Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. — 1 John 3:18
But our words are meaningless if we don't match them with our actions.
God calls us to love with our actions and in truth.
Without love, we are clanging gongs.
All noice and no action.
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. — 2 Timothy 1:7
Now His Spirit remains in us.
And it does not make us timid.
Rather, it nudges us when we start to veer away from truth.
It gives us power and love.
And the Spirit gives us self-discipline.
God has our back.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. — Jeremiah 29:13
But only when we seek Him will all our heart.
Letting nothing stand in the way of our relationship with Him.
He loved us enough to die for us.
In return, we give our hearts to Him.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ — Matthew 22:37-38
This is the first commandment.
The second is similar to this one.
Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.
This is hard to do.
I'm naturally very self-centered.
But trusting God's commands is about allowing Him to transform me from the inside out.
As I fall more in love with Him.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. — Jeremiah 29:11-12
And His plans are better than mine.
They include giving hope and a future.
When I call on Him and come and pray to Him, He listens to me.
And He knows my requests before I even voice them.
Even though I often put myself first instead of God, God puts me first every day.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. — 1 John 4:18
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| Celebrating My Final Chemo 2020 |
What an upheaval.
A rollercoaster ride of emotions.
And some fear.
But God's love provides an undercurrent of calm even in the midst of turmoil.
My prayer is that she will feel that reassurance covering her during all of the tests and uncertainty.
That God will give her and her medical team wisdom to know and prescribe the best treatments for her.
And that the cancer will be wiped completely from her as a result.
Through it all that God would be glorified and that her faith would grow stronger.
God's perfect love casts out fear.
Even our fears of the unknown.
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. — 1 John 4:11-12
But through Jesus, God lives in us.
And His love is made complete in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God so loved us that He sent His Son, Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice for us.
Since God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.
But that's easier said than done.
It's only through God's love that I'm able to love others.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Romans 8:38-39
And I'm convinced of the same.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, we're attached to God's love at the hip.
And nothing can separate us.
Today, Abby, Kirk and I went to brunch in La Mesa.
We had a fun time catching up, eating outdoors, and thanking God for good food and family.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. — 1 John 4:10
And those who abide in God, abide in love.
He loved us.
And he sent His only Son as a living sacrific for our sins.
An atoning scrifice.
For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. — 1 John 3:11
We have written it in our hearts.
And bind it around our foreheads.
And post it on our doorposts.
So that at all times we can be reminded to love others.
Just as God has commanded us from the beginning.
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. — Matthew 5:42-45
He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
And He commands us to love our enemies.
And to pray fort those who persecute us.
So that we may be children of our Father in heaven.
He causes the sun to rise on us all.
Here we are with some friends, enjoying a time of fellowship.
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. — 2 Thessalonians 1:3
Her birthday would have been yesterday.
The same day my neice Maggie turned 30.
She helped my faith grow more and more each year.
Answering all my questions about God, why bad things happen in our world, how we should live, and more.
Even as she suffered from small-cell lung cancer, her faith remained strong.
As she was dying, she prayed over each of my siblings and me.
Then she prayed over our children.
A wonderful example of God's love.
Helping our faith grow more and more.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. — 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Even if I speak like an angel.
Without love, I am just a clanging symbol.
Even if I can prophesy.
Without love, I am nothing.
Even if I have enough faith to move a mountain.
Or if I give all I possess to the poor.
But have not love, I am nothing.
If I give over my body to hardship.
But have not love, I've gained nothing.
Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. — Psalm 97:10
God guards the lives of His faithful ones.
He delivers us form the hand of the wicked.
Even though we don't deserve it.
He loves us in spite of ourselves.
Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. — Proverbs 21:21
My coworker came to me this morning because he was being written up with a bad performance review and a performance improvement plan.
He's celebrating his 8th year with our company but has lost all confidence in his skills.
So we prayed for God's will to be done in his life and career.
That windows and doors would open for him as he seeks God's direction.
At the end of the day another employee came to me distraught because she had been told she wasn't meeting expectations.
She has only been with us 6 months, but hasn't had the guidance she could have used to gain confidence in her new role.
And it makes me sad to see a place where people once thrived turn into a place of discouragement and despair.
Help me, Lord, to pursue righteousness in you.
To support my coworkers through these tough times.
To love others.
To find my life, prosperity, and honor in you.
For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. — Psalm 33:4-5
She has been an active prayer warrior for our family over the years.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, she had her church create this beautiful quilt for me.Our neighbors were surprised at church that Sunday when they discovered the quilt they were praying over was for me!
That was five years ago, and today I'm either in remission or cured.
Praise God for strong friends such as Edna who covered me in prayer and showered Kirk and me with love.
We are blessed.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. — Deuteronomy
We love the Lord with all our hearts.
And with all our souls.
And with all our strentgh.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. — Psalm 59:16
He is my stronghold.
My fortress.
My refuge in times of anxiety.
My hope in times of trouble.
My strength.
And my song.
As it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him. — 1 Corinthians 2:1
Even things we cannot know, such as "will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow" are known by God.
He has prepared things for us that we cannot comprehend.
Things we have not seen.
Things we have not heard.
Things our minds haven't even conceived.
These are the things God has prepared for me and you.
All because of His love for us.
Amazing grace!
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. — Ephesians 4:2
And the Chinese New Year of the dragon.
The dragon is regarded as representing bravery, strength, and luck.
When Abby was born, my Chinese friends gave me a red envelope with lucky money to celebrate her birth.
The year she was born was the year of the fire rat.
We are thankful to God for the blessing of our duaghter.
Abigail means "Father's joy!"
