John 3:16 For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him will not parish but have eternal life.
1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:19-20 We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
1 Corinthians 13: 4-13 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. . .And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
God has a LOT to say about LOVE! LOVE is the most important because GOD IS LOVE!
We can do nothing without LOVE. We are called above all else, to LOVE. The only way to receive this LOVE is from LOVE HIMSELF! And if we do not have it, we cannot give it.
Receiving God's LOVE is not some mystical thing that happens in a dim lit room with praise music and an emotional heart. Not that you can't receive it under those conditions, but my point is that LOVE is a CHOICE!!! We have to choose, on purpose to accept God's LOVE!
Once we have received God's LOVE we are told, by God, to then share it with others. But be reminded that, you cannot give (or share) something you do not have! God's LOVE has the ability to take root deep inside of us. It's supply is limitless! And unlike a "feeling" or emotional love, with God's LOVE, the more we share it with others, the more of it we receive! Think of yourself like a vessel. We are God's vessels. We carry His LOVE inside of us. He fills us up and we pour ourselves out on others and He keeps us filled up! The secret to the continual filling and pouring is HIS WORD! The Bible is God's Words to US! He encourages us through His Word. He instructs us through His Word. He corrects us through His word. He LOVES us through His Word!!!
Satan is the total opposite of LOVE. He is anger towards others. He is jealousy of others. He is fear of others. So we have a choice! We either choose God's LOVE or we choose the way of the enemy.
It is not always easy to LOVE others, but it IS possible! Sometimes it comes easy and sometimes we just have to LOVE and trust that God will take care of everything else!
I am not saying that we have to agree with a person demonstrating a wrong behavior. Even if that wrong behavior it towards us. But we still should choose LOVE. Even when The Lord reveals to me when I am in the wrong, He still LOVES me. He does not condemn me. Sometimes the LOVE is simply in our hearts for a person. We may never see that person or talk to them, but in our hearts, we have LOVE and we can pray for them with that LOVE. (for example, I do not see or talk to the man who raped me, but because of the power of forgiveness and God restoring my wounds, I can LOVE him and pray for him to accept Jesus). And trust me when I say, THAT was a CHOICE that could only be made because of GOD'S LOVE!!!
I really hope I am making sense! hahaha I do not want to just ramble on and on! Oops, may be too late! =)
I hope you are encouraged today! I really do LOVE you, but more importantly, GOD LOVES YOU!!! And He give us all the ability to LOVE!! So today I challenge you (and myself) to LOVE ON PURPOSE!!!!
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!
Showing posts with label Jesus Culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus Culture. Show all posts
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Walking on Water
We all know the story of Peter walking on the water. How he took his eyes (and his mind) off of Jesus and started to sink. I think we kind of gloss over this very important event. There was a lot going on there in and around those men and their boat! First of all, they had just had the stress of feeding well over 5,000 people!!! Look, I feed 10 a day in my house and that can be quiet stressful at times, I do not know how I would hold up to feeding 5,000!!! And THEN after feeding all those people they got caught in a STORM at sea! My faith would have been a bit faint by this point! Then Jesus appeared and called to them. I'm not at all surprised that at first they thought it was a ghost! After the day they had just had, it would not seem that far fetched! Jesus instantly spoke to them and said, "Take Courage! I AM, stop being afraid!" Peter still was not convinced. He said to Jesus, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You in the water." It's very important to notice here that Jesus DIDN'T say, No Peter, walking on water is only for Messiahs!! That is not what He said. He said COME!
Now all was going well until Peter remembered the storm that was going on. He shifted his focus off of Jesus on onto the storm and he began to sink. As he sank he cried out to Jesus, "SAVE ME!" Jesus didn't wait around for Peter to frail around in the stormy water until he learned his lesson! Jesus INSTANTLY held out His hand and caught Peter and saved him! He did, however, note Peter's lack of faith was the reason he got into trouble in the first place. When we call out to Jesus, He INSTANTLY holds out His Hand to us! Our faith in HIM will determine the outcome! We can cry out to Jesus all day long, but if we do not BELIEVE He will do what He has promised us, we have determined the outcome for ourselves.
Fear is what prevents us from walking on the water! I know for me, I have to purge fear from life on a daily basis. I have to remind myself that I am rooted in God's Love. God's Love has NO FEAR! I replace fear with TRUST. I replace lies (from the enemy) with promises of my Savior!
God The Father is calling me to step out of my boat and come to Him. To come to where He is. The only way that I can do that is to keep my focus on Him and not on the storm going on around me. The storm is anything that tries to distract me from what God is calling me to do. Anything that The Lord calls us to do is important (no matter how big or small it seems by the worlds standards).
He will take this natural ability that I have and cause supernatural change in the world around me!
What is Jesus calling you to do? Forget the storm and STEP OUT onto the water and step into your purpose!!! It's time for us to be "water walking people"!!!!!
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!
Now all was going well until Peter remembered the storm that was going on. He shifted his focus off of Jesus on onto the storm and he began to sink. As he sank he cried out to Jesus, "SAVE ME!" Jesus didn't wait around for Peter to frail around in the stormy water until he learned his lesson! Jesus INSTANTLY held out His hand and caught Peter and saved him! He did, however, note Peter's lack of faith was the reason he got into trouble in the first place. When we call out to Jesus, He INSTANTLY holds out His Hand to us! Our faith in HIM will determine the outcome! We can cry out to Jesus all day long, but if we do not BELIEVE He will do what He has promised us, we have determined the outcome for ourselves.
Fear is what prevents us from walking on the water! I know for me, I have to purge fear from life on a daily basis. I have to remind myself that I am rooted in God's Love. God's Love has NO FEAR! I replace fear with TRUST. I replace lies (from the enemy) with promises of my Savior!
God The Father is calling me to step out of my boat and come to Him. To come to where He is. The only way that I can do that is to keep my focus on Him and not on the storm going on around me. The storm is anything that tries to distract me from what God is calling me to do. Anything that The Lord calls us to do is important (no matter how big or small it seems by the worlds standards).
He will take this natural ability that I have and cause supernatural change in the world around me!
What is Jesus calling you to do? Forget the storm and STEP OUT onto the water and step into your purpose!!! It's time for us to be "water walking people"!!!!!
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Book News!
I am super excited!!! I have been waiting for my book proofs to come and yesterday THEY CAME!!
They had told me that the cover may have to have some adjustment so I could not hardly wait to see what it would look like. It is a little different (more like I had originally wanted it). I LOVE IT! I cannot wait to share it with everyone! I also had to read through the "inside text", which is my life, to make sure I was happy with the layout and design. I am happy to say that I sent it back with only 3 adjustments! After those adjustments are taken care of, it's DONE!!! Wow, I have been on this journey for so long it feels a bit strange to think that it is coming to an end. But as this phase ends I know that a much different phase is just beginning, and I am SO EXCITED! The Lord has filled my heart with this love story and I am ready for it to be told! I am ready to tell it!
As I read through the "text" of my book yesterday I was reminded once again just how far Daddy God has grown me and I was (and still am) overwhelmed my His LOVE for ME!!! Then I daydream about the future He is leading me into and my heart feels like it is on the verge of bursting =)
So now I just wait..... but I have found so much joy in the waiting. After I sent in my transcript and began talking with the publisher about the process of publishing, I knew there would be "wait" times. I'm normally not a very good "waiter"! Then, the publisher suggested I start this blog. My first thought was, oh no! I really had no idea what I was doing. But I dove in and just worked my way through! I began to pray for God to show me how to increase my blog. I knew He was working on my behalf and I just trusted that He would show me what to do. HE NEVER DISAPPOINTS! He has sent me a helper (I will share more about this later). I will say that, just like He always does, He has sent the perfect person to help me! He never does anything halfway, but always wants the very best for His children =) I also must say that it didn't take long at all for me to fall deep in love with the world of blog! God has blessed me through the lives of those who have joined me on this journey.
GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!! SO GOOD!!!!! There is absolutely nothing He cannot do through a willing child! He has given me BIG DREAMS! I dream them on purpose! I dream them almost like I am practicing them before they come to pass! Oh, the things He has in store!!! Hope, joy and excitement rise up on the inside of me and fuels my expectation for my future! It's gonna be WILD; it's gonna be GREAT; it's gonna be FULL OF HIM! (from the song; "Come away with Me" by Jesus Culture) I listen to this song and just allow my Daddy God to minister to me =)
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!
They had told me that the cover may have to have some adjustment so I could not hardly wait to see what it would look like. It is a little different (more like I had originally wanted it). I LOVE IT! I cannot wait to share it with everyone! I also had to read through the "inside text", which is my life, to make sure I was happy with the layout and design. I am happy to say that I sent it back with only 3 adjustments! After those adjustments are taken care of, it's DONE!!! Wow, I have been on this journey for so long it feels a bit strange to think that it is coming to an end. But as this phase ends I know that a much different phase is just beginning, and I am SO EXCITED! The Lord has filled my heart with this love story and I am ready for it to be told! I am ready to tell it!
As I read through the "text" of my book yesterday I was reminded once again just how far Daddy God has grown me and I was (and still am) overwhelmed my His LOVE for ME!!! Then I daydream about the future He is leading me into and my heart feels like it is on the verge of bursting =)
So now I just wait..... but I have found so much joy in the waiting. After I sent in my transcript and began talking with the publisher about the process of publishing, I knew there would be "wait" times. I'm normally not a very good "waiter"! Then, the publisher suggested I start this blog. My first thought was, oh no! I really had no idea what I was doing. But I dove in and just worked my way through! I began to pray for God to show me how to increase my blog. I knew He was working on my behalf and I just trusted that He would show me what to do. HE NEVER DISAPPOINTS! He has sent me a helper (I will share more about this later). I will say that, just like He always does, He has sent the perfect person to help me! He never does anything halfway, but always wants the very best for His children =) I also must say that it didn't take long at all for me to fall deep in love with the world of blog! God has blessed me through the lives of those who have joined me on this journey.
GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!! SO GOOD!!!!! There is absolutely nothing He cannot do through a willing child! He has given me BIG DREAMS! I dream them on purpose! I dream them almost like I am practicing them before they come to pass! Oh, the things He has in store!!! Hope, joy and excitement rise up on the inside of me and fuels my expectation for my future! It's gonna be WILD; it's gonna be GREAT; it's gonna be FULL OF HIM! (from the song; "Come away with Me" by Jesus Culture) I listen to this song and just allow my Daddy God to minister to me =)
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Growing Time
I have always dreaded waiting times! Times when you have to wait on something (or someone). I am almost always early everywhere I go because I dont want people having to wait on ME! Over the years I have tried to make good use of times when I am forced to wait. If I'm at a doctors office and have to wait, I have my phone so I can keep up with the world, I read the paper, or return emails, or look over my datebook, sometimes I even journal. The same is true when waiting on the Lord. We are not to just sit and twiddle our thumbs until we see manifestation!
I believe we are to stay in action, always preparing for what we will be called to step into next.
A lot can happen during those times we are waiting on the Lord! Sometimes bigger things happen during the waiting than the thing we were waiting for!!!
I spoke with my publisher yesterday and it looks like my book will be complete in about a month! This was good and bad news....you see I was really hoping it would be finished sooner. So as I let go of my disappointment, Daddy God began to speak to me! I knew almost immediately that it was ok, that His Hand is still on me, that I'm and still operating in His favor!!! It is good to be loved by Jesus =) He is always on time! (an attribute I was remended of by a friend!!)
So, because I am self publishing and am responsible for all things financial, I will be doing a lot of self promotion of the book. I am going to take this time to collect my thoughts and put together a plan to promote my book!!! Today I am thanking the Lord for giving me the time, that I didn't even know I needed until He gave it to me, to work on this portion of preparing to release my story!
Daddy God says to us:
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!
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