Tag Archives: God’s love

Christ our Source, Our Higher Purpose, Waiting on Jesus

Stepping Back

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Stepping back can seem like quitting but think of it as waiting for another. I’m not usually good at it. When we’re taking a walk or shopping, my bride tells me she loves my butt, but would prefer not be looking at it when we should be together. This slows me down and I take her hand. The point is being with her, not finishing the walk or checking shopping off my list.

Like walking with my wife is about savoring our moments together, life’s highest purpose is about being with God. Problems and duties give us various opportunities to walk with Him in different manners, but they’re secondary to walking with the Lord. When I forge ahead on my own I’m missing out on being with the Source of Joy.  I’m also detached from the Source of Life who guides and empowers.

Why I Step Ahead

I’m realizing that I step ahead because I don’t trust God is in control of a particular situation. It’s a terrible idea to try fixing life on my own terms, but I do it. God is at work in all situations to conform me into the image if Christ.[1] Though I may not like His methods, stepping ahead doesn’t save time. It prolongs the process.

I also step ahead because I’m compelled to accomplish. Seems my self-worth is tied to how successful I feel. This is exhausting, especially when I take on things God never intended. The result is futility. Apart from God’s life working in me, what I do is worth nothing.[2]

In the Waiting

Waiting is best. If we trust Him, God promises to guide us. God’s at work. In His timing He’ll show us when and how to join Him along the way. If we’ll wait, He’ll show us. In the waiting we learn to trust in His control, in His love, in His strength. Stepping back is making way for Another. Stepping back is waiting for Him to initiate and allowing His power from the vine to produce true fruit in our lives.

In the waiting we’re with God, digging deeper into the His love, basking in the joy of His presence, depending on His glorious power.

Being with God really is what it’s all about. I don’t want to miss out on the most important thing by stepping ahead without Him.

 Lord, I’m sorry for moving ahead of You. I see now how utterly futile it is. Please keep me from rushing ahead. Please build my trust. You’re in complete control of every situation and You will show me my part. I open my heart to understand Your great love for me. I look forward to the great adventures which await in my communion with You. Amen

 [1] Romans 8:28-29

[2] John 15:5

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

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 Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Refresh, Replenish

Turning Drainers into Gainers

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My bride and I have begun to identify and communicate aspects of our lives which replenish as well as those which deplete us. Inspired by a friend, we call them “gainers” (gives energy) and “drainers” (takes away energy). This practice has helped us to be more intentional about seeking to fill our souls, as well as brace for, and avoid if possible, those things which drain us.

We’re noticing an overall improvement in our mood, especially as we work together. We’ve found activities, like walking outside and extended quiet times which are mutual gainers. We’ve also discovered that what might be a drainer for one (wrapping presents for me, doing the dishes for her) could be a gainer for the other. Identifying these things, and taking on the drainers of the other, is allowing us to communicate more deeply and support each other in ways we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. Recently, we took on a mutual drainer (Walmart, in the cold rain, right before Christmas). 

Acknowledging the shared experience, and jokingly coaching each other through, almost turned that drainer into a gainer. 

I’m also bringing my feelings of depletion to the Lord. Rather than ignoring and stuffing how I feel, I’m asking Him to bring truth to the areas which tend to drain my courage and cause dis-courage-ment.

Lately, I’ve become aware of an increasing amount of anger and hatred in the world. It seems see a lot of people are in pain and hurting people hurt others. Relational pain can be accentuated during the holidays and be very draining.

Another drainer can be our current circumstances compared to how we thought our lives would turn out.

Following are a couple of truths to bring courage to our hearts when we feel depleted.

We’re Completely Loved by Christ

On the night before He gave up His life to reconcile us into intimate fellowship with the Father’s love, Jesus said, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in my love.” (John 15:9)

Paul tells us we’re complete, filled to the brim in Christ.[1] God’s love for us fills every crevice of our longing hearts.

When people treat us in hurtful ways, deserved or not, it can be a real heartache. We can deny the pain or try and numb it, but these copings never work. We need to tend to our hearts.

 

Ponder the love of God which surpasses knowledge. Accept by faith that God delights to be with you. Allow the Joy of His nearness to soothe and comfort your heart; the Oil of Gladness to replenish what was lost.

Our Life is Hidden in Christ

As believers in Jesus Christ, Paul tells us we died and our life is now hidden in Christ.[2] One implication of our spiritual death is that more and more we’re surrendering what we want to what Christ wants for us. He wants us to be conformed into His image[3] and that God be glorified in every word and deed of our lives.[4]

When circumstances are rough, we can feel depleted. But God has an eternal story for each of us. He’s working, especially in the hard times, to help us realize He’s all we need. This knowledge can turn circumstantial drainers into eternal gainers.

 Prayer: Lord, thank for Your unconditional, eternal love for us. Please destroy all lies which hide this amazing fact from us. Allow us to walk around in the completeness of Your love, no matter how we feel. Thank You that you have an eternal story going on for each of us, plans which can’t be thwarted. You desire for us to delight in You above all things. Thank You for not allowing us to settle for earthly happiness. In Your presence is fullness of joy.[5]

 [1] Colossians 2:9-10

[2] Colossians 3:3

[3] Romans 8:28-29

[4] I Peter 4:11

[5] Psalm 16:11b

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures. Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post once a week. Thank you for reading. 

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Completely Loved, Free to Love

Longing Hearts

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“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted , And saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18 NASB)

Holidays can be hard when we’re missing folks we love. Longings brought on by death, distance and estrangement are extenuated during times of togetherness and celebration. These situations affect most families. Common survival techniques include pretending, numbing and busyness. They don’t work.

As the holidays approach, I’ve been asking God for His comfort when people I love are absent. I’m asking for clarity and a deeper understanding of His love. I know He’s with me through all of life’s struggles, especially when my heart aches.

In the comfort of His nearness I’m learning:

God’s Love Fills Every Fiber of My Longing Heart

David wrote:

“My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”[1]

“One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to meditate in His temple.”[2]

“You have put gladness in my heart , More than when their grain and new wine abound.”[3]

As much as I miss folks who are absent, there’s a growing awareness of God’s nearness and His preeminent love. His love fills my longing heart to overflowing.

Henri Nouwen calls God’s love our first love and all other loves second. He says we get crushed when we begin to demand from lesser loves what only God can give.[4] “God has created you and me with a heart that only God’s love can satisfy. And every other love will be partial, will be real but limited, will be painful.”[5]

Human absence Deepens Dependence on God’s Love

Nouwen also said that if we’re willing to not let the pain of lesser loves make us bitter, it will prune us and give us a deeper sense of our being beloved by God. When this happens, we can be free as Jesus.[6]

As much as the absence of those we love can hurt,  it can drive us deeper into the unfailing love of God in Christ. This growing awareness of God’s unconditional, never ending love fortifies our longing hearts and infuses us with the Joy of God’s nearness.

Resting in God’s Love Frees us to Love

Jesus said, “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; Now remain in My love.” (John 15:9 NIV)

As I’m learning to walk in God’s love for me, soaking in the completeness of His embrace, He’s bringing freedom. Unchained from incapacitating grief, I can love the people who are near, as He’s loved me.

Lord, You’ve heard the pain of my longing heart. You’re teaching me of Your great love. Human love was never meant to satisfy. You complete me, freeing me to love with no expectations.  If I can’t be with the ones I love, allow me to love the ones I’m with.  

[1] Psalm 63:1

[2] Psalm 27:4

[3] Psalm 4:7

[4] Documentary – Journey of the Heart: Henri Nouwen

[5] The Hour of Power June 1992

[6] Documentary – Journey of the Heart: Henri Nouwen

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures. Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post once a week. Thank you for reading. 

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Eternal Joy, God's Nearness

With-ness – Communion with God

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The Lord your God is in your midst,  a mighty one who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness;   He will quiet you by His love;
He will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17 ESV)

As I prepare to write on our deck, our little shih apso rescue dog yelps from our porch to join me. On Good Friday, she was found roaming the streets. We picked her up for adoption the next day and named her Lily[1]. Lily longs to be with us every second of the day. Without us, she pines with compassionate longing.

Scripture confirms that God’s desire to be with us is even more intense than Lily’s. Us communing with God is a major theme in the Bible. He created us so that we could enjoy fellowship with Him and, by doing so, bring Him glory.[2] It brings Him great pleasure to share Himself with us. So much so that He was willing to send forth His only Son to die on a Roman cross to restore our fellowship, broken by our sin.[3]

Emmanuel, God with Us, came to earth in the form of a baby, to take our sins upon His back and die in our place. To those who believe in His name and receive Him, God gives the right to become His children.[4] He wants to be with us every second of every day.

Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23b ESV)

Not only is God all around, but He also indwells us. This inward dwelling of the Holy Spirit allows for the most intimate communion possible. The Lord is near, ready to be the strength of our lives and an ever-present source of eternal joy, surpassing even when grain and new wine abound.[5]

But sadly, we can go through an entire day detached from our life source, looking at the world to bring joy to our hearts and relying on our own feeble strength. How do we believe and appreciate God’s desire to be with us and walk in awareness of His nearness? Below are some suggestions:

  • Settle daily into the fact that God loves you with an everlasting love,[6] a love which can’t be changed by what you think, how you feel or any past, present or future choice. Walk around in His love. When lies of condemnation and shame bombard you, let them be reminders to remain in His love.
  • Understand that, in spite of your problems and difficulties, God is working for your good according to His purposes. Rather than a smooth life, He wants you to be conformed into the image of His Son Jesus.[7]
  • Be aware that your inner need for satisfaction and joy was placed in your heart when He created you.[8] In His presence is fullness of Joy.[9] As worldly trappings draw your heart, promising to fulfill you and complete you, remember the source of all joy is closer than breathe. Acknowledge His nearness and turn your heart back to Him whenever you realize you’ve wandered away.

Lord, thank you for Lily. Continue to use her to remind me that you actually delight to be with me, that I give you joy. Wow. Communing with you is sweeter than honey and more valuable than gold.[10] One day with you is better than a thousand days elsewhere.[11] When I get caught up in my day and long for comfort and painless living, please remind me that in Your presence us unconditional joy, especially when times are hard. Thank you so much for loving me this intensely and wanting to be with me.  Amen.

[1] For Easter Lily

[2] Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 1

[3] John 3:16

[4] John 1:12

[5] Psalm 4:7

[6] Jeremiah 31:3

[7] Romans 8:28-29

[8] Ecclesiastes 3:11

[9] Psalm 16:11b

[10] Psalm 119:72,103

[11] Psalm 84:10

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures. Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post once a week. Thank you for reading. 

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Unrelenting

Until the Darkness Fades

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Lord, Take this Cup

Jesus, in your humanity, You prayed that the cup of suffering might be taken away. You asked for the support of trusted brothers. You earnestly prayed until blood dropped from Your pores. You longed for Your Father’s purposes to be accomplished in a different way. But You always submitted to God’s will in spite of how it affected you.

“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done (Luke 22:42 NASB).”

Lord, there are situations in our lives which are very hard. Please teach us how to keep earnestly praying for Your love and healing touch to break through. Yet, like You demonstrated in the Garden of Gethsemane, teach us to trust Father God in spite of what’s going on around us.

Giants in the Land

Lord, there are giants in the land. And unlike Goliath, these giants don’t seem to be going away any time soon. People we love are sick. Relationships are broken. Loved ones don’t know Your love and are destined to an eternity without You. Folks are lonely, addicted, jobless and homeless. When we see these troubles we can easily become discouraged.

Yet, you tell us to expect troubles and to remain courageous.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33 NIV).”

Knowing this, and realizing Your greater purposes, we keep asking for Your light to shine in the darkness, around us and in us.

Until the Darkness Fades 

My daughter is a talented musician and song writer. In the lyrics of a song she recently wrote  – “until the darkness fades.”

It occurs to me that when darkness fades, light has begun. I think of the twinge of grey in a predawn sky, which brightens with the rising sun. The smallest ray of God’s loving, healing light can illuminate the darkness in a human heart and grow ever brighter.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day (Proverbs 4:18 NASB).

When I think about the continual transformation of my own heart, which began over 40 years, I recognize God’s persistent work of enlightenment. There were times when the growing light was stalled because of my own unwillingness to surrender. But God is relentless in His desire for my freedom. He wants me free from needing smooth circumstances, success, the love of others and worldly security. He won’t give up until His light fills every crevice of my hearts. I’m complete in Christ and He wants me to fully know it.

Praying for Light  

But even as our hearts are being transformed, giants are still around. Do I allow them to steal my courage and zap my joy?  Or, do they become the impetuous to follow Jesus’ example of earnest prayer. If these giants are keeping me praying, then they must serve some purpose.

As Graham Cooke stated in his podcast Brilliant Perspectives,  “God has allowed in His wisdom, what He could have prevented in His power.”

But still. I don’t want these giants around. Like the orcs were over run by the light of Gandolf’s staff, I pray for their destruction. I pray for God’s light to reveal, to heal to penetrate the darkness with blinding power.

Praying Circles  

I’m learning not to hang my welfare on my own happiness. I’m learning to draw my contentment from what Christ has already done, my hope from His return and my joy from His presence. However, I still have a part to play in the here and now, especially in respect to these giants.

I was recently introduced to the concept of praying circles from a book entitled The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. What I like about circular praying is the visual of continual prayer and of targeting ; kind of like a bull’s eye.

Behind our barn, next to the chicken coop, is an old white cabinet with a door. It was in my grandfather’s garage when I was growing up. Today, I wrote down eighteen giants and drew circles around each one. I’ll see them every day and plan on praying for God’s light until the darkness fades in each one. When and if a giant is destroyed, I’ll paint over it. As long as giants remain, I’ll keep praying.

Challenge  

Write down the giants in your land – those troubles you may have lost hope will ever leave.

Ask yourself a really hard question. If that giant doesn’t leave, will I be okay? You may need to do some heart work and offer up an idol. (Anything besides God you must have to be okay) This is really hard work.

Next. Circle it up. Determine to earnestly pray for God’s light to penetrate the darkness.

Finally. In reflection, think about a giant which has left your land. Do you wish it had never come?

Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Loved by God

Loving Others is More than Just a Nice Command

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A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35

All of Scripture can be summed up in Jesus’ new command to love others as He’s loved us. But He’s Lord. We’re not. How can this quality of love be our norm, especially in the midst of life’s ups and downs? When life gets tough, loving others isn’t always our top priority. Yet, as we’ll see, loving others as He’s loved us is the key to our own fulfillment and Joy.

We Love Because He First Loved Us

We love because He first loved us. I John 4:19

Us loving  others has to start with God’s love for us. He is the source of all love. Human love is impure and self serving. We’re to be branches, yielding the fruit of love from Jesus, our vine.

But when the fact of God’s amazing love is hidden from us, we operate on our own, seeking love from others as we love.

What Quality of Love

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! I John 3:1

We’ll never fully grasp the enormity of God’s love for us, but the more we hear the truth and seek His understanding, the more our heart begins to grasp it’s enormity.

Jesus tells us He loves us as much as the Father loves Him (John 15:9)

Paul says God’s love for us and His supernatural power at work within us, is beyond  comprehension. (Ephesians 3:19)

God’s love is completely unselfish. Jesus demonstrated it when he washed the feet of men who would deny and betray Him, Peter and Judas. Then hours later, he died for us all,  His enemies.

Use your imagination a moment to consider this quality of God’s love for you. By faith, recon it true. Against all which would say otherwise, rest in His love. Shame has been destroyed. Striving has ceased. You’re in Christ and He’s in you. Rest.

From His Love, We love

Have you ever tried to love in your own strength? I have. It didn’t turn out well. Human love expects something in return. When we love without knowing God’s love, our love is self serving. But even if we experienced the greatest human love, we’d be left us incomplete and wanting. Only the  love of God completes us.

Christ did the work and in His love we’re to remain. Ours is not to strive, but to abide.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  John 15:9-12

Jesus tells us how much he loves and commands us to remain  in His endless, relentless love. And the way we stay in His love is by loving others.

From His Love Springs Complete Joy

The great cadence of receiving God’s love and giving it away keeps us in the love of Christ and gives us great joy.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11

Loving as Jesus has loved us, keeps us from needing anything from the world. We’re freed from circumstances,  success, the opinion of others and worldly peace. Loving others as Jesus loves us, completes our hearts and fills us to the brim and overflowing with God’s joy. Nothing remains for us to do but rejoice.

Why Knowing God’s love and Giving it Away is Harder than it Seems

Stay in God’s love. Love others sacrificially as we yield to His Indwelling Spirit. Rest in the complete joy of His presence and love.

It sounds easy, but we all know it’s not. That’s because our enemy knows he’s completely ineffective when we’re resting in Father God’s love. Keeping us from knowing God’s love is his primary goal.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, II Corinthians 10:3-5 

Our enemy specializes in raising speculations and lofty things to block us from the knowledge of God’s love. He deceives us into doubting God’s love and settling for the world’s “love” to try and satisfy our deep longings.

But remember this. When we call upon Him, God will fight for us and free us from the enemy’s lies.

Know therefore today that the Lord your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire.  Deuteronomy 9:3a

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for your incredible love for me. I thank you that you go before me, destroying all that would hide your love from me. I’m learning to rest in your love and it’s the sweetest place on earth. Please keep me from moving from your love. Help me to wait upon you as you go before me, destroying all speculations and lofty things which would hide your love from me.

Thank you

Home Remains – latest novel by the author

Freedom from Idolatry

The Idol of Opinions 

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“You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have you ever been worried about what people think of you? Done something simply because you wanted somebody else to think well of you? How about doing something you know you shouldn’t have just to please another person?

Desiring others to think well of us is not a bad thing, but when we look to them to gauge our value, we’ve crossed the line.

Peter stopped eating with the gentiles when James and certain influential Jews were around. Afraid of what they would think, he acted like a racist. Paul sternly rebuked him.  (See Galatians 2:11-14)

Personally, I can relate with Peter. I’ve struggled with being concerned about what people think about me. Rather than loving selflessly, as Jesus commanded, I sometimes look for something in return from others. It’s like I “need” their approval.  This stems from a misplaced understanding of where my value comes from. I’m loved by the Creator of the universe with a love which surpasses knowledge. God’s love gives me my complete value.

But sometimes I lose sight of God’s love for me. Caught up in the swirl of life, I look to other relationships to give me what only He can. This is sin.  Using other’s to validate me is giving too much worth to their opinion. In essence I’m worshiping their opinion as an idol, making me an idolater.

Idolatry

The word Idol literally means “an image for worship.” A stark reality is that when I do anything to enhance another person’s opinion of me, I’m bowing down in worship to that person in my heart.

In quite spicy language, Paul puts our trying to please others this way:  “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” ‭Galatians: ‬ ‭1:10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Paul’s words add gravity to this sin of idolatry. But, praise be to God, Jesus Christ died to set us free from all sin. God wants us free.  There’s tremendous power in the cross of Christ to bring death to every sin.

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13 ESV

Though I’ve known about my struggles with pleasing others for a long time, dealing with it as sin and bringing it to the cross of Christ for mortification has brought tremendous freedom and lightness to my heart. I’m becoming more and more secure in Father God’s love for me. This frees me to love other’s as Christ has loved me, without expecting or needing anything back in return.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you so much for revealing this sin to me. When my flesh wants to walk in the old ways of gaining value from the opinion of others, please show me quickly that I might bring this idolatry to the cross and walk in your Spirit. “Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

I know you want to show me more and more so that I can walk in the full freedom You’ve designed for me.  You are impressing upon me that my completeness is in Christ Jesus alone. I love the lightness of heart that the confession of sin brings. Please continue Your work in me. I love You and thank You for loving me so much.

 

Rick Velilla is the second biker on the right. He is now with the Lord.

The Cadence of Life (Receiving God’s love and Giving it Away)

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As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:9-12

A few years ago a friend of mine shared a secret he had learned during miles of cycling. “Don’t worry about the miles per hour,” Rick said. “It’s the cadence that matters. If you keep the cadence above 70 or 80, no matter how steep the hills, your miles per hour will take care of itself.”

What Rick told me turned out to be true. I had my bicycle computer set to always show me the Miles Per Hour. I  would strain, sometimes in very hard gears, to maintain my speed even on monster hills. But eventually my legs would wear out.

However, when I changed the computer to show my cadence, I paid attention only to how many times I pedaled in a minute. If it was at least 70 times, shifting gears as needed to accommodate changes in the gradient, my miles per hour worked out better at the end of the ride. It’s the key to endurance cycling.

As I think about how watching my cadence led to cycling success, I wonder if there’s a  cadence I can  focus on that will assist me in life. I want to be able to turn the computer of my life to a cadence which can be maintained during the ups and downs of life the way Rick’s suggestion kept me steady even during steep inclines in the road.

I think of  Matthew 22:37-40, where Jesus gives us a focus for our lives, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Love. The Beatles had it right. All we need is Love. 

Love is to be the focus of our lives. Jesus says it summarizes the entire Bible,  forming  a  filter for our every word and deed.

But how?

As I ask the question, I get my answer.

I John 4:19: “We love because He first loved us.” 

God’s love is the only true love. I can grind out a human love by straining at the pedals of life, but my love will wear out.

My cadence is to be His love flowing through me, as Rivers of Living Water flowing from my innermost being. (John 7:38)  Receiving His love and giving it away. In spite of life’s difficulties, I’m to love God first and then my neighbor, but with His love, not mine.

And Jesus tells me how to do this in John 15:9-12.

  1. Know how much Jesus loves me. Verse 9 says He loves me as much as God loves Him.  The essence of this truth is beyond my understanding, yet Jesus tells me it’s true.
  2. Remain in His great love. Verse 10 commands me to stay, tarry, abide in God’s great love for me, not moving from where God has placed me in the love of Christ.
  3. Love as I have loved you.  Verses 10 and 12  tell me how to remain in His love. I’m to be caught up in the cadence of loving others as He has loved me, allowing His love to flow through me to others.
  4. My joy is completed.  Jesus says when I know his love, remain in it and love others as He has loved me, I will have His joy, fulfilling all my inner longings.

Receiving His love and giving it away.

Lord, thank you for showing me the great focus of my life, knowing your great love, remaining in it and loving others with it. I need you to maintain this as my focus. I so easily shift into a mode of worrying about all that has to be done.

Yet, I know now that by receiving your love and giving away it away, all you need me to accomplish will get done. I believe this, yet I forget it so easily. Please help me live out this cadence of love moment by moment and day by day. Amen.