honor and dignity.  Peace is maintained by the Spirit, and it is the Lord's will for us.

How are we doing on our walk today?

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Loving the Lord....

Matthew 22:37 is Jesus' response to the Scribes and Pharisees who are question and testing Him. They want to know what is the greatest commandment of the Law.  Jesus tells them, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." (NASB)  Jesus says this commandment is great and it sums up the first four of the Ten Commandments.

Are we taking time out each day to spend time reading and learning the Words given to us by the Lord in the Scriptures?  Are we confessing our sin and seeking the Lord in prayer each day? Are we more concerned with what we want to do and what we want that we tag on "if it His will" as a seal to His approval?  Are we careful in the way that we use His name?  Do we live in such a way that others know we are following Jesus?  Are we forsaking the assembling together with other believers each week or are we committed to using our gifts and talents to serve the Lord with the Body of Christ.

If we answer "no" to any or most of these questions, then we are not loving the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind.  May we seek to daily do this.

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Love.....

John 13:34-35 says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

We are told that all men will know we are the disciples of Jesus by the love that they see us expressing to one another.  Pure unadultrated love for each other.  A love that wants the best for one another.  A love that pushes us closer to our Savior.  A love that points us away from sin.  A love that when expressed to one another is also an expression of our love for Him.

How are we doing?  Do those watching us see kindness, gentleness, patience, meekness, and self-control?  What words are they hearing when we are talking about others?  Are we saying we have love and tearing down those people around us?  We are to love like Jesus or we are not loving at all.

Abiding and Loving....

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you, abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." (John 15:9-10, NASB)

We are loved.  We are loved by Jesus.  We are loved by Jesus in the same way that the Heavenly Father loves His Son, Jesus.  

We are to abide in the love we have from Jesus.  We show that we are abiding in this love when we do the deeds we are commanded by Jesus to do.   Jesus tells us that just like He obeyed the Father commandment and was abiding in the Father's love, we are to do as well.  

What does that look like?  It means praying for our enemies instead of seeking revenge.  It means putting away falsehood and speaking the truth.  It means taking responsibility for our sins without excuses and making it right with those we sin against.  It means putting away greed, unkindness, rudeness, arrogance and divisiveness.  

We need to ask ourselves daily, how are we abiding in the Lord's love today?  We know by our obedience to the Word of God.

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Imitations.....

What am I suppose to do?  Who should I follow?  How do I know what is right and wrong?

Ephesians 5:1-2 instucts to "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

We are to imitate the Lord, because as His children, we are to reflect the words and actions of our Father.  We are to walk in love.  We are to be willing to give up those things that reflect badly upon our Father.  We are to offer and sacrifice those things for the Lord that give off an aroma of honor for our Father.

The saying goes, that "the apple does not fall far from the tree".  If that is true, what do we look like?  What are people saying about our Heavenly Father after watching our daily lives?  We are either pointing toward Jesus in our walk or away from Him.

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Faith and Love together

Galatians 5:6 says, "For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love." (NASB)

Paul is telling us that it does not matter whether we are a Jew or a Gentile.  It does not matter whether we have been circumcised or not.  Circumcision was something necessary before Jesus died on the cross.  It use to distinguish who the people followed.  This act of faith was put away at the crucifixion of Jesus and means nothing anymore.

What matters now is our faith working through love.  This faith and love enables us to put others before ourselves.  It enables us to have the power to be patient, kind, and compassionate toward those around us.  It enables us to obey the Lord and follow the Spirit instead of the desires of our flesh. 

Faith working through love enables us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  It enables us to walk according the Spirit and to live in a way that honors and pleases the Lord.  With this enabling faith we are able to put to death the flesh and display the fruit of the Spirit in all we do, think and say.  

What are we letting others see in our lives today?

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His Love through Us.....

John 15:12-14 teaches us the words and commands of Jesus regarding loving others.   He says, 

"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.  You are My friends, if you do what I command you." (NASB)

This is not a suggestion.  This is not something we are to try for a time.  Jesus is telling us to love as He has loved us.  He lets us know that the greatest way to display your love for another is to lay down your life for them.  For Jesus, He literally was crucified for my salvation.  Jesus wants us to understand that we are His friend if we do what He commands us to do.

So, what does this mean?  How can we love with a love like Him?  In our own strength and power, we cannot even begin to touch it.  We are in need of Him and His power to enable us to love others.  We can love those nice and kind to us, but what about those who persecute us and are cruel toward us?  How are we to love them?  

We are to not retaliate.  Despite the meanness, persecution, and cruelty of others, we are not to return their kind of words and actions with the same.  We need to not defend ourselves and allow the Lord to do that.  We need to let the Lord take vengence, and we need to trust Him for the words and actions of our enemies toward us.  We need to speak kind and nice and not allow their sin to provoke us.  This takes complete reliance upon the Lord, but this is how we prove our friendship with the Lord.  

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Do you see Him?

Psalm 107:43 says, "Who is wise?  Let him give heed to these things; and consider the lovingkindness of the Lord."  (NASB)

Psalm 107 is dedicated to showing the lovingkindness of the Lord and allowing the righteous to realize that even when the difficult times come, He is there to carry them through.   It shows that when people cry out to the Lord, He hears them.  Hard times come to the righteous as well as the wicked.  The wicked endure  it with their own strength, but the righteous are carried through by the lovingkindness of the Lord.

If you are in a storm, cry out to the Lord.  If you are in need, cry out to the Lord.  If all seems dark and dreary, cry out to the Lord.  Heed the things that you are taught in the Word of God, and you will see the lovingkindness of the Lord despite your difficulties.

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How to Live....

How do we live?  How do we make it through each day?  What is our motivation?

Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up for me." (NASB)

How do we live?  The moment we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, our crucifixion had been made complete.  We were immediately raised with Christ.  Now we have Christ living in us.  We are to live each day now by faith and not by the flesh.  

We can make it through each day, because we are loved by the Son of God and we have been delivered by the Son of God.  We no longer remain ruled by the power of our flesh, but by the One who is in us.

Our motivation to move forward through the good times as well as the hard times is because we have a new life that has been given to us.  We do not need to respond to our flesh.  We have been loved and been given a faith that is beyond our own wants and desires.

We have been crucified with Christ and now we can live!

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His Love controls.....

What keeps us going?   What is the reason to reach out toward the lost or those who have walked away from the Lord?

"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again that their behalf." (2 Cor.5:14-15, NASB)

In 1977 I gave my life to Christ.  I trusted in the work that He did when He died and rose again. Since that day, this life has not been about living for me, but living for Him.  I live to honor Him in all that I do and say.  I am not to be controlled by my wants and desires, because the flesh is self-centered.  I know that it is something beyond me, because otherwise the bumps and difficulties along the way would cause me to give up and flee from what the Lord offers to me.

Therefore, since we were born into this world with a sin nature, that left on its own, will devour our lives and those around us, do not do so means something else is happening.  The Lord reveals truth about Himself to us and when we accept it, His Spirit dwells in us and enables us to understand where we have been.  The Spirit compels us to reach out toward those who remain where we once were.  We have hope for this life, and the life to come because of what Jesus did on Calvary for us.

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The Purpose....

We all have a reason and a purpose for being born.  We were created and the Lord has plans for what He desires our life to accomplish on this earth.

For Jesus, He was born to die for our salvation.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him." (John 3:16-17, NASB)

Jesus' purpose was not to judge, but to save the world.  The Father's plan was that eternal life would be provided for those who were on their way to perishing forever.  Certainly, Jesus knew the hearts of those He came into contact with as He walked the earth.  His only desire for them to see within their own hearts was so that they would see their need for salvation.

Most of us will not be known by the world.  We won't be on television.  Our life will not touch thousands, but every life we touch for the kingdom of heaven matters.  The Lord from the beginning of time had us in mind and a purpose for us.  Like Jesus, we were born at a particular time in history.  Our life matters for the Lord when we live in obedience to Him.  What are we doing to display our belief in Jesus each day?

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We are loved....

"By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him." (1 John 4:9, NASB)

We are deeply loved by the God that created the universe.  We are loved enough to not be left in our destructive state of sin.  We deserve nothing and yet we have been  offered everything.  We will brush Him off and ignore Him, and His love remains stable, sure, and waiting for us.

The Heavenly Father only had one Son.  He was willing to send that one perfect Son into a world filled with sin.  Into a world that would hate Him and His message.  Into a world that would crucify the innocent and release the guilty.  

Without the sacrifice of Jesus, there would be no salvation.   Left on our own, we will self-destruct.  We cannot save ourselves, but the Son saves us and works within us.  All our sin has been transferred to Jesus and the price has been paid.  We have been set free as His righteousness has been transferred to us.  We are loved.  Not because we deserve it, but because we need it.

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His Love....

How open are we to allowing the Lord to reveal things to us that we do not comprehend?

Ephesians 3:17-19 says, "So that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God." (NASB)

At salvation the Spirit dwells in our hearts through our faith, but that does not mean that we automatically understand His love for us.  This comes with spending time in His Word and prayer, to begin to comprehend it.  The Lord desires more then head knowledge for us though. His desire is that we not only understand His love, but He wishes that we are rooted and grounded in His love.  He wants our understanding of His love to go beyond knowledge.  His desire is that we are filled up with His love.

What does this look like in our lives?  It will look something like this?  Despite the way others treat us, we are kind, patient, without envy, arrogance, or keeping records of wrongs.  We may be in difficult situations in our lives, but we do not allow our circumstances dictate our trust in the Lord and our understanding of His commitment to us.  No matter what takes place in our lives, we are not shaken because we understand the Lord's love for us.  How are we doing with this comprehension today?

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Serving.....

"Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God, rose from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself about.  Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded." (John 13:3-5)

Jesus knew Who He was.  He knew the authority that He possessed.  He knew the power that was within Him.  He knew His rights.

Yet, Jesus demanded nothing.  He was a guest, and His feet should have been washed by the host of this home.  This was neglected and seeing the need, Jesus got up and filled the basin and began to clean the feet of His disciples.  He displayed the heart of a servant to those who should be serving Him.

Jesus tells them that they will not understand what He is doing, but they will later.  How true that is as we see that Jesus loved all of us so much He came to serve.  The ultimate service would be to allow His life to be taken to pay for our sins.

Jesus could demand to be served, and instead He willingly served.  We need to be sure that we too will follow the example of our Savior.  It is not about our right and who we think we are. No matter how important we may think we are, we must always be willing to humble ourselves and serve others.

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Reach For His Love

Certainly the Lord cannot truly love me. Look what I have done? I have made a mess of my life.

Romans 8:38-39 says something different to these feelings that sometimes can totally overwhelm us and bring us to defeat. He says, "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (NASB)

The moment we put our faith and trust in Jesus as Savior, we were adopted into the family of God. His love is sure, steady and ever present. It does not matter what we do. He will continue to love us. When we disobey, He will move toward us to bring us back into His arms of love. He does not leave us, though He may watch us from a distance until we return to Him. He guides and protects, and He allows all things to touch our lives after He has evaluated them with His love and grace.

The reason we may not sense His love is because we are doing things to push Him away. We may not be listening to Him anymore. We go through the actions of appearing righteous, but will not open our hearts and life to His voice. This life is not to be about pursuing the things this life has to offer. They never really fulfill and bring peace and joy. It is about our relationship with the Lord.

May we open our hearts and lives today and evaluate to see the reason we sense He is not there. If confession is needed, may we do that. When the Lord's love does not seem present, He has not moved, but we have.

copyrighted by BLS

Love in Action

When one's life is a mess, who is going to reach out to them?  By nature, we all tend to want to hang out and be with the one who has their life all together.  Yet, Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (NASB)

The Lord does not wait until we have cleaned up and straightened up our lives before He actively jumped in there and provided something much better for us.  Since life began in the garden with Adam and Eve, it was their first act of disobedience that caused sin to be a part of life.  Salvation was needed, and from the garden the Lord made provisions until the perfect time in which salvation through Calvary would be provided.

The Lord does not say He loves us without proving it.  He made it clear that He loves us. Before we were even born, He provided salvation for us.  It is there waiting for us when we will take the free gift that will bring reconciliation to our relationship with the Lord.  It is also the reconciliation with the Lord that then enables us to truly reconcile the other relationships in our lives broken and wounded by sin (ours and theirs).  

The Lord displayed His love for us by sacrificing His son.  How are we willing to demonstrate our love back to Him and to others?

copyrighted by BLS