Tag: courage
“Learning to Love Loved” by Max Lucado (UpWords Ministry)
by Donny on Feb.07, 2010, under Uncategorized, devotionals, devotions, prayers
(from MaxLucado.com)
God’s love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his. The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:
“The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you.” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8 NLT)
God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.
He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.
He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what.
This is his sentiment: “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.” (Romans 9:25 MSG).
This is his promise. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT).
Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each. Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate. How they treat us will affect how we love them. The receiver regulates our love.
Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us. The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous. As Charles Wesley said, “He hath loved us. He hath loved us. Because he would love.” 1
Does he love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us” (I John 4:10 NIV).
Do you know what else that means? You have a deep aquifer of love from which to draw. When you find it hard to love, then you need a drink! Drink deeply! Drink daily!
Don’t forget, love is a fruit. Step into the orchard of God’s work, and what is the first fruit you see? “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22 NIV).
Love is a fruit. A fruit of whom? Of your hard work? Of your deep faith? Of your rigorous resolve? No. Love is a fruit of the Spirit of God. “The Spirit produces the fruit” (Galatians 5:22 NCV).
And, this is so important, you are a branch on the vine of God. “I am the vine, and you are the branches” (John 15:5 NCV). Need a refresher course on how vines function? What is the role of the branch in the bearing of fruit? Branches don’t exert a lot of energy. You never hear of gardeners treating branches for exhaustion. Branches don’t attend clinics on stress management. Nor do they groan and grunt. “I’ve got to get this grape out. I’ve got to get this grape out. I’m going to bear this grape if it kills me!”
No, the branch does none of that. The branch has one job-to receive nourishment from the vine. And you have one job-to receive nourishment from Jesus. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing” (John 15:5 MSG).
Our Lord gets no argument from us on that last line, does he? We have learned the hard way apart from him we can’t produce a thing. Don’t you think it’s time we learn what happens if we stay attached?
His job is to bear fruit. Our job is to stay put. The more tightly we are attached to Jesus, the more purely his love can pass through us. And oh, what a love it is! Patient. Kind. Does not envy. Does not boast. Is not proud.
Let’s rewrite 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 one more time. Not with your name or Jesus’ name but with both. Read it aloud with your name in the blank, and see what you think.
Christ in _____ is patient, Christ in _____ is kind. Christ in _____ does not envy, Christ in _____ does not boast, Christ in _____ is not proud. Christ in _____ is not rude, Christ in _____ is not self-seeking, Christ in _____ is not easily angered, Christ in _____ keeps no record of wrongs. Christ in _____ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ in _____ always protects, always perseveres. Christ in _____never fails.
Will we ever love like that? Will we ever love perfectly? No. This side of heaven only God will. But we will love better than we have. By being loved, we will love.
My Wish For You:
- Where there is pain, I wish you peace and mercy.
- Where there is self-doubting, I wish you a renewed confidence in your ability to work through it.
- Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I wish you understanding, patience, and renewed strength.
- Where there is fear, I wish you love and courage.
1 J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Ill,: InterVarsity Press, 1973) 112.
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Excerpted from A Love Worth Giving W Publishing, 2002
Available for purchase at MaxLucado.com
“God can change what seems unchangeable!”
by Donny on Feb.05, 2010, under Uncategorized, devotionals, devotions, prayers
Matthew 9:18-30 (NCV)
18 While Jesus was saying these things, a leader of the synagogue came to Him. He bowed down before Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died. But if You come and lay your hand on her, she will live again.”19 So Jesus and his followers stood up and went with the leader.
20 Then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of His coat.21 She was thinking, “If I can just touch His clothes, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw the woman and said, “Be encouraged, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” And the woman was healed from that moment on.
23 Jesus continued along with the leader and went into his house. There He saw the funeral musicians and many people crying. 24 Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead, only asleep.” But the people laughed at Him. 25 After the crowd had been thrown out of the house, Jesus went into the girl’s room and took hold of her hand, and she stood up.26 The news about this spread all around the area.
27 When Jesus was leaving there, two blind men followed Him. They cried out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 After Jesus went inside, the blind men went with Him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?” They answered, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Because you believe I can make you see again, it will happen.” 30 Then the men were able to see.
God changed a situation that had been a problem for years. Like the leper (Matthew 8:1-3) and the demon-possessed man (Matthew 8:28-32), this bleeding woman was considered unclean. For 12 years, she too had been one of the “untouchables” and had not been able to live a normal life. But Jesus changed that and restored her. Sometimes we are tempted to give up on people or situations which have not changed for many years. God can change what seems unchangeable, giving new life and hope.
The local synagogue rabbi didn’t come to Jesus until his daughter was dead — it was too late for anyone else to help. But Jesus simply went to the girl and raised her! In our lives, Christ can make a difference when it seems too late for anyone else to help. He can bring healing to broken marriages, release from addicting habits, and forgiveness and change to scarred lives. If your situation looks hopeless, remember that Christ can do the impossible!
Jesus didn’t respond immediately to the blind men’s pleas. He waited to see how earnest they were. Not everyone who says he wants help really wants it badly enough to do something about it. Jesus may have waited and questioned these men to make their desire and faith stronger. If, in your prayers, it seems as if God is too slow in giving His answer, maybe He is testing you as He did the blind men. Do you believe God can help you? Do you really want His help?
The blind men were persistent. They went right into the house where Jesus was staying. They knew Jesus could heal them and they would let nothing stop them — that’s faith! If you believe Jesus is the answer to your every need, don’t let anything or anyone stop you from reaching Him!
(from the Life Application Bible – Living Bible edition)
“When God Says Do or Don’t” by Charles Swindoll (Insight for Living)
by Donny on Jan.31, 2010, under Uncategorized, devotionals, devotions, prayers
(by Charles Swindoll from Insight for Living)
Deuteronomy 5:33 (NCV)
Live the way the Lord your God has commanded you so that you may live and have what is good and have a long life in the land you will take.
Now you say, “Well, what if we find a list of do’s and don’ts in Scripture?” That is a very different issue! Any specified list in Scripture is to be obeyed without hesitation or question. That’s an inspired list for all of us to follow, not someone’s personal list. Let me encourage you to guide your life by any and all Scripture with all of your heart, regardless of how anyone else may respond. But when questionable things aren’t specified in Scripture, it then becomes a matter of one’s personal preference or convictions.
God has given His children a wonderful freedom in Christ, which means not only freedom from sin and shame but also a freedom in lifestyle, so that we can become models of His grace. Being free, enjoying your liberty, and allowing others the same enjoyment is hard to do if you’re insecure. It is especially hard to do if you were raised by legalistic parents and led by legalistic pastors with an oversensitive conscience toward pleasing everyone. Those kinds of parents and pastors can be ultra-controlling, manipulative, and judgmental. Frequently, they use the Bible as a hammer to pound folks into submission rather than as a guide to lead others into grace. Sometimes it takes years for people who have been under a legalistic cloud to finally have the courage to walk freely in the grace of God. Unfortunately, some who finally grasp this freedom go so far in it they abuse the grace of God by flaunting their liberty.
That can be just as tragic as those who don’t go far enough. To return to one of my favorite words, we need the balance.
The Grace Awakening Devotional, Charles R. Swindoll, © 2003, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
“Don’t let suffering turn you away from God!” – Revelation 2
by Donny on Jan.10, 2010, under devotionals, devotions, prayers, videos
Revelation 2:9-11 (NCV)
9 I know your troubles and that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the bad things some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue that belongs to Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.
Everyone would like to feel good and live comfortably, but pain is part of life — and it is not easy to suffer, no matter what the cause. Jesus commended the church at Smyrna for their faith in the midst of suffering. He then encouraged them that they need not fear the future if they remained faithful.
If you are experiencing difficult times, don’t let them turn you away from God. Instead, let them draw you toward greater faithfulness. Trust Him and remember your heavenly reward (Revelation 22:12-14). God is especially near to those who suffer for Him.”Ten days” means that although suffering may be intense, it will be relatively short. It has a definite beginning and end, and God remains in complete control.
The message to the church at Smyrna is to remain faithful throughout their suffering because God is in control and His promises are reliable. Jesus never says that by being faithful to Him we will avoid troubles, suffering, and persecution. Rather, we must be faithful to Him in our sufferings. Only then will our faith prove itself genuine. We remain faithful by keeping our eyes on Christ and on what He promises for us now and in the future (Philippians 3:13-14; 2 Timothy 4:8).
(from the Life Application Bible)
