The Power of Love

"This is my command: Love each other."

John 15:17

Little Taylor was enjoying a wonderful day with her family. Then out of nowhere the unthinkable happened. Due to a freak accident, she obtained a bad injury to her face and mouth. There was no way her family could have ever forseen the accident that had occurred. A plan for a wonderful afternoon on the water evaporated for Taylor and her family. Taylor was rushed to the ER. Her mom texted members of the church prayer group. The prayer group quickly stepped in, notifying everyone of the crisis. Everyone began praying for little Taylor. While in the ER, Taylor asked her mom, "Who is praying for me?" A sweet, brave little girl with a developing faith in Christ wanted to know if anyone had petitioned God on her behalf.

At this very same time, another family was at home about to enjoy a wonderful meal together. The mom checked her email as she was putting the finishing touches on the dinner. She saw the news of Taylor's accident and prayer request for her. Immediately, dinner plans were postponed as she and her husband decided that there was another child who was in greater need of their prayers and attention. So, they left their family and drove with haste to the ER. After inquiring on Taylor's status at the front desk, they settled into the ER until they could see little Taylor. An hour after arriving, this couple was finally able to see Taylor. When Taylor learned that this couple were in the waiting room, she asked her mom if she thought they were praying for her. She was hopeful and delighted to know someone was there for her. She and her mom were allowed to go to the waiting room to see the couple. As she entered the waiting room, Taylor burst into tears, hugging the lady who came to see her. According to Taylor's mom, it was this moment that little Taylor realized that there were people in the world, in addition to her family, who really loved her. Not only did she have the love of her family, but also the love of those in her church family - those who prayed for her, who reached out to her and her family. What a powerful testimony to a child about the love of Jesus Christ! For Taylor, this was Christ's love demonstrated in a real and meaningful way. She saw Christ in action through people!

Taylor's story is not the only one that I've heard in which people have so generously and unselfishly shared the love of Christ with others. There are so many more testimonies of people loving each other, doing life together, helping each other, praying one for another, encouraging one another- those who are helping families facing health crisis, those who are helping families in financial need, those who are reaching out to mentor youth - and the list goes on. Our church is so blessed to be made up of so many people who truly "love one another."

Love is more than lip service. Love is a verb. Love is action oriented. Love is a choice. Love is being there for others in this life even if it inconveniences you. Love is looking out for the best interest of others before yourself. Love is a sacrifice. Love is a commitment. Love is hard work - let's face it, some people are just harder to love than others. That's not an excuse not to love them. The command was, "Love each other" not "Love each other except for... Billy because he is hard to get along with...Susie because she's always so negative..." Love is worth the effort.

"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." 1 Corinthians 13:3-5

Really loving others the way Christ does is challenging. We may not be perfect at loving others, but that's okay, we don't have to be. We can do our best and trust God make up for our shortcomings.

Love one another.

In His Love, Cathy

A Beautiful Day

Here are some pics I took with my camera. The sky was just gorgeous today. This is the view from our patio swing. Couldn't ask for a more beautiful scene. God is pretty amazing!

In His Love, Cathy

Facebook vs Faithbook

Quiztime!
1.Which of the following do you do FIRST in the morning?
A. Check Facebook
B. Check email
C. Read my Bible, pray, have a Quiet Time
D. I dunno


I admit it. I am a facebook 'addict'. How appropriate that this mornings Proverbs 31 Ministry article touched on this very subject. Here's an excellent article by Susanne Scheppman on prioritizing God's Word over Facebook.

If the first thing you do is jump on your computer before your quiet time, you definitely want to give this article a good read. Our desire for God's Word should be our first response. You can ask God to help fill you with this desire if you find yourself waning. And yes, I'm preaching to myself here. Even though I have my quiet times in the mornings there are days that I'm impatient and jump in online while I'm waiting for my coffee to brew. Check out Susanne's article at the following link:

http://proverbs31devotions.blogspot.com/2009/07/faith-book_08.html

God bless and have a fantastic day!
In His Love, Cathy

Mid Course Correction

"With all my heart I want your blessings.

Be merciful as you promised.

I pondered the direction of my life,

and I turned to follow your laws."

...

"I used to wander off until you disciplined me;

but now I closely follow your word."

...

"My suffering was good for me,

for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.

Your instructions are more valuable to me

than millions in gold and silver."

Psalm 119:58-59;67;71-72

Before I became a believer, my life was a mess. Perhaps it didn't seem like a mess when measured against the world's standards. In fact, it was probably a pretty normal life compared to most. Looking back now, I can see just how messed up I really was. My priorities were all wrong. My motives were selfish. I was focused on living for myself. I would like to say that when I became a Christian, this all instantly disappeared, but that wasn't the case. I still struggled with the sins of my past. I had a lot of growing up to do as a believer and I still do in many ways.

In my freshman year in college, I met a wonderful guy. He was handsome. He was kind. He was a Christian. We became fast friends and later that friendship developed into something more. This wonderful man talked with me about God and about Jesus Christ. We began attending church together. We began dating. Within 2 years of meeting, we were married. It was during our courtship that I realized that God loved me just as I was. I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior for real.

It was tough to made a mid course correction after living a selfish, sinful life. It took a long time for me to grow up as a Christian, and I'm still not all grown up yet. I still fail. I still fall into sin. I am human and therefore am not perfect in any way, shape, or form. I am simply a sinner who is forgiven.

Making a mid course correction is hard. We might be right smack dab in the middle of a very sinful situation. We may feel that there is no other way out than to see it through. We elude ourselves into thinking, "Okay, this is the last time and then I'll stop!" Only we are so trapped by the sin that we are entangled in a vicious cycle. We may incorrectly believe that we are so far into a really bad situation or habit that there is no way God loves us or can help us. We may just give up and feel that we are a lost cause.

There is hope. There is help. God can and will rescue you. You can seek Him. He is there just waiting for you. No matter how deep you think you are in, God can pull you out. Don't push Him away. Allow Him to come in. He loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son to die in your place, to pay the price of your sin. (John 3:16) Call out to Him. Simply ask for His forgiveness and believe in Christ. Confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior today!

In His Love, Cathy

He Carries Us

"Praise the LORD; praise God our savior!

For each day he carries us in his arms."

Psalm 68:19

When I was a little girl, I would often fall asleep in our car on road trips. Whenever we arrived at our destination, it was often very late in the evening. Instead of waking me up, my father would lovingly sweep me up into his arms and carry me, gently laying me on my bed and tucking me in. I remember that I would often wake up when he did this, but I still pretended to be asleep. I loved the way I felt when Daddy carried me in his arms - so loved, so secure, so very safe. I was afraid if Daddy found out that I was awake, he'd put me down and make me walk. Oh how I wanted him to carry me! Of course, he knew that I was only pretending to be asleep yet he obliged me in my little game. I think he enjoyed those tender moments as much as I did.

I loved these moments as a child but when I became a mom, I learned to cherish them. I loved holding my children in my arms. Watching their sweet faces as they slept, waves of immense love and joy would flood my heart. Because of the depth of my love for my children, I wanted to protect them, keep them safe, and do all within my means to give them the best life possible. I wanted to be there for them each and every day, to help 'carry' them through life. It was this perspective that gave me fresh eyes to God's infinite and unfailing love for us.

Our heavenly Father loves us so completely and deeply that He happily carries His children. We who are in Christ can rely on God to carry us in His loving arms each and every day. We don't have to walk on our own two feet. We don't have to be afraid that He'll put us down. He doesn't mind carrying us, in fact, it's His promise. He saved us. He rescued us from sin and death. He has offered us His best, His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus picked us up, took on our sins, and with His outstretched arms nailed to the cross, died in our place. Those strong arms carry us today, helping us through the trials, burdens, and struggles of life. In relying on our own strength, we fail. In obediently relying on Christ, we overcome!

Trust in Christ today. Ask Him to be your Lord and Savior. Trust Him to carry you in His nail scarred arms. In Him you find love, security, and safety! In Him, you will find the best life possible - eternal life!

Prayer and Faith

22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:22-26

In this familar passage, Jesus affirms God's power to do the impossible. Jesus reminds us here to have faith in God! We can pray for anything and God will grant it. However there are certain heart conditions that must be met on our part.

First, we must believe. Jesus emphasizes the importance of our believing in two of these verses. We must believe that what we are praying for will REALLY HAPPEN. We must believe that we have ALREADY RECEIVED IT! If we are praying unselfishly for something within the will of God, no matter how impossible it seems, God will make it happen!

Second, don't doubt. We may say we believe. We may think we believe. But then comes that nagging, tugging doubt that tries to gain a foothold. We pray, but then we run through "What if?" scenarios in our mind. However, we're talking the God of the Universe here! He created EVERYTHING! All things exist because of HIM! So I think He can handle whatever we are praying for. But then there is the doubt that God even hears our prayers. We can be assured that He does listen. Psalm 116:1-2 gives us a beautiful illustration of how our loving Father listens to us when we pray. It says, "I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!" There is absolutely no room for doubt in our hearts. When those feelings come, we must reaffirm our belief in our EVERLASTING and ALL POWERFUL Father who CAN DO ANYTHING! We can seek His mercy and confess to Him any sin so that our prayers are unhindered. Think about it, the God of Creation, bends down to listen to you!

Third, we are to forgive. Unforgiveness is another hindrance to our prayers. Why? Because God is so very merciful and willing to forgive us. We can not be in right standing with Him if we are unforgiving and unmerciful toward others. Therefore, we must first forgive and seek God's forgiveness! Can you think of anyone you need to forgive? Perhaps there is someone you need to ask forgiveness of as well? Ask God to help you be more merciful and forgiving. He will be faithful to answer this prayer!

Effective prayer begins with an attitude of faith, forgiveness, and submission. We can pray for the impossible and God can make it possible, "For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37. God is much larger than any of the mountains in our lives. He can toss them into the sea if we just have the faith of a mustard seed! Pray with confidence and assurance in our wonderful God! Trust God to move the mountain in your life today!

In His Love, Cathy