Tag: Jesus

It’s All About Love – 4

(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.”

It’s all about love

It’s All About Love – 3

(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.

He loves you.

It’s all about love

It’s All About Love – 2

(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.

It’s all about love

It’s All About Love – 1

(2 Thessalonians 3:5,NIV),“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”

About a week ago, I awaken around 3 o’clock in the morning. I was wide awake. I didn’t feel sleepy at all. So I decided I would just use the time to pray. I love early morning prayer because everything is quiet and still. I don’t always do it as consistently as I should, but when I do it, I love it.

During my conversation with the Lord, I could sense Him saying to me, “It’s all about love.” This statement has been resonating with me ever since. I can’t stop feeling as if God wants us as Christians, to never forget that the true foundation of our relationship with Him is…LOVE. Who we are and the things we do, rather for God or for people, it should all be about love.

(2 Timothy 3:1,KJV),“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”

We are living in perilous times. God knows that in order to persevere, we need a strong foundation that is rooted in His love for us. Otherwise, we will succumb to the pressures we face daily.

We hear the word love a lot. We see many expressions of it everyday. Sometimes we may even think we have it (love) all figured out, and then we find out differently. I will take some time to explore love in general over the next several posts. Since it’s the foundation of our faith in Christ Jesus, looking at it more closely is beneficial. I don’t know exactly where this will go, but I’m just going to “trust” the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ to guide the process (Hebrews 12:2).

It’s all about love

 

Fruit of the Spirit: GOODNESS

Galatians 5:22-23(NLT), “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

GOODNESS. Goodness is the ability to choose right over wrong, or good over evil. God’s Spirit works in us to create pure hearts that are willing to choose what is right from God’s perspective. We are living in a time where choosing godliness is not usually celebrated. Instead many people are more interested in pleasing the flesh, and doing whatever they think makes them feel good. Living by feelings and the flesh instead of the Word of God will lead to destruction (James 1:15). Choosing to obey God’s Word and live by the Holy Spirit (goodness), will lead to life (John 6:63).

I pray God will help us as Christians to choose what is good in His sight, even when we feel the pressure of the world’s evil ways. I pray He will help us not to compromise and fall prey to sinful temptations. As we choose to live righteously for Him, we will enjoy the blessings of the abundant life Jesus died to give us.

God’s Word is GOOD…

1.Romans 12:21 (NIV), “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

2.Romans 12:9 (NIV), “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

3.Nahum 1:7(NIV),“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”

We overcome evil by choosing to do what is good. Cling to what is good! God is a good God who will always do what is right. So we can trust Him completely. We can have full confidence that when we choose what is “good”, He will fight on our behalf to bring justice wherever it is needed. Walk in Goodness!

***Share your thoughts on GOODNESS in the comments.

Fruit of the Spirit: PEACE

Galatians 5:22-23(NLT), “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

PEACE. The presence of God’s peace is pretty hard to put into words, but similar to JOY, it’s not dependent on our circumstances. We serve a generous God, who has promised to give us His peace in exchange for our worries. However, we must be willing to make the exchange. I desperately need His peace. I’m learning to open my heart to receive it everyday. The peace of God is priceless.

GOD’S PEACE KEEPS US ANCHORED:

1. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27, NIV)

Jesus assures us that the peace He so freely gives to us is different from what the world gives. He knew we would have all kinds of troubles in this world. It’s easy to be plagued with fear but His peace will bring calm if we are willing to receive it. Don’t forget we can ask God to help us to willingly receive the peace He offers.

2. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. (Romans 8:6, NLT)

It’s important to place our focus on the things of God and allow His Spirit to lead us. When we take our eyes off of Him, we can quickly become driven by the desires of our flesh. Living by our flesh will lead to death, but following the ways of the Lord will lead to life and peace. We must ask God on a regular basis to show us ways that we are following our flesh instead of His Spirit.

3. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. (Colossians 3:15, NLT)

Peace is supposed to rule in our hearts. That means it should overpower everything else, including our worries and fears. Having an attitude of thankfulness brings peace to our hearts. Thankfulness keeps our focus on the goodness of God. Knowing that our God is a good God, who will take good care of us keeps our souls peaceful.

4. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT)

Don’t worry, keep praying, be thankful, and receive God’s peace. Not just any peace, but the peace that will surpass all of our human understanding. He also said His peace would guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Knowing that God is personally guarding us from evil wicked schemes and trouble is an amazing comfort.

***Please share your thoughts about God’s PEACE in the comments.

Next Reading: Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

Great peace have those who love your law.

Stay Connected to the True Vine: Prayer

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, NIV)

J E S U S. He is the Source that gives us life. When we are connected to Him, we bear fruit. Fruit that will last. Fruit that will make a true difference. While Jesus was here on Earth, He set a great example for us by showing us how He stayed connected to the Father.

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, NIV)

Jesus realized that regular communication with the Father through prayer, was the way to stay focused and empowered. It’s no different for us. We need to have our special quiet times where we can spend time alone with God in prayer. However, we also can say short prayers throughout our day. Our Father is always available to us, no matter where we are. He tells us to pray continuously (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Prayer has many benefits but here are some that I have experienced:

Prayer…

1. Keeps us aware of God’s presence.

2. Keeps us sensitive to the leading of The Holy Spirit.

3. Keeps us focused on what matters most.

4. Builds our trust and faith in God.

5. Gives us peace.

6. Helps us to walk in love.

7. Brings healing to our lives where needed.

Because of Christ we have direct 24/7 access to our Heavenly Father through prayer.

What are some of the ways you have seen prayer work in your life?