You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘love’ tag.
He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 136:23 (NLT)
Most of us don’t remember weak people, we remember the strong, the victorious. We admire the athlete who overcomes all odds to cross the finish line first. We applaud the one who endures pain to finish the race or the one with determination that continues to try even when defeat is obvious.
The person who tries to overcome their weakness is sometimes looked on with favor as well. We look kindly on them as they scrape and clutch for every inch as they pull themselves up the rochy muddy walls of the hole they’ve fallen into. Tenacity and determination are qualities we can admire in a person if at least some progress is being made.
But we seldom remember the weak. If we do remember the weak person we remember them with disdain. We question how they got there. Why they don’t seek help? On a rare occasion we may give them some lame words of encouragement, but often those words are condescending and really meant to make us feel better for having tried.
The Psalmist reminds us that our Father remembers us while we are still in our weakness. He doesn’t ask how we got there or why we haven’t tried harder. How we got ourselves into the situations we are in isn’t as important to God as how we will find victory and he knows the only way we can find that victory is through his son Jesus.
Weakness can show itself in many ways. For some of us our weakness shows up in addictions to anger, drugs, sex. For others our weakness shows up on doubt, worry, and fear. Weakness can also show itself in how we feel about ourselves in our relationships. We put ourselves in ‘love’ relationships that are really demeaning because we don’t feel we are worthy of being treated well.
Weakness is seen as a flaw to us humans, but God sees weakness and an opportunity to make us strong. Anyone who has ever worked with wood knows that the strongest part of the wood is the knot. The knots in wood come from injuries that the tree has ‘healed’ and from branches that need the support of the trunk to grow.
Weaknesses in our lives are like knots in wood. They are places and situations in our lives that we can use to make ourselves stronger through faith in Christ and the grace he freely offers us. Don’t let your weaknesses leave you defeated. There is one who wants to take your weaknesses and use them to make you stronger, and that person is Jesus Christ. Jesus never looks down on us for being weak. Jesus welcomes the opportunity to uplift us in the midst of our weakness.
PRAYER: Father God, it seems like everyday I fail myself, you or others in some way. I say things I shouldn’t say. I do things that are hurtful or fail to do things to lift others up. I’m looked down upon and scoffed at for not being able to succeed. Some days I just give up because I don’t feel it’s worth trying anymore. Thank you for loving me in the midst of my failures. Thank you for wanting to help me overcome my weaknesses so I can be strong in you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8
A master potter knows clay. He knows how to mix the clay to just the right consistency. A master potter never begins forming the piece of clay and thinking “Hm, I wonder how this will turn out? Will it be a large vase, or a plate, or a mug? Let’s just throw it out here and see what happens!” Nope. Not going to happen. Not for master potter.
The master potter sets out to make a clay vessel that is practical, beautiful and flawless. Yep, flawless. Because one small flaw in the vessel can make it weak and completely useless. The master potter goes into the project knowing exactly what the end result will be. He knows there will be flaws, but he’ll work them out. Flaws don’t bother him because they are expected and can be solved even if it means starting over again.
The master potter knows that a good vessel takes time and he’s willing to take all the time necessary to make sure this project before him turns out as planned. He’s not willing to leave the work undone or done poorly because his name is on the vessel. Everyone in town looks for his vessels because they know his time consuming work.
Our Heavenly Father is referred to as the potter and we as the clay. As master potter, our Father knows what he wants us to look like. He wants us to look exactly like Jesus. He knows it will take time. He knows there will be flaws that need to be worked out. Worry, addictions, guilt, rebellion, anger, hatred, judgmental attitudes…all flaws that can be worked out with time and the strong fingers of his mercy, grace and love.
People that don’t understand the art of molding clay into useful vessels don’t understand. They see imperfections in the clay and think it’s worthless and that it needs to be thrown out. Our Father knows that no clay is worthless. He knows that with time and passion he can work out any flaw. From the clays perspective it will be painful, but the potter knows that the end result will be worth his time and worth the clay’s pain.
One more thing about the master potter. His hands are on the work from start to finish. He never leaves a project to start another one. You are always in God’s hands. He is always forming you and shaping you. He is always using the events of your life to work out the flaws. He’s willing to take the time. He wants you to look just like Jesus.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for your great love. I thank you that your love is willing to take the time to work out the flaws in my life. I look at myself and can’t imagine these flaws ever being gone. Thank you for your patience with me. Thank you for your love and grace. Give me the strength to endure the working out of the flaws in my life. Help me to look more and more like Jesus every day. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12
The tiny seed is an amazing thing. When we plant our gardens we cultivate the soil and make it as easy as possible for the plant to grow. But in nature, that isn’t the case. A tiny seed floats to the ground. It falls into the smallest of crevices in the rock. Soon tiny fingers of roots emerge from the seed and take root in the rock.
Over the years, in all sorts of weather, the roots from that tiny seed continue to grow harder and stronger. The rock is no match for the tenacity of the roots. Soon, after years of struggle, a tree grows out of the sheer cliff. No cultivation. No special tools. Success comes from persistent pushing against seemingly impossible odds.
It happens over and over again in nature. Life springs from the most unlikely places all because of one small seed dropped in an unlikely spot. Sometimes the wind carries it to its resting place. Other times it hitches a ride with some unsuspecting carrier to a spot perhaps miles from its origin.
Each of us has an opportunity to be seed carriers along the path we call life. Sometimes we have opportunities to throw out those seeds intentionally. Other times our ‘seeds’ may be quite by accident.
A seed of encouragement scattered in someone’s life may result in hope. A seed of forgiveness fosters peace. A seed of appreciation brings the fruit of joy. A seed of understanding can make relief bloom. The seed of patience grows confidence.
What seeds can you spread today? Cultivation isn’t required, only willingness. Expertise isn’t needed only love, because passion beats technique every time. When Jesus was asked the most important commandment, he gave two and both were summed up in one word: love.
The seeds of love you spread will break the driest soil, the hardest rock, the soul that has all but given up on life. It may be something as simple as a smile or a ‘thank you’. It may be something as hard as saying ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I forgive you.’ Perhaps it will be something as compassionate as, ‘I don’t agree with you, but I understand and accept you.’
Sow love today in the lives of those you come in contact with. Don’t worry about whether you thing the soil is ready. Ours is not to cause growth. Ours is to plant seeds. Seeds of love. Seeds of forgiveness. Seeds of grace. The seeds of Christ’s love that you sow today may take time to sprout, but nothing can stop them from growing.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for the love you continue to show me even when I’m hardened and rebellious. I pray that you would empower me to sow seeds of your love and forgiveness to everyone I come in contact with today. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:17 (NLT)
The difference between dying love and love that lasts is never letting yourself stop appreciating the things your loved one does for you. The picture I get of lasting love is the elderly couple I once knew. These grade school chums had been married for 68 years. He still called her ‘Buttercup’ and she still called him ‘Baby’.
They walked every day by my house until health issues kept them from doing so. I still see them in my minds eye walking hand in hand, talking with each other and laughing on occasion. They obviously enjoyed life. The obviously enjoyed each others company after all these years.
One day shortly after she died, I stopped by to visit my old friend. He was still mourning the loss of his ‘bride’ but even in his sadness there was a twinkle in his eye as he remembered all the little things that she did to make his life fulfilled.
Finally, I got up the courage to ask him the million dollar question, “So, what’s the secret? Is there any one thing you did as a couple to keep the flame going for almost three quarters of a century?”
He pondered for a moment. Then he leaned towards me as though he was about to share the golden nugget of truth for all eternity…which he was. “Buttercup and I made a decision early in life that we would never forget how much we appreciated each other for who we were and not for what we did. Oh, now, mind you. There were some tough times. But we always went back to that one thing. Appreciation of each other for who they were in spite of the blunders we might make.’
I smiled. We talked a few more minutes before I had to leave. Three months later my dear friend joined his ‘Buttercup’ in the arms of Jesus, but I never forgot the lesson learned that day, and as I’ve pondered his simple words I’ve reminded myself that that’s the kind of love Jesus has for us.
Jesus has a lasting love that says, “I appreciate you. Not for the things you’ve done, but for who you are.” Regardless of the mistakes I’ve made in my past. Regardless of the doubts I’ve had, the times I’ve mistreated people or the times I’ve ignored my time with him. He loves me. He appreciates me!
Everything good in life comes from a Heavenly Father who, through his Son, Jesus Christ appreciates you. He wants to walk with you every day. He wants to talk with you, to love you. To hold your hand when the path gets treacherous. His love never changes, never grows old. Sometimes I think of my old friend and I smile as I think that right now Jesus just may be calling me his ‘Buttercup.’
PRAYER: Jesus, I thank you today for the love you have for me. It’s so hard to imagine a love so great that you are willing forgive me and forget the times I’ve failed you and failed others around me. I pray that you would help me to live every day with the reminder of how much you love me and how much you appreciate me. Help me to show your love to others and apply it to my own life as well. In your name I pray, Amen.
After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:5
So, imagine, just for a moment, that you are one of Jesus’ disciples. It’s been a long day walking along the hot and dusty road through the wilderness. You are hot and tired. Even the thoughts of the people Jesus healed in the last town aren’t lifting your spirits. All you can think of is laying down to eat and giving your hot sore feet a rest.
As you enter the room where the meal is to be served you breathe a sigh of relief. The room is ready. The clay walls have kept the room cool. A welcome relief from the blazing sun outside. You scan the room briefly. Table is ready. Bread is out. Fresh wine is already poured. Foot washing bowl is in the corner complete with towel and ….wait. Where is the foot-washing servant?
You shake your head. Judas and his penny-pinching. How hard would it have been to get a servant to wash your feet? The coolness of the room is replaced by the heat of anger rising inside you. It doesn’t take that much to plan.
You look around once more. Nope. No servant. Most of the others probably think your face is red from being outside. It isn’t. It’s red with anger as you make your way to your spot. Hopefully you’ll get a place near Jesus so that if an opportune time comes you can tell him what you think of the lack of a servant.
John reclines beside you. Great! Everyone knows that he has the smelliest feet of the group and now there’s no one to wash them. Can this day get any worse? Your thoughts are interrupted by the sloshing sound of water. A momentary sense of relief comes as you turn towards the sound. The momentary relief is replaced by shock as you look down and see Jesus at your feet. Towel wrapped around his waist, his hands gently washing the hot dust from your feet. It feels so incredibly good on one hand, and seems so incredibly wrong on the other. He’s the Rabbi! He has no place stooping so low as to wash our feet.
What was that he was saying? No servant is greater than his master? Of course not. A servant is a servant. Then it hits you. We are all servants. John with his stinking feet is no better or worse than you are. Judas with his penny-pinching, shady ways is on the same level as you too. And Peter, with his arrogant, speak-now-think-later ways? No worse than the attitude you are embracing in your heart.
It’s the same Jesus today as in the upper room. He is still willing to kneel down to your level. He’s still willing to touch you in the areas that are most in need of his touch, no matter how dirty, no matter how rotten those areas are.
His love is like soothing cool water on hot, painful feet. His touch softens the hardest calluses of your soul. Jesus thinks nothing of stooping to the lowest level to lift you up. Let him wash your feet today. Feel the soothing, healing relief of his love and forgiveness. Then reach out to those who need to feel that touch as well.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank you for the lesson of the feet washing. I confess that there are too many times I’ve thought myself to important or too busy to reach out to others who need to feel your touch. Refresh me with the soothing touch of your love and forgiveness. Empower me to share your love and forgiveness with those around me. In your name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 