Love Is Knocking, Let It In

Good Morning!! God sent messenger after messenger to proclaim his word, describe his people’s sins, and call them to repentance. But soon the prophetic era would come to a close. No longer would the word of God be heard. There would be a famine, not of food, but of hearing the message of the Lord. The people were losing a tremendous gift. Not until the time of John the Baptist would God’s living word be heard again.

I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I am always doing the sinful things I do not want to do.—Romans 7:19 (NLV)

We miss so many opportunities to be blessed, and to be a blessing to others. To often we don't hear, or heed, the word of God. And just like today's verse implies, our actions bring about the opposite, of our desires,...and still, we can't seem to stop. We want to be loved and connected to someone,...but we won't or can't let our guard down, to allow anyone to get close to us.

No one is beyond God's love,...we just have to open the door, and let it in.

Give us ears to hear Your wonderful words of life, and the mine to understand. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

"Walking with God means love,....because God Is Love."

Love, Above All Else: part 2

Good Morning!! Love means putting another's needs ahead of your own,...are you really willing to deny yourself in order to accommodate the needs of another? Is there a time when we can speak an encouraging word that will lift a spirit or cause a lonely heart to feel love,...when we ourselves are low? A smile while it may seem a small thing,...and at times hard to muster, can create a huge impact on someone's day.

...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."—Mark 10:43-45 (NIV)

We need to seek opportunities to be of service to others. It may be family, friends, or perfect strangers but if we look there is usually a way we can lighten another's load. It isn't necessarily the big things we do that have the greatest impact,...sometimes it is the small things that mean the most,...especially when done with a willing and cheerful heart.

God’s primary goal is restoration. That is why he sent Jesus. Trust him today!

"What makes the Dead Sea dead? Because it is all the time receiving, but never giving out anything. Why is it that many Christians are cold? Because they are all the time receiving and never giving out."
(Dwight L. Moody)

"Walking with God means love,....because God Is Love."

LOVE, Above All Else: Part 1

Good Morning!! Jesus said that the greatest of all of God's commandments, is LOVE,...and in following this, we are able to follow all others. But how long can you,...would you love someone that did not,...could not love you back? So often we are called to love others that have never learned to love,...they did not get it from their mother or father,...who are suppose to love without question or condition. So they have trouble loving themselves, and they are unable to understand how anyone else could love them. Only by continuing to love those considered unlovable, can we ever hope to become Christ-like. Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" (v.21)

Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."—Matthew 18:22 (NIV)

We all have our golden moments, but more times than not,...we want to give, no more than what we get. I often repeat a quote that I got from my friend, and teacher, Dorothy Cherry,..."Hurt people, hurt people." This is why we can extend curtsies to strangers that have not yet harmed us,...that we won't to the very people in our lives that we claim to love. Sometimes we can have this love with our children, or maybe our parents. But if we are continually wounded, or the love we offer, is unreturned,...without God as our center, the well will at some point dry up,...and we will have nothing more to give.

Pray and try until you can't,...no one can tell you when you've had enough, but you.

Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you. (Amos 5:14 NIV)

"Walking with God means love,....because God Is Love."

Repent Or Be Judged

Good Morning!! "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world." No one likes pain. But according to the prophet Amos, it is one of God’s ways of getting our attention. And nothinig hurts so much as the death of a close friend or relative. Amos reports five pain-inducing calamities in verses 6 through 11: famine, drought, blight, plagues, and war. And none of them had aroused any interest in God’s people, for returning to Him. Even after so much pain, Israel like so many of us, just went right on living in their sinful and disobedient ways.

"I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me," declares the LORD.—Amos 4:10 (NIV)

It is true that God at times allows both good things, and tragedies, to happen. But we believe that everything He does is for our good. Whatever the means He uses, God’s message is the same,...He wants us to live in close relationship with Him.

Return to God in repentance,...or meet Him in judgment.

"We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from His love."
(Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 10).

"When God measures a man, He put the tape around his heart, instead of his head."

Righteousness

Good Morning!! "O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand." These words from Psalm 95:6-7, beautifully describe the true believer’s desire to honor God, and acknowledge His greatness in worship. It's one of the greatest calls to worship found in the Bible.

"Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three years. Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings—boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do," declares the Sovereign LORD.—Amos 4:4,5 (NIV)

Now in comparing those words, with today's verses from Amos,...what a contrast! You can detect the sharp sarcasm in Amos’s words. Worship was flourishing at Israel’s sanctuaries, with abundant sacrifices and plenty of music. But instead of honoring God, their rituals had become transgressions,...not unlike in today's churches. The word which is translated transgression (4:4) actually means “to rebel.” The problem was a basic lack of righteousness and justice in their lives and society.

Don't just settle for looking righteous,
...move to bring about righteousness and justice in our lives and society.

Dear Lord, help our worship to be heartfelt and consistent,...and let us honor You in our living. Amen.

"When God measures a man, He put the tape around his heart, instead of his head."

Chosen

Good Morning!! One of the great themes of the Old Testament is that of the chosenness of the people of Israel. As God declares, Israel was chosen out of all the nations of the earth to be his unique people. That was a wonderful privilege. It meant not only that God was their deliverer, but also their helper and their strength. As a well-known credit card company puts it: "Membership has its privileges."

"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.—Amos 3:2 (NIV)

Privilege also brings with it responsibility. The original covenant agreement was, "I will be your God and you will be my people." God had kept his side of the covenant, but Israel had not. The main problem was that they refused to be the Lord’s people. They continually disobeyed and broke his commandments. "Therefore," the Lord continues, "I will punish you for all your iniquities."Verse 3 speaks of two agreeing to walk together.

Walking close to God, is the key to living as His covenant people.

Lord, help us to walk close to You in our daily lives, and to trust, yield and obey. Amen.

"When God measures a man, He put the tape around his heart, instead of his head."

Real Love

Good Morning!! Love is to be a deeply rooted way of life among us, not fickle or unreliable, not depending on how we feel or on the circumstances of our day. This love covers a multitude of sins. It knows when to look the other way. It’s said that love is blind. But those who say that are thinking of infatuation. Real love does not look on the other with naive eyes or blinders. It sees the flaws, but it sees more in the other than what the cold observer sees.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.—1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)

This doesn't mean that we must remain in an abusive situation, or not demand justice. Rather, it means that we must not let the evil we experience, take root in our hearts, so that it colors and determines our response. When you forgive your tormentors, and do not hate in response, you not only preserve your own soul, but you also inject into that darkness a light, and kindness,...which is a thing of precious beauty.

To live the life of heaven is to live a life of love.

Holy Spirit, help our love forgive, as readily as our Heavely Father's love forgives us. Amen.

"When you take your concerns to God, He will not turn you away."