Tag Archives: love

A Story of Love…

We often celebrate Valentine’s Day by giving and sharing expressions of love to someone or those we love. As with many rituals, overtime, we often miss the meaning of our acts and find ourselves performing what should be sentiments of love, out of obligation. Today I tell you of a love story that will live for eternity and how we can take part in celebrating it every day, not just on Valentine’s Day.

My love story begins with God creating something good and perfect. He created the earth and everything we needed to survive on the earth. He created us in his likeness and image. God loved His creation. And when our hearts turned from the love of our life, he provided a way to bring us back to Him–He gave us Jesus. And when we rejected His gift of love. He stopped giving us physical gifts that we could destroy and He gave us the Holy Spirit–to those who believe. Let God’s love live through you by His Holy Spirit. Here are few ways to live out your love story through Jesus Christ.

How does God expect us to share expressions of love, everyday? (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

Patience – be willing to accept/tolerate delay while we wait for one another without getting upset. Whether it’s waiting for one to get ready to go out on a date, or while waiting for a cashier-in-training  to ring your purchase correctly. Or maybe you are struggling through a tough time in your life as a result of illness or mishap; be patient. The key is your attitude while you wait…no huffing and puffing, no rolling of eyes, no deep breaths or temper tantrums–try putting a smile on your face as you ask God to help you endure. Love.

Kind – as we know from patience, our attitude is key in waiting. Let your attitude be caring. Let your desire be to offer help. Holding the door open for someone–even if they don’t acknowledge you. Sharing chores although they are not assigned to you. Love.

Not Jealous – afraid of loosing something you already have or that it will be taken away from you by someone else?  Learn to trust each other and be content with what you have. No one can take away true love. If it’s for you, it will remain. Love.

No need to Brag – or be arrogant about what you have, or how important you think you are. Love never tells about the good you do for others…it is silent. Love.

Lacks perfection – we are living to be perfected…we are not perfect; only God is perfect. Learn not to become so irritated by a lack of perfection in others or yourself. Do your best to help yourself and support others–ask God to do the rest. Love

Not provoked – when you feel a strong urge to protest or when you start thinking, “that was the straw that broke the camels back,” or when something “pulls your trigger,” seek God in prayer for what you should do, first. Love

Stop keeping track – love doesn’t keep track of everything someone does to us…it prefers to let it go. If you find yourself saying, “that’s the third time this has happened,” then you are keeping score. Love seeks to forgive and forget…think about how often God keeps forgiving you and you will be more forgiving of others. Love.

Rejoices in righteousness –
Be glad when you receive the truth. Embrace your moment of deliverance. Living right is liberating. When you try to make your life complete by doing wrong to satisfy your needs or desires, you rejoice in evil not love. Love

Stays – during good times and bad. During health and illness. Doing times of rejoicing and times of suffering; love endures. Love doesn’t desert you and will not walk out on you. Love says, “Let’s lock arms and go through this together. God will deliver us both.” Love.

Share love everyday, not just on Valentines Day!

💕💖❤️💛💜💓

An Invitation…

Welcome Lord Jesus,

Excuse my crippled condition which caused me to take such a long time opening the door.  Forgive me for not offering you a clean place to sit, as my blindness has prohibited me from seeing things clearly, so I have not been very good at cleaning up after myself.  I’d like to offer you a drink, but the pain in my joints cause me great discomfort when I ambulate.  Are you comfortable Lord?  The weeping is uncontrollable Lord, my apologies for that too–my heart is broken over the loss of many friends and family members.

Alas, You are here!  Well, I invited You to stop by today Lord because I am tired of my current condition.  And I was told that you cared about me.  Forgive me for not having invited You sooner.  I was ashamed of my condition.  I was told You have healed the crippled.  I was told that You are familiar with grief too.  I believe I was made blind because of my sin so I have come to accept living in darkness–although, someone said that you could even forgive my sin!

I do want to thank You for my hearing Lord!  It is about all I have.  You see I heard that if I sent you an invitation to come into my life that You would accept it.  I also heard about the many miracles you have performed.  I am not worthy of Your visit today, but I was also told that You love me just the same.  Since You are here, I’d like to ask Your forgiveness for believing that my condition is hopeless.  For Lord, despite my vision loss, I can see clearly now that You love me–You came to see me.  I believe what I heard about you not being afraid to come meet me in my filthy house.  I’ve been trying to clean up my house before inviting You in, but was told that it would not matter to You the condition of my house,  Because You can make me and my house clean.  Yes, my heart is broken, and I miss my friends and family that have passed on. However,  I also heard that you would comfort me, and I am tired of being sad.  The pain in my joints does not bother me much anymore–I’ve learned to deal with it.   A few pills here and there, sometimes will ease my pain.  However, if You are willing, I know You can fix that too.

You know Lord, I am suddenly feeling better now that You are here.  What I heard about You seems right.  Even though I cannot see with my eyes very well, I can see things a little clearer now about my condition.  I no longer feel guilty about the mess around me, because, in my heart, I know that You will help me clean things up.   Although my body may be failing me, I believe You have the power to heal me, besides, I am going to get a new one some day–that is what I heard.  I was also told that you created me in Your likeness and Your image.  Maybe the day is yet to come when I will be like You–I cannot wait until that day arrives!

I am so grateful that You came today Lord.  I thank You for my hearing, because everything, I heard about You, is true.  Thanks again for coming Lord; they said You would if I asked You.  By the way, is there anything You can use me for in Your Kingdom?  They also told me that I was created to glorify You?  I am happy to do whatever You need me to do Lord.  You are a good friend.

Inspired by…
Psalm 34:18
Revelations 3:20
Luke 5:12
Mark 2:1-12
John 9
1 Peter 5:7
Isaiah 53:3
Genesis 1:27
Ephesians 2:10
Psalm 51:10
John 15:15

A Lesson on Kindness

If people, you know, can be kind, can you imagine how kind God can be? I love this definition of the act of being kind: having or showing a gentle nature and a desire to help others: wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others. In Matthew 7:11, Christ shares with us the heart of Father God. God wants to give good gifts to those who ask of them from Him! We know how to ask for good gifts from our parents, spouse, children, and friends. However, we fall short of asking for good gifts from God.

This morning, a mom offered to drive not just her son but mine and another boy, to indoor baseball. The weather is cold and snowy. So this lady often offers to taxi the boys around. I thanked her and noted how she is always so kind in her offerings. I thought about this mothers act of kindness and then remembered the kindness that our Heavenly Father shows us constantly. At first I cried, and asked God to forgive me for not thanking Him for the many acts of kindness that He does for us every day! I admitted to God that sometimes I take His acts of kindness for granted because I have grown to expect Him to do them each day. This made me very sad. I told the Lord that I would thank him for His kindness toward me.

I thought about how God gently corrects us when we are wrong. He teaches us right ways. He desires to help us as we learn His ways. He even gives us the Holy Spirit to help us live right. God promised never to leave us, not even when we struggle as a result of our disobedience. Rather, He told us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. He wants to do good things for us. He wants to give us good gifts. He said He would supply all that we need. In reflecting on God’s kindness toward me, I began to praise Him—For showing me how much He loves me. For giving me the truth about His kindness and for forgiving me for not having remembered all that He has done for me.

I prayed and asked God to help change me. To help my heart to see his kindness and to thank Him for all that, He does for me. When I finished thanking God, he asked me to pray for the God things that He has…because He wants to give them to me. I carefully crafted my prayer to be sure I was asking for only the things He knows good for me. What a lesson on kindness.

Thank You, Lord.

Remember them…

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.  Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.  Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering. Inspired by Hebrews 13:3

Get to know Him…

At different times in our lives, we will be drawn to different characteristics of God—His love, power, gentleness, strength, patience, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness.

John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world so much that He gave His Son, Jesus.  That whoever believes in Jesus will not perish but have eternal life.

Hebrews 13:8 states that Jesus is faithful, the same; yesterday, today and forever.

1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love.

2 Peter 3:9 says that The Lord is patient with us wishing that we would repent rather than perish.

Psalm 30:5 tells us that God’s anger is for a moment, that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.

James 1:17 reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from God.

Isaiah 40:28 tells us that God does not grow faint or weary. And He knows everything. God is powerful.

Psalm 103:1-22 tells us to focus on the good things that God is doing. Of course we could complain about life, but there is plenty to praise God for. He forgives our sins, heals our diseases, redeems us from death, crowns us with love and compassion, satisfies our desires, and gives righteousness and justice. No matter how difficult our current situation, we have many blessings we can count.

Isaiah 41:10 God doesn’t want us to be afraid because He is with us. God has established a relationship with us; He is our God. And God assures us that He will strengthen, help, and give us victory over sin and death.

Philippians 4:7 tells us that God’s peace is very different from what we know as peace. It’s more than positive thinking, a good feeling or the absence of conflict. God’s peace comes when we know that He is Sovereign—in control. God can guard us against anxiety and depression.

Romans 2:4 tells us that in His kindness, God holds back his judgment, giving people time to turn from their sin in repentance.

Get to know Him today!

Love prefers to offer forgiveness, grace, and mercy…

…not judgement. Lord I pray for the wrong-doers that they will repent and accept your forgiveness. Please have mercy upon wrong-doers Lord…hold your judgement toward them for a little while. I pray they will repent and change from their wrong ways to Your righteous ways. You said that You hate evil and so do I, And we will join You as You judge evil in the end. 1 Kings 12 tells us that although judgment may appear slow, You will judge evil harshly.  So for now, I pray that You will give them a change in heart…to turn from evil to righteousness. I know You want them saved. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Family…

A personal message to my family today…
I am here for you.  Each of you is a precious gift from God to me.  I value and care for you under all circumstances. Today, I thank God for my family.  I love you, and I am here for you.

Even when Jesus was dying on the cross, He was concerned about his family.  He instructed John, his friend, to care for his mother.  We should value and care for our family too.  Nothing excuses us from caring for our families.  Show your family that you love them today.  I will.
John 19:25-27

Pray for your enemies…

Yesterday as I was jotting down names on my prayer list of people to pray for; It suddenly dawned on me that my list only included my friends.  I did not have anyone on my list that has made me upset, angry, stolen something from me, frustrates me–you get the picture.  It was not until I asked my mom if there were people she wanted me to add to my daily prayer list–without hesitation, she told me to pray for my enemies.

I reluctantly added my enemies to my prayer list. Then I was sad that I had to pray for them.  I realized how much I needed to be like Christ.  “Lord, please cleanse my heart to love the way you do”; I prayed.

Loving my enemies did not mean that I needed to have an intimate relationship with them, but it did mean that I should have them on my prayer list.  God loves us, and he wants us to love each other–not just the people who are easy to love.  Think of someone whom it is not easy to love and add them to your prayer list–God loves them.  Ask the Lord to allow you to pray for them.  I must be like Christ today.  Luke 6:27

Remember them…

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.  Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.  Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering. Hebrews 13:3

Love each other…

In John 15:17, Jesus commands us to love each other as He has loved us.  To command someone to do something is an order; typically given by someone who has the power to give orders.  As our Lord and Master, Jesus certainly has the right to command us to do something.

Jesus gave His life for us; that’s how much He loved us.  He gave something precious in order to help us have an eternal relationship with God; a relationship that we could only have by being forgiven of sin. We may not be asked to give up our life for another, however, we can extend the same sacrifice of love to others by listening, helping, encouraging, and giving to them.  Think of someone who needs this kind of love today.  Give them love even if it cost you something.