Stay In God’s Love

Are you looking for something to hold on to? Does it seem as though your world is out of control? Do you need an anchor to steady your life? Are you willing to step out in faith? Are you willing to spend time in prayer?

There are times when our lives seem to be in utter chaos. We go through periods of times when it seems as though nothing goes right. There is even an old wives saying that implies bad things happen in three’s, meaning there will be three bad things happen in quick succession.

It is true that there are rhythms to this world. There are rhythms in our lives. There are times when it appears old wives tales are true. Yet, there are also times when these are dispelled out of hand. All the while, we continue to look for answers.

We often don’t find answers to the question, “why?” In part, we don’t look in the right place to find the answer and in part we don’t have the resources to conduct all the research needed to get to the bottom of it. Yet, most of the time, we simply need to read our Bibles to find the answers we are looking for.

The book of Jude, a very short book of only one chapter, provides a lot of answers. It forewarns us concerning ungodly people who continually strive to deceive us. We fail to see them in our midst. If we do happen to recognize them, we want to take matters into our own hands rather than turn them over to God.

When we take just a minute or two to read the book of Jude, we find that even the archangel Michael did not condemn the devil, but he said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Michael left it to God to do the condemning. Yet, he continued to follow God’s commands, trusting in Him.

We, too, can leave it in God’s hands and trust that He is just. We do so by holding on to our faith and spending time in prayer. Our prayers are to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, seeking God’s will in all things rather than our predetermined notions. When we do, God provides the peace we need.

I pray we all spend time in prayer. I pray we seek God’s will in all things. I pray each one of us leave it to God to condemn the ungodly. Pray in God’s will. Trust God. Accept the peace God wants to provide. Hold on to your faith. Be in God’s love.

Jude 20-21 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Peace In Our Hearts

Do you long for peace? Do you wish all the chaos would stop and calm would come into the world? Are you constantly upset, anxious, or even disgusted? Do you wonder if things will ever settle down again?

We regularly face difficulties, whether changing jobs, broken relationships, or deaths in our families. Over the past several months we add to those difficulties the stresses of a pandemic, racial unrest, and election discord and things seem to be out of control.

I’m sure most of us are weary. We’ve grown tired of hearing the same news over and over, even if it is packaged a little different, each day. Our weariness makes the other difficulties we inherently know we will face during our lives even harder to deal with. We long for relief.

We may not be able to stop the chaos permeating our nation on our own, but there is a way for us to withstand it with inner peace. That peace comes through our relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Though it is difficult to build a relationship during times of trouble, it is not impossible, and it is never too late.

As our relationship with God is strengthened, we can share the peace we have with others. As we lean on the peace Jesus gives us, that dwells in our hearts, we are less anxious, and sing praises to Him for His wonderful blessings. God is willing to provide the perfect peace we seek, if we will only ask and believe in His promises.

God desires to give us the peace we seek. Jesus desires to firmly plant His peace in our hearts. Will we seek the peace of Christ or continue to look for peace to come from this world? If we are looking for peace from the world, we will be sadly disappointed.

So, as you go about your day, gives thanks to God for His blessings, do everything in the name of Jesus, and sing songs of praise to Him. You will find the peace you seek in doing so. God will plant it in your heart, and it will permeate your entire body.

I pray we all seek the peace of Christ. I pray we do all things in His name. I pray each one of us welcome the peace of Christ into our hearts, allowing it to rule our lives. Allow Christ’s peace rule your heart. Be thankful. Sing songs of praise. Do everything for God.

Colossians 4:15-17 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

From Poor To Rich

Are you looking to become rich? Do you struggle to get by with what you have? Are you striving to improve your standing in life? Do you desire to have more? Do you know the riches of heaven are available to you?

Our nature is to be leery of any offer to give us something for free. We eye such an offer with skepticism. Our tendency is to believe it is too good to be true. We are right to view such offers here on this earth in such a manner.

However, there is a free offer that we should accept. It is an offer from God and given in the abundance of His mercy—it is His grace. We often view His offer with the same skepticism we view human offers. We suspect there is a catch. We often hear there is a catch.

God made His offer without a catch. We simply need to accept it. Oh, there will be changes in our lives as we gain a better understanding of all that God has done for us. But that is not a catch, rather it is a positive that takes place as we mature in His love.

You see, it is by God’s grace that He sent His Son to be the perfect sacrifice for us. It is by His grace that Jesus left heaven to come to earth. It is by His grace that Jesus became poor in order that we may be rich—that we may inherit heaven.

Jesus is the only one to leave His riches behind for our benefit. Perhaps that is why we are skeptical. It has only happened once in the history of this world. It will not happen again. Of course, there is no need for it to happen again. It is done.

God’s grace not only provides us an inheritance in heaven, but also gives us life in the here and now. His grace gives us the very breath we breathe. It is through God’s grace that we are blessed with all that we have and will achieve.

I pray that we all see the truth of God’s grace. I pray we accept the riches Christ provided us by Him becoming poor. I pray each of us grow in God’s love. Recognize God’s grace. Accept God’s free gift. Grow in love. God’s grace is enough.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Accept God’s Grace

Have you heard the true message? Are you searching for hope in a chaotic world? Does it seem that love has escaped you, once again? Do you know there is a hope that has existed for thousands of years? Do you know that hope was perfected two thousand years ago?

It is our very nature to search—search for love, for a better life, for a hope that never goes away. We often search in all the wrong places. We search in human ways, looking for people or possessions to provide it for us…and we are disappointed.

Our disappointment will entice us to make a variety of choices. Unfortunately, many of those choices are unhealthy. They are unhealthy emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Yet, our desire to squelch the disappointment will push us to make a choice.

There is a better choice. In fact, there is one best choice that we often ignore or overlook or discard out of hand. We may believe it is the right way to go, but we don’t like the idea of having to wait. We want immediate gratification. So, we won’t choose the best choice.

If we will put our hope in the eternal, truly put our hope there, we will find what we are looking for. We will hope in the true hope. We will find love that never ends. We will find a faith that grows stronger as we experience it each day.

The hope we search for is provided through God’s grace. His grace is beyond our understanding. It doesn’t follow our human ways. His grace is far grander than we can imagine. His grace is freely given to those who believe in His Son, Jesus Christ.

As we accept His grace, we gain a hope that is everlasting. Our hope sprouts faith that grows and matures as we continue to experience God’s grace. Since God works in His time and not in ours, we often chase hope through other means, attempting to speed up the process, which results in our missing the wonderful work of God in our lives.

I pray we all choose to accept God’s grace. I pray we put our hope in Him. I pray each one of us will experience Him working in our lives—finding the love, faith, and hope we are all seeking. Accept God’s grace. Put your hope in God. Allow God to grow your faith. Experience God at work. Feel the love God has for you.

Colossians 1:5-6 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.

Be Like Grace

Have you ever wondered if you are making an impact on this world? Do you, perhaps, think you are too young to have an impact? You are not too young, and you can make a large impact on this world. I suggest you make it a positive impact, one like a young lady I am going to tell you about.

First, I will admit I did not know her personally. However, I have seen the positive impact she made on others with my own eyes. Over the past eight days I’ve been an eyewitness. I’ve seen the tears of her schoolmates, teachers, and family. I’ve seen the shocked looked on their faces during those first couple days, unable to comprehend what had happened.

You see, there was an ATV accident that took the life of a vibrant, loving, caring, and infectious 15-year-old girl. Her friends and schoolmates could not fathom that she would not step foot in a classroom with them again. They could not imagine not seeing her smiling face again.

Often our immediate reaction to a tragic accident is shock and denial, followed by bouts of sorrow and depression. Slowly, we overcome these emotions, but it can take months to do so. Though it can be a bit easier when we know where that person went.

As I supported the students and staff immediately following the accident, then attended her memorial service yesterday, and heard stories about her, there is no doubt in my mind she is in heaven. It’s obvious her family, friends, and the pastors from her church believe so, as well.

What makes them believe this? The way she lived her life, her beliefs, and the positive impact she had on many, many people. A movement has started based on her life and it is spreading across our country and now beginning to go around the world. It has already taken hold in multiple states and at least one other country.

It is teens who are showing us the way. They have picked up her message of “be your best self” and made it fly across this country. In a time when we all need some hope, a bit of good news, something positive to grab hold of, let’s look to this movement and take it up ourselves.

The #belikegrace movement encourages each person to take a moment “to smile at everyone you meet, say good morning, and open a door for a stranger. After all, it costs you nothing.” What a wonderful movement to be a part of!

I pray we all take up the #belikegrace challenge. I pray we determine to make a positive impact on others. I pray each one of us will exchange our bickering for smiles, our hatred for opening doors, our selfishness for saying, “Good morning.” #belikegrace.

1 Timothy 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

Guiding Light

Are you looking for a guiding light? Are you looking for you life’s pathway to be lit up like an airport runway? Are you simply asking for the next step to be revealed? Are you willing to see the light, if it is placed in front of you?

We often ask what our next step should be, even if we know what profession we believe is the right one for us. There are numerous options and we wonder which is best for us. We like to think of ourselves as being independent, and yet, we long for direction from someone else.

There are times when it seems as though we are going down a muddy path. It seems as though our feet are being sucked into the mud, making it nearly impossible to take one more step. The path isn’t clear. We can’t see the solid ground off to one side.

We may be missing the path we are meant to travel due to taking advice from the wrong people. We listen to advice given by someone who is selfish or doesn’t know the big picture. Perhaps we are listening to advice from someone who is also getting advice from the wrong source. After all, we are all seeking the path meant for us.

It can be very confusing seeking our path. There are many paths we can take. There are numerous forks in the road. When we make the wrong choice, it makes it harder to navigate our way back to the correct path—the path we are meant to be on.

So, how do we know what path we are meant to be on? We know when we are grounded in God and listening for His voice. Our path is lit by God, if we are willing to trust Him. God is patiently waiting for us to turn to Him, hear Him, and follow the path He has for us.

You may be wondering how you can hear Him. The first step is to spend time in prayer. As we spend time in prayer with God, both laying out our requests and listening, we will hear Him speak to us. He will provide clear guidance through His Holy Spirit. He will shine a light on the path meant for us—perhaps just the next step we are to take.

Isn’t it funny that we will trust someone we don’t know all that well but won’t trust God? We may ask for directions from a complete stranger because they live in the area, yet we won’t ask for directions from God who knows everything and His plan for us. Why not change our behavior today and start asking God?

I pray we all look to God to light our path. I pray we ask God to direct our lives. I pray each of us will spend time in prayer, both requesting and listening to God. Trust God to light your path. Ask God for direction. Listen for His guidance. Follow the path God has laid out for you.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp for my feet,

a light on my path.

Trust Me

Are you looking for something you can hold on to? Do you long for stability? Would you like to be able to count on something or someone forever? There is One you can count on from now into eternity.

We all want stability in our lives. We want to count on things functioning as they should. If we don’t, why do we get upset when the car won’t start in the morning? Why are we disappointed when a friend doesn’t show up on time? We all have the desire for dependability in people and man-made objects.

Unfortunately, we are disappointed more than we care for. Cars break down. Houses need repair. Clothes wear out. Jewelry loses its luster. Anything humans make will eventually fall apart and become useless to us.

People will disappoint us as well. They will be late for appointments, not make it to our sporting events, fail to return our calls or text messages, turn their backs on us, and fall out of love with us. People are broken, too.

Knowing the things we spend our money on will eventually fall apart and people will disappoint us can be depressing. However, there is One we can count on at all times. Oh, we may be disappointed in Him at times as well, since He doesn’t work exactly the way we would like. Yet, He is perfect and His timing is perfect.

God is our firm foundation. He is our Creator. He is everywhere at all times and knows everything. He set nature in motion. He created our human brains to think and understand. He put a spirit inside us that is similar to His Spirit, even if not perfect.

God is faithful to His plan. He is faithful to His children. He existed before creation and will continue to exist long after this earth is gone. He is the One we can count on now and for all time. Let’s put our hope in Him.

I pray we all put our hope in God. I pray we put our trust in God. I pray each one of us will stand on God’s promises and look to Him. Know that God is eternal. Know God as your Creator. Trust God in your situation. Stand on His promises.

Psalm 119:89-90

Your word, Lord, is eternal;

it stands firm in the heavens.

Your faithfulness continues through all generations;

you established the earth, and it endures.

Look Up

Do you ever look up at the stars at night? Are you amazed at how many there are? Do you wonder how so many were created? Do you know there are more stars being born, even today?

There are more stars than we can count. And, yes, there are new stars being born. According to astrophysicists, the Carina Nebula is 7,500 light years away, 300 light years wide, and birthing new stars. The birth of a star can take hundreds of years. Can you imagine?

It is believed the stars being birthed by Carina Nebula will continue for thousands of years. The new stars may not come into existence until our own star—the sun—has burned out and will last long after. This demonstrates God’s handiwork and that He continues to create.

It is amazing when you think about how large the solar system is. Scientists continue to discover new galaxies, new stars, and new exoplanets. Some of them are so far away, it’s completely possible those scientists are seeing history, meaning they are looking back in time to a degree due to the time it takes light to travel that distance and what scientists are seeing occurred hundreds or thousands of years ago.

We often call the stars the heavens. I’m sure this is largely due to our past and the inability to properly describe the stars we see in the night sky. Yet, there is a true heaven in which God lives and reigns over all creation. A place beyond what we see and far grander than the numerous stars and galaxies we currently know of.

We are told to look up, focus on spending eternity with God rather than on this earth. This does not mean that we don’t take care of things in the here and now. It simply means that we are not to allow them to rule our lives to the point that we forget we have a wonderful inheritance waiting for us.

By setting our minds on spending our eternity with God, we have hope and can make it through whatever this life throws at us. Focusing on Him provides a steady focal point. It provides us with a solid anchor on which we can stand in the face of difficulties.

I pray we all trust God’s promises. I pray we focus on the inheritance waiting for us. I pray each of us finds the hope we need. Set your mind on God. Trust in His promises. Know that being raised to Christ means you have a new life. Rise above earthly worries.

Colossians 3:1-2 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Actions Not Words

How do you love? Do others see your love for them? Do people you don’t know see the love you have for your family and friends?

We all show our love in different ways. When we look at some people, it is blatantly obvious they are loving people. Their actions are an example of an outpouring of love. Sometimes we translate their actions as caring for others—love must be the basis for the caring.

When our love is manifested through actions, it is not only an outward sign of our love, our love is also typically followed by words. Words without actions are often fleeting and empty. We’ve heard this for so long that it has gotten twisted by some.

You see, there are people who will think actions mean buying gifts for others. That is not necessarily a love action. It may be an attempt to buy someone’s affection. It may be an attempt to buy someone’s forgiveness. We need to ask ourselves our motives for buying gifts.

Yet, when we do something for another person, not only on occasion, but consistently and repeatedly, we show our love. We’ve heard the saying—a picture is worth a thousand words—our love actions are the same.

Jesus was our perfect example in demonstrating His love for us by laying down His life. We are not asked to give up our life for each other in a physical death sense. We are asked to give up our life for each other by doing for one another, putting others ahead of ourselves.

Having pity or feeling sorry for someone is not a demonstration of love. It may show your empathy for them. It may cause people to think you care. Yet, it is not an outpouring of love. Our love must go deeper than empathy to follow in Christ’s love.

Sometimes we are called to show our love by simply being there. We may need to do nothing more than sit quietly with someone. It seems simple yet is very difficult to do. Unfortunately, we want to say something when words won’t help.

I pray we all put our love into action. I pray we determine to do something for someone else out of love. I pray each one of us will demonstrate our love through actions each day. Love through action. Do for others. Show your love outwardly. Be an example of love. Speak only when necessary.

1 John 3:16-18 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Be Trustworthy

What does trust mean to you? Are you trustworthy? How quickly do you trust people you meet? Does your trust of people grow over time as you get to know them better? Do you think God trusts you with His blessings?

We all trust someone and typically multiple someone’s throughout our lives. We trust people at different levels and with different things. We may trust a few people we work with, trusting they will complete assigned tasks. We may even make friends with some of our co-workers and trust them with more important information.

We typically trust family members with more information than we do others. In fact, a husband and wife must have trust of one another or their marriage likely won’t last. As a married couple, they must trust one another with finances and bill paying. They entrust confidential information with one another, trusting it won’t be repeated.

We often tell our parents confidential information and trust them not to repeat it. As young children, we trust our parents to provide for us; buying our clothing, food, and paying for a place for us to live. In fact, children often blindly trust their parents, unless they are given a reason not to.

I believe we all are trustworthy to some degree or another. After all, even members of a criminal organization must trust one another in order to succeed in their criminal activity. The question for all of us is, how trustworthy are we?

God is looking to trust us as well. He wants to trust us with the riches of heaven. Yet, if we cannot be trusted with the His blessings here and now, how can He trust us with His richest blessing?

We don’t think of our homes, clothing, food, and all our belongings as blessings from God. We look at them as though we earned them. Yet, when we trace our ability to acquire them to the very root, God has blessed us with a skill that allowed us to get a job, which allowed us to purchase those objects. Everything is a blessing from God.

When we look at everything as a blessing from God and we look at them as God trusting us to take care of them, our attitude toward each object we have will change. We are to care for each little thing we are blessed with. God is looking to bless us with far more in heaven.

I pray we all care for our blessings from God. I pray we trust Him to continue to bless us. I pray each one of us will grow into a very trustworthy person. Trust God. Be trustworthy. Care for God’s blessings. See everything as a blessing from God.

Luke 16:1—11 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”