Shed Abroad in Our Hearts

The flowering trees in our neighborhood are just beautiful. The azaleas in our flower bed have the most prolific blooms I’ve seen in years. I noticed some petals in my driveway that didn’t come from any of our trees. They were still full of color and as I looked around I spotted the source of the petals down the street. Evidently the winds of recent days had blown flowers beyond their normal dropping place beneath the trees. 

Just as the petals of flowers are shed and then cast farther than we can realize, so the love of God is for us. If we could sit and sip a cup of coffee or have a coke and open the Book of Love, I would want to tell you how loved you really are. It’s beyond comprehension I assure you. There are times when I still scarcely believe He loves me. Me. You know, the one who has flaws and faults and doubts and worries and fears. The one who makes mistakes, regrets the past and has real concerns about the future. 

I would bet you can relate. Have you ever said to yourself, “Surely if God knew all about me He wouldn’t love me, not really.” But oh beloved! He does know all about you. He knows more about you than you know yourself. And He does love you! This is a passionate, all encompassing, enduring, faithful, no-matter-what love! And, because you have put your trust in Christ for the Salvation of your very soul, God has put His magnificent love in your heart. It’s there whether you realize it or not, whether you appropriate the goodness of that incredible love or not, it’s there. But beloved, if you will appropriate that love, let those petals loose in your spirit, trust the casting of it across your heart and mind, God will explode in your heart and burst forth from your soul. 

God wants you to know that His love for you is the real deal. He never goes back on His love for you. Because of His Agape love, He will never renege on His commitment to you. He won’t look at you one day and say forget you. He won’t walk away or shut you out. Your name is written on the palm of His hand precious, precious one. Engraved, not just written, not tattooed – for writing can be erased and tattoos fade with time – but engraved! Eternal, permanent, forever. Engraved with His own precious blood, Christ says “you are Mine”. God says, “You are loved”. The Holy Spirit wants to pluck the lies of the enemy out of your heart and instead shower you with love and favor and gently bring you into a growing faith in God. Gently, not crudely, God’s love is ever so gentle. Hold some rose petals in your hand and feel their velvety delicateness – that’s how God feels about you in His hand. 

Why do you need to know this beloved? Why is God saying His love is shed abroad in your heart by Christ Jesus? For until you know this great love intimately, there will always be thorns coming from the enemy to keep you preoccupied with your troubles, your mistakes, your sins, your issues, your relationships. The enemy says you’re done for, but God always says we can work this out. Agape Love keeps on where everything else fails. God’s love is your point of surrender and your source of strength. No adversary can kill it for it is born of God Himself. The enemy wants you to believe you have to do something to be loved. He wants you to believe that God’s love is conditional. But God wants you to know that His love came first! You can let Him love you because He first loved you! Then you can love others, your life and ministry will be motivated by love and you can respond in love no matter what.

“Lord, we need Your love in our lives – Agape Perfect Love. We need to know this love, so we must get to know You better. Bring us into Your presence. Woo us with Your Love. Thank You for Your patience in letting us learn. But Lord don’t let us keep looking for the love we need in any other way or place or person. Don’t let us settle for cheap short-lasting substitutes. But give us your Love, shed it wide and long and deep into our hearts and minds so we can live it out and share it with others.”

Oh beloved, God loves you and He’s for you and that’s the beginning of the greatest love story ever told – your love story in Christ. 

Romans 5:5 …and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. KJV

Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.

Jeremiah 31:3 … “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

Romans 8:39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 36:5 Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

Swim, Dance, Delight in God's Love Today!

“I love you” is probably one of the most used phrases in the world. It’s a greeting, it’s a good-bye and it’s a comforter. Seeing a spouse, our first thoughts are to say it. Leaving family and friends our last thing is to say it. When problems arise in the lives of our friends and family through grief, discouragement or pain, we always want to hug them tight and say “I love you”.

What does it really mean “I love you”? Is it simply a kindness like a pat on the back or a “bless your heart”? Is it something to get you past an awkward moment or get you through a rough patch?

Real love is aggressive. It snatches you from the flame. It grabs you when you want to walk away. It stops and listens. It keeps on keeping on long after the first thrill. It stays the course. It makes the rounds. It is found in the everyday and makes it fabulous. It’s found in the mundane and makes it anointed.

When the Lord says, “I love you” He means it. He’s giving of His very nature for God is love.  Love is so important to God that He gave us loads of Scriptures about it. How to find it. How to receive it. How to have it. How to give it. How to let it take over your heart and mind and soul.  Because of God’s Agape love, we don’t have to settle for less. We can have His perfect love poured into our hearts and we can pour His perfect love into others’ lives. Without God’s love we’ll simply be going through the motions. You know, scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Good ol’ boys. Cliques.  Without His love we won’t really love or be loved at all.

It may be hard for you to believe at times, but God loves you! He marvels at how you are made, He is thrilled at how you are unique and special. He pours His love on you day and night and never turns off the flow. He walks with you in the dark places. He dances with you in the joyful times. He sings to you in the nightmares of life. He prays over you without ceasing. He sees your ending and it is a very happy one. He will never stop loving you, no matter what happens or who walks away.  His love for you never fails. His love for you endures forever.

Oh beloved, rejoice in His love today! Swim in it. Dance in it. Delight in it.  You can’t use it up, mess it up or block it up. He says I love you and I AM for you and together you and I, the Lord, will stay the course all the way to heaven!

I John 4:16 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.

Romans 5:8 But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Psalm 103:8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

Jeremiah 31:3  The Lord appeared to Him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”

2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.

How's It Going in the Game of Life?

It took me a while to figure out how to snap my fingers when I was a little girl. My niece had no problem snapping her fingers and since we were practically the same age I got frustrated because she could do that before I could! Winking was easier for me but even then as with most kids, both eyes blinked at the same time until coordination kicked in. Playing jacks was another milestone maker for most of us baby boomers. Bounce the little ball and scoop up the jacks was easier said than done. Playing jacks was one of the harder to learn games and required more skill. Hand to eye coordination was learned by all three of these little childhood games.

Some things are pretty easy in the game of life. Most of us are used to snapping our fingers and getting most of what we want, from fast food to TV channels. From buying clothes to furnishing our homes - with a snap of the finger, it’s all done for us. All we have to do is pick something out, pull out the plastic and it’s done. In the blink of an eye we can change our hair, change our mate, change our homes and change churches. We can decide with hardly a moment’s notice to make major life changing decisions. Some things in our lives require a little juggling to coordinate, but with a little practice we can do whatever we want to do.

There are things we can do that God wants us to be careful about – one of them is wink. He doesn’t want us to wink at sin, at mistakes, at failures or at things that don’t line up with His Word. When we don’t give our failures to Him, then He will bring them to the mind of the believer in the form of conviction so that our fellowship with Him can be restored. But when we do come to Him for restoration, with the snap of His spiritual finger our fellowship is restored. We may have consequences of our actions, but His love never fails, He never gives up on us and His mercy comes in like a flood, renewing our heart and helping us start over. It may seem at times that God is playing jacks with our lives – picking up some of us quickly and restoring order. Other times it looks like He isn’t taking care of us – the wait is long as our hearts desire to be scooped into His loving arms. But God’s way is perfect and His longsuffering is precise as He covers us with His atoning sacrifice and His generous mercies.

Maybe you’ve grown tired of going the right road. You may have looked around and thought that others, who don’t live for the Lord, have it better than you. You may be wishing for a new set of rules with which to play the game of life. You might have even tried to do what everyone else is doing; only to find that you are more lonely and alone as you don’t feel God’s closeness like you used to.

Oh beloved, run to the Lord! Let Him show you His life skills! His blessings, glory and honor come to you when you seek Him first. No matter where you’ve been, no matter what you’ve done, He is waiting with open arms to restore fellowship and start anew! His Spirit is calling you to stay close, oh so close, to Him. He reminds you today that He is the Great I AM. And that in His Name is found the most talent, the most ability and the greatest blessings a heart can yearn for. Never regret living for Him, even when it looks hopeless, for in a moment His blessings will shower down on you and His return will scoop you up and take you home with Him.

Trust Him, obey Him, worship Him, live for Him – for He loves you and He’s for you and that’s all you need to succeed in the game of life!


Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey You.

Micah 6:8 No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Psalm 136:23 He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever.

Give the Gift of Thanksgiving Today!

Looking back over the years to family Thanksgivings past, I laugh as I remember fondly even those things that irritated me so as a young person. Take the men in the family. They would curse and fight and beat the table in front of the tv as their favorite and not so favorite teams duked it out.  We “women” would relegate ourselves to the king sized bed in mother’s room to visit and laugh and carry on. How I would love to hear my Daddy and Uncle Bill arguing about football!

We are fortunate to be able to celebrate with a table full of faith, food, family and more. Reminiscing is very much a part of this special holiday, but we also want to make new memories. The chill of the morning, the colors of the leaves and the knowledge that we are blessed beyond measure keeps us hopeful, watchful and grateful.

But this Thanksgiving I am especially thankful.  For prayers not answered in my way or my timing. Every prayer I ever prayed just didn’t line up with God’s will. In fact some prayers were downright self-centered. But God, in His absolute incredible mercy knew best and still does. Thank you Lord. For unfulfilled wishes. Out of our own hurts and angers we often wish for things that aren’t from God’s heart. Oh God You are so protective, so forgiving so kind. Thank you Lord. For heaven’s gain and my loss. We mourn for loved ones long gone and just gone. But would you ask any one of them to leave Heaven’s splendor? God you are so beautiful. Your creative Power has given us hope for tomorrow, hope beyond the tomb, the stone, the grave. Thank you Lord.

If circumstances were the reason for thanksgiving then we’d be most poverty stricken. Some of you are hurting, some of you are healing, some of you are lonely, some of you are missing loved ones. Some of you are being held captive by hurts, animosity, fear and more. But for the grace of God you may have nothing to give thanks for…and yet…when we really get down to it, Thanksgiving is an attitude of the heart that transcends our days here on earth.

Oh beloved, this day is your day to give Thanks to the One Who is worthy of all praise! He knew you before you were formed, He knows everything about you both the good and the not so good, He has all your days taken care of. He knows your hurts, your whispered prayers, your hearts’ desires and your fears. He has brought you to this day, a day of thanksgiving, because He has a purpose for you and that purpose begins and ends in Him! He is full of astonishing love for you. He is full of glorious care and creative power for you to live by! Run to His Book of Thankfulness and read – all His promises, all His love, all His care, all His mercy, all His forgiveness, all His power and more is there just for you! You are blessed beyond measure because the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord says so! As you sit at your table today, don’t forget to drink a cup of thankfulness in His blessed and holy Name! Thank Him today! Thank Him for He is Worthy of your thanksgiving!

1 Chronicles 16:8  Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done.

Ephesians 5:20  And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 103:2  Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits. (NAS)

Psalm 16:7  I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.

Psalm 28:7  The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

Psalm 116:17  I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.

Revelation 7:12  They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

True Rest is Found in Christ.

It’s the week of the big move for one of our daughters and her family.  They didn’t have all their things moved the other night, so they stayed over with us. That night Blakely woke up disoriented and frustrated. When I got him a drink of milk and tried to take him back to our bed, he said “I want to sleep in my own bed”.  I thought it was cute and was going to take him to the extra room but he went back into my room. He refused to get in the bed though, and slept on the floor for a couple of hours. The next morning his mother told me she had asked him to lay down and that they would pick him up and put him in the new bed. He had gone to bed thinking he would wake up in his new room so he was of course disappointed.

No one wants to go to bed thinking something wonderful is going to happen only to wake up to disappointment, discouragement or a severe change of plans. While the adjustment can be hard, the Lord ultimately has good plans for you.

Oh beloved, is your mind reeling this morning?  Are the circumstances you are waking up to beyond your control? Maybe your heart is broken or your feelings are hurt.  You had a plan. You felt good. Things were looking up. You’d like to refuse to move on.  Never fear! Though your outward circumstances can change in an instant, your inward state of mind can remain steadfast, peaceful and calm.   Rejoice as you run to His Word and see that all He asks is for you to follow Him. That is where True Rest is found! He loves you and He has promised to be with you all the days of your life.

 

I Peter 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation!

Psalm 91:1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Psalm 138:8  The LORD will work out His plans for my life— for Your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for You made me.

Psalm 112:17 They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.

Hebrews 6:19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.