Word of the Day: Abounding in Love

Abounding in love. God is abounding in love for you. If you look at these verses the context is not la la land. The circumstances are not all rosy, comfy and cozy. There is forgiveness. Where forgiveness is needed, sin happened. A cry for mercy is a plea to not receive what you deserve. David acknowledges there will be days of trouble but, he  would call on God and God would answer him. God's faithful love will always be there abounding in forgiveness, goodness and mercy.  God is abounding in love for you.

What is better than life?

Do You See God's Love For You?

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)

Here's the deal: the world just isn't going to get this whole idea of God's love. Hollywood my romanticize it, people will write novel after novel about idealized love, but, they still will find themselves lacking. 

You see, being loved by the Infinite Father of the universe is different than being loved by a finite man or woman. I can never fulfill all my wives needs. I don't even understand most of them, let alone how to fulfill them! But God knows us in ways that we can't even comprehend. 

We may understand some of the depths of God's love for us, that he sent his One and only Son to die for our sins  so we can be reconciled to him, for example. Yet, we only have a foretaste of what we will be. We are only experiencing the beginnings of the restoration. That is our hope. One day we will be like him, like Christ. I don't know what to call it except maybe eternal wholeness. 

One of the great moments of parenthood is just holding your baby. Especially when they put their head on your shoulder and just rest there. As a parent you just enjoy holding your child and loving them. Even now on occasion my youngest children ( one Junior Higher and one in High School) will put their head on my shoulder or lean against me while we are watching a movie or something and it is still a great feeling. Because I love them. And my love is just a fraction of the love of God in comparison, but it is a sample and it is real. God loves you. 

Remember: God loves you...

God Will Not Forget You

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
   and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
   I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
   your walls are ever before me.
Isaiah 49:15-16

One of the amazing things I remember about my wife when are children were first born was how atune she was to taking care of them. The baby definitely was her main concern. It is just amazing to see the love of a mother with her child. 

God's love for us is even greater. His concern for us is unwavering. Christ physically bears the marks that serve as reminders of his love for us. In John 16:24-30 Thomas doubted Christ's resurrection until he could see the nail marks in Christ's hands and put his finger where the nails were. Christ stood among the disciples and showed his hands to Thomas and told him to stop doubting and believe. Thomas could only reply,"My Lord and my God!"  

Isaiah's words foretold of God's love in Christ and John's message reminds of the truth and depth of God's love for us in Christ. Both proclaim the God will not forget us. 

Father, thank you for the truth that you will not forget us! Praise be to you in us today!

Does God Hear Your Prayers?

Praise be to God,
   who has not rejected my prayer
   or withheld his love from me!
Psalms 66:20 (NIV)

God's love is amazing. If one of my children does something wrong  I will not stay upset too long. And even when I am really angry with them I still have a father's love. How much more does God love us, even when we sin? He loved us enough to send his one and only Son to die for our sins! That love has not changed. His compassion continues! His mercies never fail! It's about his faithfulness and that is why we are thankful!

EVEN THERE...

"Clap your hands, all you nations;
     shout to God with cries of joy!
 How awesome is the LORD Most High,
     the great King over all the earth!"
Psalm 47:1-2

Where on the earth are you right now? God is King over even there. There is no place he can not reach you.

What is going on in your life right now? God is King over even that. There is no circumstance he can not use when we chose to love and trust him.

Father, reveal yourself to our very lives today! Praise be to you in us today!

WHAT HAS GOD DONE FOR YOU? :Psalm 44:1

"We have heard with our ears, O God;
     our fathers have told us
 what you did in their days,
     in days long ago."
 Psalm 44:1

What have you heard? What have you seen? That is my question today? What has gone done for you?

Please share a story with us...

ACTIONS ARE THE GAUGE OF LOVE: Titus 2:2

"Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance." 
Titus 2:2

The soundness of my love can be gauged by my actions. That is the only way I know how to honestly assess it. Some might say that it's the thought that counts, but, I guarantee my wife doesn't care if I say I love her but my attention is elsewhere. 

There are two kinds of people: Here I am people and there you are people. Christ came into this world, God incarnate, to serve. He did not come to earth and tour to adoring crowds. He came and healed people, sought out sinners to bring them back to God, and died in our place, for our sins upon the cross. If I get that truth, I have to love in action, not in feeling. I think in some respects everyone is a here I am person. We have to feed ourselves, take care of ourselves, provide for ourselves. But, as a Christian, I learn to die to myself and put others first, to be a there you are person.

Yesterday at work a friend was telling me how concerned about his daughter he was. She had been sick and was home with his wife. He said he just wanted to be there, not at work. It is the last week of classes with our students so there is a lot of work to be done to close out the school year, but he just wants to make sure his daughter is all right. You know, sometimes having children teaches you to die to yourself.  

To be sound in love is to love as Christ loved us. It's not about, "Here I am, Lord, love me!" It is about thanking God for his love and loving others because he first loved us. 

Lord, open our eyes to see the opportunities you place before us today to love others in your name. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for loving us first. Praise be to you in us today!

BE STILL BEFORE GOD: Psalm 37:7

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
     do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
 when men carry out their wicked schemes." Psalm 37:7

A teacher at Capernwray Bible School used to tells us that we all needed to learn to wait upon the Lord. He would say, "You are so impatient you can't even spell wait. It's W-A-I-T, wait!" Then whenever he would bring it up the whole class would say it out loud in unison. It is true, we really do struggle with the idea of waiting on God. 

One thing I would like to think about is that verse 7 says, "Be still before the LORD" (emphasis mine). Sometimes, I just need a walk with the Lord.  I don't need my cell phone. I don't need worship music playing in my mp3 player. I just need to walk and be silent. I just need to get my head clear. If God wants to put something or someone on my heart, he will. But mostly, I just need remember that God is Sovereign and has unfailing love for me.

I encourage you to spend some time before the Lord, being still. Remember who he is...

Father, thank you that you are Sovereign Lord over our lives and that you have unfailing love for us. Praise be to you in us today!

FINDING REFUGE IN GOD: Psalm 36:7-9

     "How priceless is your unfailing love!
 Both high and low among men
     find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
 They feast on the abundance of your house;
     you give them drink from your river of delights.
 For with you is the fountain of live;
     in you light we see light." Psalm 36:7-9

God's unfailing love....

• for everyone... that means you.
• provides refuge as we seek to abide in him.
• abundance... Christ came that we might have life, more abundantly, to the fullest.
• drink from the river of delights. Yes, often our life is supposed to consist of enjoyment.
• life, eternal life is knowing we are connected to eternity in Christ. Life is not just about the here and now, but, there will be eternity with God. He will provide justice. We look for grace and mercy in Christ.
• light. The true color of something is best seen in sunlight, not artificial light. In the same way, the light of God's Word tells us the truth in ways the nothing or no one else can. 

Find refuge in God's unfailing love today.

Father, show us yourself today! Open the eyes of our understanding to see your love in us today! Praise be to you in us today!

REMEMBER GOD'S UNFAILING LOVE: Psalm 36:5-7

"Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
     your faithfulness to the skies.
 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
     your justice like the great deep.
 O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
     How priceless is your unfailing love." 
 Psalm 36:5-7a

Today, remember the unfailing love of God for you! No matter where you are, turn to him and he will find you, or already be there. His love will reach to the heavens, his faithfulness (not ours) to the skies, his righteousness - Christ in us - solid as the mountains will preserve us!