My meditation on 1 John 4.
To love the Lord means you must first hear the voice of God calling your life. You must confess that Jesus Christ has come to earth in the flesh and has died for you and you must then, follow the example of Jesus and deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him. Following Jesus means that you're going to be obedient to His will and not your own. You're going to be conformed to His image and not the popular image of the culture you find yourself in. It means being transformed by believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection. It's in the resurrection that we are transformed. The transformation is that we are now hid in Christ. Our life is hidden in Him but His character in us is not. We begin to decrease to self and increase to righteousness.
To love God means we have the realization that God has built everything, not with His own hands as we build houses and cars; by the word of His mouth. He spoke and the earth appeared out of nothing. Out of a void, dark and desolate place, removed from heaven, the earth was made. In summary, the elements that God made came together by His sheer will. God's word is therefore extremely powerful.
To love God means that we not only understand that everything exists because of Him but also it exists through Him. We live because He allows us to live. We die when He decides. The love of God is spiritually felt. The reality of Christ's death exists and from the act of His death we see the love He has for us. We learn to experience that love everyday through seeking Him in fervent prayer, through reading His word and obeying Him in all the ways we know we ought to. Eventually we begin walking and talking with Him.
Christ's love is not earned and we can never be good enough for it. Yet we love Him because He first loved us. We love Him because nothing can separate us from Him. We love Him because in Him are pleasures forevermore. Ultimately we love Him because He is the only One we can just receive love from. He does not require what mankind requires for love. We can simply feel His love and then reflect it on others. What a joy to feel loved and have to do nothing about it!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Encouragement For The Unmarried Christian
I'm clearly not living the life that I planned to live. As I talk to more women, I learn that a lot of us aren't on the life track we thought we'd be on. It's not that we don't eventually arrive at our desired destination; rather the path taken to get there wasn't anticipated. My goal in writing this post is to offer the unmarried person some godly perspective.
I know how hard it is to be single because I'm single. I've had bushels of boyfriends and first dates and what remains are some pleasant memories of the good times and some cringe worthy moments of the bad. I lost my mother and pleaded with God to send me a physical being to comfort me. He decided to answer "No, for now." I embarked on a five year journey that encompassed reading dating self help books, joining multiple dating websites and researching various personal improvement topics. I delved into my faith with gusto and began to pray earnestly. At first the prayer was for a mate, then for friends, and then I started praying for a mate again; finally it was for "they will be done". Learning to pray "thy will be done" has been life altering. With that statement comes a peace that lingers long after the prayer has been said.
Has the pain gone away when I find out a friend is pregnant or another is engaged? Have I stopped asking myself when it will be my turn? It hasn't stopped. I'm coming to learn that we all have feelings and we can't help how we feel and we really can't control our reaction. Our feelings will control how we react.
It seems hopeless right? I have days when I think it is. Then I remember the things I've learned. The sweet things and memories of a beautiful life come back to me. If I could, I'd ask you to close your eyes and visualize my life.
I grew up safe and protected. My mother infused in me her love and Christ's. I felt loved at the molecular level. My childhood was poignant and innocent. My mother strived to captivate my imagination and carry me off to endless possibilities as we played. I smiled as I wrote that.
My career started off a jumbled mess and I hated every minute of the first 5 years of it! I dispaired of work and wanted, more desperately than before, to find a spouse and have my babies. That didn't happen! What happened is even more incredible. During my paralegal studies I was given a list of legal recruiters. I scanned the list and promptly discarded it. I had, had some bad experiences with recruiters in the past and had vowed never to use them again. I applied for a legal position in the newspaper and discovered it was from a recruiter listed on that list. I almost didn't take the interview but figured if the school recommended the agency than it was worth taking a chance and wasting some time off. Accepting that interview was life changing! It put me face to face with a very talented woman who had an eye for recognizing talent. She immediately promised she'd find me a job and she did! Within weeks I had 3 interviews and successfully was made 2 offers. One of them is where I'm working now. I interviewed for a legal secretary position but was offered something in HR instead. This job has changed my life! It's here that I've learned to grow, accept positive and negative feedback and rely on my own talent to get me through. I'm blessed by God to be where I am.
What I'm trying to say is that the scripture that says all things work together for the good is quite true. They not only work together for the good but what is prepared by God ends up being the perfect match for what we desire and need. That type of genius orchestration can take years of a master chess player (God), moving pieces around before something amazing comes into play. Nevertheless, God has had plans for you and me since before we were born. We must never doubt Providence. It all works out and it works out so brilliantly. Think of the story of Joseph. One of my favorite scriptures is when Joseph says "What was meant for evil, God meant for good." So true! This is the same for your life, dear reader. The Lord is never late. Trust Him to accomplish what you ask and in the interim focus on bearing fruit for Him and finding your place. Life isn't a dress rehearsal. We all only get to live 1 day at a time.
Additional Resources: Single In Christ: A Name Better Than Sons And Daughters, What I've Learned Since I Kissed Dating Goodbye, All Things For Good, Part 2
I know how hard it is to be single because I'm single. I've had bushels of boyfriends and first dates and what remains are some pleasant memories of the good times and some cringe worthy moments of the bad. I lost my mother and pleaded with God to send me a physical being to comfort me. He decided to answer "No, for now." I embarked on a five year journey that encompassed reading dating self help books, joining multiple dating websites and researching various personal improvement topics. I delved into my faith with gusto and began to pray earnestly. At first the prayer was for a mate, then for friends, and then I started praying for a mate again; finally it was for "they will be done". Learning to pray "thy will be done" has been life altering. With that statement comes a peace that lingers long after the prayer has been said.
Has the pain gone away when I find out a friend is pregnant or another is engaged? Have I stopped asking myself when it will be my turn? It hasn't stopped. I'm coming to learn that we all have feelings and we can't help how we feel and we really can't control our reaction. Our feelings will control how we react.
It seems hopeless right? I have days when I think it is. Then I remember the things I've learned. The sweet things and memories of a beautiful life come back to me. If I could, I'd ask you to close your eyes and visualize my life.
I grew up safe and protected. My mother infused in me her love and Christ's. I felt loved at the molecular level. My childhood was poignant and innocent. My mother strived to captivate my imagination and carry me off to endless possibilities as we played. I smiled as I wrote that.
My career started off a jumbled mess and I hated every minute of the first 5 years of it! I dispaired of work and wanted, more desperately than before, to find a spouse and have my babies. That didn't happen! What happened is even more incredible. During my paralegal studies I was given a list of legal recruiters. I scanned the list and promptly discarded it. I had, had some bad experiences with recruiters in the past and had vowed never to use them again. I applied for a legal position in the newspaper and discovered it was from a recruiter listed on that list. I almost didn't take the interview but figured if the school recommended the agency than it was worth taking a chance and wasting some time off. Accepting that interview was life changing! It put me face to face with a very talented woman who had an eye for recognizing talent. She immediately promised she'd find me a job and she did! Within weeks I had 3 interviews and successfully was made 2 offers. One of them is where I'm working now. I interviewed for a legal secretary position but was offered something in HR instead. This job has changed my life! It's here that I've learned to grow, accept positive and negative feedback and rely on my own talent to get me through. I'm blessed by God to be where I am.
What I'm trying to say is that the scripture that says all things work together for the good is quite true. They not only work together for the good but what is prepared by God ends up being the perfect match for what we desire and need. That type of genius orchestration can take years of a master chess player (God), moving pieces around before something amazing comes into play. Nevertheless, God has had plans for you and me since before we were born. We must never doubt Providence. It all works out and it works out so brilliantly. Think of the story of Joseph. One of my favorite scriptures is when Joseph says "What was meant for evil, God meant for good." So true! This is the same for your life, dear reader. The Lord is never late. Trust Him to accomplish what you ask and in the interim focus on bearing fruit for Him and finding your place. Life isn't a dress rehearsal. We all only get to live 1 day at a time.
Additional Resources: Single In Christ: A Name Better Than Sons And Daughters, What I've Learned Since I Kissed Dating Goodbye, All Things For Good, Part 2
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Love One Another
Online dating companies, self help authors, life coaches and counselors all have 1 thing in common; they all promise to help us get one step closer to love. I sat in church today meditating on the loss of a fellow parishioner. This person spent his lifetime struggling with a drug addiction. He loved God, loved his mother and loved those in the church. Each person during the eulogy mentioned the same fact, that the deceased loved God and others.
It was then that it hit me. So many of my posts have been bemoaning loneliness, singleness, lack or loss of family. Truth be told, my feelings are pointing to a condition that is hard to erase. I have a gnawing need and an insatiable appetite for love. This need can suffocate others. Don't we all want love though? Millions of people log in to online dating services everyday, songs are written obsessively about it and most float down the church aisle on their wedding day hoping that statement "I do" will help them feel the ever eternal flame of love. What is love though? Shakespeare asked whether it was a fancy or a feeling. Does it satisfy us? The person who went down the aisle saying I do, later on says, emphatically, I don't! No wonder so many of us have multiple sexual partners, several x-spouses and enough heart break to bury us. We spend a lifetime looking for love in all the wrong places.
Let me return to today's scene at church. I wish I could more adequately describe the feeling I had while there. We were all mourning the loss of this beloved parishioner whose untimely death had shaken our faith. He struggled with drug addiction, never married and felt so alone prior to his death. Where were the positive fruits of his life? Where was God in all of this? The fruit was unrecognizable in his life but completely perceptible in his death. He left us one legacy, his love; that's a great legacy indeed!
The Bible tells us "8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away." Lord, we are such imperfect beings. We're born in sin but we can die free from it. Death doesn't touch the saint because we choose to willingly give Jesus our life while we're living. There are parts we may struggle with until our death but all in all, You have loved us and have been in us. Keep us in Your love. Help us not to work too hard at getting temporary love but rather help us to earnestly seek out the eternal, heavenly kind. It is so different and so satisfying! Ensconced in that love is all that we need - the faith, the strength and the love for each other and for You. Increase our faith. We can never love you by ourselves. We love Him because He first loved us.
What path leads us to the most satisfying love of our lives? The Bible tells us "Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." I think love is multidimensional. We're not meant to absorb love and selfishly use it for our own selves. We're meant to absorb Christ's love and diffuse it. John 13:34-35 tells us that we must love one another. Jesus told his disciples that is how others would recognize the Christian, by their love for one another. To further emphasize the importance of loving on another 1 John 4:7-8 tells us not only to love one another but says "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
Lord, teach me not only to pray and read my Bible daily but also to love others. This is something I know I cannot do by myself. This is a love that must be infused in my heart by divine grace. Start the work in me.
It was then that it hit me. So many of my posts have been bemoaning loneliness, singleness, lack or loss of family. Truth be told, my feelings are pointing to a condition that is hard to erase. I have a gnawing need and an insatiable appetite for love. This need can suffocate others. Don't we all want love though? Millions of people log in to online dating services everyday, songs are written obsessively about it and most float down the church aisle on their wedding day hoping that statement "I do" will help them feel the ever eternal flame of love. What is love though? Shakespeare asked whether it was a fancy or a feeling. Does it satisfy us? The person who went down the aisle saying I do, later on says, emphatically, I don't! No wonder so many of us have multiple sexual partners, several x-spouses and enough heart break to bury us. We spend a lifetime looking for love in all the wrong places.
Let me return to today's scene at church. I wish I could more adequately describe the feeling I had while there. We were all mourning the loss of this beloved parishioner whose untimely death had shaken our faith. He struggled with drug addiction, never married and felt so alone prior to his death. Where were the positive fruits of his life? Where was God in all of this? The fruit was unrecognizable in his life but completely perceptible in his death. He left us one legacy, his love; that's a great legacy indeed!
The Bible tells us "8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away." Lord, we are such imperfect beings. We're born in sin but we can die free from it. Death doesn't touch the saint because we choose to willingly give Jesus our life while we're living. There are parts we may struggle with until our death but all in all, You have loved us and have been in us. Keep us in Your love. Help us not to work too hard at getting temporary love but rather help us to earnestly seek out the eternal, heavenly kind. It is so different and so satisfying! Ensconced in that love is all that we need - the faith, the strength and the love for each other and for You. Increase our faith. We can never love you by ourselves. We love Him because He first loved us.
What path leads us to the most satisfying love of our lives? The Bible tells us "Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." I think love is multidimensional. We're not meant to absorb love and selfishly use it for our own selves. We're meant to absorb Christ's love and diffuse it. John 13:34-35 tells us that we must love one another. Jesus told his disciples that is how others would recognize the Christian, by their love for one another. To further emphasize the importance of loving on another 1 John 4:7-8 tells us not only to love one another but says "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
Lord, teach me not only to pray and read my Bible daily but also to love others. This is something I know I cannot do by myself. This is a love that must be infused in my heart by divine grace. Start the work in me.
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