The Wonder of It All

  By: Joanne Viola

 

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day – the annual day of love. Or the day to acknowledge those you love.

Here’s a fun fact: While It isn’t a public, federal, or even a bank holiday, it is a global holiday.

But the day often bears a sadness for some. It reminds them of loved ones now gone. The day can bring the pain of what might have been. And at times, it delivers the sting of having never been loved.

It is important to remind ourselves of the truth of God’s deep love for us. Hear Him speak to your heart from His Word.

“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. 
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” 
(Jeremiah 31:3, NLT)

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 
nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, 
will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 
(Romans 8:38-39, NASB)

When the days are hard and challenging, may you remember God’s love is unfailing and steadfast.

“Believe God’s love and power more than you believe your own feelings and experiences. Your rock is Christ, and it is not the rock that ebbs and flows but the sea.” (Samuel Rutherford)

When your heart fills with doubt, may you remember your doubts will never be greater than God’s love.

“God’s unfailing love for us is an objective fact affirmed over and over in the Scriptures. It is true whether we believe it or not. Our doubts do not destroy God’s love, nor does our faith create it. It originates in the very nature of God, who is love, and it flows to us through our union with His beloved Son.” (Jerry Bridges)

One of the privileges of having grown up in the church is the number of times the old hymns were heard. These words came back to mind:

“O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.
O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.”



(from The Wonder of It All by George Beverly Shea)

 

Reflection: 

Do you ever struggle as you think about God’s love for you? Which Scriptures or quotes ground you once again in the depth of His love for you?

 

Image by Michaela 💗 from Pixabay

 

How to Pray for Someone You Don't Know

 By: Lauren Thomas 

I know you’ve been there. You’re sitting in a Bible study or prayer service, or you’re on the “prayer chain” text group, and a prayer request is shared. But you don’t know how to pray for that person because you don’t know them!

 

Let me offer you a model to help you pray more specific prayers for someone you don’t know or don’t know how to pray for!

Paul wrote many letters, some of which we have in our Bibles today. One such letter is called Colossians. If you read this book, you’ll notice the love and warmth in Paul’s prayers for the Colossian church. And guess what? Paul had never even met these people! 

 

Paul did not plant this church. It’s thought he never even visited this church. He only knew a guy who taught the Gospel there, Epaphras. Epaphras probably told Paul about some of the members of this congregation and what they faced. But Paul had never been introduced to them, let alone built relationships with them. 

 

Yet, within his letter to them, he prays for them. And in doing so, he gives us a great model for praying for people when we don’t know them personally.

 

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Colossians 1:9-12 ESV

 

Here’s the model:

• Pray that the individual be filled with the knowledge of God’s will (v. 9)
• Pray that the individual be given spiritual wisdom and understanding (v. 9)
• Pray that God would empower the individual to live a life pleasing to the Lord (v. 10)
• Pray that the individual would bear fruit in good works (v. 10)
• Pray that the individual would increase in the knowledge of God (v. 10)
• Pray that the individual be strengthened, and be given endurance, patience and joy (v. 11) 
• Thank God for the individual and for what God wants to do in their life (v. 12)

 

So next time you need to pray for someone you don’t know, open your Bible to Colossians 1 and “take a page” from Paul.

 

Reflection:

What do you normally do when asked to pray for someone you don’t know?

How might you use this model to pray for a neighbor, a stranger, or a member of your church?

 

Love Is...

By: Jenifer Metzger

Valentine's Day is just a few days away. I am still not sure how I feel about this holiday. My husband and I firmly believe that we should show our love to our spouse 365 days a year, not just 1. We should do those little acts of love regularly, not just when the calendar tells us to. Yet on the other hand, it is nice to have that day to do extra things and go all out, and I love to decorate my home for all the little holidays.

Whether you are one of those who goes all out red and hearts and lovey-dovey for the day or one who dismisses the day completely, this is for you.

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does
not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant,
is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable,
and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love
finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in
the truth. It bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love
never ends. But as for prophecies, they will
come to an end; as for tongues, they will
cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

I Corinthians 13:4-8 CSB

The Bible tells us in I John 4 that God is love. So let's do this again a little differently.

Jesus is patient, Jenifer is kind. Jesus does
not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant,
is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable,
and does not keep a record of wrongs. Jesus
finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in
the truth. He bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jesus
never ends. But as for prophecies, they will
come to an end; as for tongues, they will
cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

I Corinthians 13:4-8

Oh that describes Jesus perfectly! Jesus is all of those things. He is love. Well, we are supposed to be Christ-like. Correct? So let's try this yet again.

Jenifer is patient, Jenifer is kind. Jenifer does
not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant,
is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable,
and does not keep a record of wrongs. Jenifer
finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in
the truth. She bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Jenifer
never ends. But as for prophecies, they will
come to an end; as for tongues, they will
cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

Um...ouch. If I were honest with you, I would say that is not true. I am not always patient and kind. I am, at times, easily angered. And yes, I have been known to keep record of my husband's wrong doings. I do fail.

The Bible tells us what love is and it tells us that Jesus is love. It also tells us that we are to be like Jesus. Now, take out the word love and add your name. Does it match up perfectly? I would imagine it doesn't.

Friends, we need to commit to our spouse, and even to our families and friends, to strive to be like God and to be love. I want to encourage you, this Valentine's Day and all the days that follow, let's be love. Memorize I Corinthians 13:4-8 and practice putting your name in there and striving to make it true.

I want to be like Christ. I want to be love.

Discussion:
1. Does replacing the word love with your name make you say "ouch"?
2. How can you strive to make it a little less painful today?

Pause & Listen

 By: Joanne Viola

 

We hear it said so often, “Life is a journey.” These words turned my thoughts to God’s people, who indeed were on a journey to the land God had promised to them.

Having come far in their journey, they lodged by the Jordan River and waited for instruction on how to proceed.

They needed to pause, and take a temporary stop, before moving forward. Hear Joshua’s words:

“Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, 
“Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” 
Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, 
and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you 
the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite.” 
(Joshua 3:9-10, NASB) 

In pausing, making a temporary stop in their journey, they would discover two critical things necessary to their lives, and for our lives as well:

Life unfolds at a quick pace, making demand upon demand upon us. News events are released to us immediately, even before all the facts have been obtained. Our phones ding with notifications and text messages so that our brains hardly have time to process.

Joshua’s words are just as needed for us today as they were for the people at the edge of the Jordan River.

• Pause.
• Come and settle your heart and mind for a bit in a quiet place.
• Hear the Word of God.

In taking these three steps something occurs in our souls: “By this you shall know that the living God is among you.” 

As we set time aside to pause and linger with God, absorbing His Word into our hearts, we find the strength and courage to continue on our journey.

A pause brings assurance we are not alone.
It reminds us God is with us in our circumstances.
As we pause, we will come to know Him even more. 

 

 

Reflection: 
Are you feeling your days are busier, more stressful, and like you can’t stop? What can you do to take a pause, a temporary stop, so that you can be renewed and encouraged for the day?

 

Image by Toàn Lê from Pixabay

 

 

 

 

The Measure of Love

 By: Lauren Thomas 

Every day has a plan, a checklist, an agenda. My plan, my checklist, my agenda. When my plans are disrupted, I get derailed. 

 

I was recently convicted by a quote I came across by Elisabeth Elliot: “The measure of our love is the measure of our willingness to be inconvenienced.” 

I hate to be inconvenienced. I hate for interruptions to redirect my day. 

 

But this isn’t the way of love.

When I think of how love handles interruptions and inconveniences, I always think about Jesus in Mark 5 (Matthew 9 and Luke 8 as well). Jesus was teaching beside the sea, when a man fell at his feet, imploring Jesus to come heal his daughter. Instead of saying, “not right now – I’m busy teaching!” Jesus got up and went with the man. As if this inconvenience wasn’t enough, on Jesus’s way to heal the girl, a woman touched his garment. Jesus noted the interruption, but not in anger. In grace and lovingkindness, he validated the healing she had received in her body. Then Jesus continued on his way to heal the girl – who had died before he even got there! Putting my “flesh” in Jesus’ position, I would be thinking, if that woman hadn’t interrupted me, I would have been here on time to heal this girl before she died – saved myself the inconvenience of resurrecting her! But that’s not Jesus. 

 

He is love. He is love that is willing to be inconvenienced and interrupted. This is the measure of love.

 

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV

 

Inconveniences, interruptions, they are opportunities for love to be offered. This love isn’t easy. It goes against human nature. It is self-sacrificing. But for that reason, it is God-glorifying.

 

My response to inconveniences shows that the measure of my love is often low. If you have felt convicted in reading this post, me too. I’m guilty. I’m convicted. Join me in repenting and asking God to fill us to overflowing with love that would pour out on those around us – love without measure!

 

Reflection:

How do you normally respond to interruptions and inconveniences? How do you want to respond instead?What could you do to remind yourself of the opportunity for self-sacrificial love found in inconveniences?