God Answers in Agape Love

 

This morning I am reminded of conversations heard throughout the generations, including conversations I had with my own children. Can you remember your parent being so busy that when you finally got their attention they shot out, “What do you WANT!?” with a good dose of irritation they would turn their attention away from whatever to you.  I can remember feeling a little ashamed of interrupting. I’m sure at those times I was short with my own children they felt something other than love and care as well. We are human parents and we occasionally get it wrong. It’s just one of those things. Fortunately most parents aren’t always distracted by life and we all know how we love our children and desire their best.  As mine are now older I cherish a heartfelt conversation with each of them.

Sometimes we think God is like an earthly parent. He’s too busy. He has too much on His mind. Others are more in need of His time. He doesn’t care, He isn’t available, it doesn’t matter.  We’re concerned that He will rebuke us or get angry with our interruption of Him.  We often put earthly personality issues into our relationship with the Lord.

God speaks to my heart: Precious child of God, when you call out to Me, you will never hear that harsh voice that is irritated at the interruption. You never have to worry that I AM not going to answer you with Agape Love, for I AM your Father and I AM love. My essence and very nature are perfect love. So when you call out to Me, because I AM God, I hear you. Not only do I hear you precious one, I already have the answer in My hand, formed from the foundation of the world. Before the world was, My answers were available. Before you were a glimmer in your parents’ eyes, I was holding you in My heart.

Oh beloved! Do you understand? Do you know who you are IN CHRIST? Do you realize that God is a loving Father, He makes no mistakes, He misleads no one, He never lies, He’s never too tired or too distracted. He is here, right now, for YOU.  You may not know where you are, you may be in very unfamiliar territory, you may feel that you are walking in a dark cave with no light whatsoever, but you are walking in the presence of God – you walk with Him if you are IN HIM.  And you are IN HIM when you are born again. We leave behind the country of humanity – short tempers, distracted minds, busy lives – and travel into the spiritual country of God’s welcoming arms.

Go ahead, reach out and talk to the Father, for He delights in hearing from you and talking with you. He loves you and He’s for you and that’s what makes a relationship with Him so absolutely wonderful all the days of your life!

Psalm 116:1-2 I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. (NAS)

Psalm 118:21 I thank You for answering my prayer and giving me victory! (NLT)

Ephesians 5:8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (NAS)

Philippians 4:6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. (NLT)

Isaiah 30:19 O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. (NAS)

Come and Dine The Master Calls You!

We’ve driven by the little diner many times, wondering if it was a good place to eat.  It’s usually week-ends when we’re driving that route and it’s always been closed.  This time it was a week-day and the diner was open, with a full line of vehicles dotting the parking lot. We decided to stop there and have coffee and breakfast.

When we were served our breakfast we discovered that this diner did something outrageous for its patrons.  They served huge helpings! The homemade flaky biscuits were as big as your fist. The pancakes were as big as a platter! No scrimping here. Generous helpings weren’t the only thing we found out. We also discovered that the meals were very good and the service was outstanding.

We decided that we would become regular partakers of this place’s fare. The price was amazing, the helpings were generous and the atmosphere was inviting - great keys for becoming a partaker.  There were lots of different things on the menu.  We only sampled their breakfast fare, but there is much, much more to try. Bikers, especially guys, want to try it all and enjoy everything, so we’ll be back.  The guys will also be telling others about the great food there!

As believers, we are partakers as well. We have a huge menu of delicacies of the faith. Every single item in the Word is ours. Everything is available to us if we just take time to stop and enjoy.  When we realize what all is ours for Kingdom living, we can enjoy the life in Christ with our whole hearts for our whole lives. Unlike the diner, found only in that little town, we have the Word of God and His truths with us always so we are able to have the quality and quantity we need every single time.  God is generous with everything and He paid for it all. He never scrimps with us and He never turns us away.  The things that God has arranged for us to partake of make us grow in faith, grace and knowledge. Unlike gaining a pound or two from eating a huge meal, we gain only good things from His Word. 

Maybe you’ve considered the Word of God, but you didn’t know it was open for you. Every single word was built by the Spirit just for you!  His wonderful promises are yours to ingest and live out. You can take it with you everywhere you go and it never gets stale, never grows old and never leaves you feeling bad. As you partake of His truth, you will find yourself forgiving others, living fully and having new eyes for seeing God’s truth in everyday life.   You may have been disappointed with people, places and things, but you’ll never be disappointed when you stop in and partake of God’s riches.  As you stop in for refreshment, you will be full of His wondrous gifts and drive out into life sharing everything you learned at His feet.

Oh beloved, open the Book of Truth this morning and read. Read about the amazing fare available for you to partake of as a child of God. You have free access to the entire menu of God. Even if you’ve been disappointed by religion you will never go hungry again.  Unlike human food that will make you feel hungry and thirsty again, God’s manna never grows stale, never runs out and always quenches every thirst of your soul.  Let God nourish you, redeem you, regenerate you and fill you completely with His wonderful, magnificent menu of love.  Then you will be so refreshed that you’ll want to tell others of the incredible menu as well!

Oh how God loves you and bids you to come and dine! Partake of Him freely beloved, for that’s where you will find His grace and care for your life always.

Ephesians 3:6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (NAS)

Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession… (NAS)

2 Peter 1:4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (NAS)

2 Peter 1:3 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 has called us by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.   (NAS)

Check the Mailbox of God's Love

Where I work I deal with loads of mail generated from our office. From soil samples to manure samples to water samples. There are fact sheets and information brochures along with flyers and newsletters and reports. Lots of mail. We even have our own postage meter to deal with the large volume of mail.

The fact that we generate lots of mail means that eventually and occasionally something we send out gets lost in the mail. It happened recently. A water sample mailed at the end of last month never showed up at the appropriate lab.  Thankfully the check that was mailed with it wasn’t cashed, but still no sample and therefore no results available.

Work gets stressful when people don't understand that these things happen.  I checked and double checked the address (it was new) and the information I had made copies of and called the lab.  After reassuring myself that I had done everything right, I went on to reassure others that it was simply lost in the system.  You want to blame someone, to get to the root of it – so it doesn’t happen again, but it’s impossible to ensure this because the system itself is fragile and while no one at my end, at the postal service end or the laboratory end wants something lost, it’s going to happen sometimes.

Life gets stressful and we don’t always understand why things happen. Things get lost. People get lost. Lives are lost. Hopes are lost.  It’s bound to happen – the loss of friends, spouses, children, jobs, money, treasures, and more. Admittedly, some things are more treasured than others, but a loss is a loss. Try as we might to get something we considered quite valuable back, it’s out of our hands.  We often wring our hands and cry out that we just want it back. If we’re not careful we’ll spend the rest of our days in mourning for the loss of something we can do nothing about.

People can get stressed, angry, unforgiving and suspicious when they don’t get their wants- but life in Christ never causes stress for His promises are never lost!  

Are you mourning the loss of someone or something you know you’ll never get back in this lifetime?  Are you wringing your hands and worrying about what you’re going to do without that treasured object or a treasured loved one? It’s hard to go it alone, it’s hard to move on, it’s difficult to smile and not let stress overtake you. But life in Christ will never leave you stressing for His promises are never lost! Even when things look bleak, when you’re awake in the wee hours of the morning or you’re in the middle of the day and you remember, God’s promises are right on time. They are ready for you every time you need them! Unlike the mail system, that might lose something in the mail, you never lose God’s promises for they are right with you always!

Oh beloved, run to the mailbox of God’s love - the Word-this morning and let Him show you the treasures of your life from His Word. Everything you need to live is written by the hand of the Lord just for you! Before the foundation of the world God Himself set up His richest storehouse of treasures to give liberally to His beloved ones! You don’t have to travel, you don’t need postage and you don’t have to wait until you are good enough to enjoy it all. Lean on the Lord! He knows your heart is broken, He knows you may be angry or agitated that things got lost, but your relationship with Him is solid. He is for you and His Word is hope for your heart in a day when all may look lost – look into the treasures God gave to you and rejoice. His love and care are yours no matter what.

2 Samuel 22:31 God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?

Psalm 12:6 The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.

Psalm 119:140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much.

Psalm 138:2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise Your name for Your unfailing love and faithfulness; for Your promises are backed by all the honor of Your name.

Psalm 119:89 Your eternal word, O LORD, stands firm in heaven.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.

God is Faithful and That's Enough to Go to Him

When I was a little girl, my dad sent a check with me each Monday morning to school. The check paid for lunch and milk. Faithfully I deposited the check with the teacher and went through the lunch line daily.  For some reason, I don’t even remember why now, I got the idea that cool kids (not what we called them then lol) didn’t drink milk with their lunch.  I may have been made fun of. Who knows? Anyway, I decided to fix that. I changed the check to reflect only enough money for lunch sans milk. Now keep in mind I might have been 8 years old at the most! Looking back on this, I know it didn’t look like my daddy had done the check. I still have the scene in my mind: My daddy coming to school and asking me what happened to the check.  I was terrified but I told him the truth. The rest is history.

Oftentimes when we’re faced with a situation or a predicament or a decision, we resort to fixing things our way.  I know there are times I certainly do, how about you?  We fix and we redo and we finagle and wonder. We try to get ourselves out of a tight spot, make ourselves feel better, make it easier on ourselves and more.   We are not expecting a day of reckoning, when the things we try to muddle out in the flesh come to a dead end. 

Oh beloved, God wants you to know this day that you are His! And because you are His, He has written everything out in detail for you – His Word is your financial, spiritual, physical and life planning guide! He wants you to know that when you get off His mark, He will help you get things back in order. He won’t treat you bad when you come to Him. He won’t turn you away on the brink of disaster and tell you to handle it yourself!  He won’t say No to you ever! He welcomes you with open arms and an open heart. No matter what you’ve done, no matter what situation you are in, no matter how big a predicament you find yourself in, He is there!

Run to your Father God this morning! If you need to confess a wrong, do it! He will never turn you away, refuse to forgive or make you pay.  His Essence is forgiveness. If you need help in troubles, ask Him for it. His Essence is Help. If you just want to rest in His loving arms and feel like His favorite child, go for it! He will always love you and He is always for you and that’s all that really matters!

2 Samuel 22:7 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I cried to my God for help. He heard me from His sanctuary; my cry reached His ears.

Psalm 145:13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps His promises; He is gracious in all He does.

Psalm 31:22 In panic I cried out, “I am cut off from the Lord!” But You heard my cry for mercy and answered my call for help.

Psalm 145:19 He grants the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries for help and rescues them.

(Oh Beloved! Live in the Light of His Word!  Rebekah Beene c January 30, 2013)

It is In the Giving Away that We find Real Joy

To make extra spending money when I was little, my mother crocheted doilies. I’m talking about the huge triple ruffled kind that was stiff starched and prominently displayed all over the house. She crocheted with tiny needles and fine thread. I have the last doily she worked on with the needle and thread attached that she was using.  Some would say that is a silly thing to hold onto. But it’s a visible reminder that regardless our life’s circumstances we should continue to create and enjoy every day.  She crocheted those lovely pieces as though she would be keeping them forever, never lacking in quality no matter that they were going to someone else’s home.  She thoroughly enjoyed the very things she was destined to give away.

Often we humans hold tightly to the things we hold dear. Whether it’s friendship or ministry or family or hobbies or talents.  They’re ours we reason. We don’t share well. We keep things to ourselves. We’re almost miserly with our affections.  Yet it is in the giving away that we find real joy.

Oh beloved, God knows your heart. He knows you want to enjoy the days He’s given you, but you find it hard to release the worry and the fear.  What if you give it all? What if you forgive completely, love whole-heartedly and let Him be first? What if you use up the talents He gave you for others? Run to Him this morning and lay it all at His feet. He will take what you are holding back and exchange it for a treasure trove of beauty in your life that’s meant to be shared, distributed, given away. You can trust Him beloved, because all that you give away and in the measure with which you give it is how He will give back to you. He says you cannot give too much. Even in your lack, if you begin to give you will see amazing things begin to happen.  How blessed are we to be people who can trust Him with everything? He loves you, He’s for you and that’s all that really matters.

 Matthew 25:29 For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.

2 Corinthians 9:6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.

Romans 8:32 Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.