Month: January 2012

Our Deepest Need (from the book I Thought I Knew What Love Was)

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Our Deepest Need

Written by Erin Lamb  © 2011

There is a place

inside the heart

that longs to be heard, felt, and understood.

There is an even greater part of the heart that craves to be loved.

The unconditional love that says,

“I love you for the person you are,

the person you could be,

and for the person I know you will become.”

The unconditional love that says,

“Even if you don’t reach your highest potential,

I will love you still.”

The unconditional love that says,

“I love you with your faults, and you don’t have to earn my love.”

People search their entire lives,

for a filling of their hearts and soul.

People look for satisfaction in all the wrong places,

with all the wrong faces,

and expect a human being to fill their inner most desires and wants.

Our hearts can be empty,

shallow,

void,

and even hardened,

without the touch of God.

You see, we desperately need His tender touch.

We need the outpouring of His Spirit,

His Holy Spirit,

time and time again.

We require our cups to be continually filled

and our innate desires fulfilled by the only One who can.

Our broken cisterns

leave us unfulfilled,

as we attempt to satisfy ourselves.

Our barrenness leads us to gratify our flesh.

This flesh only wants what it wants, when it wants;

doing whatever feels good in the present moment.

Gratifying our flesh only leaves our hearts longing for more,

continually pulling off the forbidden fruits

that offer a sweet taste,

but the end result is death.

We are simply eating the crumbs off the table,

for we are never truly full and our hunger continues to grow.

Our stomachs ache at our overindulgence,

oversaturation,

and we are spiritually fragile;

we partake of things that never fill our spirit.

His word says,

“…Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

God knows that only He can fill our hunger,

and only He can quench our thirst.

Only He can love us deeper

and more purely,

than anything we have ever felt.

Only He can provide the never ending fountain of living water

that fills our cup to spill over.

He was,

He is,

and He will always be the pursuer of our souls.

Only He can provide perfected, unconditional love

tailored for me and you.

He longs to satisfy

and pour out His unending supply.

His love is the perfect love to fill all our heart’s vacancies.

How sweet it is to be loved by Jesus,

to be loved in the most intimate way.

His love is sweeter than any kiss from a lover,

and His love is gentler than a mother’s hand.

It is a bond so strong it can never be broken.

His love and His care never end.

So come with me to the streams of living water,

and dip in your tired feet.

Wade in the waters of His healing;

let the waves of His love set you free.

Allow His refreshing stream

to wash over every wound.

Come with me,

all those who are weary

and sinking into despair.

Come with me, those yearning for a romantic retreat

with the Creator of the Universe.

Can you hear Him,

calling your name?

His voice rises above the winds saying,

“I have been waiting for you, for such a time as this.

Leap in, the water is fine.

In My presence is where your heart will be most content.”

*Copyright © Erin Lamb. Excerpt from, “I Thought I Knew What Love Was.”

All rights reserved. No part of the material may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, without the written permission of the Publisher, Westbow Press (www.westbowpress.com), or Author, Erin Lamb. The only exception is in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Book available: http://www.westbowpress.com, http://www.barnesandnoble.com. and http://www.amazon.com

If God is Love, then why…?

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If God is Love, then why…?
By Erin Lamb

Have you struggled with the concept that God is a God of love because of the why’s of life? You know the why’s: why did this happen, why does this keep happening, why aren’t my prayers being answered, why do bad things happen to good people? Have you been there? Have you asked those questions or similar questions? If so, you are not alone. Job asked questions. David asked questions. God is not offended by questions. He longs to relate to us.

The truth is there is something in us that desires heaven on earth now, for the wrongs to be made right, and for the world to make sense. The complete fullness of heaven will be a reality, when Jesus returns and reigns. We experience some of it now, but the best is yet to come. All the world will be flooded with His love and presence. So what do we do in the meantime?

Well, I dare not attempt to answer all the why’s. That would be a book and not a blog. I also don’t know the answer to all the why’s. What I can do is share one personal experience with you and what I learned.

The year after I graduated from college one of the closest people to me was diagnosed with cancer. How I loved (love) her. She was the one who would sit on the front porch with me when I was kid, who’d entertain my silliness, and there’s no one in the world like her. She radiated God’s love.

We believed God for healing. We prayed. We prayed some more! We believed God. We were trusting God. We just knew God would heal her. I sat with her some days just watching her waste away. I watched her in pain. This person who was kind, loving, a great mom, a great friend, a great sunday school teacher, a bright light in the community. She was dying. Sitting with the dying is emotionally traumatic. You want to fix it, immediately. You press in for breakthrough like it’s your own life that depends on it.

Well, breakthrough didn’t come. The day she died, I felt like all the air left my body. I felt as though my heart might burst into a million pieces. I cried. I continued to cry until I felt all the tears had left my body. I thought for a moment, “Why God?” A song eventually erupted in my heart. There was worship in the midst of the anguish, which had to be His Spirit springing forth to comfort mine.

It was one of the worst days of my life. I knew God could do anything. I knew He could heal. I’d seen too much not to believe. So why not now? Well, years later here are a few things my heart has settled on.

1. We live in a sinful world. Life doesn’t always make sense to my mind, but everything God does is in love, even if I can’t see it or explain it. He is always good. He’s perfect.

2. God heals cancer. It doesn’t matter what one situation looks like; He is the healer. If it doesn’t happen, it isn’t because He can’t do it, or He’s trying to prove a point. I also believe He doesn’t cause sickness, there is no sickness in heaven. Sickness and death entered the world due to sin. So you keep praying for the sick and pursuing breakthrough. Jesus told the disciples to heal the sick.

3. His comfort and love are able to sustain a person through the worst of situations. He’s the best friend we could ever have. He draws near when we can’t even lift our heads to pray.

4. He is overflowing with compassion. There is nothing that affects our hearts that does not touch His heart. He is not distant, cold, or unfeeling. He runs towards the hurting.

5. Going through challenges builds compassion for others. Without compassion, there is no genuine love. We cannot love people and not be touched by what happens to them.

6. God is in the hard stuff, always willing to help, we just don’t often see it due to our pain or lack of understanding.

7. There is always something good that can come from the unfortunate things in life if we invite Him into it. He will give us beauty for ashes, joy for sorrow, and love for pain.

8. Jesus understands. If you read about His life on earth, He was rejected, betrayed, sold out for money, and abused. He knows what it feels like to suffer. And He’s the best person to turn to during the hard times.

I conclude this entry by saying, instead of trying to figure out all the why’s, climb up into His arms, and let Him love you. Invite Him into the pain. Invite Him into the questions. Trust that He is good, and He is love. I couldn’t say that if I hadn’t gone through some pretty challenging things in life. I won’t list them all. I gave you one peak inside this mended heart. I still have moments of somber reflections, but they are bathed in the revelation that no one ever has or ever will love me the way He does. One moment with Him trumps the pain, the grief, the battles, and challenges. He’s better than we can even imagine! God=Love

Next post will hopefully be an entry from the book written during some of the challenging times. Praying for you friends. Hang in there. You are deeply loved…

What is Love? God=Love

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by Erin Lamb

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Cor. 13:4-7

So I will tell you that love fascinates me. There is something in the Universe that is bigger, grander, and more powerful than anything. It is love. He is love. People search for it, give their lives away for it, and it is the one thing that has the capability to change us from the inside out.

For humans, love is a verb. Love leads us to give, to share, and to show compassion. It comes from us to others. It dwells in the realm of our emotions mostly. We feel love and it leads us to act. If we don’t feel love, then we are not persuaded to act. For God it is who He is. He can’t be anything but love. So many times I believe we don’t understand God. How can a holy God care so much for us when He sees all our failings. He sees us as we are and smiles with love in His eyes. He may not love what we do, but He always loves us.

We can’t know love in and of ourselves. It takes two! This love inside our hearts has to originate from somewhere and it originates from Someone. God is love. People may say there are people who don’t believe in God who love well. Well, someone once explained it to me this way-God is like the sun. He shines bright on all of creation. So even those not connected to Him can benefit from the fact that He is here, He is shining, and this world isn’t completely void of His presence. His love is all around us even when we fail to see evidence of His love.

So here are some things I have learned about love from God.

1. Love is who He is. God is love. I think our vision is blurred to think of love as simply someone catering to us, making us feel good, or giving us what we want. God’s love is so much deeper than that. He loves us so much. He will withhold things from us that are detrimental to us. He will discipline us when we are wrong. He will pursue goodness in our hearts. He will warn us when we stray to come home to Him. He knows that life outside His perfect will, will lead to death. He loves us enough to let us choose and take us back when we have chosen the wrong path. He loves us enough to pursue us when we have shut Him out.  He has compassion on all that He has made. If it matters to us, it matters to Him. Love motivates all that He does.

2. Love requires sacrifice. Love costs us something. If it doesn’t cost us something, then it means nothing. The fact that God sent His only Son for the world is the greatest offering of love. The greatest gift. It cost God the One most precious to Him. He sacrificed for the unworthy. He sacrificed for the hateful, the murderer, the slanderer, the immoral, the prideful, the angry, the broken, and those who abused Him. He gave it all, in the name of love.

3. God takes love seriously. It is His nature. It is who He is. So when we love like Him, oh how His heart smiles. There is no act of love that God doesn’t see and smile. People may not appreciate it, treasure it, or acknowledge the love given them. However, God sees. God knows and heaven applauds every selfless act of love.

4. Love and pride can’t live together for long. They are enemies. Pride says, “What about me?” and love says, “What’s best for the other person?” There will be a tug of war between love and pride. Pride is selfish, self focused, and has no room for love. Pride lacks compassion. Love looks outside the person and seeks to give. Love overtakes pride and makes room for God. His love is so big that once allowed in and given full control it changes priorities. His love takes a person to a place of God focused living.

5. Agape love comes from God and can only be sustained by Him. There are so many types of love: the love for a friend, the love for a significant other, the love for a family member, the love of a thing, or even the love for a pet. Agape love is the most powerful love. It is unconditional. It is committed. It is a love that wants to love and is committed to love forever. It is not limited to the emotional realm of feelings. Agape love runs deep into the spirit. It says I love you for who you are and by the way, I want to love you. It is powerful because it touches not only the emotions, but the spirit, the mind and it is the only love that completes the human heart. Only God can give us this kind of love and it flows from Him to us. Only then can we give it away to others.

6. Love doesn’t always feel good. Sometimes love hurts. Sometimes we hurt God. I know we like to think that God is detached but He isn’t. He wants our love and devotion. I am not saying that for one second He stops loving us. I am saying He desires all of us and we can grieve Him with our actions. Sometimes we don’t understand Him and we hurt. We feel He isn’t near, He hasn’t answered quick enough/at all, or that He is punishing us. We can’t see the whys, so we assume He doesn’t love us. Well, the truth is God loves us. He will never stop loving us. The truth is, God wants our love. He wants our affection, our time, and our very lives.

7. Anything or anyone we love more than God will disappoint us. I can not stress enough the importance of loving Him first and the most. No one can love us the way He does. No one can be there for us the way He is. No one can fill the God sized void in our hearts. No one can heal us, restore us, tell us who we are, and give us love/acceptance/hope/joy/reason for living like Him. I have learned that often in life He allows us to be disappointed by human love so we can seek a deeper love from Him. He deserves to be first in our lives.

So I hope you recognize you are loved. There is so much more to talk about but that will have to wait. I am praying you and I are taken to the deepest depths of His love this year. What we need more than anything is to receive more of His love. God fill our hearts with your love. More love God. Pour in and allow us to pour out. Let the world see Your love in our hearts.  

Do You Know Who You Are? (from the book I Thought I Knew What Love Was)

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Do You Know Who You Are?

by Erin Lamb Copyright © 2011
written May 12, 2008

Do you know who you are?

Do you know who you really, truly are,

without the name of your natural father,

or the labels given to you by man?

For I have given you My name,

and I call you, “Chosen.”

If you knew who you were;

the integrity of the kernels of faith

and spiritual gifts I have placed inside you;

you would no longer bow your head in shame.

You would understand that for all your sins I stood in your place.

Do you know who you are?

You are not defined by your past,

or even your present.

Each day is just setting the stage to tell your story;

where you are,

is not where you are going.

I do not define you by what you have done,

what you are doing,

or what you will do.

I have placed My name on you.

Your body is My temple,

and I long to always reside with you.

When you sleep and rest in the night hours,

I am awake.

I am watching over you,

waiting enthusiastically until you awaken.

I am longing to meet with you

and shower you with My love.

My love is constant, steadfast, and as enduring as the sun.

Do you know who you are?

I have set you apart to be holy;

for I am Holy.

You are clothed in My righteousness.

You cannot earn My redemption.

It is freely given by your faith and obedience.

My love for you is not dependent upon what you do,

or what you fail to do.

What I accomplished on the cross is finished.

The veil was torn

and your access granted to the most sacred of all.

When you confess your sins

and forgive others,

you are forgiven.

Your slate is wiped completely clean.

My blood covers each and every sin,

so you no longer have to feel guilt or shame.

Do you know who you are?

If only you could see,

what I see.

I wish you could view yourself through My eyes,

the eyes of love.

I have embraced you in the darkness of the night,

knowing that I wanted you.

My heart’s desire was, and is, to search for you,

to look for you,

to pursue you;

what I have for you is beyond your wildest imaginings.

I long to give you more of Me.

I know that My love can satisfy even your most profound needs.

I created you,

looked upon you,

and smiled on who I had made.

I am shaping and molding you into the person I created you to be.

I want the world to get a glimpse of My glory.

I long to radiate from you,

for all the world to see

My glorious splendor.

I am the One who created everything.

There is not one who can rank above Me.

I am above all,

in all,

and I have the power to change, create, and breathe life into any dead thing.

Your right now is simply an infinitesimal step along the journey

which leads you closer to Me.

No matter what label the world chooses to place on you,

the only significant one

is the one I have given,

and I have called you, My child.

I call you My friend,

My co-laborer,

My dearly loved one,

My family,

and most of all, I call you redeemed.

Do you know who you are?

If only you could see what I see,

for you were birthed with a purpose;

a story uniquely written for you.

I have the ability to turn even the fine particles of the earth

into something that is living and breathing.

Won’t you surrender your identity to Me?

Trust that I am the One who will make you complete.

You are not to be compared to any other human being.

I made you to be you,

and I have placed on you My fingerprints.

I placed together your DNA,

and there is no one exactly like you.

You are My masterpiece.

Don’t look to this world to define you;

look to Me.

I am the One who designed you.

I know everything about you.

I know every breath you take,

and your life is not in vain.

Into you I breathed life,

so I might use you

to reflect My image.

You are My image bearer.

Do you know who you are?

Do you understand the authority you have been given, in My name?

You were created to be about My business.

You were created to reach out to the least, the last, and the lost.

You were created to worship the Creator

and not created things.

Your life is not your own;

it was purchased with My blood.

I took your lashes.

I carried your infirmities.

I took the nails for you.

I took your shame.

You no longer stand condemned,

but freely can receive My grace.

Do you know who you are?

Chosen one,

you are set apart to bear the image of the King.

You are My child.

You are the one I love.

You are the one I adore,

and I know you personally.

Each breath you take is sweet music to My ears.

It is the sound of the breath I Myself have placed there.

I know you.

I made you for a reason.

Each gift, placed inside you, is to play an integral part

in reflecting My kingdom,

in reflecting My creativity, and My love.

You are not a mistake,

a mishap,

or a blip on the screen of life.

You are not insignificant;

I knew you before the foundations of the earth.

Before your parents knew you,

I called you by name

and said, “This one belongs to Me.”

I know your name,

and I will always know your name.

I cannot forget you.

I know the measure of your days;

I have them numbered,

and your time is written on My hands.

Your end will be better than the beginning,

if you will trust Me,

even with the things you don’t understand.

I am the God of all creation.

If you cannot answer who you are,

look to Me.

Do you know who I am?

I have created you in My image,

and I delight in all that I have made.

I do not make mistakes.

I love you, now,

and I will love you, always.

*Copyright © Erin Lamb. Excerpt from, “I Thought I Knew What Love Was.”

All rights reserved. No part of the material may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, without the written permission of the Publisher, Westbow Press (www.westbowpress.com), or Author, Erin Lamb. The only exception is in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Book available: http://www.westbowpress.com, http://www.barnesandnoble.com. and http://www.amazon.com

I Thought I Knew What Love Was (Released Today)

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Hello my friends,

“I Thought I Knew What Love Was,” the Journey to Intimacy with God was released today! Whooohooo! Are you excited to venture into God’s heart with me? I hope so!

Are you curious about how God sees you?

Do you wonder what He thinks about when He thinks of you?

Have you gone through a hard time and it seems like God is distant?

Come with me into His heart….He is with you. He hasn’t left you. He will never leave you or forsake you. It may not feel like it, but He is crazy about you…

Stay tuned for preview number 2.

Love,

Erin

Happy New Year (God=love)

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Happy New Year beautiful people!!

I won’t be posting daily in the future. I simply thought since it’s the start of a new year that we’d begin our journey together into the heart of God. I’m praying for you. Hope this journey will be an adventure…

So today you’ve started a new year and probably made some resolutions. Things you plan to do this year. You know what’s on God’s to do list: to love you, to pursue your whole heart, and to be known by you. He’s after your heart. He loves you!

God tells us, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb…”Jeremiah 1:5.

He speaks so sweetly,”Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you…” Jeremiah 31:3.

He goes a step further to save us. He came to save this planet from the powers of darkness, death, and sin. He sent His Son. Check it out.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world,” John 3:16-17.

Before Adam and Eve sinned, God already had a plan in place to redeem humanity. He knew what would happen, and He still created us. We blew it, so He sent His Son, the One He loved, to be the atoning sacrifice for all our past, present, and future sins. I might be willing to lay down my life for an innocent person, but a guilty one? Who would? God. God=Love.

So if you have not invited Him into your heart, I ask you to trust me when I say He loves you. He will change your life. He’s the key to life, freedom, and truth. He’s calling you by name. Won’t you invite Him in? Talk to Him like an old friend. Don’t be shy. He knows everything anyway, and He is looking at you with the eyes of love.

Your journey to knowing Him starts with believing He is God, believing He sent His Son born of a virgin to die for your sins (He knew no sin but became the sacrifice for all sins), and believing Jesus rose again defeating death. Next step confess your sins to Him and ask for forgiveness. If you are angry with someone and need to forgive them, it’s the perfect time to do that as well. Invite Him into your heart, and receive His forgiveness. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. His sacrifice covers it all. Once you’ve invited God into your heart, guess what, you have just been given a new life! Get connected to a Christian church, start reading the Bible (recommend you start with the New Testament book of John). Talk to God. It may not seem natural at first, but prayer is simply talking to Him.

You’re on your way! There’s no guilt and no shame. He makes all things new. He has great plans for you. If you invited God into your heart, Heaven is having a big party for you! Whooohooo! You’ve just joined a Royal Family, God’s family.

For those of you who already took the first plunge of salvation, thanks for your patience. I think it’s great to be reminded of what God did for us. We are accepted based solely on what Jesus did for us, for we can not do anything to earn salvation. It’s a gift through faith.

My encouragement is that there is always more. More to know about Him. Like any relationship it grows over time and involves interaction. He’s open to being known. He enjoys pursuing and being pursued. As soon as we think we have Him figured out, He reveals something new. How exciting! Are you eager for more? Let’s dive in to know more about Him.

Here are some closing thoughts:

God thought we were worth dying for. His love prompted His plan for redemption.

God is holy. No person can stand before Him as sinless (except Jesus)*. Jesus came so you and I could be cleansed of sin, through belief and relationship with Him. The price for sin was paid in full by Jesus. We have full access to God through relationship with Jesus. We become joint heirs with Him. We are clothed in His righteousness.

God is for us and thinks highly of us. He’s not out to get us or destroy us. He saves, delivers, redeems, heals, gives life, and forgives.

God has mysteries He wants to reveal to our hearts. He wants to cultivate a deep, intimate relationship with us.

God is longing to take our relationship with Him to a deeper level.

God has the best plan for our lives. If it looks like a mess, hang in there. His work is always perfect. Invite Him in and watch Him perform the miraculous.

God wants our hearts. He already knows all there is to know about us and wants to be the greatest lover of our souls! He can’t take His eyes off us.

So here’s to a new year, a new adventure, and a journey that I hope gives us all a deeper revelation of His love. May we know the height, the depth, the width, and the intensity of this amazing love. God=love. Bless you friends.

Love in Him,

Erin

*Romans 3:23