Tag: Jesus

The Greatest Gift (Merry Christmas & Happy Chanukah) 

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On this glorious Sunday morning, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah. 

Though scholars have estimated Jesus was most likely born in Autumn, it is still wonderful to celebrate His birth. 

What a life! If I were to name one hero who walked this earth, it would be Jesus. 

Love came down to a world filled with chaos and sin. He left paradise for a sinful, broken world. He did not come as a fully grown man. He humbled Himself to enter the world as we do, as a baby. 

He grew, learned to navigate through our world with the limitations of being human. 

He did not remain a baby, He grew to be a man of wisdom, and authority. Jesus demonstrated what one person fully yielded to God the Father could accomplish. 

The same Jesus who was before the foundations of the earth, took on flesh, dwelt among us, and eventually took on our sins on a rugged cross. 

He did not give His life for the innocent. He gave His life for the guilty. 

You and I were enemies of God. Yet He chose to pay a price we could not pay. 

What a gift! What a Savior!!

This is a time of year where people spend time buying gifts or giving gifts. I can think of no better gift than God. The Father gave His Son. The Son gave His life. All so you and I could have everlasting life. He is the gift that keeps on giving. 

We have been given through the Son: 

  • Access to God the Father. No longer must be perform cleansing rituals to be in His presence. 
  • Forgiveness of Sins and New Life. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves righteous before God. So He, through our repentance and faith, gives us His Righteousness. 
  • Our Names Written in the Lambs Book of Life. Those in Christ have a destiny sealed in eternity, with God (Revelation 21:27).
  • Every Spiritual Blessing in the Heavenlies in Christ Jesus. Read Ephesians 1:3. 
  • Relationship with God. The greatest gift of all. 
  • And So Much More! 

Today and every day may you and I give thanks for the greatest gift to ever be given to our world. May we not only celebrate family and friendships, and enjoy the passing of gifts to one another, may we celebrate the greatest gift of all; God. 

He has blessed the world with so many miracles, too many to count. He has provided for His people. He has done great wonders. He has been the greatest gift throughout the centuries. God is the gift that will never grow old nor decay. It is His sustaining life that awakened us today! 

From my home to yours I bless you! May you feel the warmth of God’s incredible embrace and reflect on all He is and all He has done for you. 

Warm Wishes and Great Love, 

Erin Lamb 

God Wants to Connect with You (Devotion) 

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Morning Reflection: He is an everyday kind of love. Grow in intimacy with God. 

I love gathering with other believers to celebrate Jesus and love the Body of Christ. Yet following Jesus is more than going to a building on the weekend. 

Following Jesus is being with God Monday through Sunday, chatting with Him daily, communion with God, intimacy with God, hearing His heartbeat, responding to His incredible love. It is a habitation not a visitation, immersion in His glory, partnership with God, being a conduit of His love and power in a dark world. 

The Gospel is not a me centered story or a church centered story. It is God’s story. He is the Author, Finisher of our faith. Jesus is central in the Gospel. 

Following Jesus moves far beyond activity into profound intimacy (knowing God, being with God, and being known by God). Activity will never surpass friendship and sonship. God is after heart, why we do what we do. He is more interested in connection and relationship than our busyness to try to please Him. 

Being with God is far more important than doing for God. Being leads to doing with the proper motive and the grace to accomplish the activity. 

Being with God is not about laziness or passivity. It is about love. Love seeks to give. We surrender all of who we are to all of who He is. He does the same. Can we simply sit for a moment each day and love the One who loves us most? 

If we are driven by activity instead of intimacy and abiding with God, our source is flesh. Only what flows through His Spirit is pure. Apart from God there is not abundant good fruit (John 15:4-5). May you and I continually invest in knowing God for who He is and not the God made in our own image. May we pursue Him for who He is, not for what He has to offer. May we surrender and worship because He is worthy, not so He can bless us. God is good. He is worthy of it all. 

In every season may we dive deeper into God’s love, and get to know Him. 

God bless you! You are SOooooo deeply loved.

Love in Christ, 

Erin Lamb 

Oneness, Intimacy, and Covenant (Sunday Devotion)

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Sunday Morning Devotion: God is the Source we are the conduits. Let’s talk about oneness with God, intimacy, and marriage (oneness with another). 

If you want me to talk your ear off, ask about intimacy with God. It is my greatest pursuit; I ask Him questions/ search His Word for greater revelation. I am still learning and on this journey with Him. I hope you join me. I hope this post blesses you. 

God invites each person into personal relationship with Him. The invitation is personal, it is a 24/7 lifetime covenant relationship. It is the strongest covenant (commitment) a person can enter into (see Hebrews 8-9 for the new covenant info). 

God does not come simply for weekend visitations. He comes for a habitation-an indwelling of His Spirit. He comes to take up residence. He knocks on the door of our hearts saying, “I want to live here with you, abide in you, and you in Me.” He wants to be one with us. 

How on earth is God one with us? What is this oneness? Well, let’s start off talking about what it is not.

1. We Do Not Become the Other Person

Marriage is a good example of this. Husband and wife are to become one. This does not mean they become the other person (though some twist (pervert) it that way). They do not become conjoined twins who can not function without the other. They do not share a brain or body parts. They are still two individuals with their own likes, brains, dislikes, free wills, and personalities. God is not asking them to morph into the same person. 

God unites two people so they can agape love (unconditional, sacrificial, unselfish love), have a higher level of intimacy (knowing and being known), and so the blessings of each one can flow into the other. They connect deeply and like a conduit there is a flow back and forth. It is intended for mutual blessing, love. 

Spiritually and in the soul they connect through covenant and physical intimacy on a level that goes beyond just friends. Their bodies, souls, and spirits connect. Hence sex being so powerful. You are saying, “Whatever is in your soul or spirit, I invite it into me. Let’s be one, joined together.” 

In the spirit and soul realm, husband and wife are connected (This happens with all other sexual relationships too (1 Corinthians 6:16)). They are not the same person. That’s why when spouses die, or cheat, or are involved in pornography/immorality…one spouse may feel it. 

In death or divorce/breakup spouses may feel a part of them died. Why? They were connected and in covenant. Yet they are not the same person. If that were so, if one died they both would need to die. If one sinned, they would both be guilty. Yet we know this to be untrue. Each individual will give account for their individual life to God (Romans 14:12). 

God enters our lives through an eternal covenant. We repent and receive through faith in His Son Jesus. For born again believers the objective is for the Holy Spirit to take up residence in us (2 Timothy 1:14, Romans 8:11). If we do not have His Spirit, we do not belong to God (Romans 8:9). He is our seal, guarantee of what is to come (2 Corinthians 1:22). 

The Spirit of God (Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost) is connected to the Son, and the Father. They are one. Yet the Father is not the Son, the Son is not Holy Spirit. They are the Godhead manifested in unique, yet connected forms. 

So being one with God does not make us God. God does not become us. He comes in covenant with agape love, gifts, and the blessings of God flow in and through us. We also gain the highest form of intimacy-knowing God and being known by Him. He is the only One who will know everything about us. Through covenant we become the truest and best versions of ourselves. The love He gives, we give it back to Him. 

2. We Do Not Possess Unlimited Authority 

I am one with God, through Jesus. I am not Jesus. I am not Father God. I am not Holy Spirit. Even Jesus said, “I only do what I see the Father doing and say what I hear Him speaking (John 5:19).” 

It is dangerous to try to use authority that has not been given. Authority comes from the top down. God alone has ultimate authority. Even with ultimate authority He works within the framework He created to allow humans to choose. This means control, manipulation, and abuse of authority are a no go. Being one with God does not give us ultimate authority over everything and everyone. We are not demi gods. We do not have ultimate authority over everything or everyone. 

3. We Are Not Equal to God 

We are made in the image of God. We are His workmanship created for His glory. We are, if we are in Christ, raised up and seated with Him in heavenly places. We become joint heirs with Jesus. We do not become equal to God. God reaches down low to raise us up. He does not remove Himself from His throne and place us there. 

As Pastor TD Jakes says, “If God is on the throne, my flesh is on the cross. If I am on the throne, I am trying to put Jesus back on the cross.” 

We are not equal to God. We are children of God. He chooses to adopt us and work through us. He will always be God, the Great I AM, the Creator. 

Nothing God created is equal to His majesty. He values us tremendously, yet does not surrender His throne to us. Why? He is God. He also knows anything and anyone we worship other than Him brings bondage and is fueled by pride. Look what happened to Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-17). God alone is 100% good. 

This is important in the picture of marriage too. God gave earthly marriage as a picture, not for the picture to replace Him or reality. What do I mean? Jesus is God. God alone is to be worshipped. 

Husbands are not God; they are not to be worshipped. They are to be respected and loved just like wives are to be respected and loved. The Church is to worship God. The wife is to worship God. He said, “Have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3).”

Husbands are to imitate Jesus in their sacrificial, unconditional, unselfish love for their wives. Part of Christ being the Head of the Church is He is the Chief Cornerstone, providing the most support and He sacrificed the most even to the laying down His life. Wives are to respond to that love and support with agape love, respect, and a willingness to yield to what honors God. Husbands too are to be willing to yield (Ephesians 5:21). All believers are to be willing to yield (submit)-same verse Ephesians 5:21. 

Both husband and wife are to yield to God, then each other. Neither is to become God for the other person. If that were so, God would have said, “You must worship two Gods-Me and your spouse.” He did not give us God alternatives. Our primary allegiance is to always first be to God. 

If a spouse tells us to do something that violates our relationship with God or is immoral or illegal, we are to forsake yielding to them and yield to God. Spouses are also to point each other to God. So going along with abuse or what is sinful or wrong is unGodly. 

Husbands who use their position in the family to abuse, hurt, control, manipulate, dominate, or mistreat their wives and/or children will be held accountable to God. 

Jesus told the disciples, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom (Matthew 20:28).” 

God views authority as a vehicle to protect from the attacks of the enemy, empower others, sacrificially and unselfishly love, honor, and serve. 

Jesus is the perfect model for leadership, authority, a disciple, a yielded (submitted) One. Jesus is the perfect model of a pastor or man or human or husband or leader. 

The one given the highest authority has been given the greatest capacity for sacrifice and is to abide in God to agape love. The highest calling isn’t boss or dictator-those are anti God leadership models for humans. The highest calling is agape (unconditional, sacrificial, unselfish, laid down love) and being a servant. 

Confusion comes when the picture of Jesus and the church is misused and misapplied in marriage.

Let’s jump back to oneness with God…

So becoming one with God comes through covenant and His Holy Spirit. God does not become us. We do not become God. We connect with God. Our spirit connects with His Spirit. His Spirit is to take up residence in our physical house. It is a connection that is meant to flow from this life into eternity. It is the only eternal covenant. Marriage is an earthly covenant that breaks at death, or in some cases divorce. 

Oneness with God provides us with: 

  • Intimacy with God/Friendship with God (the ability to know Him) 
  • Joint Heirship with Jesus 
  • Access to God (we do not need a liaison aside from Jesus-He is the mediator between God and mankind (1 Timothy 2:5))
  • Gifts of the Holy Spirit
  • Supernatural wisdom, revelation, and insight
  • Forgiveness of Sins/the Gift of Repentance 
  • New Identity in Christ 
  • Divine Deliverance 
  • Profound Understanding of His Word
  • Manifestations of His Glory/His love/His power
  • Partnership with God 
  • Name Written in the Lamb’s Book of Life 
  • Ability to Bless the World
  • Every Spiritual Blessing in the Heavenlies in Christ 
  • Advocate in Christ
  • An Eternal Covenant  

May you and I pursue deeper intimacy with God and increased revelation of oneness with Him. 

Here are some additional scriptures to back up this post: Ephesians 1, Ephesians 5, Exodus 20:3, John 17:20-24, Mark 10:7-9, Colossians 3:19, 21, Romans 14:12, Hebrews 8 and 9, 2 Timothy 1:14, Galatians 5:13-26, Romans 8

Everything God Allows Is Not Necessarily His Will (Wednesday Devotion)

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Morning Devotion: This was all God’s plan or was it? Everything God allows is not necessarily His will. Everything stated or predicted to be true is not necessarily God. 

God is good (Mark 10:18). Evil exists because of the abuse of free will (Romans 5:12). We can choose evil over good. We can choose our way over God’s way. Why? Because love involves freedom. The desire to control people is demonic. 

Nothing happens outside God’s knowledge. He does not prevent every horrible thing from happening. 

This does not mean the following: 

1. God is cruel or loves to punish people. 

The Bible says He is slow to anger and abounding in love (Psalm 103:8). He is merciful wanting all to come to repentance. 

2. Everything that happens is God’s perfect will. 

God desires that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), yet we know millions will. 

3. When things happen, God caused it to happen. 

Allowing and causing are two vastly different concepts. To cause something to happen is to have motivations and intentions that pursue that outcome. All the evil we see in the world came from Adam choosing to obey the devil instead of God (Romans 5:12). Did God cause sin? No. Did He give choices? Yes. 

God hates sin. Yet He allows us to choose sin. 

There will not be anyone in heaven who chose the devil over God or chose themselves over God. Why? God will not force anyone to love Him. 

This concept of humans have no personal responsibility due to the sovereignty of God is false. 

God gave both Adam and Eve dominion on the earth (Genesis 1). They were to fill, subdue, reign on earth. They were given authority and dominion. They surrendered it through sin. 

Jesus regained what was lost. Jesus restored what was broken in the Garden. Yet there is still a world in chaos. Why? People can still choose sin. Sin leads to destruction and death. Sin hurts us and others. 

Death, sickness, destruction, brokenness, broken relationships, hurt, sorrow, lust, greed, and all evil were not a part of the Garden pre fall. God knew man would sin, so there was already a plan for redemption. The fall of man happened. It does not mean God caused it to happen. 

God’s sovereignty is also not an excuse for prayerlessness or not doing our part. Saying, “Oh this is just the way it is,” or “God will fix it,” or “I am waiting on God to show up,” or “This is God’s plan or will,” are sometimes excuses to not do our part. God gave us brains, feet, hands, vocal chords, and resources so we could use them. 

I love what Joyce Meyers says. She says, “You know what happens when you do not pray? Nothing. Nothing happens.” 

God enters situations He is invited into. Someone invited God; He revealed His power. 

I want to take you further along this path with the prophetic. Ready? 

Every prophetic word that is true or comes true is not necessarily from God. Say what? Indeed. 

When Jesus walked the earth demons would sometimes cry out, “You are the Son of God.” He would tell them to be quiet because His time had not yet come (Luke 4:41). 

When Paul delivered the woman with the spirit of divination, she was speaking the truth. Her source was not God (Acts 16:16-18). 

Demons and the devil can speak truth. The devil knows the Bible better than most people. Demons also network to understand the workings, patterns, desires, and ways of humans. Just because something true is spoken or predicted does not necessarily mean it was God who inspired the vocalization. 

More examples…Just because it’s spoken and happened, does not mean it was inspired by God. 

I have met several woman over the years who were prophesied to who their spouse would be. I truly believe God speaks and may tell someone. These ladies ended up with men who did not truly love God or them. Two were told, “You will marry this person.” There was no bliss on the other side of “I do.” There was a whole lot of hell; some of those marriages ended in divorce. Some were deeply wounded by the dreams, words, visions that were not reality or did not become reality.

I have had at least a dozen “prophetic” words from people about who my spouse will be, and when he will come. Guess what? None of them match, nor have they come true. Since God is not the author of confusion, what could be the source? 

1. Flesh or soul. 

We have a spirit, a body, and a soul. The soul can sense things too. It does not mean it’s God. 

2. Evil spirits. 

They can interject thoughts, dreams too. Sometimes with people they can insert thoughts that are first person, “I hate my life,” or “I am so ugly.” They can implant words, “You will marry this person.” Hence scripture telling us to test every spirit to see if it is God. 

For relationships, please examine the way the person treats you. Look at the fruit in their life. Look at who they spend their time with and how they treat people who can do nothing for them. Look at how they respond to not getting their way. Look at their life. Is it a hot mess? How well do they love God? Do they truly love Him. How they treat God is how they will treat you. 

God is good. Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Lights. Gifts from God are good. People are not perfect, yet when God brings a gift there is blessing tied to it. 

I highly recommend with some words, visions, pictures to sit them on the shelf and to also pray, “God I cancel any enemy assignments of deception. I only want to hear Your voice. I want to walk in Your truth. Holy Spirit lead and guide me.” 

There are false Holy Spirits too…will touch on that in a deliverance/freedom post later. They work to hurt and bring deception. You will hear people say, “God told me to do this immoral, harmful thing.” No He did not. Holy Spirit will not violate the word of God. 

Papa God, help us to colabor with You. Help us to be people of wisdom, prayer, and doing what we see Jesus doing. Help us to have heavenly vision, ears that hear Your truth above the noise, and discernment to know what is You, what is our flesh, what is the devil/his minions, and what is coming from our souls. Anything not of You, please uproot it. Replace it with Your love, truth, and power. In Jesus powerful name. Amen. 

God bless you! You are in my thoughts and continual prayers. You are so deeply loved. 

Erin Lamb 

A Heartfelt Apology for the Behavior of Christians 

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Photo Source: Wordswag, Used with permission. 

I normally do not post this close together. I felt so strongly in my spirit the need to apologize for the church’s behavior to the world and each other. 

I stand in the gap to say, “I am grieved by the behavior of some believers. Please do not judge God by our actions.” 

I pray if you have been deeply wounded by the church, a professing Christian, there would be great healing. You are so deeply loved and valued by God. 

The Body of Christ deeply wounds people sometimes and for this I am sorry. 

If you have been negatively impacted or wounded by Christians, myself included, I am deeply sorry. I ask for forgiveness. We are flawed, imperfect people in need of the same grace, forgiveness, and mercy as everyone else. We are not better than anyone else. Our professed salvation does not negate our responsibility for our actions. We are accountable to others and God for what we do and say. 

We are not demi gods or little saviors on earth. 

I wish I could say look to us to know what God is like, yet you will be disappointed. God is still working on us to look, love, and behave like Him. 

Look to Jesus who perfectly represents the Father. Start there. Jesus! Jesus who gave His very life, while we were yet sinners. Start with Jesus. He is the earthly manifestation of the Father. 

I can say this..

God is not cold hearted, nor ego driven.

God is not a control freak or bully. 

God is not manipulative. 

God is not selfish.

God is not greedy. 

God is not uncompassionate nor lacking love.

God does not use people. 

God does not condone abuse of any form (emotional, verbal, sexual, or spiritual).

God is not racist; He created one race-human. Humans created the boxes for black, white, asian, latino, etc…it is a man made thing that has no validity in heaven. 

God is not sexist; He places high value on women and does not see them as sex objects, servants, or gullible children. He highly esteems women. He made woman and said, “It is very good.” 

God is not a politician or political party. They too are not a part of heaven. Heaven has a King. His reign eternal. 

God is not filled with hatred. 

God is not easily angered. 

God is not impatient. 

God is not rude. 

God does not behave like a lunatic. 

God is not the author of confusion. 

God cares about everyone, not just those who agree with Him. 

God cannot lie. 

God is faithful to His word. 

God is not wishy washy or a flake. 

God is not a sinner. He is holy. 

God is not a hypocrite. 

God is not out to destroy people; He seeks to redeem them. 

God is not a snob; He gets low to lift others higher. 

God is not unjust; He brings righteous justice to every situation. His timing just isn’t the same as ours. 

God is not blind to pain, nor does He pretend He does not see you when you are hurting. 

God is not after your money; He wants your heart. 

God is not mocked; whatever a man sows, he reaps. 

God does not talk about love and do nothing else. He demonstrates love. 
God is good. It is not always our idea of good, yet God works all things together for eventual good for those who love Him. He will correct us, rebuke us, challenge us, and prune us. Yet His ultimate goal is not to control us, demean us, or hurt us…it is to make us more fruitful-the best version of ourselves. 

Once again, may we look to God to know Him. My prayers are His Bride comes into looking more and more like Him. He is glorious. Please forgive us for not loving you like Jesus loves you!

Thriving in the Wilderness (Abiding & Intimacy with God Series Part 11) 

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Photo Source: Christi Gee

We can thrive in any season if we surrender to God and seek to understand the process and His timing. The wilderness is a call to intimacy (deeper knowing of God). 

Moses spent 40 years in the desert, unseen by many before he was called by God to return to free his people. Jesus did not enter ministry full-time until He was 30 years old. David was hidden, overlooked, and even rejected by his earthly father before he became king. 

Our culture seeks to bypass process. There are things we can only learn about God in the secret place, the hidden place, the wilderness. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by the devil for 40 days (Matthew 4:1). The attempt to bypass all testing, trials, challenges is a invitation to perpetual immaturity, and limited authority. We gain authority over what we have overcome. 

Attempting to shortcut the process is an invitation to bypass character development, and intimacy with God. Character is important. Anointing and gifting will take a person places their character can not stand under. Self promotion and self acceleration is a sure fire way to eventually crash and burn. 

God develops our trust in Him alone in the wilderness and unsupported season. 

I used to be discouraged when I could not get any support. People were concerned with their lives. I spent a period of life sad that I was walking through the seven levels of hell while others were frolicking in the promised land. I watched them acquire everything I was praying for and I had to press on with God. 

They had no wilderness, no fierce trials, no Goliath. I on the other hand was walking through 7 years of real persecution, loss, tragedy, near death experiences, periods of physical illness, betrayal, being lied on/slandered, on one occasion left to die (people drove on by), and meeting Goliath after Goliath. As a young person, it certainly was not how I wanted to spend my life. 

I learned some very valuable things. 

1. God + Nothing=Everything. 

These profound lessons are not learned if you go from one red carpet to another. They are not learned if everyone is holding your arms up all the time. It is not learned in the seasons of roses and skipping along the water path. 

Many great lessons are learned in the Garden of Gethsemane. They are learned when no one will help you, they ignore your need, pretend they do not see you. They are learned when God allows you to be placed in the battle with Goliath then ties your arms behind your back and the battle rages on longer than you think your flesh can stand, for me years. You learn God as Best Friend, Victor, Healer, Provider, Strength, Strong Tower…Everything. 

2. Your frailty, weaknesses, and unbelief is exposed and dealt with by the One who is strong in your weakness. 

It is easy to believe God when everything is going your way. When everyone is applauding! When it is good. In the wilderness, times of pressing, persecution, trials what we truly believe is exposed. Do we believe God is good when life is in turmoil? God works out deep faith in the seasons no one sees if we stay connected to Him. 

3. You have chances to fail without casualty. 

I never asked God for a platform or influence. I asked to know Him, be one of His best friends, and to have the character of Jesus. I specifically asked to be held back from any influence that would not bring Him glory. 

In the process, hidden seasons you have the chance to try things, step out in faith, and not have it negatively impact many people. So many people want a platform, yet their character is not developed. They end up hurting people or leading people into mass deception. They bucked correction, accountability, and character development. They know of God, read of God, yet have not experienced Him in every season. They have not been to battle, they have not had their faith tested by fire, and therefore what they offer is not always based on encounter. It is based on what has been read, or heard. 

4. You learn to pray with authority, abide in God. If you do not, you die. 

When God is your Primary, the violent waves and winds are crashing against your boat…well you learn to pray. You learn to cling. You learn His voice. My goodness you learn. Your identity becomes solidified in Him alone. 

5. You let God open and close doors and shift seasons. Who God promotes, no person can demote. 

Seeking the approval of man is futile. Mankind can love you today and hate you tomorrow. Just as they did with Jesus. Trying to push open a door is wasted time. Anyone who pushes their way in front of God in their flesh will need to operate in the flesh to stay there. Who God calls, He equips. God promotes. God demotes. God’s timing is perfect. When God opens a door, you are fully equipped to walk through that door. 

Sweet friends, no matter your season, God is there. The most important question is, “Is God here?” Staying connected to God is the way to thrive in every season. Therefore, we bear fruit in every season. The objective is not to see our names in lights. It is to know God, love God, and establish more of His Kingdom on earth. 

If you are in the wilderness, a season of testing and challenges…please know it is not permanent. Relief does come. May your faith and heart not fail. You are so deeply loved and if you are in Christ, the Spirit of an Overcomer lives in you! Lifting you up before our King in love. 

God’s Love Is Deeper, Higher, and Better.

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Photo Credit: WordSwag, used with permission. 

Midweek Devotion: The love of God (agape) is greater, higher, better, and far exceeds human love. 

God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever shall believe in Him (join in covenant with Him) would not perish but have everlasting life…adaptation of John 3:16. The Son so loved the Father and the world that He gave His life. He left Paradise and a place of no sin, sickness, or despair to become our sin. The innocent Lamb of God took on our punishment. What manner of love is this? It is agape; unconditional, radical, unselfish, generous, lavish, sacrificial, poured out love. 

Jesus told His disciples, “As I have (agape) loved you, (agape) love one another. They will know you are My disciples by your (agape) love,” (John 13:34-35). 

Agape is not about niceness (people pleasing). Agape is not eros (romantic/sexual love). It is not philia (friend love). It is above storage (family love). It is the highest form of love and it is costly. It comes from God to us, then it is to flow through us. We freely receive, then we freely give to God and others. Agape love is void of selfishness, self centeredness, and this love is transformative when fully received. 

Agape love is not codependent nor does it enable. It will speak truth in love and cease helping when the help is hurting instead of helping. It is holy, pure, true, and always good. It is the highest form of love. God is agape love and whosoever abides in Him will begin to produce this kind of love. 

When humans say I love you, I am not always certain what it means. It can mean: 

  • I like you. 
  • I value you. 
  • I like what you do. 
  • I love what you do.
  • I enjoy spending time with you. 
  • Being with you makes me feel better. 
  • I am attracted to you (from males).
  • I desire you (from males).
  • I need you (people need God, not me). 
  • I benefit from connection with you.

None of those things are agape. When I say I love you it means the following…

  • I am proactively looking for ways to bless, encourage, or give to you. 
  • I will tell you the truth, even if it cost me greatly or you hate me for being honest. 
  • I will sacrifice for you (within the boundaries of what is healthy, safe, and led by the Holy Spirit). 
  • I pray and intercede for you. 
  • If you can not eat, I will feed you. 
  • If you are naked, I will clothe you. 
  • I will forgive you, extend mercy. 
  • I will do my best to guard your reputation. 
  • I keep your secrets and confidences. 
  • I will look for the gold/treasure in you and call it out. 
  • Your name in safe in my mouth. 
  • I will set boundaries that protect others, not promote selfishness. 
  • I will look out for you. 
  • I will seek to protect your heart and what you hold dear. 
  • I will pursue kindness. 
  • I will care about you, and what matters to you. 
  • If you hurt (and I know), I will seek to comfort you. 
  • I will celebrate you, not compete with you. 
  • I will admit when I am wrong, and seek repentance. 
  • I will honor and respect you. 

Love to me looks like my Father, my Best Friend Jesus, and the sweet, glorious Holy Spirit. He is far above what I have listed. Yet the more I receive of His love, the more I love others the way He loves me. God love is higher. It is way higher! God love is better, far better! It comes from abiding in Him and His love. It is not manufactured in the flesh, for this love extends even towards His enemies. Do we love our enemies the way God loves us? 

When we say I love you, may we reflect back to the words of Jesus, the life of Jesus. May we reflect on 1 Corinthians 13:1-8. I leave you with those words. 

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love (agape) never fails.”

We are so deeply loved. God bless you today and always.
Love in Christ, 

Erin L Lamb 

Love Yourself As God Does (Saturday Devotion)

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Image created with Wordswag; used with permission. 

Morning devotion: Receive God’s love for yourself. Love yourself. Then love God and your neighbor as you love yourself. 

If you want to see me cringe, pull up one of those memes (word:picture) art that reads God first, others second, me last. Why do I cringe? I cringe because this method of love and living is not a full/accurate picture of what God told us in the Bible and it is not effective. Why? I have no agape love in me, without first receiving from God, to give to anyone. 

I grew up hearing people preach, “You must love God with all your might and love your neighbor. Put yourself last. Give until it hurts. Lay your life down. Be like Jesus.” What those well meaning preachers failed to mention was how much God loves me. They skipped a very important step. People who don’t know God’s love for themselves cannot and will not love others with agape love. It is impossible to give away what is not first received. 

The Father deeply loves Jesus. Jesus has always been loved, before the foundation of the earth-loved and one with the Father. Jesus knew the Father’s love for Him. His suffering for us was temporary so we could be included in the family of God (He paid 1 time for our sins). Jesus is not the slave, inferior part of the Godhead doomed to perpetual suffering. The Father gave Him the name above all names. He sits at the right hand of the Father. All authority given in His name. He is deeply loved. So are we. The Father loves us the same as He loves Jesus. 

The Bible says: 

  • We love because God FIRST loves us,~1 John 4:19. 
  • Love your neighbor AS you love yourself,~Matthew 12:31. 

I had to receive His love for me before I would ever be able to love Him back or anyone else. 

God invites us into relationship. He tells us to abide in Him, then there is good fruit (John 15:4-5). We are to abide in His love. 

I have plants. The few that have survived, they are champions. Some I call resurrection plants-dead today, rising tomorrow. 😉 If I cut off a branch or limb of the plant, it shrivels up and dies. I can scream at it to produce leaves or flowers or fruit, and it cannot. It is no longer connected to the source of life. 

I tried striving for years to love God and love people. It left me wounded, hurt, defeated, broken hearted, ashamed (I am not loving like God), self condemned. As much as I tried to live up to the standard (Love God, love people, you last) I failed. Thank the good Lord God is smart to lead us to His truth. God began leading me to passages on abiding, receiving, knowing His love. He beckoned me over and over to know Him and receive from Him. It became my passion and platform; intimacy with God and abiding in Him. For freely we RECEIVE, freely we GIVE. 

Loving people is still challenging and quite costly. It hurts sometimes. 

Sometimes what we call love is enabling, or codependency, and/or tolerating abuse God would not ask us to tolerate. 

If we abide, and love ourselves, we learn to set boundaries. Boundaries are not punishment, they are safeguards set up to do what is best for both parties, not just one person. God loves everyone. Jesus suffered temporarily so we could be saved. He is not the eternal doormat. He rebuked Peter (Mark 8:33) and the Pharisees to their faces. He stayed in the temple instead of being with His earthly parents (Luke 2:43). He had boundaries and love for Himself and the Father. When people sought to kill Him before His time, He fled those places (John 6:15). He allowed Himself to be abused for our sin. We can tolerate abuse for no reason; that is not agape love. Love protects (1 Corinthians 13:7). 

We live in a world full of people who do not know, believe, or receive God’s love for themselves. Some are outside the church, some inside. You may ask how I can say this. I do not know every person in the world. I can look around at the state of the world. And I am not looking to judge. I am seeking deeper revelations of His love too. This is not heaven, therefore there are discrepancies between a place with no sin and a place overflowing with things outside God’s will. 

Every single sin is rooted in a lack of agape love. For love fulfills the law (Romans 13:10). Abuse, murder, adultery, fornication, lying, stealing, incest/rape, racism, sexism, prejudice, bigotry, hatred, lust, self hatred, insecurity, inferiority, rebellion, gossip/slander, rudeness/mean spiritedness, bitterness, unforgiveness, grudge holding, selfishness, jealousy/envy, self pity, control/domination, pride….every single one is an outward manifestation of an internal deficit of agape (God) love. 

The Bible encourages us not to think more highly of ourselves than we are. It does not tell us to believe thoughts about ourselves that are not aligned with God. This means we agree with God and that is not arrogance or conceit, it is God esteem. 

God esteem says, “I am deeply loved by God, chosen, seated in heavenly places with Jesus, a coheir with Him. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am an outward expression of the heart of God. Unique, beautiful (handsome), gifted, created with divine purpose, and set apart for His glory.” 

When we receive God’s love and abide in His love, we can and will without striving love God and others. 

Our self effort is futile, for we cannot manufacture agape. It comes from God, to us and through us. May you and I know (believe) the height, depth, width, and vast expanse of God’s love for us. May we freely receive and then freely give.

We are SO deeply loved. Praying for you friends. 

Love in Christ, 

Erin Lamb 

Follow Jesus (Abiding & Intimacy with God Part 10)

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Photo Credit: Created with WordSwag, used with permission. 

Morning Devotion: Walking in the footsteps of Jesus. He only did what He saw the Father doing; said what He heard Him speaking. 

Jesus was the most effective minister who ever walked the earth because He only did what He saw the Father doing and said what He heard the Father speaking. He understood the importance of serving and getting away to just be with the Father.  

Jesus lived out of a place of intimacy with the Father. He met with the Father because He loved Him, not to just fill His tank or get something from Him. 

Jesus was and is love manifested in the flesh, there was and is no selfishness in God. The Father and Son connected heart to heart, pure intimacy. 

Jesus was not led by the desires of the people, led by pleasing people, nor was He led by His feelings. He was primarily motivated by the love He had for the Father and the desire to do His will. Do we seek the Father’s heart and seek to know His will? Love is about partnership, not simply receiving for our personal gain.

God pursues us to love us. And as He loves us, we fall in love with Him. When we fall in love with Him, we want to be with Him, over and over with Him. As we with are with Him, His heart begins to be our heart. 

The gifts, treasures, visions, and dreams He places in us begin to rise to the surface. We become the truest version of who He created us to be-purged of deception, fear, and insecurity. We meet heart to heart and spirit to Spirit with God. These times in the hidden crevices of His heart are where true transformation occurs. He deposits seeds of His goodness, love, hope, faith, joy, wisdom, insight, and we leave that place pregnant with promise, wisdom, understanding, love, and purpose.

The statements of Jesus in John 15:4-5 are quite true. He said, “I am the Vine and you are the branches. If you remain (abide, stay connected to, cultivate intimacy with) me-you WILL bear abundant fruit.” 

The fruit of Jesus is evident not only in His words but in the way He lived. He perfectly represented the Father. He gave all of humanity the key to living like Him-abide. 

Abiding is to cease striving and operating in the flesh. Striving leads to stress and self righteousness (look at how holy I am by what I have done). No one stands before God except Jesus holy (has never sinned). We take on His righteousness by faith through the wonderful work of grace. So we can say, “I am standing and abiding in what Jesus has already done. I receive by faith and remain (abide) in Him.”  

Praying for you!! You are so deeply loved. 

Erin 

God is Pursuing You (Saturday Devotion)

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A deep, intimate, flourishing relationship/friendship with God is available to any person who wants one. He so loves the entire world. We have as much friendship with God as we desire. He is consistently pursuing the world, to love the world. 
God is never too busy, or too annoyed to be an incredible friend, loving Father. I have not met anyone who holds a candle to Him. God love (agape) far, far, far surpasses human love and only His (agape) love does not fail. 
Looking for love, be with God. I love people, yet they are not my source of love or security or identity or joy or confidence. God is. 
Being with God and receiving His love leads to…💛
💫Loving God (we love because He first loves us). 
💫Loving ourselves (we receive perfect love for ourselves from God, and grow to love ourselves unconditionally).
💫Loving others (we can only give what we possess and release what we carry. We love our neighbor as we love ourselves).
💫Godly confidence (it’s not about our thoughts or what we think of who we are. Who does God say we are). 
💫Peace and Joy (God’s love brings with it peace, contentment, and overflowing joy).
💫Wisdom and Understanding (His thoughts are far higher than mans. His wisdom incomparable).
💫Awe (intimacy with God evokes awe-how marvelous, majestic, wonderful, and glorious He is!!!).
💫Healing and Restoration (no one does it better than God. He gives beauty for ashes and joy for mourning).
💫Purpose and Identity (The purpose of something is known best by the One who created it).
💫Transformation (we are deeply changed not by our striving, but by abiding. Apart from Him we can do nothing). 
💫Courage and Compassion (the more intimate we are with God, the more His heart becomes our heart. His courage becomes our courage. Fear, selfishness, and pride dissipate in His presence, when we receive). 
So sweet ones, the invitation is open to all. Whosoever will let them come. God will not force Himself on anyone or into any busy schedule. He knocks on the door of the heart and says, “I love you. May I come in? I long to be with you and be known by you.” How He loves us so.

Papa God help us to respondto your  relentless pursuit! May we know You for who You are and know who we are in you. Help us to cease being busy and make time for the greatest love we could ever have. Thank You for everything. In Jesus mighty name, Amen. 

I leave you with one of my favorite worship songs: Wrap Me in Your Arms.