Tag: God’s heart

Love Everyone…Even Your Enemies

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Jesus didn’t tell me to only love those who love me. He told me to love everyone, “…love your enemies & pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven,”~Matt 5:44-45. The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love,~1 John 4:8.

What is God like?

God is love. And I’m not talking about the Christian love we do of telling people we love them with flowery words, yet our actions do not demonstrate God like love.

How does God love you?

That’s the love He asks and commands us to give others. I’m not perfect in this area. No one other than Jesus got this right, yet throughout the Gospels God repeats Himself, “Love! Love! LOVE one another!” Jesus told the disciples the world would know we were following Him by our love for one another.

We cannot claim to love God and hate people. We cannot claim to truly be following Jesus and withhold love from people. It’s ungodly-not like Him.

What if God didn’t forgive us and wipe our slates completely clean?

What if God kept bringing up our past sins and rubbing them in our faces?

What if God was impatient and without compassion?

What if God only dealt with the people who were really good to Him and loved Him well?

What if God treated us the way we treat people?

What if God was stingy and rude?

What if God chose to one day hold grudges?

What if God completely ignored us though we were repentant or offered Him love?

What if God only showed up when love suited His best interests?

What if God never supported, encouraged, helped, or invested in us?

What if God ignored our needs because He was too busy or we were too needy?

What if God only showed up when He needed something?

What if God was like us?

The world would be HELL, far worse than it is now and billions of people would have no hope. Fortunately God doesn’t become like us. He empowers us to be like Him. He said in John 15:5, “I am the Vine and you are the branches. Those who abide in me will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

We are called and empowered to love. It’s not optional for a follower of Jesus. It’s not something we bypass and slide into heaven. God is serious about love.

He doesn’t ask us to be God for people, only He can meet people’s needs completely. He does call us to reflect Him and point to Him. He does call us to obey Him.

Jesus said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I say?”

“Many will come to me and I will say, depart from me, I never knew you. I was hungry and you didn’t feed me. Naked and you didn’t clothe me…whatever you did to the least of these, you did unto me.”

How to we move forward…

We confess the sin of being unloving and disobedient and we repent (turn from it).

We forgive ourselves and others for being unloving. If we don’t forgive, we are not forgiven.

We invite the Holy Spirit to give us His eyes for people and His heart.

We abide in the Vine. If you have no personal relationship with Jesus Christ, there’s no way to abide in Him or have salvation.

We obey God. Obedience to God has never been optional though some teach it is. Jesus never taught that we could live as we please and somehow honor God. He states, “I’d rather you be hot or cold than lukewarm, lest I spit you out.” The Bible states obedience is better than sacrifice. We don’t obey to gain love or approval or righteousness. We obey out of love for God. If we don’t obey Him, we don’t love Him. It doesn’t mean He doesn’t love us.

We let God love us so we have love to give. We cannot give what we haven’t received. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. His mercy is new every morning.

Father forgive me and us for our lack of love for others. Teach us to love like you. May we be imitators of God as dearly loved children. Give us your eyes for others and ourselves. May we be known by our great love, compassion, generosity, faith, forgiveness of others, mercy, and goodness. May we overflow with good fruit. A sweet fragrance and bright light in our world. For Your glory. In Jesus powerful name, Amen.

Love in Christ,

Erin

Radical LOVE!

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(Image credit Instapray)

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another,”-Jesus.

Jesus never asks us to do something He will not empower us to do. He gave us the secret to loving like Him in John 15:5. He told us to abide in Him. If His Spirit is in us, we can love! God is love. These are some thoughts I’ve been pondering about love in God’s Body (followers of Jesus).

In fellowship and covenant (committed love)…

Who will you die to self for?

Who are you willing to continually sacrifice for?

Who are you willing to carry when they cannot carry themselves?

Who are you willing to support even if it’s not convenient for you?

Who are you willing to pray for until they get breakthrough?

Who are you willing to join your life to so they are blessed beyond measure because of the gifts God placed in you?

Who are you willing to continually love, even if they do not love you?

God invites us to enter into covenant with other believers. It’s not about saying I love you…it’s about living I love you. Loving when it’s hard. Loving in winter, spring, summer, and fall. We are called to love one another as Christ loves us. It’s not a love that is in word only. It’s a love that causes us to throw off our selfishness, pride, apathy, complacency, and passivity. Are we committed to this kind of love for one another? This kind of love lets the world know we belong to Jesus. Here’s an excerpt from the Bible on the friends who carried their friend to Jesus. This is the radical love that God is calling every believer to…Christ’s agape love.

The Help of Friends – Luke 5:17-20

One day Jesus was teaching the people. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there too. They had come from every town in Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. The Lord (God) was giving Jesus the power to heal people. There was a man that was paralyzed (crippled). Some men carried him on a mat. The men tried to bring him and put him down before Jesus. But there were so many people that the men could not find a way to Jesus. So the men went up on the roof and lowered the crippled man down through a hole in the ceiling. They lowered the mat {into the room} so that the crippled man was lying before Jesus. Jesus saw that these men believed. Jesus said to the sick man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” (ERV)

I went through a very hard season and I can say I spent most of it relying heavily on Jesus. I can say I am thankful for the people who loved me in the beginning, middle, and end of the storm. The people who didn’t make it about them, but enabled me to just get to Jesus. I am human just like everyone else, in dire need of Jesus. I need comfort just like everyone else in loss and pain. If you encounter one person who loves you unconditionally and is willing to sacrifice for you, you are richer than most of the people in the world.

Many people have associates. Many people have buddies. Many people have people willing to take from them. Many people have someone to hang out with and participate in activities. Not very many people have friends willing to risk their very lives to save them.

We don’t need more self-centered Christians. We need more willing to lay down their lives as Christ did for us. It’s hard. It hurts. It’s painful to love, especially when you aren’t loved in return. Yet love will always be the greatest commandment and the true marking of a disciple of Jesus.

What if every believer lived a life a love?

No person would feel disconnected, unsupported, alone, or unloved. Yet, this is not the reality. We have people in church every weekend who feel absolutely unloved and uncared for. We don’t need to play Christian games or say, “I love you,” if we don’t. We do need to ask God to fill us so we have something to offer others. We need to live the Gospel, not just know the Gospel. It’s our mission. It’s our purpose on earth-Love God, love people.

May we love, and love well…it’s a process and it’s a journey…yet it’s what we are called to in Christ. And it’s possible through Christ who gives us His strength. Those who abide in Him will bear much fruit (John 15:5). I pray earnestly that I can live what I know of Jesus, let Him live through me. So imperfect, yet so dependent on Him for everything.

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Remembering John (Operation God is Love)

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Whatever you’ve done to the least of these, you’ve done unto Me,~Jesus.

Operation God is Love is a street ministry I started this Spring. The objectives are to take the Gospel into the city, to pray for people, to share Jesus, and be instruments of love. I am drawn to people no one loves. They are too dirty, broken, messed up, and outcasts of society. I look into their eyes and my heart cries out, “I see you. You are loved.”

This ministry is small. It’s me and two other women who pack up supplies and hit the city month after month. We never know who we will see or what God will do. What we do know is that God is good. God is all powerful. God is love. God has empowered us to go into all the world and make disciples! The Great Commission was given to all…

John (not his real name) was a beggar and homeless man we met our first time out. He was young, maybe early thirties. He was hungry and sad. John captured my attention the moment we saw him, and we took him to get pizza.

I’ve never seen someone so undone by what I would consider reasonable kindness…a meal. The Bible says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him.” John wasn’t an enemy. He was a hurting person who was invisible to many people who walked by.

He told us many people ignored him or looked down on him. He carried tremendous emotional pain and shame.

We asked about his life. We gave him a Bible and literature. We gave him food and supplies. We told him about Jesus. We prayed with John and his friend who showed up later. We prayed for healing of his leg. We spent an afternoon with John. Doing all we knew to do to express God’s heart.

John met his Maker a few weeks ago. He overdosed on some drug. We don’t know if it was an accident or on purpose. I do know the level of pain and shame he carried was heavy. I can’t imagine living his life story. I do remember his tears as we informed him of God’s love and redemption. I don’t know if John finally gave his life to Christ. He didn’t when we were with him.

Here’s what I do know…

It pays to stop for the one. I run into so many hurting or homeless people and sometimes it’s impossible to get to everyone. I can’t help everyone. I can help one person. I can share the Gospel with one. I can feed one. I can love one.

I don’t think I will ever forget John’s face. It’s etched in my memory. He wasn’t too dirty for me to touch. He wasn’t so lost I didn’t want to reach out. He wasn’t invisible. He was seen and loved. I was honored to share a meal with him. Honored God allowed our paths to cross. Honored to love him as a person God loves.

My encouragement to you is this…you have the ability to change someone’s life and enlarge heaven. Don’t waste it. Yes, it’s unsettling at first to reach out to strangers, but it’s worth it. I’ve found people on the street more welcoming and appreciative than people who gather in churches on Sundays. It’s far easier for me to minister to the hurting than people who think they have it all together and don’t need or want love.

Please pray for us as we continue to go out! We want to see God’s Kingdom come and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Heaven full! Hell empty. We can’t do everything. We can do something….

Love in Christ,

Erin

What Children Have Taught Me About The Father

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If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ~Matthew 7:11.

I am not a mother. I am an older sister. I have spent years volunteering off and on in children’s ministry. I adore children. I love their candor. I love their sense of adventure and creativity. No one has told them to stop dreaming yet. They are for the most part carefree, full of energy and life! In interacting with children here are some things they have taught me about our heavenly Father.

1. The Father is patient. We know from scripture that God is perfect in patience. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love, ~Psalm 103:8. Children make messes. They are curious. They can be selfish and self-centered. When I see a child acting as child I don’t scream at them, “Get it together, you are so awful and selfish.” There’s a part of you that knows the level of understanding a child has is far different from an adult. The goal in dealing with a child is teach them. God knows what we know and what we don’t know. He knows whether we are acting out of pure rebellion or ignorance. God is patient and wants to teach us. He knows we do not understand everything. He longs to lead us to maturity. He parents out of love. The goal is to help us not hurt us.

2. The Father delights in us. I love to watch kids be who they are. If they paint, it’s fun to paint with them. If they like a movie, it’s fun to sit down and watch one with them. If they have a school event or sport, you go to cheer for them. Their interests and success brings you great joy. You are their biggest cheerleader. How can we who fail to love perfectly, expect anything less from a perfect Father? God is excited when you win that game, achieve that goal. He is cheering from the heaven’s “That’s my kid!” He delights in us.

3. The Father loves quality time. I babysit sometimes for friends and it’s such a joy to spend time with kids. God loves to spend time with us!

4. The Father forgives. Children do things that are unwise. A loving parent says, “I love you because you are mine.” When we confess our sins to God, He is faithful to forgive our sins. He does not keep bringing up our forgiven sins. He says, “It’s over, get back out there and play.” We don’t abuse His forgiving nature by continuing to do what’s wrong because of His kindness. We seek to align our lives with His will for He is perfect, holy, and just.

5. The Father hates what destroys us. Sin is not only a big deal because God is holy. Sin is a big deal because sin destroys who and what God loves. Sin destroys us, it destroys relationships, it destroys families. Sin causes sickness, death, destruction, wars, affairs, and wages war like cancer in our souls. God hates sin; sin is aimed at killing us. The wages of sin is death (eternal separation from God); but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,~Romans 6:23.

My opinion: God doesn’t want to be in heaven without you so He sent His Son to redeem you. It cost Him greatly to pay for our sins. If I saw a child eating poison, I would run and do all that I could to stop them. God isn’t trying to ruin our fun. God is trying to save us from death. He also cares when things hurt us or we are suffering from living in a sinful world. He sent His Spirit to comfort, heal, and restore. You hurt, God hurts. He collects your tears.

6. The Father disciplines His own. Children need correction and direction. We don’t abuse them, hurt them, or mistreat them. We do point them in the direction they need to go; we lead them. God knows what works for every child. His parenting is tailored for every person. He does and will correct us if we are headed in the wrong direction, this normally starts with conviction (a nudging in the spirit that something is not right). He gives us the opportunity to repent. If we don’t listen, He continues to nudge us. God is perfect in knowing what to do. If we refuse His correction, He can and does let us jump head first off the cliff. If we turn around, He receives us with open arms (ex. Prodigal Son) and seeks to restore us. He does not seek to control or manipulate us. He seeks to lead and guide us.

Final Notes:

The Father loves you more than any parent could love a child. More than any person could or ever will love you. He wants to be with you more than you could ever want to be with Him. He cares about every single detail of your life. You were worth dying for. You are an extension of His heart. You were God’s idea. You are wanted, cherished, and cared for. I pray you bask in the Father’s love.

God will always love you!

God will always love you!

Dream with God

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If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!~Matthew 7:11.

I love Matthew 7:11. Sometimes I think we forget that God is not only interested in giving us salvation, but other good things as well. As a loving parent, He cares about what we care about. We can put God in a box and say, “As long I do what God wants, He is pleased. And when I get to heaven He will give me good things if I perform well on earth.” God does care about obedience and there is blessing in doing what He says. However, our favor with Him is based on what Jesus did, not what we have done. We can’t earn what’s given in His Son.

God is quite generous and longs to bless us. Many fear talking about His generosity for fear they will be labeled as someone promoting a “Prosperity Gospel.” A prosperity gospel says, “If you follow Jesus, you will have everything you want when you want it, and your life will be problem free!” That is not what this post is about or what Jesus taught. We will have troubles in this life and God is not obligated to do what we want when we want, but He does long to be good to His kids. We can have a great time if our complete trust is in our Father. There is love, peace, joy, hope, and blessing in God. 

God cares about the things we like and desire and invites us to dream with Him. He delights in us and takes delight in our enjoyment of His blessings.

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart,~Psalm 37:4. If our hearts are evil or have evil intentions, God won’t grant our requests. He doesn’t lead us to sin, harm ourselves, or others. The verse says, “Delight yourself in the Lord.” If our hearts are delighted in Him, then our hearts are being transformed by Him. Here’s an excerpt from my book, I Thought I Knew What Love Was.

God continually challenges me to dream with Him, to seek Him for the desires of my heart, to believe Him for good things. He is not and will never be a dead beat dad. Hope this blesses you and you dream big! God is unlimited, and He loves you.

Dream Little Ones
written October 16, 2004 by Erin Lamb (all rights reserved)
Dream little ones.
Don’t let this time pass you by.
The tides of life will roll away,
and what will you say for the time that has been lost?
Dream little ones,
and reach for those dreams;
don’t allow them to be strangled by life’s uncertainties.
Reach out,
like you are reaching for heaven.
Dream little ones,
and leave the past mistakes behind.
Fill your heart and mind with all that can and will be.
You are not alone on this journey.
I have made provisions
to send you help from heaven.
Dream a dream that you think you can’t achieve,
and I will lift you
to the heights you can’t reach.
There is nothing too large,
or too far out of My reach.
I hold it all in the palm of My hands.
Dream little ones,
and don’t give up.
Don’t give in.
You have so much potential
that lies within.
I have built a bridge of love in your heart
that leads from you to Me.
I am looking forward to getting you to the place where you are
content in My embrace.
I do not want to stifle you,
or cripple you;
I only wish to grant you love.
So dream little ones,
and trust I can make dreams a reality.

Check out, I Thought I Knew What Love Was. You can purchase right here on the site there’s a link entitled Get Your Copy or you may purchase through these wonderful sites: http://www.westbowpress.com, http://www.barnesandnoble.com. and http://www.amazon.com or iTunes store.

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.

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All That I Have Is Yours

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He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ~Romans 8:32

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows,~James 1:27.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ,~Ephesians 1:3

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you,~James 1:5.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus,~Phil 4:19.

There are so many scriptures that speak about the generosity of our Heavenly Father. I challenge you to seek them out and read them aloud. I have Philippians 4:19 written on my bathroom mirror. I recite Jeremiah 29:11 quite often, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, give you hope and a future.” I cling to that verse in good and bad times.

The Father says, “All that I have is yours!” Take a moment to ponder those words. There is an inheritance that comes from relationship with Christ. God has no lack. Not only does He not have lack, He is extremely generous. The Creator of the Universe is inviting you to come to Him with your desires, dreams, hopes, aspirations, and more. He cares about what you care about. He withholds no good thing from us (Psalm 84:11).

Okay so now let’s talk about why you may or may not be feeling the generosity of God.

1. God works through people.

Yes, God can rain down gold from the sky, but most of the time He works through humans. Why? It gives us a chance to partner with Him. It teaches us to give and receive. It teaches us to love. So, when people bless us, we often thank them and not God. I’ve had random people bless me. I know it was God. People who have never met me have reached out at times to offer prayer, support, encouragement, help. God works through people and even people who don’t know Him.

2. We are stingy or have selfish motives.

As a loving Father, God knows when we are asking for things for the wrong reasons or if He gave us what we asked for whether it would be good for us. If He did not love us, He would cave and give us everything we wanted when we wanted it. He’s smart. For example: I love horses. I think they are beautiful. I have been asking God for a horse for years. Here’s the problem. I don’t have the space for a horse, nor do I know how to care for one. Why would God give me something that would be a burden not a blessing? In response to my constant prayers, God had someone give me a horse figurine.

In God’s Kingdom, giving leads to abundance. God blesses us out of the kindness of His heart, and we don’t earn blessings. However, the giver always has more than the stingy person in God’s Kingdom. If God can get it through you, He will get it to you. I read about this pastor who was always giving money away to other churches even when they needed the money to pay their bills. Or He would feed the poor when they needed to eat. This pastor has been blessed tremendously, and God has always met their needs. We can’t out give God. He said whatever we give will be given back in abundance. We don’t give to get, that’s the wrong motive. When we do have a heart to give, God gives back and it’s more than we gave.

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full–pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back, Luke 6:38.

3. People are called to bless each other within God’s Body.

We (you and I) are called to bless other people. If I go to church with sister Sally and know her husband is out of work and they can’t pay their bills, I am called to bless them if I can. God said love and care for one another, not just pray for one another. If we are not giving to other people, they are not experiencing the generosity of God. The same goes for the gifts of the Spirit. If everyone comes to church on Sunday to hear a word, then goes home….then the Body of Christ is not functioning at it’s best. We (all God’s children) are called to serve and be generous. It’s not just for pastors, leaders, counselors, and missionaries.

4. Unbelief.

Not believing God is actually sin. It’s challenging to believe God when circumstances have demonstrated something other than the blessing of God. Just read the story of Job. Faith is an important and vital part of relationship with God. Believing leads to seeing. If I don’t believe God wants to bless me or is blessing me, guess what? I don’t see or receive anything. If someone gives you a gift and you say it’s not for you, then you don’t get anything. Unbelief says, “God can’t or God won’t do this.” Doubt says, “I know God can do this, but I am not so sure He will.” God can and will bless us even when we don’t believe Him, however we miss out on so much because we are unwilling to believe God is who He says He is.

Lastly I will say God is continually pouring out blessings on the righteous and unrighteous, it’s not always acknowledged as being from Him. The list above is about our perceptions and possible hindrances to seeing the generosity of God. God is good, kind, loving, and generous.

If God says no to a request, it’s only because He has something better in mind or what we’re asking for is not good for us or another person. He also won’t force us to do His will. So, if you’re praying for something that involves another person, know that God will work in and around them, but won’t force His will or yours on them.

Papa I ask that anything that is hindering us from receiving Your blessings would be uprooted and removed. May we walk in the truth that You’re a great Dad, and You love us. Help us to receive Your blessings and then give them away. Heal past hurts and disappointments. Help us to live lives filled with hope. In Jesus name, Amen.

P.S You are deeply loved.

 

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You And I Are One (Poem)

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Many times we believe that God is watching the things that happen to us and it does not deeply impact His heart. I was going through a challenging time and God spoke to my heart, “You and I are one.” When you abide in Christ and He in you, He not only sees what you see. He feels what you feel. What hurts you, touches His heart.  Even for humans when we see someone we love hurting, it impacts us in a way. For we are connected to them through love and relationship. God loves us more than we can love anyone.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me, ~John 15:4.

To abide means to dwell, to remain, or reside. This verse is speaking of the fruits of God’s Spirit, but if you take a plant say a vine and you chop off a portion of it or injure it, it will affect the rest of the plant. If you are in Christ then the things that happen to you touch Him as well. He’s not watching your life from a distance. He is in your life living it with you. We are also told in scripture that the Holy Spirit lives in believers.

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,~ 1 Corinthians 6:19.

Even if you aren’t in fellowship with God, He loves you. He cares for you, and He longs for you to know the depths of His love.

You and I Are One written by Erin Lamb, all rights reserved.

I am there on the nights sorrow comes to rattle your soul.

I am not distant,

but it is I who holds your heart close.

With every tear you shed,

I whisper to your spirit to hold on.

Hold on for a new day is coming.

Hold on for the sun will rise again.

Hold on for I will turn your mourning into dancing.

You will have joy again.

The tears you’ve cried,

I’ve bottled every one.

If only you could see,

what hurts your heart, hurts Me.

I do not delight in your suffering,

nor do I glory in your pain.

My heart wells up with compassion,

and I want to hold you close to Me.

You and I are one.

Your heart is an extension of My heart.

I put My heart on display for the world to see how wonderful are the things that I create.

I created you for Me.

I created you to be loved by Me.

Oh, My child can’t you see,

I’ve given you the very best of Me.

I never want you to forget all the promises wrapped up in my Son.

I gave Him for you,

so there will one day be no more sorrow,

and no more pain.

There will be a day where you will see Me face to face.

What a delight that will be,

for you to look into the eyes of Love,

and see what I’ve always wanted you to see.

Pure, unconditional love.

A love that was here before you.

A love that breathed life into you.

A love that died and was resurrected for you.

A love that is here for you.

You and I are one.

I would do it all again

just to give you the chance to be My friend.

My heart longs for you.

My heart aches for you to see

that what matters to you,

matters to Me.

You are loved.

You are cared for.

You will always find comfort in Me.

Come rest in a love that will fill you, heal you, restore you, and change you into the person I created you to be.

I love you now,

and I will love you for all of eternity.

 

You Are My Child (Poem)

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Photo Credit: Microsoft Clipart

Written by Erin Lamb©, all rights reserved

God’s love is overwhelming once our hearts have a revelation of how incredible it is. His love for His children does not fail. We live in a world that may at times make it challenging to see God’s love. As stated in the post The Perfect Father, God is not cold, cruel, or aloof. He loves us deeply and purely. The words below were pressed into my heart today. I hope they bless you. Whether you know God or not, He loves you. You are the object of His affection. You are loved….today and every day.

You are My child;

the one that I came for,

and the one My heart loves.

Before I set the stars in the sky

I thought of you, and I knew you.

I pieced together your DNA in My mind.

Everything about you,

I knew you before the creation of time.

You were and will always be the one My heart longs for.

Every moment of the day

I am eagerly waiting for you to look My way.

I’ve stored up abundant blessings for you,

beyond your wildest imaginings.

I have always loved you,

always known you,

and I have always wanted to be with you.

You are My child.

You are an extension of My creativity.

How delighted I was to pour out My heart and speak life into you.

I neither slumber nor sleep;

My eyes are careful to watch every step you take.

All for love,

I reach down

in ways you cannot always see.

Oh, to meet with you,

to be with you;

there is no place I’d rather be!

Every hair on your head;

I know them.

Every tear you’ve shed;

I have bottled them.

No one knows you better than Me,

and no one can love you as well as I can.

There is a void inside you that is longing to be filled.

And I stand with arms wide open,

longing to fill your heart with so much love that your heart’s cup overflows.

I am the One who knows your destiny and true identity.

I created you for Me.

Your name is engraved upon My heart,

and your dreams as well.

I long to see you soar to the highest heights

I am your biggest fan.

You are My child and nothing can cause Me to love you less.

I love you!

I love you!

I will always love you!

If you cannot feel My love or sense My affection,

look to that rugged cross.

There My Son took many lashes.

He took them for you.

So that you and I could be together for eternity.

You were worth dying for.

You were worth saving.

You are My child,

and My love is always here for the taking.

How I Love You (God’s Perfect Love)

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How I Love You (God’s Perfect Love)

Describe your best loving relationship? How did you know the person loved you? What did they do to show you their love?
Do you think God responds to you in a similar way?

What if God knows the way you receive love and responds to you in a way that is tailored to you? What if His love is bigger, greater, more passionate, and deeper than any earthly love you have felt? It is! His love is perfect.

I pray as Paul prayed.

I pray that we, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that we may be filled to the measure of all measure of fullness of God.~ Eph 3:17-19.

God loves us perfectly but often we miss His love for the following reasons:

1. We don’t believe God loves us deeply and personally. So, we fail to recognize His love when it’s always there. If we don’t believe, we fail to receive. Have you ever gone out of your way to show someone you loved them, yet they failed to believe you? It’s the same with God. It starts with faith (believing God).

2. We don’t spend time with Him. It’s challenging to receive love from someone we don’t know. It’s strange and uncomfortable. However, the more familiar we are with someone, the easier it is to feel the heart to heart connection. Knowing leads to greater intimacy.

3. We think God is like the people we encounter. He can’t be compared to a person. He’s kinder, more generous, and more loving.

4. We blame Him for the bad things that happen and fail to thank Him for the good.

5. When He uses people to bless us, we end up thanking them and forget Him. He uses people to encourage us, care for us, show us kindness, etc…Too often we thank them instead of seeing God was the one who gave them the idea. It’s good to thank people, but ultimately God is the one longing to bless us.

I can say that God has gone out of His way to shower me with love. Sometimes I thanked people and saw only them. Other times I simply did not fully believe He was a personal God who wanted to have deep relationship with me. What I found was the more time I spent with Him, the more time I spent praying for a deeper revelation of His love, the more I saw His love. Here are some examples, just a few:

During times of discouragement or grief God would bring scriptures to mind. He sometimes sent people who were caring and kind, who wiped tears, and were a support. Often when the season was over the people were gone, but He never left.

During times of little resources God would send people to take me to dinner or make meals. He has always provided.

He spoke and speaks encouraging words into my heart. He calls out the good! He’s my greatest cheerleader.

He placed so many beautiful things in nature I can’t photograph them all. Nice!

I love art, and He has allowed there to be numerous talented artists in the world. I am able to see their work and marvel at their creativity.

Sometimes He allows my favorite songs to be played on the radio right as I’m thinking of them.

He inspired people to write worship songs that connect my heart to His.

He sent people to teach and show me His love (my parents).

He forgives over and over and over again. That’s love!

He convicts and corrects me when I’m wrong.

When I have been faithless, He’s still been faithful.

He speaks through His Word which has been a source of tremendous encouragement and blue print for life.

Last but not least, He sent His Son to take away all my sins! I put this one last because He did this for everyone. However, we fail to see that if we were the only lost person on earth, He still would have sent Jesus. His love is personal, not a blanket love. I told God once when I was young, “You love me because you have to.” His response, “I love you because I want to.” See verse below.

“Long before He laid down the Earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love….(What pleasure He took in planning this!) Eph 1-4-5 the Message.

So my beautiful friends I hope and pray that His perfect love is revealed more and more to us. The way I sense His love may be radically different than how you sense His love. All that matters is that you know that there’s nothing He’d love more than to have a close, personal relationship with you. You were worth dying for! And you are worth pursuing. You are deeply loved. You’re in my heart and in my prayers.

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…