The Lord reminded me that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. The best example of this is Jesus, who was crucified and took on all the sins of the world because of His love for us all. I have not yet suffered to the point of shedding blood in my pursuit of loving others. The Lord knows what it feels like to be mistreated and betrayed. "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds...His understanding is infinite (Psalm 147:3,5). And He's always there for us, holding our hand (Psalm 73:23).
The Lord's Spirit lives in His people, so, as Christians, we have His power to love with a love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails. Praise the Lord for that amazing gift!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Honor
Our accuser has plenty of bad things to say about us, so I'm going to just quote some scripture which tells us the good news about God's people:
John 12:26 "If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."
Isaiah 43:4 "you are precious in My sight...you are honored and I love you."
Psalm 16:3 "As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight."
Isaiah 60:1 "Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you."
Psalm 21:5 "His glory is great in Your salvation."
Psalm 18:35 "Your gentleness has made me great."
Romans 8:30 "Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
1 Peter 2:5, 9-10 "you also, as living stomes, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ....But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."
God has made us His bride: Hosea 2:19-20 "And I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord."
John 12:26 "If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."
Isaiah 43:4 "you are precious in My sight...you are honored and I love you."
Psalm 16:3 "As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight."
Isaiah 60:1 "Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you."
Psalm 21:5 "His glory is great in Your salvation."
Psalm 18:35 "Your gentleness has made me great."
Romans 8:30 "Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
1 Peter 2:5, 9-10 "you also, as living stomes, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ....But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."
God has made us His bride: Hosea 2:19-20 "And I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord."
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Neediness
I've read a number of Henri Nouwen's books and have been very impressed by the way his writings minister to my emotional needs. I discovered what I consider to be the secret of Nouwen's effectiveness in comforting and encouraging me: his neediness. At one point in his life he had an emotional breakdown and went to a retreat center where a daily spiritual routine and psychotherapy addressed his deep need to be physically held and emotionally affirmed. In his book Finding My Way Home, Nouwen wrote, "...in our weakness our familiar ways of controlling and manipulating our world are being stripped away and we are forced to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right there where we are most vulnerable, the peace that is not of this world is mysteriously hidden."
This is good news for me, because as I look at my life, I see issues and neediness. I was a pathologically shy child--extremely quiet. I was scared to talk to the popular kids or adults. Any time someone was more skilled than I, socially or otherwise, I felt inferior. My way of dealing with this was to be a perfectionist. But perfection was impossible and even excellence was only achieved in some arenas. When Jesus came into my life, I should have rejoiced in His unconditional love, which I did to some extent. But I also became a Christian achiever. I accepted God's forgiveness, but my heart didn't understand that God accepted me unconditionally in every day life; nor did I fully believe that God made me righteous in Christ, and self-made righteousness was unnecessary/impossible (Romans 5:17, Philippians 3:9). I'll never forget the peace that flooded my heart the first time I said no to the lie that I have to do everything right to be a good person, and yes to the truth that Jesus has given me the gift of righteousness, and that is what makes me a good person. As Nouwen said, this peace is not of this world, and it comes to us right where we are most vulnerable.
This is good news for me, because as I look at my life, I see issues and neediness. I was a pathologically shy child--extremely quiet. I was scared to talk to the popular kids or adults. Any time someone was more skilled than I, socially or otherwise, I felt inferior. My way of dealing with this was to be a perfectionist. But perfection was impossible and even excellence was only achieved in some arenas. When Jesus came into my life, I should have rejoiced in His unconditional love, which I did to some extent. But I also became a Christian achiever. I accepted God's forgiveness, but my heart didn't understand that God accepted me unconditionally in every day life; nor did I fully believe that God made me righteous in Christ, and self-made righteousness was unnecessary/impossible (Romans 5:17, Philippians 3:9). I'll never forget the peace that flooded my heart the first time I said no to the lie that I have to do everything right to be a good person, and yes to the truth that Jesus has given me the gift of righteousness, and that is what makes me a good person. As Nouwen said, this peace is not of this world, and it comes to us right where we are most vulnerable.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Praise
Yesterday in church we were singing a song about praising the Lord all day long, and my analytical mind was wondering, how does one do that? God reminded me of Psalm 40:3: "He has put a new song in my mouth--praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord." As God's people, we don't have to manufacture praises to Him; He has already put His praises into our mouths. Love it!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Messy Mistakes
Today I asked Jesus about all the messes that I create for myself. I worry about a lot of little things: will I cook something that the family doesn't like? Break the crystal vase? Forget an appointment? Lose my walllet? Waste 20 minutes (or more) on worthless daydreaming? Waste 15 minutes reading all the greeting cards on the rack? Leave typos on my blog? Laugh if you want to, but I worry about this kind of stuff. What if I had cerebral palsy and couldn't even feed myself? Would the Lord still take care of me? This is what Jesus said: "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Commands
"All Your commands are righteous" (Psalm 119:172)
God's commands aren't just a bunch of rules. They tell us of His character. We can actually get to know God better by learning and obeying His commands. I think this is why King David got so excited about God's law; he loved God and knew that the commandments were a reflection of who the Lord is.
Since God's people have received His Spirit, we have the power to live according to His commands. As we depend on the Spirit rather than trying to make ourselves righteous by fleshly efforts, we find that God's commandments aren't at all burdensome. This goes against human thinking, but it's true, and as I've begun to believe truth, it has brought me joy.
God's commands aren't just a bunch of rules. They tell us of His character. We can actually get to know God better by learning and obeying His commands. I think this is why King David got so excited about God's law; he loved God and knew that the commandments were a reflection of who the Lord is.
Since God's people have received His Spirit, we have the power to live according to His commands. As we depend on the Spirit rather than trying to make ourselves righteous by fleshly efforts, we find that God's commandments aren't at all burdensome. This goes against human thinking, but it's true, and as I've begun to believe truth, it has brought me joy.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)