The Greatest Gift of All

Every year I promise myself it will be different. I’ll slow down and really focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Yet for some odd reason December always marks a season of increased frenzy. Who do I need to buy for? What kind of gifts would they like? Who is coming during the holidays? What meals will I prepare? What about cookies? The list goes on and on. Now please don’t misunderstand me. I love preparing for Christmas and I thoroughly enjoy having guests and family over. Unfortunately what often happens in such busyness is that the actual reason we are celebrating Christmas to begin with goes by unnoticed. While I’m so preoccupied in preparing for Christmas, baby Jesus does not get the attention he deserves. Sure the manger is set up next to the Christmas tree, but how often do I stop to look at it and ponder the miraculous event that occurred over 2,000 years ago? How often do I talk to my children about that beautiful baby lying in the manger? They are older now and know the Christmas story. Yet I still feel there is something else I should be focusing on. Something else I should be doing instead. And year after year I vow to change that. I promise to really slow down, forget about all the decorating, the baking, and the entertaining. I vow to tell my children let’s just pass on the gifts this year. Or better yet, let’s donate the money we’d normally spend on gifts to a charitable organization.

However, when Christmas arrives and my children open their gifts, and our family is sitting around the table together laughing and enjoying one another, I feel so happy and fulfilled. As I see the joy on everyone’s faces, all the time spent buying, decorating, cooking and baking has been worth it. I just know Jesus is sharing that joy with us. I can see Him smiling from heaven above as He sees us filled with happiness and laughter. He remembers we’re human; He knows all of our inadequacies; yet, He also knows we’re trying. We do know the true meaning of Christmas—it is all about Him. He’s the one who should be getting all the gifts, not us. But He’s okay with that too. He’s so incredibly generous. So much so that He gave us the greatest gift of all—Himself. And if we can just make a little room for Him in our hearts and invite Him in, I just know He’d be thrilled. After all, we’re the reason He came. We’re His gifts and He is filled with love for us. So much so that He left heaven to come to earth as a baby, live as a man, and suffer and die as a criminal. He did all of this to save us from eternal separation from Himself. He’s the greatest gift of all, and He is the reason we celebrate Christmas.

So let me ask you a question. If you haven’t opened that beautiful gift yet, the gift of Jesus, will you consider doing so? Or if you’ve opened His gift and received Him into your heart, but just haven’t taken the time to learn about Him and grow spiritually through bible study and prayer, can you commit to giving Him the gift of your time? You know what? You won’t ever need to open another gift, because He is all you’ll ever need. All other gifts will pale in comparison. No other gift will satisfy your deepest needs, longings, and desires. Other gifts are temporal and will fade away with time, but His gift is life-changing and eternal. You’ll notice that His gift will give you more love, more patience, more understanding, more hope, more faith, more strength, and more power than you have ever had before. His gift is the gift that keeps on giving. Yes, Jesus truly is the Greatest Gift of All!

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

"If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10

What kind of soil are you?

Now what kind of question is that? Oblige me for a moment while I explain.

I’ve always been intrigued by Jesus’ Parable of the Sower found in Matthew 13. It’s the parable of the farmer who goes out to sow his seed among the soil. This story is satiated with meaning and I find it quite interesting that each one of us is likened to a different type of soil. The seed is simply God’s Word and is scattered by the farmer among the soil. "As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path…some fell on rocky places…other seed fell among thorns…and still other seed fell on good soil. Matthew 13:4-7. How we receive and apply the seed tells us what kind of soil we are made of. Excuse me for saying so, but every one of us is a “kind of soil”. Either you are the soil on the path, the soil by the rocky places, the soil among the thorns, or the fertile soil. Another analogy is that you are one of four different types of spiritual hearers. You either have a closed mind, a cloudy mind, a cluttered mind, or a committed mind.

Let me quickly summarize what they imply:
Soil #1 is the soil along the path. This represents the person with a “closed mind.” “Some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.” Matt 13:4. This person hears the Word of God, yet doesn’t fully commit to understanding it, nor does he care to for that matter. This is the passive listener who may have heard hundreds of sermons, yet listens with a closed mind. He has no intention of changing his ways or applying the message he has heard. Over time his heart has hardened and become calloused because he has heard the message so often without responding. He listens to a point; however, when obedience or commitment is required, he slams the door shut on his mind. He’s done.

Soil #2 is the soil that falls on rocky places. He is the one who hears the Word and instantly receives it with joy, but since he has no root, his joy lasts for only a little while. As soon as trouble comes, he quickly falls away. This soil represents the person with a “cloudy mind.” “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” Matt. 13:5-6. This person enthusiastically trusts Jesus as his Lord and Savior and he prefers to learn about God through thrilling Christian experiences. Yet, he doesn’t take the time to become grounded in the Word of God by studying Scripture. Therefore, he has no deep, doctrinal foundation. When the storms come and turbulent waves toss him to and fro, he falls apart. Since his roots are shallow, he quickly begins to doubt. This “cloudy mind” enjoys the security of knowing he’s missing hell and going to heaven, but he has no intention of growing in his faith through the diligent reading and studying God’s Word.

Soil #3 is the soil that is mixed in with the thorns. This is the person with a “cluttered mind”. “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.” Matt 13:7. He hears and receives the Word and may even diligently study the Bible, but his mind is constantly churning with questions of various sorts. Did I turn off the stove? I wonder what is wrong with Betty. When will I get a raise at work? This mind is spinning aimlessly about. Thorn bushes of worry set in and suffocate the cluttered mind. Worldly cares bombard him until there is no room for God anymore. Though God continually beckons us, how can a mind so cluttered with worries and the cares of this world even hear God speak? Consistency in God’s Word is rare, since there is always something to do, somewhere to go, something to worry about. When he does make the time, it is usually half-hearted and hurried. Therefore, he misses out on the blessings of fellowship with God and he becomes unfruitful.

Soil #4 is the fertile soil and it represents the person with a “committed mind.” “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” Matt 13:8. This is the person who is ready for God’s Word to penetrate deeply. He is likened to fertile soil which has been cultivated and is ready to germinate and bring forth fruit. Likewise, the “committed mind” brings forth abundant fruit because he has a teachable spirit and thoroughly savors sitting in God’s presence to learn and grow. A child’s mind is an example of such a teachable spirit. Children believe with open and impressionable hearts. Jesus tells us that we are to come to Him as little children. The greatest truths are available to all who come in humility and love.

Now, before you feel like a total failure, let me state that each and every one of us has at some time or another been just like soil #1, #2, and #3. But can you make a commitment to becoming like the fertile soil? Can you give God your best and come to him with an open heart and mind ready to listen and apply what He teaches you? Just as Jesus committed to rescuing us on that dreadful cross so many years ago, why not commit to giving Him all of our hearts, minds, and souls? It truly is spiritually impossible to apply God’s Word day after day, week after week, and not bear fruit. He promises to change us from the inside out and turn us into His productive and maturing children. With His help, we will be ready, willing, and able to carry out the plans and purposes He has specifically for each of us. So, let me ask you again.

What kind of soil are you?

May I have your attention, please?

I have a question for you. How does God go about getting our attention? Even though God is capable of doing anything He wants in any fashion whatsoever, I have found that He chooses to communicate and get our attention in some very interesting ways. I’ll be quite honest, sometimes I just wish Jesus would come down personally and make Himself tangibly visible to me. He would let me pour out my heart to Him, and then He’d gently cup my face in His hands, wipe away my tears, and speak to me in a gentle and audible voice. He’d give me step by step instructions on how to handle whatever is plaguing me, and then He’d whisper in my ear how confident He is in my ability to handle whatever comes my way.

The longer I have been a Christian the more I have come to experience that God does, in fact, communicate with us; however, often in rather unusual ways. At times He gets our attention through blessings; at other times, through sorrow. There is no limit to how God can speak to a person. In fact, how He chooses to speak to me may be quite different than how He chooses to speak to you. And how He chooses to get my attention and speak to me today may differ significantly from how He chooses to do so five years from now. The bottom line is we cannot limit or put God in a box. He is significantly far greater, far more powerful, far more holy, and far more sovereign than you and I can ever comprehend. Who are we to say that God can’t or God won’t act on our behalf? The Bible is replete with examples of God moving and acting in powerful ways. Take the story of Abraham and Sarah, for example. God promised that He would make a great nation from Abraham. Did you know that Abraham was 75 years old before God spoke and said to him, “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.” Gen 12:1-2. Yet, it was another 25 years before this promise came to fruition and at the ripe ages of 95 and 90 Abraham and Sarah had their promised child, Isaac. To us this sounds so unimaginable, but with God nothing is impossible.

In the Bible we read stories of God getting people’s attention in various and peculiar ways: by giving children at ripe old ages, by talking through burning bushes, by revealing Himself through dreams and visions, and even by speaking through a donkey! We must simply agree that God can get our attention any way He wants!

As a Christian, it is our duty to live keenly responsive to God’s voice. Unfortunately, at times when life is going well, we don’t seem to be as interested in hearing what God has to say. Then something will happen and our lives will be shaken up as we question what God is up to. God is trying to communicate with us and sometimes it takes a little “shake up” for us to listen. Charles Stanley, one of my favorite Christian authors, believes that God gets our attention by giving us a restless spirit, through a word from others, through blessing us in most unusual ways, by unanswered prayer, and by unusual circumstances.

Persistent restlessness can be an indication that God is trying to get your attention. This is not the time to run hastily full steam ahead and make quick, hasty decisions. Rather, it is the time to slow down, seek Him intently, and listen for His voice. Other times God chooses to speak His words to us through other Christians. Of course, we should take all matters to Him and not just act on the advice of a loving friend, but it is important to listen with an open heart for God often chooses to convey His message to us through others. Sometimes God uses unusual blessings to get our attention. Now I like that way! These blessings are not limited to financial ones. He sure gets our attention this way and we recognize that His motive is always out of His incredible love for us. And then there is unanswered prayer. When heaven remains silent, we must take this opportunity to do a thorough self-examination. Look at yourself, your actions, attitudes, and motives under a microscope. Is there unconfessed sin in your life hindering God’s response? Maybe the request is simply not in line with God’s will and your own agenda has to be surrendered. Often God uses disappointments to bring us back to Him to heed His voice.

Lastly, there are the unusual circumstances that seem to come from out of nowhere. These can involve many things such as failure, sickness, financial collapse, and even tragedy. And these more than anything else, get our attention and usually rather swiftly. They are comprised of the major disappointments and deep sorrows in our lives that cause everything to stand still while we cry out, “Where are you God? Do you hear me? Are you with me?” It is in these desperate times that we are captive audiences of God. It is important to remember that God doesn’t necessarily bring calamity upon His people out of disapproval, but at times He does allow them to suffer. Use your disappointments and your pain to turn your attention to God, the true source of all strength, power, and healing. If we call upon and seek Him, He will be found and He will give us the strength to overcome any struggles that come our way. My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in your weakness. 2 Cor 12:8

Let us become wise and learn to live our lives for the presence of God in all circumstances of life. May we begin to see His almighty hand in every situation—in the good, and yes, even the not so good.

A Grateful Heart

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving, and we all know that it is a special time devoted to giving thanks to God for the many blessings we have received. As families are seated around the table preparing to feast on delicious food, many engage in a familiar tradition wherein everyone takes a turn to share what he or she is most thankful for. No doubt, most often on the list is food, family, good health, and friends. And rightfully so--we should be thankful for these wonderful gifts. But have you ever heard someone say, "I'm thankful that I lost my job last month," or "I'm thankful that our country is going through an economic crisis?" Or how about, "I'm thankful that my stock portfolio is down by thousands of dollars?" I can almost bet that nothing like that is ever voiced around the Thanksgiving table!

So much of what we do not consider good or something to be grateful for is simply a matter of perspective. If things aren't going the way we'd like, we become discontent. Before long the grumbling sets in and next thing you know we begin to forget the many blessings we do have. We soon become downright ungrateful for the disappointments that life inevitably brings us. If we can just take off our foggy glasses and try to look at the situation from God's perspective we may just realize that things are not as bad as they seem. Our outlook on life is everything. If we look for the thorns, we will find them. Yet if we choose to focus on the beautiful blossoms, we may not even notice the thorns. I'm not saying we should hide our faces in the sand and become oblivious to the realities around us. What I am saying is that we need to shift our focus off of ourselves and change our perspective. We are incapable of predicting the future, and we are often unable to see the "value" in disappointments, trials and suffering. Yet God tells us in Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Jesus tells us that in this world we will have troubles, but we are to take heart for He has overcome the world. So why not take Him at his Word? He will overcome, and we who are in Him will overcome. Why do we allow the world to get to us? We have the power in Him to overcome our challenges, our difficulties, our trials. Can it be that we simply do not trust Him? I believe our view of life and the contentment we experience as a result is directly related to our trust in Him. Jesus himself, the perfect Son of God, lived a very difficult life. He was insulted, persecuted, and ultimately crucified for all mankind. Yet despite all of that rejection and sorrow, he remained loving, gracious, kind, and forgiving. He knows what is waiting for us on the other side. Only when we take the focus off of ourselves and onto Him will we be able to persevere no matter what comes our way.

So when life squeezes you in, why not pour out lemonade instead of a sour response? When difficulties come your way, why not trust in the God who can change your circumstances? When family or friends let you down, why not turn to the only one who will never forsake you? The bottom line is that you have a Choice. You can be a pessimist or an optimist. You can look at your glass as "half empty" or "half full". If you choose to focus on and look for the bad, you will always find it. Or you can choose to accept the fact that while life on earth may be difficult at times, you are given an opportunity to grow in character and draw closer to the only One who has all the answers and has the power to mold your character in a way that truly transforms you. The real blessings will come. All of a sudden you'll notice that the stresses and nuances in life don't have such a hold on you anymore. In fact, they no longer have power over you. Things that used to bother you so significantly will seem so trivial and unimportant. You will be able to "go with the flow" a little easier and not fret over minor inconveniences. Your perspective will change and you'll soon realize that you've traded in your foggy glasses for 20/20 vision--God's vision. You'll know more than ever before that you are only a stranger here just passing through and that your real citizenship is in heaven. Life on earth is just an "elementary playground" where you are given an opportunity to perfect love, to grant forgiveness, to extend grace, and to bestow blessings on others. If you strive to live your life this way with His help, then one day when your brief time here is over, God will welcome you into His kingdom with the words I know we all long to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

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

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Phil 3:20

Got a Complaint - Take it to God!

I have a question for you. Do you ever find yourself complaining about things? The food you just ordered doesn't taste good; your kids don't clean up their rooms like you would like; your husband totally overlooks the clean house you spent all day slaving over. The list could go on and on. You get what I mean. So do you complain in an effort to feel better? Does complaining, in fact, even make a difference? Does it produce significant and lasting results or does it only give you a temporary quick relief of built-up frustrations that you will only regret later?

When we are discontented in our hearts our mouths often give us away. It all starts in the mind, and when allowed to fester will quickly sink into our hearts. Eventually what is in our hearts comes out of our mouths. All to often it is unkind and unloving. That is why it is so crucial to immediately take captive negative thoughts and give them to Jesus. If we continue to mull over these negative thoughts, more often than not, they will produce sinful actions.

Yet isn't it unrealistic to think that we as sinful people will never complain? I mean even Job was an amazing complainer. He had every reason to complain, didn't he? His entire family and household was destroyed. "I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me." Job 10:1-2 So there must be legitimate and justifiable reasons to complain, right? I believe it is part of our fallen human nature to complain when things don't go as well as we like. We can't put up a front and hide our feelings from God. He knows what we are going through and he certainly understands all of our trials, frustrations, and disappointments. Yet instead of lashing out at those we love or ostricizing others, I think He would rather we "tattle" to Him. Tell Him about so and so who has tremendously grieved your heart; cry out to Him about your rebellious teenager and ask for wisdom on how to handle the situation; vent your frustrations to Him about your husband who seems to take you for granted. He is a big God...He can handle it. There is a huge difference in taking our disappintments to Him versus sharing them with others. Granted it sure does feel good when we sit down with a girlfriend who seems to understand and even agree with us, but the question remains, "Does it really make any difference?" Do any long lasting results coming from venting in this way? She is just as powerless to do anything about the situation as you are except sympathize with you. If it is sympathy you want, then go ahead, but if it is results you are after, then I believe there is a better way.

I was reading about Hannah in the book of 1 Samuel. She was one of Elkanah's two wives and and she could not have any children. The other wife, Peninnah, had several children and she provoked and irritated Hannah continuously for years because Hannah was barren. Yet she did not retaliate. She had every reason to feel discouraged and bitter--she was unable to bear children, she was ridiculed by Peninnah, her husband couldn't solve her problem, and even the high priest misinterpreted her actions. So grieved in spirit was Hannah that she could not eat and continuously wept. Her husband loved her immensely and saw how troubled she was. Yet he could do nothing to help her. She wept in "bitterness of soul" and prayed to her God. Eli the priest saw her mumbling and accused her of being drunk. She assured him she was not drunk but deeply troubled and was pouring out her heart to God. So Eli told her to go in peace and may the God of Israel grant her what she had asked for. After she prayed, she went away and ate and her face was no longer downcast. "The Lord remembered her. So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "Because I asked the Lord for him." 1 Samuel 1:20.

What I love about this verse is that what man is powerless to do, God isn't! He is the one who heard Hannah's complaints, and He is the one who did something about it. Although Hannah may have had every reason to complain about Peninnah's provacations, she didn't complain about her mistreatment. Instead, she came boldly before the throne of Grace and asked the Creator of the Universe to intervene and bless her with a child. So much faith did Hannah have that she was even going to dedicate her baby boy to the Lord for His service. Now that is faith! I wish I could say that I would have handled the situation in a similar fashion. But I cannot. I would have probably wasted my efforts complaining about the injustice of the treatment I was receiving and wondering why God was punishing me. (In those days childless women were considered a disgrace and failure and a social embarrassment for the husband).

Hannah, on the other hand, honestly prayed to God and resolved to leave the problem with Him. What a lesson that is for us. No one will dispute that we live in an ever-changing, fast-paced world, where circumstances continually change, friends come and go, and loved ones let us down. It is also inevitable that disappointments will come our way and may leave us feeling unhappy, discontent, or even aggravated. The challenge is what will we do with these feelings? Will we brood over them and allow them to infect us from the inside out, or will we run to the throne of Grace as fast as we can and pour out our hearts to God? He truly loves us more than we can ever imagine and He has the power to change things. He may very well enlighten us and invite our participation, or he may take care of the situation all on His own. He can do that you know. The One who holds the universe in His hands cares about each one of us. Not only does He have the answer to all of our problems, He has the solution as well.

"Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed." 1 Sam 2:3

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Heb 4:16

"Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you can become pure and blameless children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe." Phil 2:14

Totally Abandoned to God

I love reading devotionals and one of my absolute favorites is Oswald Chambers', My Utmost for His Highest. In one of my daily devotions the question was asked, “Have I ever been carried away to do something for God not because it was my duty, nor because there was anything in it all beyond the fact that I love him? Have I ever realized that I can bring to God things which are of value to Him, or am I mooning around the magnitude of his redemption while there are any number of things which I might be doing? Not Divine, colossal things, but ordinary, simple human things which will give evidence to God that I am abandoned to Him?" Oswald Chambers went on to say that "there are times when it seems as if God watches to see if we will give Him the abandoned tokens of how genuinely we do love him. Abandonment to God is of more value than personal holiness. Personal holiness focuses the eye on our own whiteness; we are greatly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, fearful lest we offend him. Perfect love casts out all that when once we are abandoned to God. Furthermore, we have to get rid of the notion, Am I of any use? And make up our minds that we are not. It is never a question of being of use, but of being of value to God himself. When we are abandoned to God, He works through us all the time."

Wow! Does that hit home for me! More often than not the focus seems to remain on me--not Him. I can quickly become perplexed with myself because I am not being holy in my attitude toward others, but what I realize once again is that I need to take the focus off of myself and onto Christ. The question remains, "Am I truly abandoned to God?" Can I love and serve others out of the sheer love I have for Christ? I need to stop focusing on “doing” and simply start “loving” God with my whole heart. The ironic thing is if I make it my focus to love Him and abandon myself to Him and Him alone, He will work through me in my relationships and in all the ordinary, simple things in life. In the way I treat and talk to others, and in the things I do. I don’t need to constantly be doing something out of duty or obligation. I can't make God love me anymore than He already does. All I need to do is to abandon myself unto Him. Love him wholeheartedly. I believe therein lies the evidence. What follows will be a natural by-product of the love I have for God.

What exactly does abandonment look like? The thesaurus uses words like forsake, renounce, relinquish, give up, disown, turn your back on. I believe it means to forsake or renounce or relinquish any and all things that get in the way of loving, seeking after, and making God our first priority. Matthew 22:37 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your sould and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. We need to give up selfishness, self-indulgences, and anything that elevates us in place of God. There is no room for a prideful attitude, critical thoughts, or justifying sinful actions. We must turn our backs on and give up any rights that we feel we deserve. We must love God and let Him be the judge. We do not need to vindicate ourselves. We just need to love Him. Everything else will flow out of that love. The focus is not on what we can do, but who we can be. If we only do, it becomes a duty or obligation, but if we can be, then we are transformed and of value to God.

This is a big lesson we need to apply to our lives. May the Holy Spirit teach us how to abandon ourselves completely unto God because then and only then will we be truly useful for His kingdom purposes.

And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

Are we getting more loving?

I recently went on a ladies retreat and the theme was about Loving Well. My question to you is, "Are you loving more than you can?" During this 24 hour retreat it became obvious to me that I was not loving as well as I could--especially the people closest to me. You know who I'm talking about--my husband and my children. Unfortunately they are the ones who seem to get the "worst part."

God actually manifests himself through us when we love others. He also measures our maturity by how we love. In fact, we have no higher calling than to love. The bible is full of commands to love. Love your neighbor as yourself, love your wife, love your children, and yes, even love your enemies. Wow! Now that isn't easy to do, is it? I can see how we can love our family members and friends, but how on earth are we supposed to love our enemies?

What I learned at this retreat makes a whole lot of sense. We must experience God's ministering love to us first before we can minister love to others. Often we don't allow ourselves to fully embrace God's love for us and; therefore, we also keep ourselves from fully loving others. Simply put, we will not love well until we feel well loved. This is a pivotal point and the only way to receive it is to look to the cross. I am convinced that we will never be able to fully fathom God's love for us until we sincerely consider what Jesus endured for our sake. It should have been us hanging on that cross, not Jesus. It is our sin that put him there, and he willingly took the penalty for us. It was love that kept him there. He knew we would be eternally lost if he didn't die for us. We must let this truth seep into the deepest crevices of our hearts--"God loves us with an everlasting love." Until we acknowledge and experience this love, we will never be able to love others well. Love is part of God's Godness. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you anymore or any less. Furthermore, it is not about feelings or emotions. Do you think Jesus wanted to be tortured and crucified? He even sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane as he thought about his impending death. We must remember that our feelings are fickle. One day we love, the next we don't feel like it. To love involves making a Choice.

I'm not saying that to love is always easy. In fact, it can be rather difficult at times. Let's face it--not everyone is a joy to be around. Many of the people we can come in contact with every single day are downright difficult to love. Yet God also lets us experience sparks of divine love in others. We are called to love all people in spite of the fact that some may be more difficult to love than others. Usually there is something broken in the person who is so hard to get along with. Ask God to give you insight into what that could be and then commit to praying for them. Love them in their brokenness. Extend grace and never underestimate the power of forgiveness or an apology. Remember that God will call us to see "hard love" as a sacrifice unto him and a fragrant offering upon the altar. He will transform us in the process and grow our love in ways we cannot even imagine!

We are also called to love beyond our own "little bubble." What is God doing across the globe? Who is out of your radar screen? We are to love the stranger too, you know. The interesting thing is, it is not just for their benefit, but for ours too. Take time to stop, pause, and minister to strangers. It is our opportunity to love with no strings attached. Loving afar relieves us of the burden of self-absorption. Pour your life completely into others' lives and then watch what happens.

I think the key here is to abide, dwell, and remain in a constant awareness of God's love for us. So, let's start loving because we are already divinely loved. Even though we have an insatiable desire to receive love from others, we are not to be motivated to love just to get something out of it. We know that people fail us time and time again--they're human. Only God can love us unconditionally and perfectly. He pours His perfect love into our imperfect hearts and enables us to love too. If we access His perfect love, we will be able to love anyone through anything. He promises that. The intangible blessings we receive from loving others will far outweigh any tangible gift. We will truly be storing up our treasures in Heaven.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:7-9

Self-confidence vs. God-confidence

Being self-confident is a good thing, isn't it? I always thought it was. After all, you really shouldn't rely on anyone else to feel good about yourself. So, you look within yourself, into your own inner strengths, gifts, talents, and abilities. All of these things can aid you in becoming a more self-confident person. What is wrong with that? While I do not believe that there is anything wrong with being confident, I have come to learn over the years that if I only look to myself then I will set myself up for failure and disappointments.

Self-confidence means that I am trusting in my own ability to handle circumstances that come my way. No one else's--just mine. The problem is I know that I have weaknesses and shortcomings. I can also be moody at times, and sometimes I am a downright emotional mess. Can I really trust myself to handle situations correctly when I am in that frame of mind? No, I cannot. Let's say I have an important decision to make by a certain day. I procrastinate and wait until the last possible minute and then I make my decision. What if I am having one of those days? Should I really rely on my fickle emotions to make this important decision just because I want to be known as a self-confident woman? I think not!

God-confidence, on the contrary, trusts in God's ability to work through me to handle the circumstances that come my way, not in my own ability. The primary difference is the One to whom you look to handle these various decisions, situations, and circumstances. One focuses on self, the other focuses on God. One looks inward, while the other looks upward. One is about temporary quick-fixes, one is about eternal matters that make a difference.

This has happened to me time and time again, and I am ashamed to admit that I am a slow learner. But I am starting to get it. When you take the time to invite God into the picture, ask for His opinion, and seek His guidance, things just seem to fall into place. Situations that you dreaded turn out to be not so bad after all. Difficult decisions that you made seem to work out. The best part about it is that when you trust God to help you, He will. He promises to help us; He tells us He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will strengthen us and he even does battle on our behalf. What else do we want? Would we rather place our trust in ourselves and hope for the best, or place our trust in God, and rest assured that he is working on our behalf? I don't know about you...but I chose HIM!

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chron 16:9

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. Psalm 34:5