I woke up this morning to a song Andrew Ripp sings called "For The Love of God" and felt very grateful for His love. “If it wasn’t for my failures and mistakes, I would never know the depths of this grace,” Ripp sings. “Now my heart is beating for heaven’s sake and for the love of God.” None of us would be where we are today if not for God's love. His love covers all our sins and pulls us back into relationship with Him when we walk away. When we feel far away from His love, it is not Him who moved away but us. Life's circumstances can distract us and take our focus off of Him. The enemy walking through doors we leave open takes our focus off of Him. The thing we must always remember is that He loves us no matter what we do or say. He knows the challenges before us and desires to see us draw closer to Him. He desires for us to dig into scripture and be on our knees more praying when challenges come our way. He loves us unconditionally because He is perfect. His love for us is not about what we do but about who He is. I love the words of Jeremiah 31:3 which show restoration. God's unconditional love has been poured out on people since the beginning of time. In Jeremiah He assures His people of His unconditional love by accepting them back into relationship with Him. Matthew Henry writes: Those whom God loves with this love, he will draw to himself, by the influences of his Spirit upon their souls. Praise God for never turning away from us when we turn away from Him! We are loved by Him to fulfill the purpose He has on our life. There will be times we disappoint God with the decisions we make but we will never lose His love. As I reflect on my life I see the time I turned my back on God and am thankful He never gave up on me. I know there are times I miss opportunities He puts before me and yet He still loves me. If He did not love me with an unconditional love, I would not be where I am today. I shudder to think where I would be without Him. My heart breaks for many who refuse to allow Him into their life. It breaks to see people making decisions that do not align with God. As a pastor I need to remember it is not up to me to save people. It is up to me to be the vessel God desires of me to share His love with all. I'm grateful my friend Teri took this picture of Doug and I at Hunting Island Saturday. It represents so much more than a couple walking on the beach. We are walking into our new life together but as we had in our wedding ceremony it is not just the two of us. We have from the beginning of our relationship included God in all decisions made. We did many things 'unconventional' to the world but God was the center of all. I love the symbolism of the three cords Doug braided in our wedding ceremony. The three cords represent: God who is the Authority in our marriage; Doug who is the leader in our marriage; and myself who submits to both God and my husband. Praise His Holy Name!
Dear Jesus, Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead today! Thank You for my visit with Clay and JoAnn who always are such an encouragment to me! Thank You for Marion doing so well after her hip replacement! Thank You for all Doug accomplished with Roger and for being there for my Momma! Thank You for Tom and Cheryl taking dinner over to my Momma! I pray for answers today with her care. Cleanse me so You can fill me. May You flow out of my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts. I pray Your peace over many going through difficult days to realize Your love in a greater way. My Momma, my sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; my brother Richard; Ben and Colleen; Pete and Delores; Steve; Marion; Cait; Rhonda; Mike; Norma Hall; Sharon Sebolt and her parents; some young ladies with anxiety; a young man out of rehab; Mary Lilley; a husband/father separated from his wife; Brooklyn; Kristen Batten; April; families in turmoil; Gay and Doug; Sherry; Mr John; and many others. I also pray healing prayers over many dealing with ‘c’ and/or going through treatments…Audrey; Katelyn; Chrissy’s cousin; Shirley Jones; Cait’s friend with leukemia; my pastor friend with daily chemo; Little Ivy; Little Judson; Little Roselynn; a young girl in our community; a lady whose breast cancer has returned; a lady diagnosed with stage two breast cancer; a lady diagnosed with throat cancer; Sue Danhoff’s husband Harv; Michele with breast cancer; Mr Mullett; and Damon. I pray for: the Long family; Becky; Russ; Sharon Foor and her family; a couple contemplating divorce and another couple having serious issues; and Kaytlin’s husband. Thank You for continued healing for Pastor Tommy and Pam! Thank You for being My Authority! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment