LOVE…ALWAYS HOPES, ALWAYS PERSEVERES…NEVER FAILS…’ 1 CORINTHIANS 13:6-8 NIV Shout ‘wonderful’
When you meet someone who needs encouragement, give it to them! Why? Because more people die of broken hearts than swelled heads. And that’s true whether they live in a mansion or a mud hut. The story is told of a little boy who wanted to play darts with his father. He said, ‘Come on, Dad, let’s play darts. I’ll throw, and you shout “wonderful!’’ You may smile, but we tend to become what the most important people in our lives think of us. So think the best, believe the best, and express the best toward them – for your words are helping to shape their destiny. And remember, change happens by inches, not miles! You didn’t get there overnight and they won’t either. Even when change seems simple, it’s rarely ever easy. The only way we can break old habits is to form new ones – and that takes time and practice – lots of it! You can’t tell people something just once and expect them to get it. No, they need to hear it over and over before they can make the adjustment. And how you tell them, the look in your eyes and the tone of your voice, can determine whether they freeze in fear or soar above the obstacles. It can also determine the coping skills they hand down to their children. So this is no small matter. Be persistent! Never give up trying to help them improve. Express gratitude for every step of progress they make. Flying off the handle doesn’t help them; or you. The way to get lasting results is through patience and love. Remember, ‘Love…always hopes, always perseveres… never fails…’
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
…NOTHING CAN GET BETWEEN US AND GOD’S LOVE…’ ROMANS 8:39 TM Secure in God’s love!
…NOTHING CAN GET BETWEEN US AND GOD’S LOVE…’ ROMANS 8:39 TM Secure in God’s love!
Opinions are powerful things! They either build us up or tear us down. They create a ceiling above which we cannot rise. That’s why it’s important to get God’s opinion of you and stick with it. If others disagree, so what? You wouldn’t be so critical of yourself or so conscious of the opinions of others if you really knew how God felt about you! He made up His mind about you before you sinned. So when you sin, repent. Then dismiss the guilt for guilt is the product of doubt; it denies you the benefits of God’s grace. Stop running from person to person looking for love. Just open your Bible; it’s a living love letter, a statement of intent from a Father who wants nothing but the best for His children. If you doubt that, read this: ‘Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture…None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that… nothing can get between us and God’s love…’ (Romans 8:35-39 TM). ‘But I fall so far short,’ you say. We all do! Yet nothing you’ve done has changed God’s mind about you, and nothing ever will! His love remains; it’s unconditional, constant and guaranteed: ‘…His mercy endures forever’ (Psalm 136:1 NKJ). God’s love for you is set in concrete; it has no cut off point! And that’s the foundation you can build your life on!
Opinions are powerful things! They either build us up or tear us down. They create a ceiling above which we cannot rise. That’s why it’s important to get God’s opinion of you and stick with it. If others disagree, so what? You wouldn’t be so critical of yourself or so conscious of the opinions of others if you really knew how God felt about you! He made up His mind about you before you sinned. So when you sin, repent. Then dismiss the guilt for guilt is the product of doubt; it denies you the benefits of God’s grace. Stop running from person to person looking for love. Just open your Bible; it’s a living love letter, a statement of intent from a Father who wants nothing but the best for His children. If you doubt that, read this: ‘Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture…None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that… nothing can get between us and God’s love…’ (Romans 8:35-39 TM). ‘But I fall so far short,’ you say. We all do! Yet nothing you’ve done has changed God’s mind about you, and nothing ever will! His love remains; it’s unconditional, constant and guaranteed: ‘…His mercy endures forever’ (Psalm 136:1 NKJ). God’s love for you is set in concrete; it has no cut off point! And that’s the foundation you can build your life on!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS LAVISHED ON US…’ 1 JOHN 3:1 NIV God loves you – He really does!
HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS LAVISHED ON US…’ 1 JOHN 3:1 NIV God loves you – He really does!
Nothing could make God love you more than He does right now: not greater achievement, greater beauty, greater recognition; not even greater spirituality. And nothing could make Him love you less: not your character flaws, your past failures and regrets. The irony is, we spend our lives trying to earn a love that can only be received by faith when we acknowledge that within us there’s an emptiness only God can fill. And He will. But the truth is, learning to live in the love of God is the challenge of a lifetime. Many of us grew up with parents who withheld their love as an expression of their disapproval. And we think God does that too. But He doesn’t. ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!’ (1 John 3:1 NIV). C S Lewis wrote: ‘God, who needs nothing, loving into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. God did not make us because He was bored, lonely, or had run out of things to do. He created us to be the objects of His love! Sometimes our actions make us unlovely, but we are never unloved. And because God loves us – we have value. And nobody can take that value away. God’s love revealed at Calvary fastens itself onto flawed creatures like us, and for reasons none of us can ever quite figure out, makes us precious and valued beyond calculation. This is love beyond reason. And this is the love with which God loves us.’
Nothing could make God love you more than He does right now: not greater achievement, greater beauty, greater recognition; not even greater spirituality. And nothing could make Him love you less: not your character flaws, your past failures and regrets. The irony is, we spend our lives trying to earn a love that can only be received by faith when we acknowledge that within us there’s an emptiness only God can fill. And He will. But the truth is, learning to live in the love of God is the challenge of a lifetime. Many of us grew up with parents who withheld their love as an expression of their disapproval. And we think God does that too. But He doesn’t. ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!’ (1 John 3:1 NIV). C S Lewis wrote: ‘God, who needs nothing, loving into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. God did not make us because He was bored, lonely, or had run out of things to do. He created us to be the objects of His love! Sometimes our actions make us unlovely, but we are never unloved. And because God loves us – we have value. And nobody can take that value away. God’s love revealed at Calvary fastens itself onto flawed creatures like us, and for reasons none of us can ever quite figure out, makes us precious and valued beyond calculation. This is love beyond reason. And this is the love with which God loves us.’
Friday, April 10, 2009
…NOTHING CAN GET BETWEEN US AND GOD’S LOVE…’ ROMANS 8:39 TM Secure in God’s love!
…NOTHING CAN GET BETWEEN US AND GOD’S LOVE…’ ROMANS 8:39 TM Secure in God’s love!
Opinions are powerful things! They either build us up or tear us down. They create a ceiling above which we cannot rise. That’s why it’s important to get God’s opinion of you and stick with it. If others disagree, so what? You wouldn’t be so critical of yourself or so conscious of the opinions of others if you really knew how God felt about you! He made up His mind about you before you sinned. So when you sin, repent. Then dismiss the guilt for guilt is the product of doubt; it denies you the benefits of God’s grace. Stop running from person to person looking for love. Just open your Bible; it’s a living love letter, a statement of intent from a Father who wants nothing but the best for His children. If you doubt that, read this: ‘Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture…None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that… nothing can get between us and God’s love…’ (Romans 8:35-39 TM). ‘But I fall so far short,’ you say. We all do! Yet nothing you’ve done has changed God’s mind about you, and nothing ever will! His love remains; it’s unconditional, constant and guaranteed: ‘…His mercy endures forever’ (Psalm 136:1 NKJ). God’s love for you is set in concrete; it has no cut off point! And that’s the foundation you can build your life on!
Opinions are powerful things! They either build us up or tear us down. They create a ceiling above which we cannot rise. That’s why it’s important to get God’s opinion of you and stick with it. If others disagree, so what? You wouldn’t be so critical of yourself or so conscious of the opinions of others if you really knew how God felt about you! He made up His mind about you before you sinned. So when you sin, repent. Then dismiss the guilt for guilt is the product of doubt; it denies you the benefits of God’s grace. Stop running from person to person looking for love. Just open your Bible; it’s a living love letter, a statement of intent from a Father who wants nothing but the best for His children. If you doubt that, read this: ‘Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture…None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that… nothing can get between us and God’s love…’ (Romans 8:35-39 TM). ‘But I fall so far short,’ you say. We all do! Yet nothing you’ve done has changed God’s mind about you, and nothing ever will! His love remains; it’s unconditional, constant and guaranteed: ‘…His mercy endures forever’ (Psalm 136:1 NKJ). God’s love for you is set in concrete; it has no cut off point! And that’s the foundation you can build your life on!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS LAVISHED ON US…’ 1 JOHN 3:1 NIV God loves you – He really does!
HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS LAVISHED ON US…’ 1 JOHN 3:1 NIV God loves you – He really does!
Nothing could make God love you more than He does right now: not greater achievement, greater beauty, greater recognition; not even greater spirituality. And nothing could make Him love you less: not your character flaws, your past failures and regrets. The irony is, we spend our lives trying to earn a love that can only be received by faith when we acknowledge that within us there’s an emptiness only God can fill. And He will. But the truth is, learning to live in the love of God is the challenge of a lifetime. Many of us grew up with parents who withheld their love as an expression of their disapproval. And we think God does that too. But He doesn’t. ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!’ (1 John 3:1 NIV). C S Lewis wrote: ‘God, who needs nothing, loving into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. God did not make us because He was bored, lonely, or had run out of things to do. He created us to be the objects of His love! Sometimes our actions make us unlovely, but we are never unloved. And because God loves us – we have value. And nobody can take that value away. God’s love revealed at Calvary fastens itself onto flawed creatures like us, and for reasons none of us can ever quite figure out, makes us precious and valued beyond calculation. This is love beyond reason. And this is the love with which God loves us.’
Nothing could make God love you more than He does right now: not greater achievement, greater beauty, greater recognition; not even greater spirituality. And nothing could make Him love you less: not your character flaws, your past failures and regrets. The irony is, we spend our lives trying to earn a love that can only be received by faith when we acknowledge that within us there’s an emptiness only God can fill. And He will. But the truth is, learning to live in the love of God is the challenge of a lifetime. Many of us grew up with parents who withheld their love as an expression of their disapproval. And we think God does that too. But He doesn’t. ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!’ (1 John 3:1 NIV). C S Lewis wrote: ‘God, who needs nothing, loving into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them. God did not make us because He was bored, lonely, or had run out of things to do. He created us to be the objects of His love! Sometimes our actions make us unlovely, but we are never unloved. And because God loves us – we have value. And nobody can take that value away. God’s love revealed at Calvary fastens itself onto flawed creatures like us, and for reasons none of us can ever quite figure out, makes us precious and valued beyond calculation. This is love beyond reason. And this is the love with which God loves us.’
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
…YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE.“ ’ REVELATION 2:4 NAS Do you love God?
…YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE.“ ’ REVELATION 2:4 NAS Do you love God?
The Church in Ephesus was the kind of church you’d have wanted to attend: ’ “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false” ’ (Revelation 2:2 NAS). So far so good. Who can argue with orthodoxy? But all was not well: ‘ “I have this against you,“’ says the Lord ’ “…you have left your first love.“ ’ John Stott writes: ‘They had fallen from the early heights of devotion to Christ which they had climbed. They had descended to the plains of mediocrity. In a word…the hearts of the Ephesian Christians had chilled.’ This word ‘chilled’ puts a shiver up your spine. What a horrible way to describe the heart of a Christian! Stott continues, ‘Their first flush of ecstasy had passed. Their early devotion to Christ had cooled. They had been in love with Him, but they had fallen out of love.’ How much had changed since Paul penned his last letter to that church ‘Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible’ (Ephesians 6:24 NAS). Then Stott concludes ‘they toiled with vigour, but not with love. They tested their teachers with orthodoxy, but had no love in their hearts.’ Wow! You can go to church, read your Bible and pray daily, yet not truly love God. Loving God is a commitment, an attitude resulting in action, a focus, a daily decision to acknowledge Him in all you say and do. So, do you love God?
The Church in Ephesus was the kind of church you’d have wanted to attend: ’ “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false” ’ (Revelation 2:2 NAS). So far so good. Who can argue with orthodoxy? But all was not well: ‘ “I have this against you,“’ says the Lord ’ “…you have left your first love.“ ’ John Stott writes: ‘They had fallen from the early heights of devotion to Christ which they had climbed. They had descended to the plains of mediocrity. In a word…the hearts of the Ephesian Christians had chilled.’ This word ‘chilled’ puts a shiver up your spine. What a horrible way to describe the heart of a Christian! Stott continues, ‘Their first flush of ecstasy had passed. Their early devotion to Christ had cooled. They had been in love with Him, but they had fallen out of love.’ How much had changed since Paul penned his last letter to that church ‘Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible’ (Ephesians 6:24 NAS). Then Stott concludes ‘they toiled with vigour, but not with love. They tested their teachers with orthodoxy, but had no love in their hearts.’ Wow! You can go to church, read your Bible and pray daily, yet not truly love God. Loving God is a commitment, an attitude resulting in action, a focus, a daily decision to acknowledge Him in all you say and do. So, do you love God?
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
…YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE.“ ’ REVELATION 2:4 NAS Do you love God?
…YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE.“ ’ REVELATION 2:4 NAS Do you love God?
The Church in Ephesus was the kind of church you’d have wanted to attend: ’ “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false” ’ (Revelation 2:2 NAS). So far so good. Who can argue with orthodoxy? But all was not well: ‘ “I have this against you,“’ says the Lord ’ “…you have left your first love.“ ’ John Stott writes: ‘They had fallen from the early heights of devotion to Christ which they had climbed. They had descended to the plains of mediocrity. In a word…the hearts of the Ephesian Christians had chilled.’ This word ‘chilled’ puts a shiver up your spine. What a horrible way to describe the heart of a Christian! Stott continues, ‘Their first flush of ecstasy had passed. Their early devotion to Christ had cooled. They had been in love with Him, but they had fallen out of love.’ How much had changed since Paul penned his last letter to that church ‘Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible’ (Ephesians 6:24 NAS). Then Stott concludes ‘they toiled with vigour, but not with love. They tested their teachers with orthodoxy, but had no love in their hearts.’ Wow! You can go to church, read your Bible and pray daily, yet not truly love God. Loving God is a commitment, an attitude resulting in action, a focus, a daily decision to acknowledge Him in all you say and do. So, do you love God?
The Church in Ephesus was the kind of church you’d have wanted to attend: ’ “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false” ’ (Revelation 2:2 NAS). So far so good. Who can argue with orthodoxy? But all was not well: ‘ “I have this against you,“’ says the Lord ’ “…you have left your first love.“ ’ John Stott writes: ‘They had fallen from the early heights of devotion to Christ which they had climbed. They had descended to the plains of mediocrity. In a word…the hearts of the Ephesian Christians had chilled.’ This word ‘chilled’ puts a shiver up your spine. What a horrible way to describe the heart of a Christian! Stott continues, ‘Their first flush of ecstasy had passed. Their early devotion to Christ had cooled. They had been in love with Him, but they had fallen out of love.’ How much had changed since Paul penned his last letter to that church ‘Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible’ (Ephesians 6:24 NAS). Then Stott concludes ‘they toiled with vigour, but not with love. They tested their teachers with orthodoxy, but had no love in their hearts.’ Wow! You can go to church, read your Bible and pray daily, yet not truly love God. Loving God is a commitment, an attitude resulting in action, a focus, a daily decision to acknowledge Him in all you say and do. So, do you love God?
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