12 | Be Loved

Our senior pastor, John Hogenson, recently said this to our congregation at the annual stewardship dinner.

"I love you.  And I want the very best for you."

It is a personal and powerful message, one that has echoed in my heart for several weeks now.  It is a message that surprised me, in part because Pastor Hogenson's been with our very large church for a only a few short months.  How can he know me enough to love me?  Yet I do not doubt his sincerity.  He exudes God's love in all that he says and does.  

"I love you.  And I want the very best for you."

It is a message that reminds me of how earnestly God loves me.  In every book of the Bible we can find this message from God.  He has created us for an eternity of his love, and he wants us to experience that love fully, abundantly, completely.

"I love you.  And I want the very best for you."

Our God is a loving God.  

In this culture that places conditions and limitations and expectations of love, we sometimes have difficulty embracing the breadth and depth of God's infinite love. We sometimes doubt that in our unworthiness and imperfection, we could truly be loved unconditionally and eternally.  

Really God, you love me?  With all my bumps and blemishes and warts and worries? 

And God answers, simply and sincerely: YES.  Totally. Completely.  Forevermore.

God wrote out his love for us in every book of the Bible.  Today let's be still in some snippets of God's greatest love letter to us all.  Let's rejoice in this amazing gift.

My precious child, 

I want you to know that I love you.  I want you to really know that truth, deep in your heart.  And I want you to carry it with you all of your days — the dark and stormy ones, the bright and joyful ones, and every day in between.

Juliet Grace Design via Etsy.com

My love for you existed even before I created you.  In my love I created you in my image.  I bestowed upon you special gifts, uniquely designed just for you.  You are exactly who I want you to be.  I want to abide in you, reside in your heart, live brightly in your life. 

via Pinterest

My love for you knows no end.  It will carry you to — and through — eternity.  And with this unending love I grant new mercies and blessings upon you, day after day after day.  Are you starting to understand?  My love for you is permanent.

king090blog.wordpress.com

My love for you is so large and so wide and so deep that it has no limits.  None.  Not one.  I created this entire world, and with the same care I created you.  I cradle the whole world in my hands, and I stretch out my hand to help you every day.  Some days you may feel like you are wandering or lost, but I always know where you are.  I always remember that you are my beloved child.  I want you to remember that, too.

But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

My love for you is so sincere that I want the very best for you, for always.  And to that end I gave up my son for your salvation.  Don't stop to think about being unworthy of this sacrifice.  My love defies that kind of logic.  You have worth because I love you.  This salvation is grace. Pure gift.  No strings attached.  Yours.  Forever.  Please don't keep this gift wrapped up and pretty on the shelf.  Take it down, open it up, use it.  Live in this love and live it out loud.  I want you to rejoice in this gift.  It is the very best, from me, for you.

www.HollyLaneDesigns.com

My love for you is so close that nothing can ever separate you from my love.  Not your distractions, your anger, your self-doubt, and definitely not your sins.  I have given it to you and nothing can ever steal it away.  My love is here for you every time you close your eyes, whisper a prayer, sing your praises, or serve those in need. There is no expiration date or supply shortage to worry about.  Use it up, pour it out. There will always be more.  I promise.

I love you so much.  I want the very best for you.

I want to give you a moment of stillness to soak up my love.

Breathe in this stillness.  Breathe in my love.

Be still.  Be loved.

With all my love and affection,

Your Father in Heaven

11 | FaithFULLness

"I believe; help my unbelief!"

Mark 9:24b (NIV)

Lord, 

I love you.  I am so grateful to be a child of God, forgiven and set free.  I want to trust you in all that I do, in all that I dream.  I want to live my belief in you, of you, with confidence, joy, and hope.  I want to... but sometimes... too often... I fall into unbelief.

I believe, and I don't believe as much as you deserve.  How can these opposites coexist?  Or are they are not so far apart?  Perhaps my belief and my unbelief are entwined like strands of DNA, creating a code for my faith.  Perhaps twists of unbelief underscore my need to trust you, the blessings of trusting you.  Perhaps these turns of doubt are the negative image that outlines the positive peace of abiding in you, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Lord, help my unbelief.  And use it to remind me to return to you.  For that is where I want to be: trusting in you, living out my gratitude for your grace. 

I see the bare cross, but it is not barren.  It carries our sins, forgiven and forgotten.  It bears new life in Christ.  It shapes the "t"s that bookend trust — trust in you, the God who gave up everything out of love for us.  It points to heaven, pointing to the promise of eternal relationship with you.  Lord, you have given me the gift of Christ's death and resurrection.  May my response — my thanks — be a trusting, believing walk with you, today and every day.

"Genuine faith walks steadfastly with God for the pleasure of His company not for His results."

Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit

Lord, your faithfulness knows no end.  Your constant presence and goodness is a comfort always.  Your unconditional love clothes the conditions of earthly living with joy and peace.  Great is your faithfulness, which makes my life full.

Help me to lean into your faithfulness, to learn from your faithfulness.  Shape my faith with your Holy Spirit and grace.  Be my sight when I cannot see, my strength when I cannot stand, my hope when my spirits sag.  Be my light, leading me always and shining through me for others.  Make me full in your faithfulness, in my faith in you.

Amen.

6 | God—first and foremost

Dear Lord,

I am trying to put you first and foremost in my mind and in my heart.  I feel like I do okay when I'm praying.  Or reading the Bible.  Or worshiping in church.  But when the rubber hits the road...  Yikes.

Sometimes I try too hard to train my gaze on you.  Adopting a handful of new times and new ways to pray.  Posting faith-filled notes in the bathroom, in the car, in my purse.   My good intentions morph into an exhausting and empty to-do list, while scripture sticky notes flutter around me and I try to simultaneously pray and back out of the driveway (without hitting Mr.'s car)...  And then instead of feeling closer to you, I just feel closer to going berserk...  Yikes!

Sometimes I try to put you in a neat and tidy box, one that I can carry with me and open up like a present when I need it.  Quiet time.  Volunteering at church.  Bible study.  Fellowship with Lutheran Ladies.  Every bit of that is good.  But you don't fit in a box.  And I don't want my life that compartmentalized.  I want your fingerprints all over my life.

I'm starting to see that all of MY trying, while wrought with good intentions, is part of the problem.  How can YOU be first if I insist on doing all the work?

Lord, help me to relax.  I think I need to say that again.  Lordy, Lord, Lord.  Help me to: reeeelaaaaaaax.  Remind me to ask for your help.  Your will and your way trumps my trying every time.

Lord, be first and foremost in my life.  Calm my heart, my mind, my soul.  Teach me to trust you.  Really, truly trust in you.  Instill your peaceful stillness in me.  Breath by breath.  Prayer by prayer.  Clear a quiet space in me for you to live large and shine bright.

Frame all I think and do with the goodness that is You.

Amen.