WE ALL NEED GOD'S LOVE

God's Love Is What We Need

Love is where peace is found. Love is the greatest equalizer. Love demonstrates peace when it is lived in its purest state. Love's peace is something anyone can experience.

Love is tested and tried. Love does the right thing in the right way. Christ is our best example of this. Christ shares His love with us. His helps us love others with pure, tender love. Rigid religion is not what Christ offers His children. He is gentle and kind.

God's love embraces all people. God's love is life-giving. His love touches people from every walk of life. Those who fully respond to God's love are dramatically changed. Love enters one's soul as the Spirit of God reveals godly truth. The more you seek God, the more your spirit enlivens.

God's love shows. A true believer will demonstrate God's love to others. It is seen in their acts of mercy, love, kindness, justice, honesty, and fairness. The heart is changed. It springs to life. It opens up to the sunshine of godly love.

A loving heart acts in love. Loving well is seen in this biblical admonition: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32) Love desires right relationship and gives from out of its self. 

Love is kind, good, and caring. Here is one place where Jesus taught this concept:

 An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” (Luke 10)

We are God's children. Father God cares for His children. We, in turn, love Him back.

As Joseph Girzone says it, "[God] created us to become His children. He placed us in the midst of a magnificent creation and asks only that we love Him and love and respect other human creatures, and treat all His creatures with respect and gratitude.” 

God's love is supernatural. It is beyond our human ability to manufacture godly love. God is the giver of supernatural, godly love. Christians should be known by their love. God gives them His love. When Christians are not loving and known by their love, there's something not quite right in their spirituality. Those who give God their life experience God transforming them in almost every aspect of their being. 

But we do struggle at times. That is why we call our Christian life a spiritual journey. Every step we take is an opportunity to get closer to God. It is also a process of yielding our stuff to Him. We stumble when we come to areas that trip us up or set us back. This is a frequent occurrence. Instead of pretending everything is okay, this is when we learn to trust in God to carry us through, which He does when we step out of the way and yield our will to His will.

Today is the day. Let God transform the inner you. Let Christ's love enter and make you anew. Embrace God's love with your whole heart. God will forgive, change, and heal you. You are precious to God. I know, it's not that easy, but it's worth it.

Give every circumstance to God. I suggest you pray over every decision you make. I suggest you quit trying so hard and let God do the leading and providing. You show up and move forward. There's relief in this. I'm still learning how to do this. God's love carries me through.

I see God everywhere.

* * * 

Photo by Johua Hoehne , Unsplash

 

GOD'S GRACE FOR TODAY

 

God's Grace and You

GRACE PERSONIFIED

• The story of Jesus is a story of grace.  
• The theme of Jesus' life's purpose and His doings is fully-lived grace. 
• The spiritual already-lived past bespeaks of grace. 
• The spiritual future-joy promises abundant grace. 
• This spiritual present-moment infuses grace in the divinely awakened.

 ABOUT GRACE

I have spent much of the past fifteen years talking about love: Christ's love, God's love, our need for love, the need for loving others, and the importance of love in the world. Not enough have I devoted my thoughts to ponder the gift of grace given to us by God through Christ.

This week I've been reading a book by Charles Spurgeon about prayer, The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life. He emphasizes how prayer is wrapped beautifully in grace. Another book I'm reading is by author Eugenia Price, The Burden Is Light: A Spiritual Autobiography. She shares her story of waywardness until the grace of God entered her life and changed her heart.

I was astounded the first time I read in My Utmost for His Highest that it is good for us to have difficult people in our lives. Who wants to be around difficult people? Not me. Yet grace is most apparent when it is applied as it is being lived out. Our lives are an example of this. God gave us undeserved grace. We were recipients of His grace. To live grace with difficult people means we approach the Source of all grace by allowing ourselves to be grace-filled through His divine mercy and grace. Then we will act accordingly to the ways of grace in the difficult situation. Our flesh roars to the surface more often than we care to admit, but it is soon overtaken by God's grace that lives in and through us.

Grace, besides love, is the great compelling and fulfilling of the spiritual reality in life and living. A true Christian is "living-grace" to the lost, unawakened world. Grace does not see division or hopelessness. Grace sees hope and life and resurrection in the small to big things.

It's all about grace. It's all about love. It's all about Christ. It's all about redemption. It's all about life and living through the new life that can be had in Christ Jesus. "Grace, grace, God's grace; Grace that will pardon and cleanse within."

 God’s grace is freely given, not duly earned.

APPLICATION

Every time we pray, the very act of praying, is in supplication of God's grace. Awareness of God's grace becomes a way of viewing life through the spiritual lens of grace. Your life alters when grace becomes your partner throughout the day. Conversations and actions are converted to spiritual happenings once this is realized fully in you. 

Annoyances become opportunities to extend grace, to live grace, to be grace to others. To do this well requires supernatural grace to flow freely in us, through God's enabling. Since God is grace, He can liberally give us grace, from out of which, we are, in turn, able to give forth His grace to others.

1. Do you have a difficult person in your life right now? (I do) 

2. Ask God's grace in your interactions with them; then watch what happens.

3. God will help us.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE LOVE CHALLENGED

WHEN YOU ARE  LOVE CHALLENGED

There’s an art to loving well.

But loving like that doesn't grow on trees. It doesn't magically happen. 

Can a person learn to love who wasn’t loved in childhood? I was loved as a child as were my siblings so any answer I produce in response to the question is not from my own personal experience other than a problematic marriage.

I’ve read a lot of books from a variety of perspectives and experiences that touch on this subject. Love is tricky. You can’t make yourself love just because you want to, and I don’t mean 'making love.'

You can’t fake it till you make it. 

Love comes from within. Love originates inside intrinsically, and from outside, like in parent--child bonding. Trust and distrust are learned relational behaviors.

An infant, toddler, preschooler, gradeschooler, and teenager are all sensitive to their environment. Gaps form from constant neglect, abuse, emotional injury and deprivation. You can’t give what you don’t have.

Back to the original question, can you learn to love when you weren’t loved? Here’s my take. I believe it is possible. It depends on several factors falling into place, which includes doing the hard work.

How so? 

You have to want to love.  You have to chase it by dealing with your past, sorting it out, letting God help you, and learning all you can that is helpful, non addictive, healthy and healing.

At best, learning to love is a slow journey. Having God in your life is the best thing you have going for you. God is love. His love is transformative. He heals in watershed moments, in layers of healing that transpire in segments over time. You were damaged in layers, you heal in layers.

I’ve known and know of people who now love well but weren’t loved in their pasts. They’ve traveled a journey to change it up. It wasn't easy. They had to give up self-protective behaviors and addictions, manipulative and self-serving relationships.

Their stunted lives blossomed. 

They’ve had deep healing. Their empathy for others on the journey is remarkable. Their demons no longer haunt them. Most are in a community that understands, loves, and is supportive.

Learning to love well is worth pursuing, however long it takes.
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Photo by Tim Mossholder, Unsplash

THE LOVE GAME: LOVE IS AS LOVE DOES

Do you remember falling in love? 

 

LOVE IS?

Emotions of love speak joy to the heart. Happiness comes when you're wanted, loved, and desired, when you're treated with warmth, kindness, affection and deference. You know if you have this or don't have this in a relationship. It's pretty sweet when you do. It's pretty painful when you don't.

Cherished moments are the stuff of dreams come true.

Dreams do come true, that is, when the cherished moments last. All sorts of dynamics are at play in the love game and some aren't about love at all. Those who surf from partner to partner are hunting for the next thrill . . . but? Deep inside they might be looking for a place to belong, unbeknownst to them. 

Some individuals have emotional gaps they're trying to fill. They're looking for others to meet that need (codependency fits here).

They want to be needed and need to be wanted. This is true for many of the wounded. They want to know they matter. That's a reasonable expectation. But it's going to take work. You need to become healthy first. Solution: Work on your 'self stuff' first, then a relationship.

The healthier you are emotionally the more you will be able to sustain a relationship.

Some fall in love and then fall out of love. Dissatisfaction sets in; disinterest grows. The giddy feeling evaporates. They close down and retreat. Truth: It wasn't love at all. It was a facsimile of love. 

Solution: Couples that build a relationship to last, a relationship that grows closer and remains strong, their relationship will endure the test of time.

Love is key to making a relationship thrive. It also helps when the individuals are committed to each other and dedicated to relationship maintenance--its preservation depends on their commitment to it.

No marriage or relationship is doomed when both people in it are committed to its success. 

Spiritual context provides a secondary component that draws couples together. Those who are close in their spirituality are extra fortunate in that they add a spiritual connection of love with loyalty attached. 

This added dimension--spiritual communing--sweetens the connection.

The real deal, true love, is not fickle or fake. 

Suggestion: Take inventory: some behaviors are nonnegotiables, like physical or mental abuse.  If you're already in a dysfunctional relationship, if you're keeping score and see the partner as disengaged or not in it with you, then you are between a rock and a hard place. You can only change yourself. Start taking care of you and your mental health. Blaming will not help you. Be wise, be careful, work hard, grow, heal, move forward, believe you have a future. Trust God and seek help. There are people who will help you.

BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS

 KINDNESS . LOVE . PEACE

Where do we get kindness from? Where do we get love from? Where do we get peace from? We could say they originate in us, but the answer is incomplete. We could say they just are, but the answer is incomplete.

We could say they originate in God, then we'd have the true answer.

Love, kindness, peace speak their truth wherever they may be found. Those whose lives are full of love, kindness, and peace show remarkable facility for caring, giving, and gentleness. I love how these individuals demonstrate in their beings (without saying it) their walk with God.

My grandma walked with God. Her very essence exuded love, kindness, and peace. In the midst of distress, sorrow and suffering Grandma's inner light still continued to glow. She had worries, yes, but the Source of peacefulness lived within her, the light of life, the Lord Jesus.

Grandma trusted God, and He took care of her.

What made my grandma into the faithful servant she became? I assume it was because she chose to trust in God. She also had a dear neighbor friend. They prayed together and supported each other, especially when the burdens were heaviest.

Grandma prayed and talked to God as she gardened. She told me it was while she was gardening that she felt closest to God. Her spiritual garden grew at the same time. In it she cultivated kindness, love, and peace. Her garden grew as it was nurtured by her Father God and her own careful tending. Over the years she harvested crop after crop of kindness, love, and peace. All who knew her were blessed when they were in her presence.

Like Grandma, we all can grow in kindness, love, and peace and harvest a bumper crop of blessings.

TREASURE TROVE

This Week's Random Thoughts

Pause & Consider

CARE, ANYWAY
Why not have a little generosity of heart toward those who see life through a different lens? We never know what opportunities lie ahead, where community will bring us together. Hatred divides. Love sees life as an opportunity. We need not compromise our beliefs to care about others.

FAITH
A nurtured faith is a steadfast faith. Like an anchor, it holds fast even when circumstances do not. To nurture faith, trust in God must increase and expand. Time with God in prayer and in the Word are required. This takes intentional choice along with determined effort. Then faith becomes strong.

PRAY WITH POWER
Little prayer, little power, little happens.
Much prayer, much power, much happens, that is, the fervent, real, heart-felt prayers of a spiritual person. True spiritual living rests on the character and depth of one's prayers, and the character and depth of one's walk with God.

CONNECTED
Engagement with God initiates a process through which people change their perceptions. A work of God in a life open to His ministrations, facilitates structural change in those places that are repositories of soul woundings and soul hiding. This results in a spiritual awakening.

HERE'S WHY
Figuratively speaking, when you come to bumps in a road, unexpected detours, or difficult obstacles, instead of avoiding or disparaging them. After the dust settles, you can look at them and say, what did I learn from this? Troubles become a teacher. We can learn a lot this way.

AMAZING
I hadn't seen this friend in decades. He was the conference speaker. He spoke of lives transformed and deeper prayer. I marveled at him now, a man with a heart for God. He, also, is transformed. We talked over lunch. Life has tempered both of us. A sweetness connected our understandings.

AS SOMEONE TO LOVE
When you're nervous about talking to someone or making that phone call, see the other person as someone to love.

BE BLESSED
I wish I had something witty to say--
  That I could roll out for you today,
But since I do not
   So much for the thought--
I'll just say, "Have a good day" instead.

AMEN
God's mercies are new every morning. His judgments are pure and righteous altogether. His love reaches to the highest mountain and to the lowest depth. God's grace is sufficient for you and for me. Holy is His name. Praise be to God.

** This post is a compilation of my Tweets on Twitter.

When Christianity Leaves a Void -- Intervention no. 7

 Why the Religious Thing Unravels

Finding God in the Daily

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, 

so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, 

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 

for it is God who works in you, 

both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 

Philippians 2:12,13  ESV

God is in the life-changing business. What He does when we let Him minister to us is absolutely wonderful.

  
A SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP that is health-giving and health-receiving provides the impetus to live a genuine Christian life that has victory and power in its inner workings, its out workings, and in a satisfying, refreshing, and real way. However, this is not the case for many in the church.

The reasons for this phenomenon has to do with their spiritual life itself. If it isn't changing the person and isn't ministering to them in a life-giving way, then it is self-limiting and spiritual-limiting. This has consequences. Dullness, despair, and areas of unmet needs and unresolved issues begin to bog down weary Christians.

Those who do not function well within the church’s parameters may eventually abandon their faith or head in another direction. The church fails at times to address those troublesome gray areas. In particular, sometimes it fails to help those wounded by life or struggling with areas of bondage. They need something more than the church is offering. But sadly, the church is not equipped to help them. 

This is one of the flaws that trips up many a person and keeps them from returning to the "fold." The unfortunate side to this is when hurting people are convinced they may never measure up or be good enough to enter fully in the Christian community unless they attempt to pretend the part.

The equation of "being spiritual" with a list of specific spiritual behaviors is an end in itself--a performance-based Christian lifestyle. This can fall flat. As I have mentioned before, Christianity is not limited to salvation, obedience, service, prayer, bible reading and bible study, though, they are important spiritual disciplines and a Christian needs them and won't grow without them.

But there's more, and this is where all these other things sweeten the deal into a beautiful work of God. The Christian who desires to be alive and tender to the things of God seeks to grow and develop their relationship with Christ. This is where it's at and where the healing and promise of inner freeing begins.

This makes all the difference in
    how they live it,
           how they manage it, and
                how they are empowered to heal, grow, and thrive in it.

God is in the life changing business. He takes us, problems and all, and ministers to us. He holds up a mirror, with His illumination, He lets us see into our soul. We see the big picture--our scars, self-centeredness, lacks, strengths, and talents--and He helps us deal with them. God asks us to seek Him. When we do, it opens wide out. We begin to get real with God. We stop hiding and pretending. We take our salvation and spiritual life to a new level. It is wonderful! So very wonderful. I can't state how wonderful it becomes when our life with God becomes a warm and loving experience full of trust and joy.

Dear Father God, I want this sort of relationship for all my readers. May they know You, trust You, and abide in You. They will be blessed and enriched by Your loving Presence. Amen

To God be the Glory

A Message of Life.

Inspiration 45

A 'Let's Get Real' Conversation -- Inspiration 38

Finding God in the Daily

It's Not Too Late

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Mark 16:15  NASV

We think the time has passed, but thinking like that is in error. Christians have a mission to speak life to others. It is up to them to get past shut doors to enter the public arena.

PEOPLE BELIEVE what they want to believe even if it isn't true. For them, validity comes when others agree with them or they agree with others. The more they hear a set view the more they believe it is true until someone upsets the apple cart. Beliefs are that way. Some current spiritual beliefs are out of sync with culture at large. Christianity, for instance, has lost favor these days.

Many are conditioned to hold Christian belief in contempt. Recent church scandals shore up this thinking to some degree. I believe some of this suspicion is the fault of Christians for not being salt and light in the world, and some of it thrives in a cultural system that denigrates Christian belief as contemptible nonsense. A lack of Christian love towards others makes the gospel unreadable for persons without faith. (How we need people who walk the walk like Keith Green did.)

Instead of going into hiding, I sincerely believe the bearers of the message of Christianity need to find a better way to communicate its truth to the masses. Let's look at Christ's actions. Jesus stood up to the bullies, called a spade, a spade, helped the poor, loved the unlovely, ministered to the spiritually hungry, and was true to His Father in Heaven. He was a man on a mission and wouldn't take any guff. Jesus was gentle in spirit and welcomed the children. His compassion and truth-talk defined Him.

Maybe more people would be challenged in their fixed beliefs about Christianity if  they could actually see the God-person of Christ in His followers. Maybe the skeptics would be impressed by the warmth of the gospel and in the Christ-followers. Maybe, just maybe, Christians can learn how to articulate the message of life in a way that people can hear, to a world that desperately needs it--that's on life support--that needs a hope and a promise for a better tomorrow. Christ promises living water for those who are thirsty. Are you thirsty? Quench your thirst in Christ. Come alive. Be blessed.

Dear Father God, Your message is life. We pray for those who can't hear Your message. May we articulate it to others in a way they can receive. May we be love to all. Amen

To God be the Glory

Pleasing to God -- Inspiration 26

Let's be Pleasing to God

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
    O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 NIV

Having a relationship with God is a beautiful thing. Like human relationships, it takes intention and positive interactions to make it meaningful and beneficial. Pleasing God is part of spiritual maturity but its pleasure is enjoyed by both. It is both reciprocal and relational..

IT WOULD BE NICE if every thought, word, and action were pleasing to God. What a wonderful consideration. To get a handle on how to pursue this in spiritual life is to take a look at the heart. For with the heart humans do think before they doth act. The mind is responsive to the heart. Like how a physical heart affects the whole body, in much the same way a spiritual life is directly linked to what is in the heart. Spiritually speaking, an unhealthy heart produces unhealthy responses. Scripture encourages well-being in the soul. That is why the meditations of the heart minister to the soul. Spiritual life is nurtured in the Beloved, in His Word, and in such things as prayer, fasting, and meditation. God gives to His children because He loves them. Interestingly, God particularly notices those who want more of Him, and also those who are in dire straits and need more of God. His ear is inclined toward people who engage with Him. Are there walls? Walled off areas with restrictive barriers are unable to receive freely. When these barriers give way it is to make room for the better thing. Allowing God access is expedient to the process. Absorb what God shows and remove what detracts. God is pleased when relationship brings us closer to Him. In comes the joy of intimacy. God blesses a heart that loves Him. This is where one finds beauty and strength.

Dearest Father God, we are miserable without You. We long to be filled with You. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. Amen

To God be the Glory 

Welcome the Children -- Inspiration 20

Forbid Not the Children

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

Matthew 19:13-15

CHILDREN are special to Jesus. A little boy's lunch of bread and fish fed a crowd of 5,000 after Jesus thanked God for it. Imagine the boy's amazement as he watched Jesus multiply his small offering. Jairus' daughter lay upon her death bed, the life departed from her body; then Jesus raised her up. Her and her family's amazement gave praise to Jesus. At another time parents with their children pressed in for Jesus' attention. The disciples began to shoo them away. But Jesus didn't see the children as in the way and said so. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me . . . for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven," That was significant and put things in order. In the Old Testament God had plans for a slave boy to save his people (Joseph). God protected a baby in a basket, who would lead His people out of captivity (Moses). A mother's heart-felt plea to God produced the boy Samuel who later served his God faithfully and justly. God had a shepherd anointed to become king while still in his youth (David). Jesus sums it up with His words in this account. ^"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." (Matthew 18:2-5) Jesus' words speak life.

Dear Father, You value children. You show us what is most important. Faith is pure, like the faith of a child. We thank Thee for these words of life. Amen

For your musical pleasure:  Jesus Loves Me

To God be the Glory

Divine Love -- Inspiration 6

The Immeasurable Love of God

 Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert. --Isaiah 43:19

MANY are the songs written to describe Divine love: The Love of God; Oh, The Deep Deep Love of Jesus; Jesus Loves Me; Love Lifted Me; Love Divine. God’s love is greater than can be told, deeper than can be explained, richer than is comprehensible. His love went to unlimited lengths to redeem a lost people. Father God's plan of salvation came through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son. Redemption for humankind required the sinless sacrifice of God’s one and only Son. Through this, Christ offered life to an utterly broken world of sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. Jesus Christ loved them then and He loves them now. Humans cannot outspend the love of God. God’s love enfolds the downcast, implores the one in despair, gives forth to those in need, and regenerates life within a believer's soul. They welcome God's love and hold it close to their hearts. Like them, anyone who believes in their heart by faith in the gospel of Christ receives this Divine love. Happiness then unfurls in energetic liveliness seen in gracious smiles, warm hugs, and loving kindnesses. Joy, joy, joy. God’s love is like joy on steroids. Supernatural enlivening causes souls to be quickened. A welcoming posture makes all the difference. Closed arms block. Open arms receive. Embrace all God offers and showers upon you. Therein you will find streams in the desert. Be blessed by the heavenly Father's immeasurable gift of love.

Father God, may we know the love Your love in abundant measure. May we trust Your peace and joy as enough for each day. You are immeasurable blessedness. Amen

To God be the Glory