ABIDING IN HIS LOVE AND OTHER THOUGHTS

ABIDE IN MY LOVE “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:9-12 NKJV). Jesus loves us as much as God loves Him! Wow! There’s a thought that will put joy in our day. And as we experience His love, we will be able to love others in the same way. There are zillions of ways to experience the Lord’s love. I experience His love when I close my eyes and see Jesus’s smiling face. Or when I read about the prodigal son and imagine Father God running to me and giving me a bear hug. My daughter experiences love when she’s with her friends, because they could dump her but they don’t. She’s receiving God’s love through people. God also shows His love through what He has made (Psalm 33:5), through His faithfulness (Psalm 36:5), His comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), His answers to prayer (Psalm 65:2), His guidance day by day (Psalm 23:1)……the list is endless. I pray that God will guide each of us into a greater experience of His love. PRAYERS AND PRAISES “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?......we will stand…in Your presence…and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save…..we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (2 Chronicles 20:6, 9, 12 NKJV). This prayer of King Jehoshaphat’s is a great prayer because it acknowledges who God is: our powerful, attentive Savior. This is the kind of prayer that strengthens faith. This is also a humble prayer of dependence: “nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” The whole point of prayer is to turn our attention to God; and we need to remain focused on Him until His Spirit communicates a response. In 2 Chronicles 20:14, the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Jahaziel in response to Jehoshaphat’s prayer. God may direct us to hear from Him through another person, or He may speak to us directly (see Acts 13:2). But He always answers (Jeremiah 33:3). I often can relate to Jehoshaphat’s statement, “nor do we know what to do.” There is so much hopelessness in that unless I do what Jehoshaphat and his people did: focus on the Lord. This opens up the opportunity for some very sweet fellowship with our loving Shepherd. The Lord wants us to come to Him as children, in humility, to receive His gentle, loving care. “He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom” (Isaiah 40:11 NKJV). Later in 2 Chronicles 20, we see that on the day of battle, singers were appointed to sing to the Lord, praising the beauty of holiness and saying, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever” (verse 21). Again, praise honors God and also ministers to the hearts of the ones praising. It’s very comforting to remember God’s mercy when facing a powerful enemy, or a challenging day. DISCOURAGEMENT Some days the deceiver attacks me with these lies: You don’t matter. The Lord Jesus is asleep on the job and he’s not leading you. Or maybe he just doesn’t care, because you’re not important. When I start thinking this way, I like to picture the loving face of Jesus as I remember these Scriptures: “The Lord is my Shepherd….He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1a, 3b). “But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands’….says the Lord” (Isaiah 49:15-16a, 18 NKJV). HELP IN TROUBLE When I was a small child, I worried about lightning striking my house. This actually happened once, but since we had a lightning rod, there was only some blackening of the siding, and no fire. I also worried about robbers breaking in. But I could set aside my worries because I believed that if disaster struck, my father would take care of us. As an adult, I know that my husband will protect his family with every ounce of his strength. I’ve seen him climb out of bed at night to check on noises outside our house. I also know that some disasters can’t be stopped by a mere mortal. That’s when I need to trust that our heavenly Father is mighty and will be there for us. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2 NKJV). IMMANUEL ….”they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23 NKJV). “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Psalm 145:18 NKJV). Why did Jesus come to earth as a baby? It was because the desire of His heart is to be near us. His death and resurrection were so that He could reconcile us to Himself and be near us. This is what He wants.