John 16:27
for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.

Jesus Christ knows the worst about you. Nonetheless, He is the one who loves you most.
A.W. Tozer

When we consider those that love us, we know that there is a high probability that if they really knew us, the love would not endure. If they knew everything thing we had ever done, every thought that crossed our minds, every word and sound that had come from our lips, they would recoil from us.

Yet, Jesus knows all that. And he still loves us. How is it possible for us not to fall deeply in love with Him when we consider this? How can we continue to live our lives without trying to please Him in every way possible? How can we be distracted by things of this world, when there is One that loves us like that?

Jesus, your love is amazing. You know my inner self, yet You have drawn me to yourself. I pray earnestly that the Holy Spirit would teach me the righteousness of Jesus. I pray that You would be the only reason for my actions, the only desire of my life, the only hope that I have.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Romans 8:28 (NASB)
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Last Saturday heaven gained a new resident. She was my mother-in-law and this verse in Romans was her favorite. She considered it her life verse.

I woke up around 3 am this morning and that verse was on my mind. As I meditated on the verse, I thought about the last 7 years living near her. It was a decision we made to give her the opportunity to stay in her home and live out her last years in it. It was what she wanted and it turned out it was what God had planned for her. The last couple of years were the most challenging. As many of her generation, she wanted to live her life her way. That often put more work on the family around her. And I often wondered if things would work out before we wore out. But God had it all planned perfectly.

As I meditated on that verse, God reminded me about the experiences we’ve had over the last 7 years that would never have happened if we had not moved near my mother-in-law. He reminded me of the people, the friendships, the relationships that we now have. He reminded me of how I have grown as a Christian through this experience. He reminded me how good He is and how much I love Him.

Many are called into service to do marvelous work for His kingdom. Others of us are called to serve just one person for a period of time and then we are called to do something else. This time of our lives was a calling from God. And it was only through His grace that all things worked together for good.

Always praying for the glory of God,

1Peter 1:6-7 (NASB)
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

We are living proof,
Of a Loving God,
To a Watching World.

Trials are sometimes periods of sorrow and grief. They can also be times that punctuate the presence of our Savior giving us great joy. For those outside of the Kingdom of God, there is no reason to rejoice. There is no reason to look forward. There is nothing except the present situation.

As Christians our trials can be used to show the watching world that there is reason for hope. I recently heard the statement above from a person in response to a tragedy that impacted everyone in our country. They reminded me that we can stand apart from the watching world and show them that there is a better way, there is hope, and there is salvation.

Are you living proof, of a Loving God, to a watching world?

Heavenly Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit would constantly remind me of the joy that I have in Jesus. May it shine through even during times of trial, so that others will marvel at Your great love for us. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

For clarification, what is the church? …. The church is made up of real people, and when they come together we have the church. Whatever the people are who make up the church, that is the kind of church it is–no worse and no better, no wiser, no holier, no more ardent and no more worshipful. To improve or change the church you must begin with individuals. When people in the church only point to others for improvement and not to themselves, it is sure evidence that the church has come to dry rot.
A.W. Tozer Sermon: Who Is the Church

The church can be personified just like politicians do when they refer to government, social workers refer to society, and business leaders refer to corporations. Each of these are just collections of people. People who come together and form a particular group. When we pray for our church, our country, our government, or our society, we can forget that these are not things themselves, but the very people that collectively make it up.

The early Christian church had little structure for that very reason. The people wanted the focus to be on Jesus and not “the church”. They wanted the focus to be on Jesus and not the organization. What little leadership that existed was focused on prayer, shepherding the people, and care for the widows and homeless. The shepherding function was primarily to point the people to The Good Shepherd. That was in stark contrast to the highly structured organization of the Jewish synagogue. Have we reverted to that highly structured organization in the Christian church today?

Heavenly Father, I pray for the people that come together and assemble as your church. I pray that our focus will be on Jesus. I pray that Jesus would be increased and organization and structure would be decreased. I pray that our only goal is to worship You well and to serve You in a way that brings You the glory that you deserve.

Always praying for the glory of God,