“No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39 NLT
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One thing about the Lord that I love is that He loves us. He not only loves us, but He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Therefore, there is nothing we can say or do to earn His love. He gives it to us freely. Even when things around us are unpredictable, God’s Love is the one thing that will never change. We can be sure of His perfect love. It’s true, nothing can separate us from God’s love. When we go through hardships, His love is there. When we feel alone, His love is there. We live in a world that wants to separate us from God’s love by denying His existence, but even through the denial, His love is still there. We don’t have to worry, because His love lives inside of us through His Spirit. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
I encourage you to remember God’s Love for you as you face this day, and I pray you find peace in knowing that His love is always with you.
Last week I shared part 1 of this series, Jesus, a donkey, and His Father, by Kelly @ The Simple Preacher. Kelly reminded us of the importance of keeping our priorities straight like Jesus. This week I’m sharing part 2 by Deandra @ Imago Dei. I was enlightened as she shared from the donkey’s perspective. I never knew there was so much to a donkey! Enjoy! 🤗
Happy Tuesday everyone! My prayer is that you all are doing well today and that ABBA has been speaking to your heart in some way, shape or form. Last…
Psalm 136:3, “Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever.”
There’s no hurt or pain that’s too great for Our Lord Jesus. He lovingly carries every burden we have, if we will only give our burdens to Him. We can tell Him anything, and He still loves us. Over and over again, He still chooses to love us. Nothing can stop His love for us, not even our darkest sins.
His faithful love endures forever…
He knows all there is to know about us, because He knows us so intimately. In His presence we can completely be ourselves. He meets us where we are and patiently waits. He waits while we grow and learn. He waits while we learn to love Him. His love never ceases to amaze me.
His faithful love endures forever…
I’m so thankful for His love today and everyday. His love and grace remain the same. People may change. The world will change. But Jesus Christ, He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever more (Hebrews 13:8). No one or nothing compares to Him.
(2 Thessalonians 3:5, NIV), “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”
Love Connects
Connecting with people is more of a challenge today. Although we have email, texting, and social media right at our fingertips, real interaction with people has faded away. In order to have meaningful healthy relationships, we must be intentional about spending quality time with people.
Hebrews 10:25 NLT, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
As Christians, we definitely must put forth extra effort to be aware of those around us who need encouragement. We should also be willing to go beyond our inner circle of familiar people, so we can reach out and touch someone who is unfamiliar. Even if that someone looks different, speaks different, or acts different from us.
Love Forgives
Although difficult at times, we must forgive people who hurt us. Not forgiving will keep us in bondage. A person with an unforgiving heart is not walking in love. We must decide to forgive, and then trust God to help us to walk in that forgiveness.
Mark 11:25 NIV, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Ephesians 4:32 NIV, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
(2 Thessalonians 3:5, NIV), “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”
Yesterday I mentioned that love gives and love trust. I also mentioned how people can hurt us, which breaks our trust in them and/or God. It’s one thing when people disappoint us, but what about when we feel God has failed us?
Here are a few reasons we may feel God failed us:
He didn’t work in a situation the way we thought He should.
We lost someone or something and we feel He could have prevented it.
We feel in general He is just not being fair.
Since God is the Source of true and lasting love, how do we move forward when we struggle to receive His love? It’s worth asking ourselves this question, because receiving His love is what empowers us to love Him and other people.
Ways to move forward in our relationship with God:
Prayer&Repentance are key factors in healing from a broken relationship with God. Communication is important in all relationships, it’s the same with God. Expressing our frustrations, hurts, and worries to Him will help us. 1 Chronicles 16:11 KJV, “Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.”
Seek Counsel from a fellow Christian, your pastor, or a therapist. When we share our experiences with one another it brings healing. Knowing we are not alone in our fight for faith brings strength to keep going. Be careful not to seek counsel from ungodly people. Psalm 1:1(NLT),“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.”
Meditating on Scripture will renew our mind so that we will have the mind of Christ. Scripture is not just words on paper. It is living and active. Hebrews 4:12 NIV, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
God has a divine will. His will is good. It’s hard sometimes because we can’t see what He sees. He never promised us that life would be easy. He instead chooses to grow our faith. Remember He is patient and kind. Find joy and peace in His faithfulness. He knows what we need and when we need it.
(2 Thessalonians 3:5,NIV),“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”
Really when I think about love, one of the first things that comes to my mind is “trust”. Love and trust are closely connected. But before I can get to trust, I think it makes sense to mention this…
Love Gives
God loved the world and gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). He loved and then He gave. There is no way to truly show love without some type of giving being involved. When we love, we give. We give of ourselves and/or our resources. Usually when people begin to feel unloved , it’s because they are not being given something they feel they need or want.
One of the things we give to show love is trust.
Love Trust
Have you ever trusted someone and then they disappointed you or broke your heart? The ill treatment could have come from a family member, a friend, a coworker, or even a company. After all, some people spend years working for a company then they get let go. That’s definitely broken trust! Of course a company is run by people, so once again it’s people that have hurt us.
When our trust has been broken, it becomes a hindrance to our ability to love. When we trust people, especially people we love, and they break that trust, it hurts. Can you relate? Has someone you love ever broken your heart, or disappointed you?
Psalm 118:8 NLT,“It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in people.”
It’s good when we have people in our lives we can trust. However, we should always trust God first above anyone or anything. Why? Because people aren’t perfect, and things aren’t guaranteed. But God is. He doesn’t make mistakes. So why do we sometimes struggle to fully trust Him, and receive His love if we know He is mistake-free? Most likely because of the people we have encountered throughout our lives. Their imperfect performance has given us an imperfect view of God.
We can’t always trust people, so therefore we feel we can’t always trust God. We ask ourselves questions like, “What if I trust God and He doesn’t come through?” We wonder if He understands the urgency of our needs. We want to trust Him, but fear of the unknown gets in our way.
1 John 4:18(NIV),“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
God loves us perfectly we don’t have to fear Him.
Love gives and love trust. Fear can hinder trust, which then hinders our ability to give and receive love.
Drawing Closer to Christ 