God Is Love

 

"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 them." - 1 John 4:16

Our first date was actually in October of 1988.  However, I asked Marty Hill to the Start Baptist Church Student Ministry "Valentine's Banquet," which was held on February 14, 1989.  That night began this incredible journey for us.  We were married on August 14, 1992, and God has truly blessed us all along the way.  LOVE.  Love is not just a word that describes God.  Actually, God is the One who defines love.  In 1 John 4, John says in verse 8, "God is love."  He says it again in verse 16, "God is love."  And John tells us in verse 16 something very important.  He says, And so we KNOW and RELY on the love God has for us."  I can tell you that I don't deserve God's love, and I certainly have not earned it.  God's love for me is based on who He is and what He has done.  And I am so thankful for that truth!  I can also tell you that I don't deserve or haven't earned the love my wife shows me and gives me either.  I believe she KNOWS and RELIES on the love God has for her, and she is a funnel of God's love to me.  And I, too, KNOW and RELY on the love God has for me so that I can be a funnel of His love to her.  John says in 1 John 4:7, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God."  I am so thankful for my wife, for our children, for all of our family, our church, and our friends who show love and give love!  However, I am reminded in God's Word that true love comes from God because GOD IS LOVE.  It is the love of God that I treasure.  It is the love of God that allows me to love and to be loved.  I am thankful most for my Father, who first loved me and so love me that "He sent his one and only Son into the world that I might live through him" (1 John 4:9).  I am thankful to be this "jar of clay" containing this valuable "treasure" (2 Corinthians 4:7) that can be poured out in all of my earthly relationships.

Help me today, Father, to love you and to love others.  Help me not just to KNOW Your love but to RELY on Your love in all of my relationships.  Thank You, Father, for loving me and making me a vessel of Your love.  Amen!

Always At His Work!

In John 5, the religious leaders were persecuting Jesus because He was "doing these things on the Sabbath."  Jesus made it clear that He was on a mission, not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).  Jesus made it clear to the religious leaders of His day that He came to do the Father's work and that His Father was always working.  Jesus says in John 5:17, "My Father is ALWAYS AT HIS WORK to this very day, and I too am working."  I love this passage of Scripture, and it helps me in every area of my life.  I know that God is ALWAYS AT HIS WORK in my life, and it is always for His good purposes.  It does not mean that I will always feel good when He is working or that I will always understand when He is working.  It does not mean that I will even see His work at all times.  However, I know the truth of His Word, and His truth directs my feelings and my sight.  I know that God's purposes are always good, always right, and always eternal.  He has set eternity in my heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  Romans 8:28 tells me an important truth, as well, that I need to cling to and exercise in this life: "And we know that in all things GOD WORKS for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."  Don't you love that?!?!  GOD WORKS!!!

I don't know what you are struggling with today in your life.  Maybe you are struggling with feelings of abandonment or worthlessness or hopelessness.  Maybe you are struggling at home, at school, at work, or at church.  Know this truth: God loves you, and God is ALWAYS AT HIS WORK in your life...and it is for good for those who love him and are called according to His purpose!  Cling to this truth in your life today!  Exercise this truth in your life today!

Know Him Better

What if we prayed for one another like Paul prayed for the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:15-23?  I have actually been praying for my church family this way.  I have even been praying for myself this way.  Now I am asking my brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for me this way.  There are three words that stand out to me in this passage: KNOW HIM BETTER.  Beginning in verse 16, Paul says, "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers."  He goes on to say in verse 17, "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may KNOW HIM BETTER."  Paul's prayer for the Ephesians was that the Spirit would fill their hearts and their minds.  His prayer was for the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened and that they would know the hope of God and the power of God that was theirs in Jesus!  Paul was not satisfied in his relationship with God.  He wanted to KNOW HIM BETTER.  Paul was not satisfied for his brothers and sisters in Christ.  He wanted them to KNOW HIM BETTER.  Paul relied on the Spirit of God to stir them, to fill them, and to enlighten them.  What a powerful prayer!  I am praying like that to begin this new year - 2023!  I am praying for all believers, including myself, to KNOW HIM BETTER!  And I am asking my brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for me like this!  May God continue to reveal Himself to us...through His Word, through His Spirit, through His creation!  Amen!

 

The Light of All Mankind

 

This morning while I was in the deer stand, I had a great view of the eastern sky.  It was amazing!  The sun was coming up and peeking through the treetops and the clouds.  Light was shining through the sky and across the water on the ground.  I couldn't help but think about the Scriptures. Genesis 1:3-5 says, "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.  God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light 'day,' and the darkness he called 'night.'"  God spoke a few words, and He shared His light upon the earth, and it was good!  John tell us in his letter, 1 John 1:5, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: GOD IS LIGHT; in him there is no darkness at all."  Think about these truths for just a moment.  God is light, and He shares His light with us.  It is His presence with us!  John 1:1-5 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was THE LIGHT OF ALL MANKIND.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

As we celebrate Christmas, let's celebrate Jesus.  There is no Christmas without Jesus.  Jesus is the Light of the world; He is THE LIGHT OF ALL MANKIND!  Jesus came to us; He is God's presence with us; He is Immanuel - God with us!  Jesus is not just "a" light; He is "THE" light!  Jesus came to live a perfect life, to die a sacrificial death, and to rise up out of the grave; He came to defeat sin and death once and for all!  He is our life and our light!  Thank God for Jesus!  Thank God for Christmas, the start of something new (Isaiah 43:19) and the eternal life that Jesus gives us (John 10:27-28)!  Merry Christmas everyone!!!

The Lord Is My Strength and Shield!

In two days I will run my first full marathon after months of training and preparing. It is has been one of the most challenging endeavors in my life.  I would like to say that I've enjoyed the entire process, but I can say that I have.  There have been times that I've questioned myself...questioned motives, my sanity, my resolve, my strength.  There have been times that I wanted to quit, yet here I am two days away...Sunday, November 6th, at 7:30 AM...my first full marathon.

I have learned so much about running, but I have learned so much about God and about myself.  I have prayed.  Many others have prayed.  I have listened every step of the way to the Spirit speak to me.  I have looked at all the signs God has given me on this journey.  I have been tested in every way...physically, mentally, and spiritually.  And I must say, I have truly enjoyed the testing.  I know that a faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.  I love the Psalms, and I have been reading many of them along the way.  David says in Psalm 28:6-7, "Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy.  The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him.  And He helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him."

David, carried along by the Holy Spirit, tells us some important truths about the God who loves us.  God hears us when we cry out to Him, especially for MERCY.  God is our STRENGTH and our SHIELD.  We can TRUST God with all of our heart.  God HELPS us whenever and wherever we are.  And in response to these truths, David gives us a proper response: "My heart leaps for JOY, and with my song I PRAISE Him."  Am I a little anxious about the marathon?  You bet I am!  Am I doubtful about crossing the line or meeting my personal goals?  You bet I am!  However, I turn to my God who loves me, who hears me, who strengthens me, who helps me!  I have never been alone, and I am not alone now.  I am JOYFUL, and I will sing the PRAISES of my great God!  I thank my God for allowing me this opportunity.  I thank my God for the people who have been with me over these past few months (putting up with me talking about it, but encouraging me anyway).  I thank God for my wife and for my kids (they even went out of their way to bring me water many times, and they have continued to believe in me and God's plan for me).  I thank God for my church family and the many, many prayers and encouraging words.  I thank God for doctors and chiropractors, who have been given the ability and the wisdom to help me physically and mentally when I was pushing my body to the limits!  And I thank God for this incredible starting line in front of me.  My daughter Hillary passed away on November 6th, 1996, of a brain tumor when she was just over five months old.  She would have turned 26 years old back on June 10th.  Had she lived, we would have more than likely been at St. Jude's for quite some time in recovery.  God's plans for us are perfect, and God's timing is perfect.  In two days, I will remember and honor my daughter Hillary by running 26 miles 26 years after her passing, and the funds raised in this marathon will go to St. Jude's.  Oh, how my heart leaps for JOY, and, oh, how I am praising God now and will continue to praise Him all of my days!