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God’s Love

I don’t believe there is a better place for the bible to open than to these words:

I love you, says the LORD

Malachi 1:2

Plain words.  Easy to understand.  And yet, easy for us to forget.  But even when we forget, God calls us back.

Since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.

Return to me, that I may return to you, says the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 3:7

I love you Lord!  Your love is undeniable, unwavering, all encompassing. Your love is faithful, even when we are not.  Thank you!  I want to know your love so deeply.  I want to know how to love like you do.

 

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A good night kiss from God (Sweet Dreams)

I am ready for bed.  The alarm clock went off way too early this morning.  It has been a long Monday.  Time to open the Bible and then quickly go to bed.  But first God gave me this goodnight kiss and hug:

But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine.  When you pass through waters, I will be with you; through rivers, you shall not be swept away.  When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, nor will flames consume you.  For I, the LORD, am your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior. I give Egypt as ransom for you, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.  Because you are precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you and nations in exchange for your life.

Fear not, for I am with you; from the east I will bring back your offspring, from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north: Give them up! and to the south: Do not hold them! Bring back my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth: All who are called by my name I created for my glory; I formed them, made them.

Isaiah 43:1-7

Thank you God!  I love you too!  Good night!

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I want it all!

Can I have it all on earth and in heaven?  This is the question that haunts me.  Today’s verse once again drove this home:

Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?”  He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good.  If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”  The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?”  Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.  Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 19:16-24

I almost wish the young man had not asked the question.  I feel like I do “ok” with the commandments…  most of the time.   Of course a lot harder is the one Jesus throws on – love your neighbor as yourself.  But I feel like I can at least feel like I do that…  some of the time.  But give away my possessions?  All of them?  I like my possessions.  They provide me with a sense of security.  I grew up without many, scrounged for one meal a day in college, worked 3 jobs at a time on occasion.  Give up everything?  Do I trust God enough?  Is that what Jesus is asking me to do — trust God not the material world?  Honestly, every time I hear this verse, my blood pressure rises, I begin to panic and I feel depressed.  I am not sure I ever read the very next lines, though — which give me hope:

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?”  Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”

Matthew 19:25-26

I cannot do it without God — if I think I can, I will only end up panicked and depressed — because I know I will fail.  I am not strong enough.  I am not good enough to be perfect.  I am not able on my own to achieve eternal life.  But with God it is possible.

So I will continue to strive to do all these things, including giving more.  And I will continue to ask God for forgiveness when I fail, for mercy when my time on earth ends, and that it be His will that I might have eternal life with Him.

God,

I love you.  I want to spend eternity with you.  Please forgive me for the times that I have failed to keep your commandments, failed to love my neighbor, and acted selfishly with my time and possessions, focusing on worldly wealth rather than heavenly wealth.  Help me to do better.  I beg you to grant me your grace and your mercy, so that I may one day be with you.  I know I am not worthy of this, but I trust in your love.

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God loves you

I was reminded of this today.  A fairly simple thought.  God loves you.  God loves me.  What else do we need?

A friend reminded me of this verse from Joel:

Yet even now—oracle of the LORD—return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God, For he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting in punishment.

Joel 2:12-13

God loves us and is always asking us to return to Him.  He is always waiting for us.

Whenever my son did not know the answer to a religion test question, he would answer “because God loves us very much.”  We still laugh about it — but he was right every single time.  Why?  Because that is the answer . . . to everything.

Tonight, I opened the Bible to Psalms:

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why so far from my call for help, from my cries of anguish? My God, I call by day, but you do not answer; by night, but I have no relief.

Psalms 22:2-3

Although the Psalm started off in what seemed like a cry of despair.  It actually foretold of God’s greatest act of love: sending His only son to die on the cross for us.  The Psalm goes on to state:

They have pierced my hands and my feet I can count all my bones.  They stare at me and gloat; they divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots.

As Good Friday approaches, the similarities between the psalm and Jesus’ suffering are fresh in my mind.  In the gospels, Jesus tells us that he must fulfill what is written.  This never made sense to me, until I read the rest of this Psalm:

Then I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the assembly I will praise you: “You who fear the LORD, give praise! All descendants of Jacob, give honor; show reverence, all descendants of Israel!  For he has not spurned or disdained the misery of this poor wretch, Did not turn away from me, but heard me when I cried out. I will offer praise in the great assembly; my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him. The poor will eat their fill; those who seek the LORD will offer praise.  May your hearts enjoy life forever!”

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD; All the families of nations will bow low before him.  For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over the nations.  All who sleep in the earth will bow low before God; All who have gone down into the dust will kneel in homage. And I will live for the LORD; my descendants will serve you.  The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.

The Lord is great!  Although God may not answer every prayer in the way that we hope (we are often wrong in what we think we need or want), through His greatest act of love He has shown us without question that He does not turn away from us.  He hears us when we cry out.  He hears us, He loves us, He sacrificed for us, so that we would know.

All glory and praise to God! God, I wish I knew how to rightly pay you homage — but nothing seems adequate.  I find guidance in the Psalm: “And I will live for the Lord.”

Lord, may I show you homage through my life!  I love you.

 

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There is Dissension All Around Us

Romans is one of my favorite books in the Bible.  Today it opened to the end of Romans:

I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles, in opposition to the teaching that you learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by fair and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the innocent.  For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise as to what is good, and simple as to what is evil; then the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Romans 16:17-20

“Watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles.”  I feel like that is all of us at some point or another.  Think about all of the arguments that occur every day, in your own life, in the world.  Think about all of the ways that we classify each other or otherwise try to draw lines of distinction between us and others.  Think about all the times we try to feel better about ourselves at the expense of others.  How many times do we start arguments or otherwise create separation between us and others?  Watch out for everyone?  Watch out for ourselves?

This one is hard for me, because I feel like I live in dissension.   Sometimes I even thrive on it.  I need to recognize that every time I argue, or try to place myself above others, or classify or rank individuals into groups, I create dissension.  And in doing so, I am certainly not serving the Lord, instead I am serving my own appetite, my own desire to feel right.  I am flattering myself and deceiving myself from what is right and what is good.  This false flattery weakens us, weakens me — it doesn’t make us better, it doesn’t make us right.  It pulls us away from God and his purpose for us.  It pulls us away from love.

Lord,

Let us be wise to what is good and simple to what is evil.  Let us reject the dissension around us (and that sometimes bubbles up inside us (me)).  Let us recognize it for what it is.  Provide us with the peace of knowing your love and knowing that there is enough for all of us.  We do not need to fight over it or try to put ourselves above others to receive it.  Help us to share your love.

 

 

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Joy & Peace

It is late Friday night.  It has been a very long week.  I have been gone since 5 am this morning and just now getting home at 11:30 at night.  The  weekend plans are packed with 3 soccer games, 1 baseball game, 2 meetings and probably 4-5 hours of work, maybe more.  And at some point I need to pack and prepare for a three-day trip.  I am tired.  And there is no foreseeable rest in sight.

I quickly opened the Bible tonight, ready to just crawl into bed and collapse.  Here is what God told me:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!  Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.  Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9

The section is labeled “Joy and Peace”. And that is exactly what I need right now.  God always knows just what to say!  I rejoice in the Lord!  He is mighty indeed and He is near. I will let go of my anxieties (hand them over to God) and in prayer and petition, make my requests known to God.    Lord, I need rest.  I need help.  I look to you.  I put my trust in you. Lead me, guide me, hold me.

Now I just need to think about what is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and gracious and excellent and worthy of praise.  I think about God because what else is all of these things? GOD.  God and all that He creates.  The beautiful sunrise breaking through the darkness of night.  The new buds on the trees and the daffodils starting to bloom.  The newborn calf and the 5-year old’s laugh.  Friends forged in faith.  LOVE.

Peace

Joy

Thank you God!