Archive for the ‘ Love ’ Category
So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1 John 4:16, ESV
The hope of Christ is that the long-awaited Messiah has come, and His love fills us and connects to God and to each other.
Love well.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:37-39, ESV
Just the name of God can save, and He has. Let us show our thankfulness by sharing that salvation and love with others that they may worship God in thankfulness, too.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
1 Chronicles 16:34, ESV
Just the name of God can save, and thankfully His love has been given to us through the Son sacrificing Himself for our salvation. Let us thank Him by sharing this love and forgiveness.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Deuteronomy 6:5, ESV
Trust God. He loves you, so show your love for Him by obeying Him with your emotions, your thoughts, and your actions, even when it’s difficult or counter-cultural.
“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
Ephesians 6:2-3, ESV
Trust God. He is our heavenly Father, and He calls us to love and honor our own parents. Trust His promise to bless us if we forgive and love parents.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
John 15:12, ESV
Trust God. Trusting God looks like loving the Church, even when she mistreats Her own. Love them with Christ’s love.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14, ESV
God showed His faithfulness and goodness by becoming one of us and making us His neighbors, setting the example we are to follow in sacrificial love.
I got to thinking this past week about my mom. She would have been 63 yesterday.
My brother’s 10th anniversary was on Tuesday. They got married in a large room down the hall from mom’s room in the hospital, because we knew, barring some super-amazing miracle, she was going home to Jesus. The hospital staff was amazing, clearing the room and helping with decorating and some of the food. (A celebration of love and life is probably very welcome in that ward!)
10 years later, my brother and his wife have a house, some pets, and two rambunctious and adorable boys (the oldest starting Kindergarten this month.)
I think about that mom got to see me start teaching in Special Education (self-contained autism classroom), but she missed my then going on to get a masters in education and teaching 7th Grade Algebra and later some courses at Grand Canyon University (GCU).
She missed that I not only grew to enjoy coffee but become a barista and business owner.
She missed when I entered paid ministry as a Youth Pastor (and eventually an elder for my congregation) . Add to that the apologetics speaking I routinely do, including a YouTube channel to go with this blog, and eventually achieving a dream of teaching at a college, specifically Christian Worldview at GCU.
There are many things I know she would have loved to see happen in my life that I wish I could share with her.
But I also remember all the conversations had 10 years ago with people who used to “hate God and religion” but had come to faith or at least became more friendly toward Christianity all because of her. That had been her just 14 years before that. (Take it from one who took a lot of her badgering and questions!)
I remember seeing a church filled to standing room only to celebrate her life and share more of those stories.
I like to think there was so much more she could have done in this world, but I’ve talked with hundreds of those lives God used her to change. I think the fact that I have been used to impact hundreds of lives, and I talk about the role she played in that with many of them.
Do I miss my mom?
Absolutely! Is it everyday? Not anymore. Some days are so busy that I barely have time to remember my own needs! (Youth Pastor/Elders, Worldview instructor, and back in seminary.) But most days she is remembered. Even by friends who barely met her or only talked to her on the phone.
Actually, more often than not, I think about the fun we could have in any moment, how she would have responded to a situation, and – most importantly – the fun we’ll have in eternity.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. [14] For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, ESV
Her legacy definitely continues through many who still praise God because of her life and so many other reasons, and, if not for her, I wouldn’t be here. I thank God for her life and the glory of God that is spread because of her life.
Was she perfect? Absolutely not! But she drew near to God for the last 13 years of her life, and that has made her perfect in Christ’s righteousness.
I long for the day we can praise God together face to face.
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 3:3, ESV
Life has problems and trials, but relying on God’s love and faithfulness can help us overcome anything that comes our way.
And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
2 John 1:6, ESV
God gives commands based on His nature and for our benefit, and the ultimate attribute is His love. May we love each other to love Him better and make out world more like heaven.
a simple man of God 