Tuesday, January 29, 2013

True Love

How do I come to know true love if I have never experienced it?

I was given this question, and as I continued to look at it numerous times over these past weeks, I could not formulate any sentences because the answer that continued to remain in my heart was so very simple.

It was one word: “God.”
Get to know God.

God is love.

God loves us all.
Simple.

No?
Well, possibly not so simple….maybe.

You see, I did come from a rather loveless environment. I did not know love, not really at all, until I came to know God.

And coming to know God is not quite as simple as some may think.
It is not merely saying a prayer; asking Him to come into your life. While that is a part of it…there is more…much more.

True love takes time and effort.
Love is a choice.

Yes, a choice.

Love develops; it grows over time.

For one who has never experienced true love, it may take years to come to terms with exactly what it is, let alone how to deal with it.
It can be quite complicated for mere man.

But it will come more quickly and easily dependent upon the time that is spent with the Lord. Surrounding oneself with Him and definitely His Word are necessary means to knowing true love.

He loved us first. He gave His Son so that we might live.
He gave His life so that we could spend eternity in glory with Him.

That is true love.

Although difficult to wrap around our finite minds, we can get a glimpse of this true love…but only through concentrating on His love which can only be done through the time we spend with Him.
That is how we learn to know anything or anyone, isn’t it?

Time.

Time is our friend when it is spent in the right ways.
It is never wasted where our Lord is concerned.

I pray you daily take the time to build on your love relationship with the Lord. His is true love, and the only perfect love.

We know our world would be a much better place if everyone followed His ways and His word.

Can you imagine what a glorious world this would be if everyone truly loved as He does?


Heaven….



Thursday, January 17, 2013

BitterSweet

In response to:
Greater by Steven Furtick. Proverbs 31 Bible Study with Melissa Taylor.

Finishing this book; wrapping up this study; it is all so bittersweet, isn’t it?

So, where do I go from here?
Do I fall back into the pattern of life I know? The one I embraced, although reluctantly, before this study?
Or do I “grab that bull by the horns” (as my dear grandmother would have said) and move ahead, plodding through the difficulties and the challenges, determined to make a difference.
To make a difference in me.
To make a difference in my life.
To inevitably make a difference in the world I live in…no matter how small.

It all matters, doesn’t it?
I may never be a famous writer, a screen star, or a noted theologian, but I may play a very important roll in the lives of some; and that can make a great difference in their world…in their lives…in their eternity…and in those who follow behind them.

My dear grandma, along with my grandpa…they made a great difference. In my young life, in only a few short years of having the opportunity to be present in their company, they taught me, by example, the values of being a follower of the Lord.

I watched them and I listened to them. Not only what they said to me, but what they said to others. How they treated others. How they spoke of others when they weren’t around.

It took many years for me to ever realize and appreciate this experience, but the impact they had on my life is immeasurable. I am and will be forever grateful for those brief moments; I cherish them. I thank the Lord for them.

Without them, I shudder to think of where I might be today.

None of us know just how important our words and our actions are to those around us…those of all ages.

Please don’t forget this…..
I pray I don’t.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Progress in 2013

“If trusting the Lord is to be the new way of life, how do I know I am progressing?”

Exactly how do you know if you are progressing in your walk with the Lord?

When this question was asked of me, my first thought was, I don’t have any problem knowing when I am regressing. And the problem associated with that is simple.

When I regress, it is because I have failed to spend daily time with the Lord. I have walked out on my own; alone and unguarded.

Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.”

So, why am I surprised then, that I fall short of glorifying the Lord when I step out without him; ‘without him’ is not merely intended for those who do not know the Lord.

 Absolutely not.

‘Without him’ is manifest when we, as Christ followers, try to live our day not having filled ourselves by taking advantage of the absolute privilege we have to build on our relationship with the Lord.
With Him I am strong…without Him I am weak and vulnerable to both the evil ones ways as well as to my own sinful nature.

That really answers the question then, doesn’t it??

I know I am progressing as I look upon each day and recall time spent in the presence of the Lord. Progress is that time. Progress is the desire to be more and more in His presence.

The desire and the practice.

I have the desire, but, sadly, not always the practice. I know what I must do…and I constantly chastise myself for my poor priorities.
So I continue to ask Him for a gentle reminder which He gladly and faithfully provides because He knows the value to my spending time with Him.

So, now I ask you…..how are you doing? Are you progressing?
I pray you are….

Blessings on you today!!