Love Is...

I was reviewing this past Sunday's message on 1 Corinthians 13.. the message on LOVE. In the first few verses in this chapter, Paul says that even if you have the most amazing gifts and do wonderful things with them, if you don't have LOVE then you're just like a sounding brass or a clanging symbol.

This brings it to perspective for me... It makes me think about why I do things for others...or simply why I am who I am. Do I do things to have a good reputation, or to get praise or approval, or to look good and be good, or to feel good, or for who knows what other self-seeking motives? I pray that God would help me to comprehend what LOVE is, and to simply live my life loving Him and loving His people. I pray that I would love like Jesus... because He is LOVE.

In the famous verses (v4-7) the pastor substituted the word "Jesus" for "Love" and it read like this:

"Jesus suffers long and is kind;
Jesus does not envy;
Jesus does not parade Himself, and is not puffed up;
does not behave rudely, does not seek His own,
is not provoked, thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Jesus never fails."

LOVE never fails.
LOVE always wins.

Speak Words of Faith

Go home to thy friends, and tell them what great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

Mark 5:19

In the midst of challenges, I am tempted to ramble about what crazy circumstance I'm going through, but it's verses like this that remind me to speak words of faith and expectancy that God is doing a good and perfect work in my life. And as always, looking through my prayer journal of countless answered prayer requests, He has always followed through. God is sovereign. God is good.

Freedom from our Past

I've been praying for my husband's past (as well as mine). Here is a prayer from a book by Stormie Omartian:

"Lord, I pray that You would enable (husband's name) to let go of his past completely. Deliver him from any hold it has on him. Help him to put off his former conduct and habitual ways of thinking about it and be renewed in his mind (Eph 4:22, 23). Enlarge his understanding to know that You make all things new (Rev 21:5). Show him a fresh, Holy-Spirited-inspired way of relating to negative things that have happened. Give him the mind of Christ so that he can clearly discern Your voice from the voices of the past. When he hears those old voices, enable him to rise up and shut them down with the truth of Your Word. Where he has formerly experienced rejection or pain, I pray he not allow them to color what he sees and hears now. Pour forgiveness into his heart so that bitterness, resentment, revenge, and unforgiveness will have no place there. May he regard the past as only a history lesson and not a guide for his daily life. Wherever his past has become an unpleasant memory, I pray You would redeem it and bring life out of it. Bind up his wounds (Psalm 147:3). Restore his soul (Psalm 23:3). Help him to release the past so that he will not live in it, but learn from it, break out of it, and move into the future you have for him."

Wisdom from Above

"For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
But the wisdom from above is
first pure,
then peaceable,
gentle,
willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality
and without hypocricy."
James 3: 16-18

Friends

I love this prayer chart (on the left) which reminds me to pray for the many people, as well as the many things that are going in my life and in this world . Not that you can't pray for certain things on other days... this just helps me (to at least attempt) to cover all things in prayer.

Today, I am praying for my "friends". Throughout my life, the Lord has blessed me with such wonderful friends.. I am constantly amazed at how He brings people into my life at His perfect timing to help, encourage and lift me up.

Like many, I have friends who I have constant contact and I know how to pray for their specific needs. There are others who I haven't talked to in a while but I am thinking and praying for them as well, that God is pursuing them and showering them with His love wherever they may be.

I also pray that God will help ME to be a better friend. I pray that He would help me to put my selfishness, pride and judgments aside.... and put others before myself, to be compassionate, kind, generous, and full of grace.

Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
John 15:13

Thank you my friends... who have laid down your life for me.. who have sacrificed your time, energy and resources to help me during my times of need.

Power to Persevere

Whenever my days are a blur, from lack of sleep or chaotic schedules, I am grateful that I have a point of reference to gain perspective and clarity. Love God. Put Him first, and be in an attitude of praise and worship. My frazzled thoughts and confusion melt away, and my spirit is renewed.

"Let them shout for joy, and be glad that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant."
Psalm 35:27

Protection

As I specifically prayed for my children today and for their safety and protection, I focused on Psalm 91, which talks about God's sovereignty. He loves us so much. And He is longing to bless us, so long as we put our trust in Him.

There are so many factors that we, as parents, try to control in our children's lives to keep them safe & to bring them up properly, but we aren't perfect. However, God is. And the factor we CAN control is how much time we invest in building our faith in Him. For it is the Lord God who keeps our family safe and brings our children up properly.

Psalm 91:9-16

⁹ Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
¹⁰ No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
¹² In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

Wisdom on Parenting

In James 1:5 -6 say that if we lack wisdom, we need to ask God "who gives to all liberally without reproach". It also says that we need to ask God "in faith, without no doubting" knowing that He will give us what we are lacking.

I am constantly asking God for wisdom in different areas in my life. Especially when it comes to parenting, I know that I need to go to Him for knowledge and wisdom in how to best raise my children. I can be totally dependent on Him to teach and show me how to not only take care of them physically, mentally and emotionally but spiritually as well.

I am thankful that we have a generous God who will not keep away anything good from us. He wants us to grow wise and confident like our savior Jesus!

Patience

A long time ago, a wise friend challenged me to read "a Proverb a day"... since there are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, it's perfect. Verse 3 from today's chapter (Proverbs 13) spoke to me regarding my behavior this weekend...

"He who guards his mouth preserves his life. But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction."

Little did I know, it was "that time of the month" (I haven't had my period since I got pregnant with my baby) and I was very emotional, impatient and short-tempered this weekend. I tried very hard just to keep my mouth shut so I won't say anything hurtful or wrong... because like this verse says, our lips/our words can lead to destruction.

I also just started going through the book of James and I noticed that these verses relate to the Proverbs above:

"Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing." (v2-4)

I believe that part of what God was teaching me this weekend was PATIENCE. Patience with my husband, patience with my kids... and patience with guarding my mouth. I thank God for the trials that He gives me because I know He is maturing me, keeping me humble and dependent on Him. I pray that He will help me to be PATIENT in all circumstances... even during "that time of the month".

Peace

The Lord does not in any degree leave me helpless, nor forsake me, nor let me down.

Hebrews 13:5, AMP