Jan. 31....bring to your minds

John 14:26 “The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit….will remind you of all that I told you.” (NAB)
“…..will bring to your minds all that I have said to you.” (Phillips)

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit as a memory aid for us! The older I get, the more I forget. Once I was very good at memorizing things. Now I seem to have to work hard at even the simplest things. I need to be reminded of many things, and your Words are certainly the most important things I wish to remember. I think this verse says a lot about how scripture was written so many years after Jesus’ death. The Holy Spirit “brought to their minds” the words he had said. It was important for us, the future generations of Christians, to know the words and to feel confident that they were His words. Scripture agrees throughout and the ring of truth is obvious when we study it. Forgive me that I do not study your words as seriously as I should or give them the attention they deserve. Forgive me that I don’t memorize these “words of life” that have been given to us. Teach me to absorb your words as I seek to abide with you and allow you to abide within me through your Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit came to “remind” me of your words, I need to be receptive to his teaching. Teach me to live your words and not just hear them with my ears. My heart must hear them also, and my hands and feet must move with their guidance. Help me know your Holy Spirit better and have the wisdom and discernment that I need to always abide with you. Remind me daily of your love, your grace, your power, your wisdom, your mercy and compassion, your glory in all things. Push out the unworthy and fill me with you Holy Spirit. In the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jan. 30.....teach you everything

John 14:26 “The paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will instruct you in everything.” (NAB)

“Counselor, the Holy Spirit….will teach you all things.” (NIV)

“….will be you teacher.” (Phillips)

“The friend…..will make everything plain.” (MSG)

Heavenly Father,
As a child in school you always wondered each year who would be your new teacher….would you like them?…would they be nice and wise? The disciples must have had a little bit of that feeling. They didn’t want Jesus to leave and they didn’t yet understand why he was going. Who is this new “teacher”? Will they want him as a replacement for their friend and Rabbi, Jesus? Jesus stresses that this Holy Spirit, Paraclete, Counselor, Friend is being sent by the Father in Jesus’ name. Sort of a passing of the baton, once again. The authority of God, passed to Jesus, passed to the Holy Spirit. The connection isn’t broken, the race continues on. The reason the Holy Spirit comes is to “instruct you in everything”….”teach you all things”….”make everything plain”…..”be your teacher”. Two important things to note.…”teaching” and “everything”. No matter what it is we need to know, the Holy Spirit is now the One we need to turn to for our instructions in this life. He will be very close to us….within us. We can “absorb” his wisdom, teaching, guidance, if we want it. If we love Jesus, we will love the Holy Spirit, who he left us “in His name”. If we love the Father, we will love the One he now sends us. If he is sent to teach us, than we need to attend his “school” and be open to learn. We must listen. We must spend time with him. We must let him make the Words of scripture that he inspired” tell us their message. He will “make everything plain”….he will answer our questions, impart his knowledge, guide, lead, council, be our friend. He is a “holy” Spirit, so his way is the Father’s way. Open my heart to your teaching! Lead me in the Way everlasting! Abide in me Holy Spirit of teaching in Jesus’ name, amen.

Jan. 29....the Father who sent me

John 14:24 “Yet the word you hear is not mine; it comes from the Father who sent me.” (NAB)

“These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,
Jesus assured us that the words he spoke to us were not just his….they had your “stamp”, the authority of the Father on them. Whatever he told us was straight from you. Whatever he is, is the same as You. Jesus reveals you to us. He uncovers part of the mystery of who our God is. He helps us to know you. He uses here what I think of as a title: “the-Father-who-sent-me”. This tells us something about you. You sent Jesus to us. Jesus always saw himself that way…as one sent by you, speaking your words, doing your will. It tells us of the close relationship between Father and Son. I guess I can expand this title idea to the beginning of the verse also…Jesus is “the-Word-you-hear”. Jesus is called The Word in scriptures. He is the Word that we can hear and listen to, to enable us to know the Father. Words are powerful. They communicate, they expound, they explain, they paint “word pictures”, they unravel mysteries for us. The Word, Jesus Christ, unravels the mystery of our loving Father. He spoke your love on earth in words and actions. His interactions with people were loving….sometimes “tough love”. His healings and miracles showed love for those he met here. But the true depth of your love was shown on the cross. Jesus loved through sacrificial obedience to your word. You loved us by providing a solution to our sin. Jesus’ death and resurrection removed our sin, washed us clean through his blood, bought us and redeemed us. We are saved through the love of Father and Son. “The-Word-you-hear” speaks for “the –Father-who-sent-me”….and we hear a sweet, melody of amazing grace! What a beautiful Word! How great the harmony of Father and Son! We are loved! We are saved! We are Yours! Thank you! Come abide with me! Amen.

Jan. 28....love = obey

John 14:24 “He who does not love me does not keep my words” (NAB)
“He who does not love me will not obey my teachings.” (NIV)
“The man who does not really love me, will not follow my teaching.” (Phillips)

Heavenly Father,

A year ago today we attended a wonderful Christian concert by a man who confesses that he once lived a sinful life style, but allowed You to change him and heal him. Now he writes and sings beautiful praise music to You as his gift for your gift of grace. He proves his love by a changed life. He proves his love by admitting his sin and turning away from it. This passage talks of those who “do not love me” and the proof is that they “do not keep (obey) my words (teachings)”. Over and over in scriptures Jesus talks about “fruit”. We will be known by our fruit. We can hide nothing from You! The evidence will show up on our branch of the vine eventually….if at all. We cannot just say “I accept Jesus and I love Jesus” and then live as if we never spoke the words. Accepting Christ as our Savior, and loving Christ are different things. In the first we want something….we’ll believe in exchange for forgiveness and everlasting life. Easy to speak up for (if it costs us nothing)! In the second case, we want to give something. We respond to your grace with our whole-hearted devotion and love. We love you so much we want to know you! We want to know your words and your teaching. We want to “leave all” and follow you! Loving you does cost something. It costs our lives, just as it cost Jesus his. We come to you to find life, you come to us to abide. No turning back. We belong to you….willingly. Now that we love , we obey, we “keep your words”. We keep them deep within our hearts and let them change us . At last year's concert we heard how you changed this man’s life forever. It wasn’t just lip service, it was love. He now knows you and your grace and he obeys you and shows that love to all who will listen. Heart knowledge lived out in obedience to your will. Teach me to love as you have loved me! Fill my heart and lead me where I must follow. I long to “keep” you abiding in my heart! In Jesus’ name, thank you. Amen.

Jan. 27....We will come!

John 14:23 “We will come to him and make our dwelling place with him” (NAB)
“We will come to that man and make our home within him.” (Phillips)

(written a year ago)
Heavenly Father ,
I sit here looking out at Tucson’s mountains in the early morning and hear my favorite prayer echoing in my mind: “Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me, let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.” As the sun tops the mountains in front of me, I feel your presence. This verse says that, “we will come”….You don’t stay on your mountaintop but promise to “make our dwelling”….”make our home”….within me! Abide! When you “bring me to your holy mountain, the place where you dwell”, you are actually coming to me and dwelling within. Once an initial journey is made to seek you and dwell with you, you make it easy and move into our hearts. My heart is a temple of the Holy Spirit! My heart is a mountaintop dwelling where the Holy God of Israel resides! “Your Light and your Truth (Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit) are my guides, when I seek you. You are too big to be contained on one mountaintop! You are the flood of love and hope I’ve read about this month and you flow down and within. You promise….”We will come”….3 beautiful words of all hope, all love, all joy! I long to dwell on your “holy mountain” and you long to dwell within my heart! It’s the story of your love for us…You came down…so we might rise up. Your mountain moves toward us. Jesus told the disciples that they could “move mountains” with their faith. We move your holy mountain by faith into our hearts. Abide in me, O LORD! Abide in me, Lord Jesus! Abide in me Holy Spirit! Dwell within me and fill me with your presence! Help me know and understand your abiding presence, to feel your loving guidance, to know your will, to give my heart freely as a home for you and allow you to “clean house” of all that doesn’t belong in your presence. Abide in me and teach me to abide in you. Whether holy mountain or within my heart, I long to live with You always! In the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen

WE WILL COME
(based on Psalm 43:3 and John 14:23)
“Bring me to your mountaintop
I long to there abide
I cannot find the way alone
I need your heavenly guides.

No need to climb the heavenly heights
No need to feel despair
For “we will come” to dwell within
You’ll always find us there.

Abide in me, O Holy One!
Live within my heart!
Make in me a dwelling place
That we’ll never be apart!

“We will come”….the promise says.
We will in Truth abide
Open wide the doors of your heart
We long to dwell inside.
(1-27-07)

Jan. 26....Father love

“John 14:23 “My Father will love him.”

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your love! That sounds so inadequate as a response for something so wonderful. You love Jesus, your Son, and through him, you also love us. If we love Jesus whole-heartedly and obey and follow him, then all the love you feel for him comes to us. I guess when we question this love….how can God love me, a sinner?…..it is because we know our worthlessness and our secret sins and that we don’t follow Jesus as we should. We doubt that your love can last for us when you “get to know us better.” We base our idea of a godly love on our knowledge of human love. We know human love sometimes fails to stand up to time and trials. Even when we are fortunate in our human love experiences….good kind parents, a long lasting marriage, great loving children and grandchildren….we have still all experienced some form of love that rejected us at one time or another. Pure love in the human realm is rare. When we learn of Jesus and the loving sacrifice he made for us, we become his loving slaves. If we truly understand his love to the best of our human ability we are in awe of that wonderful term….amazing grace! No wonder it is the favorite song of many a Christins! Jesus’ love is an extension or proof of your love. “My Father will love him.” Jesus tells us this. No matter how unlovable we feel that we are, Jesus promises us his love and the Father’s love. We may always know this love if we draw close to You. The more we seek, the more we find. The more we love Jesus, the more you love us. Love grows to fill the space made available for it and seeps out through gaps to flood anyone nearby. Your love becomes our love. You love us, we love You. We love others because you love us. Thank you for this abiding and growing, all-consuming love! Amen.

Jan. 25....love...proof is in response

John 14:23 “Anyone who loves me will be true to my word.” (NAB)
“When a man loves me, he follows my teaching.” (Phillips)
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” (NIV)
“If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word.” (MSG)
Heavenly Father,

Jesus stresses this idea three times in this section of scriptures. “If anyone loves me….” There has to be a “proof” or reaction in us that shows we love Jesus Christ. The proof is “…will be true to my word”….or “follow my teaching”….or “obeys my teaching”….or “carefully keeps my word.” Jesus isn’t looking for lip service. He wants us to listen carefully to him and then obey what he says. If we love him we will do this. If we do this we show we really love him. It is a natural follow up of our love for him. Loving him produces the fruit of obedience. We want to please someone we love. We want to be like someone we love. Our heart becomes connected to their heart. We think and act alike. This is the relationship Jesus wants us to have with him. He gave us instructions and commands and wisdom and knowledge in the scriptures. We are to seek these things, be true to them, follow them, obey them, carefully keep them in our hearts. Jesus is called “The Word” for good reason. Jesus gives us all we need to know of the Father. Jesus is the spoken representation of his Father. We can “hear” the Word. We can “read” the Word. We can “gain knowledge” from the Word. We can “follow” and “obey” the commands of the Word. Words put thoughts and ideas and emotions into a usable form…..something we can understand and pass on to others. Jesus is that Word. Jesus brings us to the Father. He makes our relationship possible, He makes communication with the Father possible. I write these words to You, O LORD, because Jesus is the Word and brings me to this place. Jesus makes my words acceptable to you and speaks back to be through your scriptures. I will listen to the Word! I will follow the Word! I will obey the Word and show my love for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you, Father, thank you Word, thank you Holy Spirit! Amen

Jan. 24....the Spirit prays

Rom. 8:26 “The Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed n speech.” (NAB)

“We do not know how to pray worthily, but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonizing longings which cannot find words.” (Phillips)

Heavenly Father,

Every Christian at some point in time wonders if they are praying “correctly”….are we saying the right words in the right way at the right time? Should we ask over and over or just once in trust? Do we pray alone or with others? Silently or out loud? We also at some point question whether you hear our prayers. We don’t like to admit we doubt, but even your servant David, cries out in the Psalms, wondering if you are listening. I often feel when I’m in a prayer frenzy for some cause that I’m hurling words at you right and left with little thought, but a lot of heart. Then there are the hurried prayers tossed out in pieces while I drive, while I eat, while I read, while I sew and every other moment of the day. Quick prayer bites that seem to fit our world, sandwiched between all my other activity. And the sleepy prayers before deep sleep and on awakening. Do I ever really pray “right”? How much time is needed to do it “right”? When I have poured out my heart during long prayer times and deep study, I feel your presence, but still often don’t find the answers that I want. Trying to know if I pray “in your will” is hardest for me.

This verse should give me great reassurance. When I don’t get it “right”, the Holy Spirit will! He is within me. His abiding presence will take my wordless “groans” and “agonizing longings” and turn them into true prayer. The Spirit is willing and able when my flesh is weak. My attempts at prayer are heartfelt and serious even when hurried. My prayers are my deep longings and desires to please you, to know you, to trust you in all things. My prayers are as sincere as my heart and faith can make them. I trust your Holy Spirit to be my “interpreter”, my intercessor, my “mouthpiece”. I trust the Holy Spirit to pray what I should and when I should. I trust the Holy Spirit to find the words that I can’t find or don’t even know. The Holy Spirit is the heart of God and He can speak to your heart from my heart! Speak for me Holy Spirit! Pray the things of my heart straight to my Father’s heart in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jan. 23....Spirit of transformation

Rom. 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will bring your mortal bodies to life also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.” (NAB)

“Once the Spirit of him who raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives within you he will, by the same Spirit, bring to your whole being, yes even your mortal bodies, new strength and vitality, for he now lives in you.” (Phillips)

Heavenly Father,

From old life to new. Transformation! Your Spirit is holy just as You, O LORD, are holy. For this Holy Spirit to move into our bodies, to indwell us, to abide in us, there it has to have a transforming effect. Jesus Christ lived as a man as well as God. The Holy Spirit of God the Father, raised him from the dead. The 3 in 1 aspects of this transforming power are shown in these scriptures. Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Holy Spirit…..scripture refers to him in many ways, but all are tied together in One Being, One Almighty God. God is Spirit. God is in action here. Paul wants us to understand here that we now have a Holy Being, or Holy Spirit within us to make us “risen” just as Jesus Christ is risen. I find the Phillips translation clearest: “He will, by the same Spirit, bring to your whole being, yes, even your mortal bodies, new strength and vitality.” This is not just for the future in heaven. This is an outpouring or indwelling of “new strength and vitality” for our mortal bodies, our “whole being”, here and now. The Spirit is there and ready to act. He will gladly turn us inside out and transform us into Christ-like beings! He has moved in to abide, to stay put, to become a permanent resident. If a Holy Spirit is within us, how can we not be changed???? Evidence of this Holy Spirit should begin to form and take shape….the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit. He won’t be a pushy guest within us. Our free will still exists. We have to want his changes, we have to desire his authority, we have to ask him to impart the new strength and vitality and new life into our lives. He is ready to open his suitcase full of gifts and share them with the homeowner. He wants to unpack and become a part of our life. He will take over only when we allow him to willingly. Come, Holy Spirit, abide in me! Fill my whole being! Live in me, don’t just visit. Dwell in me forever! Bring me to Life eternal in Father, Son, and Spirit! Amen.

Jan. 22.....power, love, wisdom

2 Timothy 1:7 “The spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit, but rather one that makes us strong, loving, and wise.” (NAB)

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

Here we have 3 words to describe the Holy Spirit you have given us, who lives within us. A Spirit of: 1. power, 2. love, and 3. self-discipline (wisdom). Any Spirit that comes from you must have power, because you are all-powerful. This word is contrasted to “timidity”. The power of the Holy Spirit is authoritative, assured, and in control. This power is available to us when we allow the Holy Spirit to take charge within us. We are accustomed to relying on our own limited power. It is hard to know how to give control to this Spirit of power that you have made available to us. He isn’t there to act on our whims, but to use his power in accordance with your will. His power is a channel for your holiness and righteousness and for using your “gifts” to do your will.

We know all we do should be done in love, so this Spirit is a loving Spirit. Love has to be factored with power, and with your will to act. We struggle with these things, but the Holy Spirit is part of you and knows your will and acts with your power and your love. When we give him control, all will work perfectly together.

The 3rd trait mentioned here is called wisdom in one translation and self-discipline in another. Those compliment each other and work the same. Two other translations are “sensible” and “sound mind”. The Holy Spirit must use our mental processes so he makes us wise, sensible, self-disciplined, and of sound mind, if we are acting in your will. We need not feel timid if we allow this powerful, loving, wise Spirit to control us. We need not fear that he will harm us. We need not doubt his guidance, if we tune our inward ear to his leading. Remove my spirit of timidity and fill me with you Holy Spirit…powerful, loving, wise…and lead me in your will through his counsel and guidance. Speak into my heart your holy will! In Jesus’ name may I go forth boldly. Amen.

Jan. 21....abundant hope

Rom. 15:13 “So may God, the source of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that through the power of the Holy Spirit you may have hope in abundance.” (NAB)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV)

“…..brim over with hope” (MSG) “….radiant with hope” (Phillips)

Heavenly Father,

As usual these 4 translations all “speak” to me! Thank you for the wisdom and discernment and knowledge of good translators. I learned of the “Niagara Falls of your divine love” flowing into me and now I learn of your abundant hope doing the same. Once again your gift is “abundant”….we ”overflow with hope”….brim over with hope”….”be radiant with hope.”….”have hope in abundance.” Your gifts are always lavish, filling, and complete to overflowing! You are a generous God with good gifts for your children. You are the source of hope and the Holy Spirit is the power that enables us to receive this overflowing hope. Hope to me always translates as “expectation built on faith.” Hope is trust, faith, believing in a sure future, filled with expectation that it will come about. Hope always looks ahead toward good and positive things. Hope is built around your past faithfulness. The expectation comes from the knowledge of how you have acted in the past, insuring in our minds and hearts that you will continue to act that way. Here the purpose of the hope is to “fill you with all joy and peace in believing” or as the Message puts it, “so that your believing lives.” I like that image of a belief that is alive. Something alive is also hopefully growing! The end result of this verse is for the Holy Spirit to channel hope from its source….You….into us, so abundantly that we have enough joy and peace to keep our faith alive and hope-filled. Hope begetting hope, just as your love begets love. Hope that will show to others. Hope that will witness to our faith. Hope that will tell others where to put our trust and who we believe in. Hope and believing are permanently connected. Understood but not stated in this verse, is a definition of that belief and its basis in Jesus Christ. He died and rose to create this hope, this love, this abundance of belief and hopefulness. Our future hope is through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, guided by the Holy Spirit. We abide in this hope and find life eternal. Thank you! Amen.

Jan. 20.....Fruit of the Spirit is love

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (NIV)

(Other words from other translations: generosity, mildness, charity, faith, endurance, fidelity, tolerance, affection, exuberance, serenity, compassion, holiness, loyal commitments, not force our way, marshal and direct our energies, stick with things)

Heavenly Father,

The Fruit of the Spirit is one of the more well-known passages of scripture, and is taught to children as a list to memorize. Set up in groups of 3 for a total of 9 easy words to remember! Only in one translation did I find a 10th word…endurance….that is indicated in no other translation. The Message had the most unusual list and not one easy to memorize. We memorize the list, but do we really think about the words and what it means to be “fruit of the Spirit”? As I’ve seen pointed out before it is singular and not plural. All 9 are part of a whole. If we “bear fruit”, we bear them all in some part. The author says that love is the principle fruit and the others are component parts of love. I think there is truth in that. Perhaps there should be a long hyphen between love and the rest indicating that they describe “love”. Love is necessary or important to joy….if we are full of hatred we would have no joy. Love is needed for patience….we only forebear willingly if we care in some way. Love leads to peace and peacemakers. Love is kind and compassionate. Love is good and holy and sin-hating. Love is faithful….loyal and committed. Love is gentle, mild, not forceful or demanding. Love leads to self-control and a marshaling and directing of our energies. If we don’t love, we wouldn’t bother developing any of these characteristics except as a vague attempt to “fit in” to society. True love will automatically begin to develop these other traits. That is why they fit so perfectly together! The source of this love, this fruit, is the Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can produce the character of Jesus Christ who was all of these and more….the picture of selfless love, forgiveness, mercy, grace! Only the Holy Spirit can make us the Christ-like beings that Christ ransomed us to be….children of our Father. Produce fruit in me through your Holy Spirit and Christ’s grace! Amen.

Jan. 19....your body is a temple

1 Cor. 6:19 “You must know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within….the Spirit you have received from God. You are not your own. You have been purchased, and at a price! So glorify God in your body.”

Heavenly Father,
Probably every woman who reads just this verse immediately focuses on her weight and vows to go on a diet. How can I have allowed my body, the “temple of the Holy Spirit,” to become so fat??? This is a very worldly, very human, and very feminine thought. The world has trained us to look down on our own bodies and be aware of every pound we are over-weight. Even though there is truth in this, perhaps, and we should take better care of our bodies, I don’t think this scripture was written to make us focus primarily on our weight and to feel badly about ourselves. The previous verses make it plain that this verse was written more to challenge our “purity” than our eating habits. The focus is on sexual sins. Sexual immorality effects other’s lives as well as our own. These sins can destroy relationships, shatter trust, spread unhappiness (and disease), and disrupt the natural harmony of our lives. It effects our thoughts, our words, and our actions. It leads to other sins….lies, deception, anger, injustice, greed, lust, whatever! But putting aside the sexual sin aspect, the verse tells us one very solemn truth. A temple is where God is worshiped and “resides”. If our bodies are temples, and the Holy Spirit resides within us, we should be more careful and respectful of our bodies when it comes to all manner of sin. God can’t abide sin. God is holy. When we invite God into our hearts, our lives, our beings, we need to “clean up our act”! Would you invite someone allergic to cats to stay in a house full of them? We need to care more about the comfort of our “guest”. Luckily for us, the Holy Spirit brings along his own mop and broom! He comes to help us “clean house”. He becomes the abiding presence that drives out all the bad and dirt. If we allow the Holy Spirit to take over, he will help us “glorify God in our bodies”. “ Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me!” Clean house! Amen.

Jan. 18.....love poured out

Rom. 5:5 “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (NAB)

“Already we have the love of God flooding through our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.” (Phillips)

Heavenly Father,

I read 4 different translations and I like all the images of your love being “poured out in our hearts” or “flooding through our hearts”. The Message says, “we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours….” There is certainly no way to fail to realize that we are talking about something abundant and of high volume! The author of the devotional calls it, “the Niagara Falls of divine love”! I like that image a lot. I’ve been to Niagara Falls 3 times and am totally awed and mesmerized by the power and sheer volume of the water pouring over the edge of the falls. It is magnificent and heart stopping to watch. To visualize your love as Niagara Falls is as close as a human can probably come to the wonder and awe it entails! All of that water generates tremendous power as well as beauty. Your love generates power beyond even what Niagara Falls can help us imagine. For us the conduit for all of this is the Holy Spirit…..your powerful, beautiful love floods into our hearts “through” the Holy Spirit. The focus this month is trinitarian love and this verse helps show that….the great love of the Father came to mankind through grace given to us when Christ died for us and arose again, and now the impact of that love, that knowledge of Jesus’ act of grace, flows into us and floods our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Three in One act together in harmony to pour out the Father’s love. Three in One act together to bring forgiveness and grace. Three in One act together to allow us to receive this grace and have our hearts filled until they overflow. What impact does this powerful, flooding of our hearts with love have? How can our heart hold it? Apparently the Holy Spirit makes it possible. He is given along with the out-pouring of love, and he enables our hearts to hold all that you give us! He teaches us to “spill out” this generous out-pouring everywhere we are, to all we meet. God’s love flows eternally….never ending, never being depleted, never slowing! Thank you! Awesome God! Amen.

3-PART HARMONY
The Father’s love is sung for us, in three-part harmony
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit singing grace for me!

There is no sound more beautiful, than heavenly words of love,
A three-part harmony of grace, descending from above.

(1-29-07)

Jan. 17....Holy Spirit

John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father and he will give you another paraclete….to be with you always: The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot accept, since it neither see him nor recognizes him; but you can recognize him because he remains with you and will be within you.” (NAB)

Heavenly Father,
I grew up in a church that seldom mentioned the Holy Spirit. I still struggle to understand and know Him. Jesus asked You to send us counsel and comfort and guidance (the Holy Spirit). He didn’t leave us alone, but promised one who: 1. We can know or recognize, 2. One who will remain with us, or abide with us, and 3. One who will “be within” us. The Holy Spirit continues to extend the love and grace of Father and Son to those who believe. The Holy Spirit is unrecognized by the world. The more of the world we hang on to, the less room there is for the Holy Spirit. But Jesus’ promise is that we can know Him. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Counselor, the Paraclete, is someone we can know. Even if our churches seldom speak of Him, the scriptures do. We can know Him as much as we open ourselves to know Him. That is a hard concept for me, but I do want to know the Holy Sprit and allow Him to control my life! He is a Spirit of Truth….He will not lie to me or be false in any way. Jesus says I will know Him because he remains or abides with me. That wonderful word abide! One who abides takes up residence and moves in. He doesn’t come and go….He remains, lodges, rests, takes up habitation. He is constant, eternal, everlasting….He is God. Jesus also says, “He will be within you”. Not just with or beside or in the same building, but within me. Wherever I go, He goes! Whatever I do, He is there watching through my eyes. I must choose to allow Him to guide my thoughts, my words, my actions. If he is within me He can speak through my mouth, walk with my feet, use my hands, think with my brain, feel with my heart. I need this Spirit of Truth to insure that all my thoughts, words, and actions are worthy of Jesus’ gift and the Father’s love. Push out the world, Holy Spirit! Abide with and within me! Be all Jesus meant You to be in me! Abiding love living in flesh. Thank you! Amen.

Jan. 16....the fullness of his grace

John 1:16-17 “Of his fullness we have all had a share….love following upon love….This enduring love came through Jesus Christ.” (NAB)

“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another….Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. “(NIV)

Heavenly Father,

What is Christ’s “fullness”? A previous verse in the NIV says Jesus was “full of grace and truth”….and then here states “the fullness of his grace.” This fullness, this grace, is what “we have all had a share” or “we have all received”….our blessings or love from. What blessings do we receive from grace? Grace has been defined as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Jesus Christ took all of our sins…the sins of the entire world….and bore them on the cross. He paid the price of his life so that we could receive eternal life. We sin so easily that we have no recognition of the weight that all of our sins add up to. We have no concept of how dirty and awful all that sin is. We see Christ on the cross suffering and in pain and bleeding, but we don’t really “see” in any way the sins that we have plastered and heaped upon him while he hangs there. For us, sin tends to be “out of sight, out of mind”. Only when we start to list our daily sins, add them up, multiply by our age, can we begin to get an idea of just our own sin. Then multiply by all the people who ever lived. We see most of our sins as “not that important” because we see them through the world’s eyes. Would we speak these things out loud? Would we admit them to others? Would we feel shame or guilt about them if they were broadcast to the world? Thinking like that makes them a little more real. Would we look Jesus in the eye and tell him? Oh, horrors, oh shame! I couldn’t bear the disappointment I might see! I would die of shame!…..but I don’t need to.....because he died for my shame. This grace, this enduring love, this forgiveness and mercy, this erasing and redeeming is what the “fullness” is that we have a share of. “Love following upon love”….”one blessing after another”. All this through Jesus Christ. Grace and Truth and Love! Thank you, Father, that you see me cleansed through Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior! I know what shame I had, but I know Christ set me free! Amen.

THE FULLNESS OF HIS GRACE
From the fullness of his grace
Eternal love abounds.
My sins all drop away,
My shackles fall to ground.

The weight of shame is lifted
My spirit now soars free!
From the fullness of his grace
This gift has come to me!
(1-16-07)

Jan. 15....where I am

John 17:24 “Father, all those you gave me I would have in my company where I am, to see this glory of mine.” (NAB)

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,
Jesus prays here for “all those you gave me”. He isn’t praying just for his disciples, but for all who will believe in him throughout history. You gave Jesus the world because he lovingly obeyed your will. He is LORD of LORDS, King of Kings, Savior! Jesus says here that he “wants” all of those you have given him. We aren’t an afterthought or someone who sneaks in uninvited. Jesus wants us. He wants us to “see this glory of mine” to “see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” Jesus also said that, “this is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” If we glorify God the Father by bearing fruit as Jesus’ disciples, than Jesus himself glorified the Father when he bore fruit as the Harvester of all the world! Every soul he harvests through his love and obedience to the Father glorifies the Father and glorifies Jesus, as the Father’s Son. “Glory has come to me through them” (believers)( John 17:10) Each believer professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and adds to Jesus’ glory as a witness of the risen Christ. We continue to show that glory….Jesus’ glory…..to all we meet and witness to. Jesus wants us to “see” his glory so that we might reflect it to others. We are to “do all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). “We who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory are being transformed into his likeness with everlasting glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18) Jesus wants us to “be where I am”. I don’t think this is just a reference to our eternal home in heaven….our eventual destination. I think he means we are to “be where he is” in relationship to the Father now. We are to grow towards the Father through Christ-like love and devotion to his will. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God!” As we seek, we find abiding love in the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and we grow and change and bear fruit for his glory and the glory of the Father. Let me seek and abide that I might bear fruit in Christ for your glory! Amen.

Jan. 14.....that all may be one

John 17:21 “That all may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; I pray that they may be one in us, that the world my believe that you sent me.” (NAB)

Heavenly Father,Your abiding love is meant to be for all. Your love is there to draw all towards you and eternal life. Once we believe, we become part of a larger whole….the Body of Christ, the Church. Unity is necessary to show your love to the world. Unity allows us to do things in your love that we can’t do as individuals. Love works together as a whole, teaching, leading, helping, serving. When the Body of Christ is unified we show your love to the world and those who don’t yet believe. Every step we take in unified love is stronger than ones we take alone. We give strength and support to each other. Love shares. Love uplifts. Love is not selfish. Love doesn’t seek separation. Love spreads and outgrows the boundaries of the Church to become larger and fill the world! Jesus prayed for this unity in love and still prays for it. We too should pray for unity in love….Churches working together. Churches worshiping together. Churches sharing love and resources. If we have barriers in the Church, we have barriers in our love of Christ. Abiding love is the love You show freely and that You and Jesus shared in perfect harmony of will. Abiding love is like a river of Living Water flowing in and around all of us giving life. Jesus prayed for those who would believe through the disciple’s message. That “great cloud of witnesses” has come down through the ages to us. Jesus prays for us and our unity and our love and our ability to spread his message to others. New love has to grow from old love. It doesn’t spring up automatically. We are the fountain of love and Living Water now. Christ is in us and we must flow outward. Show me where and how to do this in Jesus’ name! Amen.

Jan. 13....my commandment

John 15:12 “This is my commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.” (NAB)

Heavenly Father,

This is a repeat of yesterday’s verse found in a different chapter of John. The fact that Jesus repeated it at least twice, and that John recorded it twice in different time frames, shows it is a commandment that both took very seriously. Jesus really wanted his disciples to absorb this idea that they were to love others just as he loved them. Many of his parables and other teachings give the same idea in word pictures….the Good Samaritan, forgive 70x7, turn the other cheek, the Prodigal Son, and more. Jesus reinforced this idea of love in his actions as well as his words. He never avoided undesirable people, but even sought them out. He spoke with all. He healed and helped indiscriminately. He “loved” all that he met through his words and actions. The cross was the final act of love, the most important one. He willingly stepped up and took our punishment for our sins and died to give us eternal life. Scripture reinforces this commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.” It should echo in our hearts and minds. Obviously John got the message and recorded Jesus’ words and acts of love for us to read. His epistles are full of more teachings about your love. He writes, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” He also writes, “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”….”Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.” John carried Jesus’ message forward, just as we should. Love is the commandment and love will make us Christ-like. Let your love abide in me that I might love as you have loved me. May I truly learn to love others as you have loved! Thank you for your abiding love! In the name of Jesus Christ, who is love. Amen

Jan. 12.....a new command

John 13:34 “Such as my love has been for you, so must your love be for each other.”

“A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (NIV)


Heavenly Father,
Today’s verse goes with yesterday’s. Jesus calls this “a new command” and we learned that to prove our love we must obey his commands. It isn’t new to tell us to love others, but Jesus now always says it in comparison with his love….”love as I have loved you.” This isn’t just being nice or kind. This is sacrificial love….laying down our life love. How do we learn to do that? How do we begin to feel that sort of love for everyone we meet? It seems impossible! I can love my husband, my children, my sisters, my close friends with a similar love, but how do I learn to see everyone as brother, sister, friend? Jesus’ love seems impossible to imitate or learn! Yet he commands us to do this. This is where abiding must come in. Until we find that relationship of….”I am in the Father and he is in me, and we are in you”……I can’t take on Christ’s character. He sent us a helper. He told the disciples that he needed to leave them, so that the helper could come to us. Jesus was a man. He could only be in one place at one time in history. He was unique. He lives on in heaven , but not this world. But the helper he sent…the Holy Spirit….is everywhere and within every believer. When we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, to guide us, to lead us in truth as Jesus was Truth, we have the help we need to develop Christ’s character. The Spirit abides in us. Through the Spirit, Jesus abides in us. Through Jesus, the Father abides in us. We are temples for God Almighty! Love flows from its source…God the Father. We can become channels of your love when we allow the Holy Spirit to take charge of our lives. This command is a “must” statement. We “must” learn to love as Christ loved. We have no choice. This is the key to knowing your abiding presence. Love as Christ loved. Help me obey your command to love others! Through your Holy Spirit, teach me. Amen

THAT I MIGHT LOVE…

That I might love as you have loved,
That I might obey this command,
That I might know abiding peace
Is all my heart desires.

This seems so far beyond my reach!
How can I love as Christ loved me?
How can I love with all I am?….
Unless refined by Holy fire.

Come gentle Savior and Holy Spirit
Show me the Father’s love!
Cleanse my heart, abide in me

Remake me from above.
(1-12-07)

Jan. 11....obeying = love

John 14:21 “He who obeys the commandments he has from me is the one who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and reveal myself to him.”

Heavenly Father,

I recently read a statement that said, “love is not just lovely words, it’s a commitment and conduct.” This is what this verse tells us. “He who obeys” is “the one who loves me.” Our reaction to your commands shows the depth of our love. We produce fruit. There is evidence that we mean the words we say, when we claim to love Jesus. Jesus was full of action as well as talk. Sometimes we need to listen. Jesus told Martha that Mary had the right idea….listen to Jesus, spend time with him, concentrate your energy and focus on him. But Jesus didn’t just sit in one spot and talk….he moved about and acted as he talked. Mostly he interacted with other people. Some came to him, but others he sought out for a purpose. He ignored no one in his path. Whether sinner or saint, friend or foe, he spoke to them and listened to their needs and words and acted. If we are to live as Jesus lived we need to follow his example. What commands are we to obey? He summed them up as two….”Love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We show Jesus’ love, by loving God whole-heartedly. Every thought, every word, every deed should be focused from and through our love for God the Father and our desire to please him. If we love Jesus, we also love our fellow man, just as he did….sinners, widows, orphans, prisoners, homeless, affluent, ordinary strangers, neighbors, family, friends. They all are people we are to listen to and interact with through Christ’s love, showing it in our words and actions. When we do this we are loved by God the Father and God the Son. Jesus says when we do this, “I will reveal myself to him.” Jesus will uncover the mysteries of who he is, we will come to know him better and better, just as we get to know any friend who we listen to and love. Loving is listening. Listening is abiding. Abiding is life-changing. Thank you, for loving us and revealing yourself to us. Amen

Jan. 10.....no greater love

John 15:13 “There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

“Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,
Most of us like to think we could lay down our own life in a moment of great danger to save someone we love….dive in to save a drowning child, throw ourselves in between danger and our loved ones, rush into a burning building to rescue people we love, and other such heroic moments. Maybe we would. Most of us have that sort of instinctive maternal/fraternal/filial love for someone…our spouse, our children, our brothers and sisters, our parents, our best friends. We even by nature rush to help strangers to the best of our ability….not being too foolhardy in the attempt. But what Christ did is different. He didn’t rush into an emergency situation and show natural instinctive heroism. He didn’t die to save a relative or best buddy. His death wasn’t quick and instinctive….but long and lingering. His death didn’t come about by circumstances beyond his control that required him to be “stoic” or “manly” in a situation forced upon him. He chose the circumstances. He chose the situation and went towards it with great purpose of will. He obeyed the authority and will of his Father God in heaven and “laid down” his life. It wasn’t taken from him unwillingly. He wasn’t forced to do it. He lived his entire life for one purpose….to obey his Father’s will….to show his Father’s love for all mankind. He placed himself between us and death. He dove into the lake of sin and pulled out all the drowning children. He rushed into the flames of hell and led everyone to freedom and life. He made us his friends. He loved us with a friend’s love beyond any we can truly imagine. He gave all he could give. He gave all that he had. He loved with the greatest love ever known for all. No greater love! Thank you! Teach me to love as Jesus Christ loved me! Amen

NO GREATER LOVE
No greater love can ever be shown
Than that we might die for a friend.
To lay down our lives for the ones that we love
Is a love we can’t comprehend.

Christ showed us how, when he died on the cross
His blood spilled for you and for me.
His mercy and love flowed for all mankind
His grace is an endless sea.

No greater love will ever be shown
Than the love Christ gave so free.
He willingly died, that we might have life….

O, how he loves you and me!
(1-10-07)

Jan. 9...because you have loved me.

John 16:27 “The Father already loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for loving me! Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to show us your love. Once man only saw you as the great and Almighty God….Jehovah!….I AM! They bowed in fear and awe. They sacrificed animals and spoke to you through priests. Their relationship with you was distant and more of fear than love. Some got beyond that and drew closer to you….the men and women whose stories we read in the Old Testament who shaped the history of your people and prepared for the coming of the Messiah. I always wonder how you chose the time and place to send Jesus. The time to come down and show yourself more clearly to your people and invite all who would come to draw close and know you. It doesn’t really matter “why” or how you chose the time, it only matters that you did. You sent your Son that we might approach the gentle loving Savior who “leads us like a Shepherd”. The shepherd who was also the Lamb! There is still much to fear, much to confuse us, much to think about, but we don’t have to feel that you are far away in heaven unaware of our lives. Now we know that you love us enough to come down, to sacrifice, to move towards us, to hold out your arms like a Father welcoming his prodigal sons and daughters home. You are still Almighty God….Jehovah! I AM! But you are also the Father of Jesus Christ our Brother, our Savior, our Friend….Immanuel, God with us. The relationship has grown closer and we can understand it and feel loved and part of it. If we believe, we may abide in your love as a child….you are our Father, we are home at last and no longer lost or shut outside the walls longing for someone to love us. We love Jesus, so you love us. Love has become the focus of our relationship, and not fear. Thank you for your abiding love given in Jesus Christ for all the world! Amen.

Jan. 8..."live on in my love"

John 15:9 “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live on in my love.”

“…..remain in my love.” (NIV)
“…..abide in my love.”

Heavenly Father,
Jesus tells us that just as You have loved him, in the same way he loves us. Jesus was perfect. Jesus did your will in all things. Jesus is equal and a part of You in a way we don’t completely understand. Jesus is your love incarnate. Jesus is your perfect love in the flesh. Jesus “loved us” to the point of dying for us, taking our sin, becoming the atoning sacrifice that cleansed us and made us righteous in your sight. The Father’s love is transferred through the Son, Jesus Christ, to us. For Jesus to love us in the same way You love him, is to make us equal to him….through the Son we become sons, also and share the Father’s love. Once we find this relationship through Jesus he tells us to “live on in my love” or to “remain in my love”, or “abide in my love”. This is the relationship I’m seeking to understand….abiding in your love. Being a permanent part of it, resting in it, living daily in it, knowing this love relationship intimately and completely. Being so wrapped up in your love that everything I think, say, or do is part of this abiding love.

Jesus used the image of the Vine to help us understand. Jesus is the Vine with his roots planted firmly in your love. We are new branches….grafted to his vine through his atoning sacrifice. Your love flows through the Vine to the branches. Our life comes from the Vine we are attached to and the roots that give it life. Jesus says, “live on!”……don’t stop, now that we are here, don’t let go, don’t turn back, don’t choose death over life, don’t get off….but live on, remain, abide, rest, inhabit, tarry, lodge, draw life from the source of all love, the source of all life, the Fountainhead of eternal Life….Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Help me abide in this love now and forever. Amen

Jan. 7...God so loved...

John 3:16 “Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life.”

Heavenly Father,
When we bear children we give a part of ourselves to create a new life. We love our children in a way we love no other. You “gave your only Son”. Jesus Christ is the Son, in that he is from You, the Father. Your being took on flesh and became human…..fully God, fully man. This is a mystery we can’t truly grasp or put into human words and thoughts. It becomes confusing when we try to analyze this strange mixture and how it came about and what exactly it means. This is one of the faith mysteries, the heart mysteries. You have to believe, to feel the truth of it….and then the details don’t matter any more. God came down. That is it in a nutshell. Omnipotent God dwelt as man among us. You did it in a totally human way…born as a baby, grew into manhood….33 years more or less….and died a horrible human death….much worse than any most of us will die. The dying was the important part. You went to the cross willingly. You became a blood sacrifice. You washed us clean in the blood of the Lamb of God, your Son, Jesus Christ. We read this verse and know it is the gospel, the Good News, in one sentence. “God loved”….”gave his Son”….”whoever believes may not die but may have eternal life.” From death came life. From sin we rise up to new hope. By grabbing hold of Jesus and hanging on, we are pulled from the muck and mire of the world and carried into a new life, a new relationship with our Father and an eternity of love and peace and glory. What a miracle! What a story of Good News! What a promise to believe and hope on ! Yes!…God so loved!” Thank you, loving Father! Amen

Jan. 6...God's unfailing love

Isaiah 54:10 “My love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the LORD, who has mercy on you.” (NAB)

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace removed, says the LORD who has compassion on you.” (NIV)

“For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, my love won’t walk away form you, my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart. The LORD who has compassion on you says so.” (MSG)

Heavenly Father,The author of the devotional chose not to include the comparison found in the first part of the verse….”Though the mountains be shaken and the hills removed….”. The verse continues: “…my unfailing love will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.” That is a strong image when put together! Shaking mountains and hills that are removed speak of a powerful earthquake. Great power is required to bring down mountains and it usually spells great disaster for mankind! This verse tells us that your unfailing love is stronger than any power that might shake a mountain, and that your covenant of peace is stronger than hills that may collapse! This is your way of telling us that no matter what…your love will not fail nor your peace be taken away from us. That is a wonderful promise to hold on to! Who makes this promise?….”the LORD who has mercy on you.” How did you show us this mercy?…..By sending your Son to die for us, to take away our sin and give us eternal life! “Unfailing love”….or love that won’t “leave us” or “walk away from us”. Jesus did what he was sent to do! “It is finished!” Grace opened the door to salvation. Mercy and compassion flow in Jesus’ blood shed for us! This love is complete and most certainly unfailing. Your love and peace have been given as a promise….only on our part is there still an unanswered question. Will we accept your love? Will we seek you and a relationship through Jesus Christ? Will we recognize the unfailing nature of the love you have shown us? Sometimes life shakes our world and our peace is not in sight, but if we rely on “the LORD who has mercy on us”, we will find the power of your unfailing love and covenant peace despite the storms around us. Our world is rock steady if it is based on your love! Thank you, LORD, who has mercy on me! Amen.

Jan. 5..take vs. bring....pity vs. compassion

Isaiah 54:7-8 “With great tenderness I will take you back…with enduring love I take pity on you, says the Lord, your redeemer.” (NAB)

“With deep compassion I will bring you back…with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your redeemer.” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

Your love is described as “great tenderness” and “deep compassion”, and then as “enduring love” and “everlasting kindness.” The adjectives…great, deep, enduring, everlasting….give us a sense of a permanent, habitual, abiding love. Love is the way many choose to define or describe YOU! God is love. It is the chief attribute or characteristic that we find to describe you in scripture and observe in our own lives. Here your love is also called….tenderness, compassion, kindness. I’m not sure the English language…or any other….can adequately describe exactly what your love is like. Each word depicts some part of it, some small piece of the puzzle that makes up our ever-loving God. The most perfect picture of your love is shown in Jesus Christ. You came down and became one of us to experience what we experience and then gave yourself willingly as a sacrifice to save us….imperfect and sinful as we are! It would be difficult for most of us to die for a close friend or relative. You died for all. To die for all is to love all. None of the adjectives or nouns above come close to describing that level of love!

I find a great contrast in the translation of the other halves of the above verses and not quite the same meaning. The first says, “I will take you back” and “I take pity on you”. The second says, “I will bring you back” and “I will have compassion on you.” I definitely prefer the NIV translation! You are a God who loves us enough to “bring” us back, not just willing to “take” us back. You went to great lengths to secure our redemption, to insure that we had no reason to not be reconciled with you, to bring us back into the heart of your family. You didn’t just accept us back, you made the return possible through your own sacrifice. That isn’t “pity”…that is “compassion”! Or as we call it….Amazing Grace! Everlasting love! Thank you, O Father! May I always abide in your love and your presence! Amen

Jan. 4.....age-old and everlasting!

Jeremiah 31:3 “With an age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you.” (NAB)
“I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with loving kindness.” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

I like both of these translations. The first speaks of an “age-old love”, the second of “an everlasting love”. Both evoke pictures. Age-old seems to speak of the past and that the love is from “of old” or since time began. Everlasting seems more of the future….love that will go on forever. So your love began in the beginning and goes on until time ceases. Who wouldn’t be drawn to a permanent endless loving God?? You are like a bridegroom declaring your intentions toward your bride…”I do”…and also “I did” and “I always will”. Man can barely understand such a love, but we can crave it and want it with all our hearts!

The next part of the verse seems a lot different in the 2 translations. “I have kept my mercy towards you”…..a statement of faithfulness and love. Mercy is forgiving love, love that doesn’t keep score of wrongs. You have proven your love in Jesus Christ and that love is always open and available. The object is us….the love is directed towards us. Never facing away. Never turning your back. Mercy…grace…is toward us always. I have written before about the 2nd translation….”drawn you with loving kindness”. I wrote than of drawing like an artist…you don’t “draw” us in caricature, exaggerating our faults, but with “loving kindness”, seeing us as forgiven sinners, pure through Christ’s blood. Seen through the eyes of love. But “drawn” has another meaning. We are drawn to you, by your loving kindness. Your act of reaching out first….”while we were yet sinners”….to forgive us, love us, save us, heal us, is an act of great loving kindness (the words are inadequate to describe the act!) We are drawn, compelled, unable to turn back. Your love is so great that we call it “amazing grace”! Those words are never used to describe anything but your wonderful love! Thank you! Amen

Jan. 3......God's plans

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe.” (NAB)

“…..plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

You sent these words to the people in Israel when they were in captivity. They must have felt forgotten and forlorn in a foreign land. In these words you assure them that you have a plan, that you are in charge. We can’t always see the reasons or the direction our lives are taking. We flounder along wondering “why?” and what the purpose of it all is. We feel overwhelmed by the world and circumstances we don’t seem to be able to control. We need to remember these words…”I know well”….”I have in mind”. Our future is not some accident waiting to happen. When we trust in You, our loving Father, and acknowledge that You are in charge and that You have a plan we can relax in the hope we sense. You are all-wise. Your plans cannot fail.

Our hope is found in your character and in the faithfulness you have exhibited throughout history toward your people. You are a God who created, and it was “good”. You are a God who provides “our daily bread”. You are a God who answers when we call upon you. This passage in Jeremiah continues with the words: “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you….” For every action on our part in faith…call…come…pray…seek….You respond with words of hope and promise…”I will listen”, “I will be found by you”. To receive your promises of “hope and a future”, we need only trust, seek, come. You are there….abiding….and we are invited to seek and find. Your plan is in place for us. You are in charge. You are waiting for us with arms of love thrown wide to receive us. All of your plans are for our welfare, our happiness, our blessing. You are my hope! You are my future! Thank you. Amen

Jan. 2.....engraved on God's hands

Isaiah 49:15-16 “I will never forget you, see upon the palm of my hands I have written your name.” (NAB)

“…I will never forget you. I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

This is one of my favorite verses, a strong image of your love. Your hands with my name permanently inked on them. There are many images in the scriptures involving hands that draw my mind and my heart, but this one is the most powerful for me. I see a picture of Christ with out-stretched hands and the nail holes visible. When I look closely the lines that define the nail holes are actually tiny names of all the people of the earth….engraved forever and making up the nail holes. I wish I was an artist and could draw this!

You truly engraved our names forever in those deep scars of love. You forever bear the imprint of my sin and my salvation in those nail prints! A mark of love erasing my mark of shame. How could you possibly forget each name that became engraved there forever when the soldiers drove the nails into your hands and set free the blood of the Lamb to wash clean the world? Thomas doubted until he saw the holes and placed his finger in them. Did he see his name engraved there when he looked? What I see as a terrible scar caused by my sin, reflecting my shame, branding the innocent Lamb forever is changed by your love.

You held out your hands willingly (how?) You allowed this to happen to you (why?) Just like humans allow their bodies to be pierced and decorated with tattoos despite the pain, you chose to be pierced for our sin and “tattooed” with our names….not for decoration....but to give us a gift of life, a gift of forgiveness, a gift of eternal love. My mind fails to find suitable comparisons or to fully comprehend this act. I only know you did it. I only know I’m free because of it. I only know I’ll live forever because my name is engraved on the palms of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I will never forget you, because you have never forgotten me. Your love wrote my name on the palms of your hands forever. Thank you! Amen

Jan. 1...God's love....we are precious

JANUARY: TRINITARIAN LOVE

Jan. 1, 2007
Isaiah 43:4 “You are precious in my eyes and glorious and….. I love you.” (NAB)

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for loving me! I hope as I begin this new year and this new study to draw closer to you. I want to learn to abide in your presence at all times. I want to sense your abiding love in all parts of my life. It is difficult for me….probably for most people….to read the words, “you are precious in my eyes and glorious and I love you.”……and take them seriously. Why would Almighty God…Jehovah…the I AM….love me??? Why would I be precious to you? Most of us don’t see enough worth in ourselves to understand why you would even notice us, let alone love us. To the Almighty God of the universe, surely I am no more than a barely visible mote of dust! Adjusting my thoughts to recognize your love takes work. Scripture is full of references that tell me exactly that…You love me. Despite my faults, despite my inadequacy, despite my smallness, despite my rebellion, despite my insistence on independence, you still love me!

Scripture tells me that you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Scripture tells me that you have plans and a purpose for me. Scripture tells me that while I was still a sinner you sent your son to live and die for me. Scripture tells me that I am engraved on the palms of your hands….never forgotten! Most precious of all scripture is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” You proved your love in Jesus Christ. You proved you are our Father and not just our Creator. You proved your desire for a personal relationship with us. You came down, that we might rise up and live with you forever. A Father sees his children as “precious in my eyes and glorious”. You see me with a Father’s love. Thank you!