Need Love?

photo credit

Well, it's the week of Luuuvvv (deep voice).  Because I'm married, I should put some thought into Valentine's plans.  But with three young girls, Valentine's on Thurs. night, and a busy week as usual, we may have to celebrate another night.  (Actually day time may be better since I turn into a pumpkin at 10:00 p.m.).  I do need to buy him a card, though (and write in it how sweet he is).

For some people, Valentine's week is hard.  Maybe they have recently lost a life long mate, or a child that they can't say "I love you" to anymore.  Or, their "happily ever after" marriage dream ended too suddenly.  Some remain single, giving up on the love of a mate.

For others, difficult relationships bring disappointment and a disillusionment about others.  People disappoint.  Some even hurt others in different ways.  As a result, sometimes people have a hard time trusting others.  Sadly, for protection, they may not allow other people to get close enough to love them, in fear they will be disappointed or hurt again.  They may think, "And forget loving others, its too painful when others may not love me back as I expect". 

Sadly, when people have been hurt by others, they may think God loves them in same way (not much).  They may feel unlovable.  They may think they don't deserve God's love, which is true.  No one deserves it, God's love is a gift.  Yet , they may try to act lovable, working to gain God's approval.  When someone can't accept God's love for themselves, they will have a hard time loving others. 

The opposite is true.  When people realize what a consuming love God has for them and accept His love, they can begin to love others in return. 

Want to love?  Maybe love again?

Allow God's perfect Love change your heart.     

HOW?

Acknowledge God's Love 

God IS love (His very nature).  I John 4:8 says, " The one who does not love does not know         God, for God is love."

Accept God's Love  John 3:16   “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (NLT)

After you accept God's love, you can then...

Abide in God's Love  John 15:9  says, (Jesus speaking) "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love".

Remain in God's love.  How?  Obedience.  John 15:10 says, "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."

Obey what?

"LOVE ONE ANOTHER"

Obey by action.

Act in God's Love   John 15:12 says, (Jesus speaking) “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." (emphasis mine)

Why did God have to command it?

Besides He knows what is best for us, He must command it because it is difficult. I've never demanded my children to eat their dessert. I don't have to because it's too easy.  I do, however, have to demand they eat their veggies before they get dessert. Why? Because sometimes they, "just don't like them," or they "just don't want to," Or, my favorite, they "just don't feel like it." Sounds like my excuses not to love sometimes.  {Aren't you glad Jesus didn't love only when He felt like it.  I think of the time right before His death when He told the Father 'he didn't feel like it' (different words, of course)}  And sometimes we don't want to love because we feel the person doesn't deserve our love.

How should we love?  "Just as I have loved you."  (John 15:12 again)

How did Jesus love you and me? (How he wants us to love others)

He loved us when we didn't deserve it.

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (emphasis mine)

He loved me without demanding me to love Him in return.

I John 4:10 says, "This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." (NLT)  He loved us first!

Oh, and by the way, He loved us by dying.  John 15:13 (Jesus says), "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."  (Foretelling His death)

Ask for God's love to love others

John 15:16- 17 (Jesus speaking) says, "¹⁶ You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. ¹⁷ This I command you, that you love one another. (emphasis mine)

And finally,

Approach the day of judgment with confidence in God's Love

I John 4:15-17  ¹⁵ All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. ¹⁶ We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ¹⁷ And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. (NLT)

God wants you to allow Him to love you.  In turn, You love others.  Where are you in the process?

 

Fear or Love of God

                                   LOVE


After I wrote my last post, "Motivated by Fear or Love" (check it out here if you missed it,  http://stacyneus.blogspot.com/2013/01/motivated-by-fear-or-love.html), I asked myself, "What about my relationship with God?"  Do I relate to Him out of fear or love?

You can ask yourself these same questions.

1) Do I feel secure that God loves me?

2) Do I know God wants the best for me?

If you answered "yes" to #1 and #2 you may be relating to God out of love.  If you answered "no", you probably relate to God out of fear.

Steps to relate to God out of love.

1.  Understand God's LOVE
When you realize the Bible describes God's character of love, you will understand how you can love Him back.  God absolutely wants the best for you.  That doesn't mean what He thinks is best for you always matches what you think.  But, the God who created you, loves you enough to provide a way for you to have a friendship with Him.  You can relate to God with love.

When you don't understand God's love, you may try to please Him by "doing" good.  And you try to please God because you are afraid of what He might do to you, fearful He will harm you.  You may think, "If I just pray more, or if I just give more to the poor, then God will be pleased with me."  You only ask for God's mercy (not punish you when you deserve it).

2.  Understand God's GRACE 
In reality, God says you can never do enough good works to earn a relationship with Him (Ephesians 2:8-9).  It is a gift (grace).  When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the penalty for your sin.  If you believe in the Jesus of the Bible (the God of love) you too can relate to God with love.

But wait!  Doesn't the Bible say we should fear the Lord?  Yes, it does.  And sometimes the Bible says "Do not fear."  Does the Bible contradict itself?  No.  The word "fear" can be used in different ways. 

3.  Understand God's positive "FEAR"

Proverbs 14:26 and 27 says, "In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.

Here,the Bible uses the word "fear"very positively and differently than what we might think of when we use the word "fear".  We think of cowarding in the corner because we are frightened.  The word "fear" here means, "fear, terror, fearing; awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear); fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety; revered."*   According to these verses, the result of this "fear"is "strong confidence, refuge, fountain of life, avoid the snares of death."   This is definitely not cowarding in a corner.   We should fear God, respect and revere Him, because of who he is (all-powerful, perfect, hates sin) and not for what He might do to us.

I shouldn't leave out the "Do not fear."  One of the first "Do not fear" messages (over 70 x in Bible)**, God says to Hagar regarding Ishmael (Gen. 21:17) God heard the lad crying ; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter with you, Hagar ? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Hagar was not to fear because God saw her and would take care of her and Ishmael (HIS LOVE, AND GRACE). 

So we've come full circle.  When we "fear" God as He deserves, we can know His love and grace and relate to Him out of love, not duty or negative, cowarding fear.

Lastly, because we can relate to God as a Father/daughter (or Father/son) relationship, I think of my girls.  I want them to obey me, but not out of duty, or obligation.  I want them to respect me, not because I demand it (which I wrongly do sometimes), but because I deserve it (probably don't sometimes, but I am their mommy).  I want them to obey me out of love and respect.  God wants the same for us.  He deserves love because HE IS GOD.  Yet, He does not demand it.  We choose to obey him, or not.  He would love our lives to reflect His love in this fearful world. 

What about you?  Do you act out of love or negative fear?
How can this change?  Remember His Love, His Grace, and positive Fear.
 

*http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/nas/yirah.html

** http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?q=Do+not+fear&c=&t=nas&ps=10&s=Bible

 Linked up with:Jolene Engle, http://www.lauraboggess.com/, http://www.thebettermom.com/, Kathy at cornerstoneconfessions; A Holy Experience

It Must Run in the Family

My brother's, his daughter's, my father's, and my oldest daughter's strong hands

My younger sister ready to launch my niece with her strong hands (missed the hand pic)

Last week I spent time with my extended family in beautiful Navarre, Florida (between Pensacola and Destin).  Eighteen of us shared a beach house for the week.  Many laughs, yummy food, aching muscles from getting beat up by waves, late nights watching the Olympics and playing games, itches from the blood sucking mosquitos, and sunburns from extended time around the pool and seaside, were shared by all.

Our family vacation included a long awaited highlight.  A few years ago, my brother told me he had a daughter, but none of our family had ever met her.  My brother and his wife had flown to California to meet her.  Now, the rest of our family finally hugged our twenty-year-old granddaughter, niece, or cousin, Yasmine.  From the moment we saw her, stories began.  Over and over we discovered similarities using the term, "It must run in the family."  From physical traits, including brown eyes, curly hair, and thick hands (see pics above) to allergies and food likes, Yasmine definitely fit into the family.  She had some younger pictures with her almost identical to my sister Kelly and my niece Ashtyn.  Crazy!

After saying, "It must run in the family," several times, it made me think of my heavenly Father.  As children of the Father, we have handed down characteristics. 

I Peter 1:3-11 says, "3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. ⁴ And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
⁵ In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

⁸ The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. (New Living Translation) (emphasis mine)

As children of the Father, we share: 
1)  His Divine Nature.
This doesn't mean we are gods, but according to verse 3 we share his nature because of  "HIS DIVINE POWER", and verse 4, " HIS GLORY AND EXCELLENCE", not ours.  

2) His Gift.
We don't earn this nature.  According to verse 3, we have RECEIVED, and verse 4 says, "he has GIVEN US."  We can only live godly, God- reflecting lives because of the gift of new life through Jesus, conquering the power of sin on the cross.   

3)  His Love. 
We reflect God's loving character, according to verse 5, when we respond to God's promises.  He grows (verse 8) us in:(verse 5) moral excellence, knowledge, self control, patient endurance godliness, brotherly affection and LOVE FOR EVERYONE.   

4) His Plan
As we grow, according to verse 8, we are more productive and useful in the knowledge of Jesus.  The more we grow in the knowledge of  Jesus and His character, the more we become like Him.  The more we become like Him, the more we know His plans for us.

Are you a child of God the Father?  Want to be?  YES
If you are, do you reflect the Father?
And, are you growing into one that reflects Him more?





Linked to Cornerstone Confessions, A Holy Experience

Rough Week?

I prayed I could post, "Thank you for praying for me and my daughter ("bear").  Everything is great now." (You may need to read my last post if you have no idea what I'm talking about).  Well, not yet.  Maybe tomorrow.  Please keep praying.  But in the midst of chaos, God reminded me of a few thoughts about trials for followers of Jesus.

1)       Recall God’s faithfulness to Hold. 

God is always with you.  And like a parent comforting a hurting child, He holds us through the tough times.   Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  (emphasis mine)

2)       Rely on God’s faithfulness to Help.

God wants us to call to Him for help.  I love the promise of Psalm 46:1.  “God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.” (emphasis mine)

3)      Rejoice in God’s faithfulness to Hope

God wants us to rejoice.  Rejoice.  Really?  Paul says in Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”  I think Paul knew what he was talking about when he wrote this from prison.  Paul also gave us the “how to hope” later in verses 6-7.

  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.   And the peace of God, which surpasses all, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

May God grow us all in our trials this week.

With Liberty and Justice For All

What does this picture have to do with Veteran's Day?

“With liberty and justice for all.”  The last words of our Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag mean more to me on Veteran’s Day.  Our armed forces and families understand the cost of protecting our liberty and wanting justice for all.

Spilling starts:  Why justice?  Do we really expect our country to provide justice for all?  Life isn’t fair you know.  As a mother of three young girls, I believe this is the fourth phrase my girls learned, behind “Da da” (they’re Daddy’s girls), “ba rees” (batteries their  toys always needed), “mine” (especially when they didn’t want to share their toys) and “that’s not fair” (when their toys were stolen).  I didn’t need to teach them the idea that they should demand justice.  They expected fairness when they were wronged. 

As a Mom, I try to be fair with my girls. Because I’m not perfect, I could never be truly fair.  Likewise, even though our country tries to show fairness to all people, only a perfect country could show perfect justice.  (Don’t think that will ever happen).   So, is there truly justice?  We can only attempt to show  justice if we believe in a just God.  Here’s why.  Think about if God is not just.  If He was not just, we could not live by these three truths.

1)   If God is not just, there is no line of right and wrong.  There must be an absolute rightness, perfection, to have a standard of right and wrong.  God, in His perfection sets the standard.  Without God, we cannot define right and wrong.   If there is no line for my girls, when they disagree about  toys, I would  say, “Sorry, no one is right or wrong.”  I could only let the girls duke it out for themselves.   Think about the chaos in this world if we lived without standards of right or wrong.   

2)   If God is not just, there is no need for  laws.  We wouldn’t need laws if there is no right and wrong.   At my house, if right and wrong do not exist, there are no rules.  No one gets in trouble when they steal a toy out of someone else’s hands.    Imagine this world without laws.  No one would need punishment because they would not break any laws.  Again, only chaos. 

3)   If God is not just, God is not love.  God demonstrates his love by being fair.  He has the same rules for everyone.  He also shows justice by punishing sin.  We all have the same penalty for sin, death.  In God’s justice, He demonstrates His love by giving Jesus as the penalty for our sin.   Likewise, even though I don’t like to have to punish my girls when they do wrong,  I punish them  because I love them.  If I looked the other way when one wronged another, I wouldn’t be fair to the one wronged and not show love to the one who needed correction.    In God’s perfect justice, He treats everyone fairly, and proves His love.

 We cannot expect our country to provide us with justice, yet deny God is just.  If so, we would act as children wanting convenient, selfish justice, demanding no one to steal our toys, yet justified in taking others.  We can, however, trust God in his unchanging character.  He demands justice and will have the final say.  It may not be on earth, but everyone will pay for their actions against others and God.   Maybe that’s why people do not want to believe God is just.  May we always pledge, “with liberty and justice for all.”  Thank you, Veterans, for making this possible.