I was thinking of the movie Fireproof and how the husband did a love journal to show his wife he still loved her although she took little notice of him. Got me thinking, what kind of love journal has the Father done for us? As much as it wrecks me, it makes me feel even more encouraged that we are loved more than we will ever know!!
To do a good deed every day for someone you love dearly but who doesn't want to give you the time seems like a hard thing and I honestly think I would struggle. But think of the good deeds completed by the Father who truly loves us regardless of how much attention we give Him, and then on top of that, to do an even greater deed the next day is evidence we are truly loved by the King of Kings.
So think how He feels when we finally come running into His arms and surrender all to Him. How much more love can He give us?
UNMEASURABLE is the only answer I can think of. Psalms say, "As high as the heavens are above the earth, is as great is His love for those who fear Him."
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Truly Loved (And In Case You Wanted to Know How)......
When people say that God loves you, I truly believe them. However, I think they have underestimated just how much God loves us ~ albeit not intentionally.
I believe with all my heart that God is madly in love with us and has been from the very beginning. The bible tells us in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son just so we could have eternal life.
Does this sound like someone who just loves you or more like someone who has a burning passion of love for you? I believe it is the latter.
Michael Jackson (the self proclaimed King of Pop) once famously sang “We Are The World.” If indeed, we are the world, then the true King of Kings loves so much that he allowed His one and only Son to come to earth and be humbled to be born in a manger and to go on to be crucified on a cross beside two criminals.
It is both comforting and encouraging to know that the creator of the universe is madly and passionately in love with you and His love for you will remain the same today, tomorrow and forever more.
What makes us feel more encouraged (if we possibly could) is there is nothing that can separate us from this love. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:35-39 that not only can anything separate us from the love of God, but in all these things, we are more than conquerors.
We should be feeling invincible right about now as well as encouraged that in the days that come, we are truly loved beyond any level we can imagine possible.
If we expand on this and ask, how do we know that God loves us then we simply need to think on Romans 8:15 and believe that the creator of the universe simply wants to call us His son and make us part of His family. The NIV translates this scripture as us receiving the Spirit of Sonship with adaption as a translated alternative. So God has given us His spirit of Sonship and ushered us into His family.
It also goes onto say that once we receive this Spirit of Sonship, we cry Abba Father ~ not just Father, but Abba Father! This is such a tender description of our cry to God. Our response should be a willingness from our heart and soul as we are overwhelmed with the love of the Father but often we are distracted and caught up in the world around us that we lose sight of such a loving Father standing on the porch waiting for us with His arms open wide for us to run into. This is not a condemnation but rather a call to be aware of how the enemy is always trying to ensure we do not walk into the inheritance our loving Father has laid out for us.
If we look at 1 John 4:19 then our love for God is simply a response for the love He has shown us from long before we existed and knew Him. All through the bible, we see that God is love and everything from Him is love and is based on love. It is so important that we grasp this and realise that we are passionately loved by the King of Kings and once we do, we will find that all of life’s other things will fall into place so easily and on top of everything, our lives will overflow with blessing after blessing.
To understand that God is love, we realise that everything has to begin with love. From the moment we are saved and make our commitment to God, we receive the Spirit of Sonship out of love and we grow to learn that the One who created the cosmos and who holds the stars and named each one of them, has a never-ending but more importantly, an UNCONDITIONAL love for us and is longing for us to be brought into His family and to call us His son.
And it does not stop there…. Although our life will not be transformed into an overnight bed of roses, we are told in Lamentations that His love and compassion comes like a new wave each morning. So know that the Father’s Heart is filled and over-flowing with a love we cannot begin to imagine and although you may ask yourself at times if you deserve such a love, I would only say, please don’t dwell on this question but accept that you are truly loved and live in the love of the Father and see how your life will be transformed. And to end, don’t ask “How do we know that God loves us” but rather just thank Him for loving you to begin with.
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Love Is....
I often wonder if people think that because they have had a stressful week at work, or a long and tiresome week at home or just a tough time in general, that they feel blocked from the love of God.
Paul reminds us in his letters to the Romans that in the all the things we believe may block us or separate us from the love of God, we are more than conquerors. Simply put this means NOTHING can come between us and His love. Encouraging, I think so.
Also, in Lamentations, we understand His love and compassion comes like a new wave each morning. So no matter how bad your day or week has been, never worry because in the morning, His love will be even more than yesterday and will wash over you like a huge wave.
Surf shorts ready and bring it on.... thank you Father.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Truly Loved
When people say that God loves you, I truly believe them. However, I think they have underestimated just how much God loves us ~ albeit not intentionally.
I believe with all my heart that God is madly in love with us and has been from the very beginning. The bible tells us in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son just so we could have eternal life.
Does this sound like someone who just loves you or more like someone who has a burning passion of love for you? I believe it is the latter.
Michael Jackson (the self proclaimed King of Pop) once famously sang “We Are The World.” If indeed, we are the world, then the true King of Kings loves so much that he allowed His one and only Son to come to earth and be humbled to be born in a manger and to go on to be crucified on a cross beside two criminals.
It is both comforting and encouraging to know that the creator of the universe is madly and passionately in love with you and His love for you will remain the same today, tomorrow and forever more.
What makes us feel more encouraged (if we possibly could) is there is nothing that can separate us from this love. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:35-39 that not only can anything separate us from the love of God, but in all these things, we are more than conquerors.
We should be feeling invincible right about now as well as encouraged that in the days that come, we are truly loved beyond any level we can imagine possible.
Friday, 10 June 2011
LOVE
It encourages me that the God who created the world I live in and the splendour of it all, is so concerned about someone as far down the pole as me.
Truth is, with God there is no pole and we are all on the same level. He loves us all equally and continues to love us no matter what ~ even before we cam to know Him. This is the bit I get most encouragement from that long before I knew Him the way I do now, He had a love for me I could not imagine possible.
A while back, I did a little fun exercise with the kids at church where they each had a word of what God's love meant to them. we had three in particular ~ Fun / Unconditional / Never-ending. I have come to realise that God's love can be a lot of things and lots of different times but when you realise He loves you, His love is FUN.
There are so many scriptures speaking of God's love but one of my favourites is from Romans when Paul tells us that nothing can separate from the love of God and that through Him who loves us, we are more than conquerors!
Such an encouraging thought to call upon and helps me remember I can live in the love of the Father and have FUN!!
Truth is, with God there is no pole and we are all on the same level. He loves us all equally and continues to love us no matter what ~ even before we cam to know Him. This is the bit I get most encouragement from that long before I knew Him the way I do now, He had a love for me I could not imagine possible.
A while back, I did a little fun exercise with the kids at church where they each had a word of what God's love meant to them. we had three in particular ~ Fun / Unconditional / Never-ending. I have come to realise that God's love can be a lot of things and lots of different times but when you realise He loves you, His love is FUN.
There are so many scriptures speaking of God's love but one of my favourites is from Romans when Paul tells us that nothing can separate from the love of God and that through Him who loves us, we are more than conquerors!
Such an encouraging thought to call upon and helps me remember I can live in the love of the Father and have FUN!!
Friday, 27 May 2011
Do You Know How Much You Are Loved?
Simple question: Do you know how much you are loved?
Our wife / husband, family and friends often tell us they love us. This always makes us feel god inside but do you how much you are loved by the Father?
Sometimes not everyone can hear Him when He speaks to us but we just need to listen carefully and he is continually telling us He loves us dearly. Long before we came into existence, He knew who we would become and had a path marked out for us simply because He loves us.
The bible is loaded with passages on love ~ John 3:10 / 1 Corinthians 13 / 1 John 19 ~ these only scratch the surface but you see where I am going.
However, one of my favourites is the story of the Prodigal Son ~ Luke 14:11-32. When I feel I need reminded of how much the Father truly loves me, I read this story from the Father's point of view.
His youngest son comes and asks for his inheritance early and then disappears to spend his wealth foolishly. Days turn into weeks and the Father sits with His eyes fixed firmly on the road waiting for a glimpse of His returning son. Still no news of whether His son is alive or dead and still He watches for His return. Then one day, His son reluctantly makes his way home only for the father to throw the biggest party ever seen with joyous celebrations. This is the love the Father has for you regardless of whether you know Him or not. I only pray you come to know this sooner rather than later because when we get the revelation of His love, we see His grace, His favour and His blessing pour into our lives.
I leave with you with this passage for encouragement:
Ephesians 2:4-5
"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions ~ it is by grace you have been saved."
Our wife / husband, family and friends often tell us they love us. This always makes us feel god inside but do you how much you are loved by the Father?
Sometimes not everyone can hear Him when He speaks to us but we just need to listen carefully and he is continually telling us He loves us dearly. Long before we came into existence, He knew who we would become and had a path marked out for us simply because He loves us.
The bible is loaded with passages on love ~ John 3:10 / 1 Corinthians 13 / 1 John 19 ~ these only scratch the surface but you see where I am going.
However, one of my favourites is the story of the Prodigal Son ~ Luke 14:11-32. When I feel I need reminded of how much the Father truly loves me, I read this story from the Father's point of view.
His youngest son comes and asks for his inheritance early and then disappears to spend his wealth foolishly. Days turn into weeks and the Father sits with His eyes fixed firmly on the road waiting for a glimpse of His returning son. Still no news of whether His son is alive or dead and still He watches for His return. Then one day, His son reluctantly makes his way home only for the father to throw the biggest party ever seen with joyous celebrations. This is the love the Father has for you regardless of whether you know Him or not. I only pray you come to know this sooner rather than later because when we get the revelation of His love, we see His grace, His favour and His blessing pour into our lives.
I leave with you with this passage for encouragement:
Ephesians 2:4-5
"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions ~ it is by grace you have been saved."
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