A Love-Fest Day With Jesus

My word for today is "Love-Fest" -- when two or more people indulge in expressing their love for each other in such a way that it never ends. It is the ultimate expression of deep, true love and respect for each other, usually manifested by an outburst of love expressions that make all involved feel warm, acknowledged and cared for.

Last Saturday, precious women from my church headed to Bowie, TX for a one day “get-away-with-God” retreat before we serve 40 women at our ACTS Retreat, March 15-18 and it turned out more glorious than could have been expected. There’s just something about women getting together for time away with God that sets the mood to be vulnerable and open to receive an outpouring of His love to His girls. The wonderful presenters of the retreat called the day "A LOVE-FEST Day With Jesus". Indeed, the definition above was proven to be true! Notice our "doo-rags"? We were heart-cleaning!

No wonder those gals in the Bible wanted to hang out with Jesus. He always seemed to have a little band of women with Him, and He embraced it. In so many places in this world, women are marginalized and ostracized – simply because they are women. If only our world used Jesus' example of how He loved and respected us. He "upset the apple cart" in His culture in the way He related to women. In Luke 8 we see there were women followers who traveled with Jesus and His 12 disciples as He ministered all around Galilee. Those women came from all walks of life, they were single, married, and some had questionable backgrounds, but here’s the common thread – each of them experienced healing through their encounter with Christ. He loved them, taught them and could have cared less about what the pious religious folk thought.

The women that Jesus touched and loved is a mighty indicator of His love for us. The women at the foot of the cross and at the tomb held a tiny flame of faith that He would rise as He promised. That flame never went out, and their faith was rewarded.

That's the way we felt, when, after a sweet time of unbridled openness to each other in small groups, we resumed altogether with candid moments of sharing, giving, encouraging and building each other up in the awareness of God's love for us.

Each of us felt that compassion and love from Jesus and we expressed our love back to him as we each wrote Him a love letter. We all poured our love out to Him -- He Who loves us unconditionally, without judgment or condemnation, and like the woman in the Bible who was caught in the act of adultery, He lovingly wraps His arms around us and says….”You can do better. Go sin no more.” No wonder our innermost love for Him poured out in our love letters.

I know it's absurd of me to think God ordered this LOVE-FEST day just for me, but I did. I like to think that I'm so special to Him, that He orders up special gifts and treats.....just for me. The Apostle John thought the same thing. Remember how he kept referring to himself as the "one that Jesus loved"? Those words are found six times in the Gospel of John. Sounds a little cocky, but, NO, he knew he was tight with his Master. Each and and every one of us can say that. "I am the one that Jesus loves," because He does. Today is another day when duty will call and this team will regroup and finish up our preparations for our upcoming big retreat and 80 women will come together for a weekend of encounters with Christ, but for this day, there was a special, loving, devoted group of servant-women that it was all about the "want to's," Our LOVE-FEST with Jesus will continue.

At the end of the retreat and we were saying our good-byes, I went to my car to load up to go home with my passengers and couldn’t find my keys. I realized, in my haste to get out of the down-pouring rain earlier in the morning, I must have dropped them on the floorboard when I was getting my umbrella. Fortunately, I carry AAA auto insurance and was able to call a locksmith. While waiting for him, I had one on one time with the hosts who, I learned that we have so much in common that pertains to our faith walk and we had mutual time of encouraging each other in the Lord. When I made it home, one of my gals that was a passenger going out called to check on me, and she, too, felt the same about the “interruption” as she had never been able to get to know her driver very well and she did on that trip home. Of course God would “work things for our good” because, after all, we had spent the day talking about His Son, writing love letters to His Son, and celebrating His goodness to us.

When I returned home and while I was basking in His love for me, I realized that daily, Jesus writes a love letters to me telling me “You’re my girl. I’m with you. I’m for you. I love you.” He gave us so many love letters in the Bible, and with each sunrise, each raindrop, each sweet smile and "I love you" from others to us, and even, each morning -- just waking up -- is His love letter to us. He says "I love you. I love you. I love you." When we make our Lord our highest priority, then EVERYDAY becomes a LOVE-FEST with Him.

Just a Little Band of Women

In so many places in this world, women are so marginalized and ostracized – simply because they are women. If only our world used the example of Jesus and how He loved and respected us. He really "upset the apple cart" in His culture in the way He related to women. In Luke 8 we see there was a band of women followers who traveled with Jesus and His 12 motley crew of men disciples as He ministered all around Galilee. Those women came from all walks of life, they were single, married, and some had questionable backgrounds, but here’s the common thread – each of them experienced healing through their encounter with Christ. He loved them, taught them and could have cared less about what the pious religious folk thought.

I know God loves us all – after all, He gave all of us His only Son who paid the ultimate price for our wrongs. But, personally, I am keenly aware of His love for us girls. A couple of Sundays ago, the Gospel reading in Luke 7 was read – it tells the story of the woman (Mary Magdalene) and her alabaster flask of ointment that she bathed Jesus feet with. Jesus’ reply to her when Simon Peter “ostracized” her was “Your sins which are many, are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” To Simon, Jesus gave a scolding about his lack-luster attitude. And here’s the best part of the story…..Mary Magdalene went on to be the first to see our risen Lord, and then become the first evangelist. I'd say "that's some kind of love"! How fitting that on July 22nd, Pope Francis will elevate and honor "Saint" Mary Magdalene to having a Feast Day named after her.....just like the other disciples. Sincerely, we, women, can stand up and stand tall, knowing we are so deeply and profoundly loved by God. We really do matter to Him.

The little bands of women that Jesus touched and loved is a mighty indicator of His love for us. The women at the foot of the cross and at the tomb held a tiny flame of faith that He would rise as He promised. That flame of faith may have burned high, and it may have burned low, but the flame never went out, and their faith was rewarded.

That’s how I feel about the little band of women who meet at my home every Tuesday night (for almost 3 years now) to celebrate that love that He has for us. Like the women of the Bible, our flame of faith may burn high and it may burn low, but our flame never goes out and because we have faith in His Word that “nothing is impossible with Him”, He rewards us. We have had many answers to prayer – healings, marriages restored, families restored, spiritual growth, emotional healings, being able to forgive, seeing children come to know Christ, and, even, the birth of babies…..like this little angel girl, Ragan. For months, we prayed for Ragan’s mommy and daddy and Ragan is the evidence of “Nothing is impossible with God.” Just a little band of women – who encourage each other, pray for each other, cry with each other and laugh with each other – but all of us – holding hands together as we walk out this journey of faith. Ragan's two grandmothers (pictured here) have stood strong for precious Ragan.

What BAND do you belong to? If you don’t have a group that lifts you higher, that is willing to run to the finish line with you, that encourages you to go the distance, that makes you better and gives you a good kick-in-the-place-you-sit-on every now and again, I urge you to find a BAND too. Being a little band of women or men….can certainly keep you going….especially when the going gets tough. By the way, my little band of women....can sure ROCK OUT....after all our faith is built on THE ROCK!
#BandOfWomen #RockStars #NoLimitsLifeGroup #GodLovesUs