Love That Never Runs Out!

For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:5 

We all know that God loves us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for our sin.  That is love!  BUT God didn't stop there, did He?  God has given us His Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love!  He fills our hearts so full that we cannot help but share God's love with others.

Does this mean we will be perfect in sharing God's love?  Nope!  We will make mistakes and missteps, but God has already provided His forgiveness for us.  You see, one of the benefits of love is hope!  When we share God's love with others, we give them hope!  With hope comes a boost to their morale and when their morale is boosted, they will share that with others.  

And the good thing, love is free!  And when we love God with all of our being, His love in us never runs dry!

Why Live In A World Of "Don't"?

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40

Have you ever looked at the Ten Commandments?  How many times do you find "Don't" in them?  Honestly, the concept that Christianity is about keeping a list of "don'ts" has driven quite a number of people away.  Let's face it, if all you hear are negatives then why be part of such a group.  Let me put it another way, if your supervisor only took time to give you negative feedback, how would your morale be?  How would your morale be if you knew you were under the microscope and people were just waiting for you to make a mistake?

In today's passage, Jesus was asked what is the greatest, most important of the Commandments.  Of all the "Don'ts" Jesus could have chosen, He chose to give a positive!  He told the Inquisitor that the greatest commandment was to LOVE!  First, love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  Second, because of your love for God, you will be able to love others as much as you love yourself.  LOVE is the greatest commandment!

Now, how good are we at loving others as much as we love ourselves?  If you love someone, you will encourage, build them up, have their back, remember what it's like to be treated badly so you will do the opposite for others.  Love is about POSITIVE!   So, again, how good are we at loving others?  How good of an example did Jesus give us?

 

We Are David

Goliath stood and shouted to the Israelite soldiers, “Why have you taken positions for battle? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul’s servants! Choose a man and send him to fight me. If he can fight and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I can kill him, you will be our servants.” Then he said, “Today I stand and dare the army of Israel! Send one of your men to fight me!” When Saul and the Israelites heard the Philistine’s words, they were very scared.

1 Samuel 17:8-11 

 

The photo is of Andre the Giant comparing hands with Muhammad Ali.  You can see the difference.  Imagine having this giant standing in front of you yelling at you to come out and fight?  What would you do?  Yet, that is exactly what Goliath did to the Israelites.  And guess what?  The entire Israelite army was terrified!

 

Think about this now: What sort of Goliath are you facing today?  What is it that has you afraid?  What is it that has you anxious?  What is it that has you upset?  You see, our Goliath comes in many forms and in many ways, and yet the outcome is always the same!  God wins every single time.

 

David trust God and did what no one thought he would ever be able to do.  Remember the stipulation that Goliath put on this fight?  If Goliath won, the Israelites would become the slaves of the Philistines.  If the Israelites won, the Philistines would become the slaves.  And Israel pinned all their hopes on the kid names David.  David trusted God and won that match.  And when we trust God, we are David! 

Remember Them!

I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me.

Isaiah 49:16 

 

Memorial Day...the day we set aside to remember the sacrifice of those military personnel who have died.  Honor belongs to them. Respect belongs to them. Gratitude belongs to them.  

 

Isaiah 43:1 tells us that God has called each of us BY NAME.  And today we are reminded that God remembers us always.  He has engraved us on the palms of His hands so we can never be forgotten.  Take just a moment, if you will, and thank God for those who have died in the service of this great country and remember!

What To Do Today

May God be merciful and bless us.
    May his face smile with favor on us. 

May your ways be known throughout the earth,
    your saving power among people everywhere.
May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Let the whole world sing for joy,
    because you govern the nations with justice
    and guide the people of the whole world. 

Psalm 67:1-4 

What should we do today?  How about accept God's blessings?  We are blessed with every breath, every blink of the eye, every sight, sound and scent.  We are blessed because God loves us so much that He provided a way of forgiveness through grace.

We have been blessed and we should remember them.  Count them (especially when we are struggling or enduring challenges).  Remember, God never leaves us and never stops loving us. 

Reflections

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”

Genesis 1:26 

 

I remember standing on the Training Pad, standing at Parade Rest, and listening to the "Welcome" speech being given by our First Sergeant.  He said, "MY job is to make you look good!  I will do WHATEVER I must do to make you look good!  Because when YOU look good, I look good.  And I LOOK GOOD!"  I have never forgotten that portion of his speech and have used it many times since.  He knew that our performance was a direct reflection on HIS leadership and in making us look good, He looked good.

 

Now, Scripture tells us that God made us in HIS image and likeness.  We reflect Him. We reflect His love.  We reflect His compassion.  We reflect His encouragement.  We reflect His peace. We reflect Him to the rest of the world.  Will we be perfect in our reflection of Him?  Not always.  But God is willing and has made a way for us to be forgiven and our mirror to be cleaned.  When we reflect God to others, we show how the Children of the King of Kings act toward one another.  

Knitted Together For A Purpose

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

Psalm 139:13

As many of you probably already know, I crochet.  I make BUBBAs (Butt Ugly But Big Afghans) and give them away.  Now....I considered learning to knit, but the thought of two pointy things in my hands brought mental images of the bodily harm I would most likely endure, so I stuck with crochet. When I am working on these BUBBAs there is already an image in mind of how I want it to look.  Carefully selecting the colors so they complement with enough contrast to illuminate the message.  I know how I HOPE it will turn out, but I am prone to errors.

Now when God knits us together, He has an image He in mind for us.....HIS image.  And God knits us together so carefully and lovingly that we are perfectly formed for the mission He has for us.  He coordinates every aspect of our lives to prepare us to fulfill His calling for us.  You see, we are here for a reason.  We are alive for a purpose.  We have a mission.

I've spoken with people who say "I wish I knew what my mission was." Or "I have no idea why I'm here."  I felt the same way, and some days I wonder if I am actually fulfilling God's mission for me or am I trying to do God's job.  The fact of the matter, each of us was perfectly created for the mission that is as unique and personal as each individual.  No two missions are the same. No two people are the same.  Even identical twins have their own uniqueness.  

Your mission might be to reach out to someone others have ignored.  Your mission might be to share your story so they realize they are not alone in their struggles.  Everyone has a mission! If you worry about what your mission might be, or wonder if you are fulfilling your mission, ask God to show you and then keep your eyes and ears open!  God LOVES to show us.