God's Way of Loving

Lamentations 3:22-26, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”

God is permanent in His love for us. God’s love is unending and never ceasing. Sounds redundant but it can never be overstated that God has persisted in loving us. What if we loved one another the way God’s love us? What would the world we know be like? Let’s try it for a week, how about for one day? Let’s say you wake up at 6 a.m. and go to bed around 11 p.m. That’s 17 hours of loving the world the way in which God loves us. Start the day in prayer asking God to guide you in love and love your day away ending in prayer with confession and forgiveness. They describe what it was like to love the day away with God. Write a note to the blog – tell us how it worked.

Prayer: Loving God we thank You for this gift of the day – it is the present – thank You! Help us to live and love as You taught us to do through the redeeming love of Jesus. Help us be the shining love of Jesus for the world. In Jesus Name we pray. AMEN!

About Christmas

My friend Ginger sent this to me in the form of an email.  I've read it through several times trying to imagine how we'd explain ourselves to Jesus in light of the theology written here - simply and beautifully:

"Letter from Jesus about Christmas –

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year.. Then follow up... It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one.. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.
10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

11. Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember.

I LOVE YOU,

JESUS"

Thank you Ginger!  May God bless you in this season of His Son's birth!!

Redeeming Love

Romans 3:19-20, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.”

We cannot do anything to please God such that we will receive salvation. It is only through God’s love and grace that we receive our salvation. As Paul writes, he became aware of his sin because of the law. He didn’t gain anything by attending to the law for a prescription to gain eternal life. What he learned and shares is that we are sinners – all of us. We should be reticent to sin and willing to confess our frailty to God who saves us. For by our confession we have made known to God that we seek His redemption and restoration. “For through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

 

Prayer: Eternal and forgiving God thank You for today and for the gift of love through Jesus Christ who by His blood redeems us. Help us to see where we have fallen short of Your Glory and come humbly before You in confession, seeking forgiveness and redemption. We pray this in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

Global Warming Scam!

Global Warming Scam! The Wall Street Journal published some interesting findings after the ‘leading climate change scientific unit in the world’ had its email servers hacked and the contents scoured. Here’s a quote, “Yet even a partial review of the emails is highly illuminating. In them, scientists appear to urge each other to present a "unified" view on the theory of man-made climate change while discussing the importance of the "common cause"; to advise each other on how to smooth over data so as not to compromise the favored hypothesis; to discuss ways to keep opposing views out of leading journals; and to give tips on how to "hide the decline" of temperature in certain inconvenient data.” What I find fascinating is that these ‘scientists who supposedly use deductive reasoning aka the scientific method, want to smooth over the data to keep alive the theory of man-made climate (aka global warming) Not much science here just lies.

CINCO (Comrade-in-Chief Obama) is pushing Cap-and-Trade legislation to punish America and he’s going to Copenhagen where the idiot science of Al Gore will be further perpetrated on the world. The unqualified and undereducated voters of this country have elected a village idiot from Kenya or Indonesia or somewhere to be the president. People we have to fix this problem. We need to elect a president whose moral character isn’t for sale and one who believes in the premise and endurance of foundational America.
 

Lies all lies CINCO (Comrade-in-Chief Obama) – have you no shame? You stood at West Point in what your sycophant Chris the commie Matthews calls the ‘enemy camp’ and lied about the Afghan War. Now you’re jetting to Copenhagen for what? Some Danish? Stop the lying and get down to the business of cutting taxes and true economic recovery. Jettison the theft and robbery plan called healthcare reform because foundational and original believers of this Nation will take back the Congress and the Executive branches by ballot.

Here's the link:
 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704888404574547730924988354.html

"Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified..."

Acts 4:1-12, “While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the Temple, and the Sadducees came to them, much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead. So they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word believed; and they numbered about five thousand. The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is ‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

I love this exchange among the Temple authorities, Peter and John. Luke’s witness says that 5,000 people heard and believed in Jesus; even in the face Peter’s and John’s arrest. The Temple leaders wanted to know by what authority they were saying these things. These Temple leaders had just killed Jesus for the same teaching and preaching and now they were coming after the disciples. When Peter spoke he spoke with the power of the Holy Spirit and defied the Temple leaders and reminded them that Jesus of Nazareth who they killed and whom God raised from the dead who healed the man standing before them. Then he said this, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved;” NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MORTALS BY WHICH WE MUST BE SAVED!!!  Peter called out the Temple leadership for what they did and reminded them that they too must claim Jesus NOW in order to be saved.

Prayer: Thank You Father for redeeming us through Jesus. Thank You for this glorious day in Your Kingdom. Please work through us to love, teach and, claim those who have yet to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

Liar-in-Chief

CINCO (Comrade-in-Chief Obama) made his Afghanistan speech at West Point and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews says Obamao was in the ‘enemy’s camp.’ WHAT?! Young men and women who have committed to becoming leaders of character are now referred to as the enemy? So Matthews apologizes again but here’s the problem he does this all the time and none of objects of his ‘leg-tingling’ affection denounces his rhetoric. Obamao did believe that he was in the enemy camp as does Matthews. He isn’t sorry for anything! This is outrageous. Obamao encourages the Taliban and al Qaeda to wait eighteen months to takeover…just in time for a new election campaign war-footing slogan that surely will say that he was just trying to extinguish a failed GWB war strategy. They already threw Robert Gates under the bus in the speech saying that he refused more troops in Afghanistan. Who’s next? I guess Gates has found out what the rest of the ‘proletariat’ (we lesser mortals) know – no one is safe under Obamao.

Eyes of our hearts

Ephesians 1:15-23, “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

Open the eyes of our hearts that we may come to know you thoroughly and completely Lord Jesus. Michael W. Smith, the contemporary Christian singer and writer, wrote and sang these words:

“Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You

I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up

Shinin' in the light of Your glory

Pour out Your power and love

As we sing holy, holy, holy”

Words simply stated lifted from Paul’s own imploring of the churches of Ephesus to have the eyes of their own hearts opened to the glory, love and honor of God through Jesus Christ. At the Resurrection God spoke loudly and clearly for everyone to hear and to accept His love.

Prayer: Heavenly Father You acted in a powerful, dramatic and transforming Way to redeem us. Forgive us please where we have failed to see what You did and are doing. Turn our hearts back to You. In Jesus Name we pray. AMEN.