Just Harping About Loving

What are we going to do about the evil in this world? Let it play out, or, as Christians, take the responsibility to demonstrate radical love that people will start to know Jesus by our love. We could reach the world with this radical, Christ-like love.

How do we measure up? Do others know we're a disciple of Christ by the way we talk the "love talk" and walk the "love walk"? Let's take St. Paul's love test to see how we measure up: “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own way, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). That love is the mark of Christ’s disciples.

Yes, I’m harping on loving. We’re in good company if we become a “love-harper”. We’ll be taking after Jesus. Our hearts of love (or not) are being exposed. Here’s a scripture that reveals whose side we’re on: “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy”, but the Jesus way of love says: “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) The thief is aka Satan. The Lover and Life-giver is Jesus.

Jesus explained it in an easy-to-understand way. He said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.“ (Matthew 22:37-38) Loving God is the heart of the matter. Without love for God, first and foremost, it's easy to violate all the other commandments, the laws of the land, love and respect for our brothers and sisters, and ourselves. If we stuck to this one -- we'd sail through the other ones!

And, isn’t that why Jesus gave us that first and most important commandment? It was because He loves us too much to see us wander and become isolated from a Father-Child, loving relationship that is about obedience, righteousness and a daily heart-check-up! If we aren’t purposefully loving God with all our hearts, it's easy to slide on keeping any of the others.

These times call for an immersion in the waters of love. When we fall in love with the Lover of our Souls, then it is a natural by-product of Jesus’ second greatest commandment – to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). In 1st John the connection is explicit: “We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:19-21). Whew! How much clearer could it get?

So, how can we measure up to loving in spite of wrongs done to us? We can't measure up, but there is One who does. Jesus loved us perfectly and gave Himself for us. He saved us when none of us could save ourselves. And now, when we put our trust in Him, we are transformed and can imitate the pattern of His love: In receiving His love, we can, in turn, love others. It’s a win-win – we love God with all our hearts – and then, we live it out by loving others. Let's harp about this kind-of-love!

Thanks, Lois and Eunice!

(Warning -- longer than my usual long blogs -- but, I promise you -- so worth the read!)
My mother’s parents, my grandfather and grandmother, John and Mary, were two of the most loving and faith-filled couple I have ever known. At any given time of the day, you’d find them praying for their children, grandchildren and even for future generations. I am one of those grandchildren. Before I was born, they were praying for me. That still comforts me because I’ve seen the fruit of those prayers in my life and in the lives of my children and grandchildren.

The thoughts of my grandparents and parents, the sacrifices they made for me in prayer, particularly, came to me with gratitude when I read St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, his protégé. This is what Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:5: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” The faithfulness of Timothy’s mother and grandmother was noticed by Paul because he was seeing the fruit of their prayers in Timothy. And, that is the faith I was taught and passed on to my children and grandchildren. We live this way! Unwavering faith in our God of the impossible.

A couple of weeks ago I saw that faith manifested by two dear family friends, the grandmother, Jillian Chambers and her daughter, Sydni Simons. We knew Sydni would give birth any day. We were so excited for the young couple's firstborn's arrival. But, while I was taking care of my boys in Austin, grandmother Jillian (Honey) sent out prayer alerts to only those who would also be undaunted in faith. Sydni's dad wrote: "Sydni experienced over 24 hours of highly stressful labor, and then a C-section with even more challenges. There were moments the doctors didn't know if baby Charlotte would make it. Baby was taken from Mom and rushed to NICU in another hospital. They were separated for several days, but through faith, a plethora of prayers, around the clock medical care, lots of tears and unstoppable prayers, baby Charlotte was off of all life supporting tubes, held by mom and dad, loved by everybody, and was able to go home 48 hours later." Sydni is the product of the strong faith of her mother and dad. She wrote this in great faith:

"Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the Darkness! Man, what a week. I will tell you this. God is good. There is nothing that can change my mind about His eternal goodness. That is an absolute. God is good, absolutely. Next, the Body of Christ is unreal. My faith has never felt more shaken or tested than the way it has been this week. I hit that point of “Lord, I want to say that I believe but I don’t know. I’m scared and I’m exhausted and I don’t know how to stand.” Yet in those moments, I felt my family and my best friends surround us and help raise Colby and I’s arms up just like Aaron & Hur did with Moses and just like the Israelites, WE ARE EXPERIENCING VICTORY! We have watched the power of prayer this week. We have seen with our eyes that the prayers of the righteous avail much. MUCH MUCH MUCH!!!! My God is faithful. FAITHFUL. I cannot express how vital and important it is to be part of a community of believers who know the Word of God and declare it with authority!

Finally....our baby girl is here and she’s so so so beautiful. I can’t stop crying when I look at pictures of her. She arrived a little differently than we had planned and it’s created quite the opportunity to trust the Lord right out of the gate. But I mean, how perfect right? She belongs to Him first and she belongs to Him always. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for Colby and I and our sweet little PERFECT ANGEL BABY! This is not a time for, “I’m sorry for what you are going through.” Please, don’t be sorry for us. We are experiencing the glory of God in these hospital rooms. We are taking ground for His kingdom in faith, in prayer and in worship. We are watching the same God who called Lazarus to rise out of his slumber move on behalf of our daughter. HIS daughter!! Because of His great love for her! Stand with us, pray with us and watch with us as we see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!! That is the God we serve and that is the God who promises good to us; to never leave us or forsake us. ❤️ Romans 8:31"

This was written by a young woman who had been taught relentless faith in the time of trouble. And, look at Jillian's, the grandmother's words: "It’s one thing to face your giants; it’s another to stand beside your children as they face their own. This last week has been overwhelming. Not because of the pain, uncertainty or fear of great loss. I’m overwhelmed at the fierce faith I witnessed overwhelm my daughter at each “negative report”. I am overwhelmed at the fight deep inside her rising up time after time, fiercely denying fear access to alter her faith. Her unwavering trust in God that pierced through the cloud of doubt that tried to linger. Joining her in prayers of faith and songs of worship while FaceTiming her husband who was at a different hospital with angel baby. Overwhelmed with gratitude that we did not quit, give up or take our faith for granted over the years in her raising. Overwhelmed with great joy in stepping aside and watching her begin a lifetime journey called “motherhood“ and now training her daughter how to fight the good fight of faith."

I am stirred up more than ever to be a faith-first, praying mother and grandmother for my children’s and seven grandchildren’s lives. When we pray according to God’s Word, like those prayers prayed for Sydni and baby Charlotte, we are in line with God’s will, enabling us to pray with power and wisdom. The praying changes not only the lives of our grandchildren, but us as well.

As crazy as this world is and as topsy-turvy our own little worlds might be, instead of wringing our hands in distress, we can pray—regularly, intentionally, specifically—trusting our children and grandchildren into God’s faithful care. God’s way is perfect…. “He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection.” (Psalm 18:30). We can stand in the gap, praying for the spiritual, emotional, and physical protection of our precious children and grandchildren. We are not hopeless; we have a God who is “our refuge and strength, our stronghold in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

So mothers and grandmothers (and dads and granddads), let's unite, pray and believe because God is faithful, we can breathe in His peace while we wait for the answers to our prayers.

God’s Grace. My Grace.

Maybe, like me, you’ve heard countless sermons and read books about grace. Maybe you know some of the “grace” scriptures by heart and can quote them to others. But my prayer is that we’ll see this word again for the first time. I think grace is most fully understood through our own experiences. Otherwise, it is just a beautiful and powerful word that describes God's unmerited favor on us. But it doesn’t have much effect unless we acknowledge that it was grace that saved the day for us. And, then, in turn, to pay that grace forward to others.

I’ve heard those grace messages and I’ve even memorized many of those grace scriptures. But what has taught me the most? My own story and the stories of others who have fully experienced grace. Grace – given to us when we deserved a failing grade; grace that opened up career doors for us; the grace of blessing us with our spouse and children. It was grace that we were spared from in that "almost" auto accident or that horrific storm. It was grace that the police officer gave us a warning ticket instead of the $250 ticket we deserved. Or it was grace that we got a $250 ticket that cured the need to speed and risk our life and others’ lives.

Think about God’s GRACE in some of our Bible heroes. Moses, whose hot temper led to murder and rebellion against God, and David, who committed adultery and murder. Then turn to the New Testament where a former traitor, SAINT Peter, leads the Church, and a former “human rights abuser”, SAINT Paul, who became the author of one third of the New Testament. Indeed, God’s grace is amazing. We can never sink so far that God’s grace will not reach us. At the same time, GRACE does not leave us there. It raises us to new heights, causes us to demonstrate that grace to others in words and actions, and that "grace that brought us safe thus far? THAT "grace will lead us home"! THAT GRACE, my friends, really is AMAZING!

It’s my prayer for you and I not to miss grace, but rather will powerfully experience the grace effect in our lives so much so that no matter what has been done to us, that we will choose grace for others. Making daily decisions of pouring out grace to others as grace has been poured out to us. Those of us who know grace, also know we need to be grateful for God’s grace in our lives and in turn, to offer His grace that is in us to others.

May this be our prayer today: Lord, I am amazed by Your grace in my life. Help me see, understand, and be overwhelmed by Your grace again, as I was the first time. Help me to no t simply comprehend Your grace, but live it and give it to others. Help me even today to extend grace to those around me at work, school, home, church, and throughout my community. Lord, Your grace is greater than my hurts, mistakes and circumstances. I am so grateful. May I be as free with grace to others – as you are to me. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.