Category Archives: love of God

Christmas in Luke (Day 15)

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Today’s reading is Luke 15.

Jesus drew crowds of people. The Pharisees watched Him closely looking for a reason to accuse Him. They did not like the people’s response to Jesus, and they especially disliked Jesus’ response to the people. They did not want Jesus to “welcome sinners and eat with them.” (Verse 2)

So Jesus told these parables, recorded in this chapter, to give them a glimpse of the loving heart of God: the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. Jesus cared about those lost and in the dangerous grip of Satan. Like the shepherd of the lost sheep, He would go out of His way to bring them back to safety.

Jesus values us so much in our lost condition. Like the woman searching her house diligently for the one lost coin rejoicing when she found it, He pursues us. He rejoices greatly when we are found and safe in relationship with Him.

Our Heavenly Father is much like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal son. The son willfully, with no regard for the broken heart of His father, chose to rebel. He chose to leave the safety and provision of his father’s house. He chose to make bad decision after bad decision, partying and squandering his inheritance. He reaped the consequences of all the wrong he had done living lost, alone, hungry and eating pig slop. Then the thought enters his mind to go back to his dad in hopes of mercy, possibly being accepted back as hired hand. This father, however, welcomed him back as a son. He threw a feast. He rejoiced because his son he thought was dead, was alive.

This is God’s heart towards us! This is the heart behind Christmas! I have been the lost sheep, alone and scared. I have been the lost coin, searched for and pursued by my loving God. I have most definitely been the prodigal son. I have made bad choice after bad choice. Only to find myself far from my Heavenly Father, eating pig slop, the fruit of my choices, trying to survive. But God set into motion, long before all the bad choices I have made, a plan.

On Christmas night the plan arrived. He worked through the ages to bring the arrival of Jesus into our world. He went to great lengths to come to us so we could come to Him.

He desired to “Welcome sinners and eat with them.” Jesus is still desiring to welcome and to eat with sinners today. In Revelations 3:20, Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

May we open the door of our hearts and let Him come in! There is no better time to do this than Christmas when we celebrate our God who came to us so we could come to Him!

Christmas in Luke (Day14)

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Today’s reading is Luke 14.

The setting in today’s chapter is a meal at the house of a prominent Pharisee, a religious leader of Jesus time. Jesus sat and watched as the guest came in looking for seating in prominent places. They wanted recognition and positions of power with the affluent in the room. It is at this point Jesus tells a parable about a “Great Feast, “ a feast much like the kingdom of God.

A man sent out invitations to a great feast he was giving, but everyone he asked had excuses for why they could not come. So the man told his servant to go and invite the “rejects”, “the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” (Verse 21) He also instructs the servant to go “to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in…” (verse 23) The man throwing the feast wanted his house to be full.


Our loving Heavenly Father is like this man. The invitation to His Heavenly banquet was sent years ago, on a dark night, in a Bethlehem Stable. Jesus came inviting the ones rejected- the poor in spirit; those crippled by fear and pain; those blinded by sin; those lame, unable to stand in His presence. He calls to the “roads and country lanes” ,the out of the way, lonely places, “Come!” He longs for His house to be full!

For this I am so grateful. I am all of the people Jesus invited- I am the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. I am the one who could not come to the banquet had it not been for Jesus inviting sinners to come!

The first Christmas shows us a glimpse of the God who would go to great lengths to see His house full of guests delighted and fulfilled at His banquet. Our God came to be His invitation, with us- Emmanuel. He prepared the way for us to go to the banquet by His sacrificially dying on the cross, and victoriously rising from the grave. May we hear the invitation declared to us so many years ago at His birth, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” Luke 2:14.


His favor is upon us! His invitation has been sent! May we drop any excuse for not attending His feast and RSVP with Him replying “Yes! I come!”

Christmas in Luke (Day 13)

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Today’s reading is Luke 13.


As we have seen, Jesus often spoke in parables. Todays reading has a parable that describes God’s heavenly kingdom. Jesus compares it to a mustard seed that is planted in a garden. It grew and grew to be a tree. The birds even found a place to rest in it. (verses 18-20)

God’s Kingdom had what seemed to be a tiny beginning. How could a baby born to a poor couple in an insignificant town two thousand years ago be a King? Not just a king, but THE King of Kings! What are the odds of such a small beginning becoming such a large influence on the world? Pretty slim. Consider the likelihood of the message the King proclaimed throughout His life being proclaimed through centuries. It was not a message of political dominance of His kingdom, or a powerful rebellion to the oppressive Roman government of His time, but a message of spiritual freedom instead, freedom within.

Jesus was right to compare the mustard seed and the tree it produced to His Kingdom and it’s influence. What started in a manger in Bethlehem with His birth, endured a burial (much like a seed) in a borrowed tomb, followed by a resurrection. The plant had come up from the ground. Then 50 days later during the feast of Pentecost the tree’s size multiplied greatly with the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and fill us to overflowing! (The church was born). That “mustard seed plant” GREW! Now centuries later it still stands growing larger and larger! Against all worldly odds the Kingdom grew and it remains!

But let’s take this down to a smaller scale. Jesus’ Kingdom planted within our hearts can grow and grow as well. Influencing every area of our lives. It brings freedom, joy, peace, hope, and love! The same small “seed”, that as a Baby born in Bethlehem, has changed our world. It can be planted in our hearts changing our lives! May we let the “mustard seed” of the Kingdom be deeply planted within us, and may it grow!

Christmas in Luke (Day 12)

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Today’s reading is Luke 12.


Today’s chapter is a record of Jesus speaking to His disciples and the crowds around Him. He explained the importance of finding God as the treasure of our lives and acknowledging- admitting we belong to Him- before others. He also warned of the dangers of disowning Him, not remaining faithful to Him when the pressure of this world or the outright attacks of the enemy, Satan, occur.

Jesus values us. He treasures us. He knows how important it is that we are connected to Him, not having sin separating us from Himself. He knows we NEED to be totally submitted to His Kingship over our lives, totally obedient to His commands, and totally dependent on His provision in our daily lives. Simply put, He knows we cannot make it without Him. Without Him, our lives are destined for the death, darkness, and destruction of the enemy. That is why he speaks of having Him as our treasure. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Verse 34). He knows our hearts need to be His in order for our lives to prosper and go well.

In the midst of His warnings, He once again points to the tender heartedness of God towards us. He speaks of how God treasures us. He values us. He knows intimate details about our lives. (Verses 6-7).
He ends up saying that God is pleased to give us the kingdom- His rule and reign in our lives. (Verse 32). This is the very Kingdom that the Angel spoke to Mary about all those years before when the Angel told her she would give birth to Jesus, the King of Kings. His Kingdom “will never end.” (Luke 1:33)

The same Jesus who was the Newborn King of Christmas, longs to be the newly born King within our hearts! May we accept the invitation He has given to us to be a part of His everlasting Kingdom!

Christmas in Luke (Day 11)

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Today’s reading is Luke 11.
Jesus loved to pray. It was his regular practice to go to a secluded place and spend time with His Heavenly Father. The ones closest to Jesus had seen Him take time to do this often.

Could you imagine being there when Jesus spoke to His Heavenly Father? Hearing Him talk to God, not in a formal religious formula, but in a close and intimate conversation? Watching Jesus and His time of communion with God the Father was enough to spark curiosity within one of the disciples, probably more than just curiosity, a hunger. “Lord, teach us to pray…” (verse 1). Jesus then gave His disciples the model prayer, what we often call, “The Lord’s Prayer” or some call, “The Our Father.” This prayer was meant to be an outline of prayer for His disciples to follow: worship, prayer for needs, repentance and forgiveness, prayers for guidance, etc.

Today what is highlighted to me in our reading is the section of verses following it. Jesus told another parable- a short story with a spiritual point or application. This story tells of the interaction of a man in need and his friend who was reluctant to help. This “friend” did not want to be bothered with the needs of his friend who came to him at midnight needing three loaves of bread to feed his surprise visitor. But the friend with the need persists. He keeps knocking and asking until the man in bed gets up and gives the man in need the bread he needed. Jesus goes on to talk about a son asking his dad for a fish to eat. Would the dad give him a snake to eat? Or instead of an egg, a scorpion? (Verses 11-12). Then Jesus says something profound, ““If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”” (Verse 13)

How often the disciples had watched the religious leaders of their time approach God with rigidness! God was spoken to with formula prayers and He was viewed as unapproachable, perhaps even, aggravated, as the man in the parable was , that the people had come. But Jesus told His disciples, His Father was not that way! He longed to give “good gifts.” And the most precious gift of all the gift of the Holy Spirit living within them! All that was required of them was to come and to ask!

Our God is the same today, yesterday, and forever! He isn’t a God hidden from us, only accessible through formula prayers and religious rituals. He isn’t irritated when we come to Him with our needs. He so desires us to come! He desires to give us the gift of the Holy Spirit living within us. He eagerly waits for us to do just what Jesus modeled in this chapter, spend time with Him in prayer. He longs for us to come to Him and to ask!

God displayed the lengths He would go to be a part of our lives so we would “come.”The Christmas story displays this all so well. God broke the silence when He sent an Angel to Mary to tell her she would conceive and give birth, by the Holy Spirit, God’s Son, God with us!

Once again God longs to break the silence in our lives! He longs to give us another gift just as He did at the first Christmas, the Holy Spirit- God living within us! May we come to Him and ask!

Christmas in Luke (Day 10)

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Today’s reading is Luke 10.

In this chapter, Jesus sends out 72 messengers. The commission He gives them is much like the one He gave in chapter 9 to the twelve He sent out, “heal the sick who are there and tell them,’the Kingdom of God has come near’”(verse 9). These disciples came back rejoicing with excitement because of all the wonders and miracles they saw. Jesus speaks to these disciples about how God has chosen to reveal Himself to them because it pleased Him. God wanted His people to know Him.

All these years they had only known “about” God. They knew He was powerful, they knew He was to be obeyed. They knew He was to be worshipped. But they did not “Know” Him, Not in an intimate way. They could not.


Jesus speaks of the prophets and kings of history that longed to “see and hear “ what the people of His time were seeing and hearing, but they did not.(vrs 24)


Old Simeon, the prophet summed up the longing that these prophets and kings had desired in Luke 2 during all the events of the first Christmas. Simeon held the eight day old Jesus, as Mary and Joseph had brought Baby Jesus to be dedicated at the temple. Simeon, a man who was longing to see the Messiah, declared, ““Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”” (Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭29‬-‭32‬)


Salvation had come! The Kingdom of God, His rule and reign in our hearts, through Jesus our Savior had come! Because of Jesus, we no longer have to live our lives bound to the death, darkness, and destruction of the kingdom of satan. Jesus came to provide the way for us to step into the Kingdom of light, the Kingdom of God!


We do not have to “dream and long” to see and hear of the goodness of God and His presence in our lives, we can KNOW it, intimately, it can be born within us! Just as Jesus was born into our world as a baby all those years ago, He can be born into our hearts today! We are truly “Blessed!”

Christmas in Luke (Day 9)

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Today’s reading is Luke 9.

The accounts written about in today chapter seem to be the height of the wonders Jesus did while walking with His disciples. He continued to do miracle after miracle and speak truth that was irresistible to listen to. He then invited His disciples to participate with Him in proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Still there was something coming He wanted to prepare His closest friends, the disciples for, His death.

Jesus knew He would suffer. He knew He would be separated from them. He knew how hard it would be. But verse 51 says He “resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” He headed to the place He would die with a fixed purpose. But this was not the first time Jesus “resolutely set out” for the place He would suffer. Jesus left the splendors of Heaven, with a fixed purpose. He willingly submitted Himself fully as God to become fully man. With resolve, He came to us! He knew before He ever entered our world on that Christmas night that He would live, laugh, and love with us. He knew He would experience pain, sadness, and sorrows. Yet He came. He never wavered in His fixed purpose! He had come to love, to provide the way, for our own good, to be with Him.

The things to come in the chapters of Luke we have not yet read this month of December, Jesus knew would come about. The betrayal, the trial, the beatings, the execution, the death… Jesus knew it would come. For the King born in Bethlehem at Christmas was born to die. This death had a fixed purpose as well. Without His sacrifice, there would be no cure for the sin of our stony, hard, and darkened hearts.

As we celebrate His birth, let us not forget His death! He had come to give His life so we could be united with Him again, free from our sins!

Christmas in Luke (Day 6)

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Today’s reading is Luke chapter 6.


Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus or His coming to be with us, is described this way in John’s gospel: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)


The scene is set in today’s chapter. A large crowd had come: to hear, to be healed, to be set free from evil spirits. Power came out from Jesus as people tried to touch Him. Then He speaks. “The Word”, Jesus, who had come from God, speaks hope to the crowd of the poor, hungry, sorrowful, and hated. Jesus, the Word, spoke blessings, spiritual happiness and the favor of God, “Blessed.” His words confirmed what the angels spoke to the shepherds at His birth, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and in earth peace to those on whom his favor (delight, kindness) rests.” Jesus described His Father as “kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (vrs35), “merciful” (vrs36), and “giving” (vrs37). All the crowd needed to do was to truly HEAR the Word, Jesus, speak, take Him into their heart, and live a life constantly listening to Him and obeying. They would then live a life unshakable when life’s storms came to them (vrs48).


Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is still declaring blessings and favor over us. All we must do is truly listen to the Word, Jesus, as He speaks, and then OBEY! We will find, just as the crowds did so many years ago, that as we listen and reach out for Him hoping to touch Him, we will experience His power in our lives. Healing from our dis ease and freedom from the oppression of the evil one are there as we “come.” Because, He has come to us! First as a baby, then as a sacrifice on the cross, now as a risen Savior!

Chapel Prayer

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I went to college at Mizzou. That seems like the appropriate thing to do for a Missouri Girl. Back in the 80’s MU was known as a party campus to the kids in my high school. As a young lover of Jesus, my motivation to go there was definitely not to party, I wanted to be a light and witness to my generation.

A.P. Green Chapel

One thing I loved about the campus at Mizzou was the A.P. Green Chapel, next to Memorial Union. It was like a small candle flickering light on a campus with so much darkness in it. I would go there frequently to pray and read my Bible. It was in that chapel during one of my times of prayer that I wrote this poem. 

Chapel Prayer 

Let me see the world as You see it. 
With the compassion of the Cross 
That's a heart of Love that breaks
 For the dying of the lost.
 Let me cry as You cried and 
Break me as You were broke
 Make my heart like Your heart
 And let me wear Your yoke.
 
Let me be as You are Full of love and kind,
 Gentle and compassionate,
 Sweet as the New Wine.
 
Let me see the world as You see it, 
Through the eyes of the cross.
 Willing to give my all for You 
So others won't be lost.
(originally written January 21,1990)
Inside the Chapel

This morning as I started my time in prayer memories of that chapel and a young, wholly devoted heart that I had started to flow through my mind. I know that at that time if God would have told me to pack up my bags and head to the corners of the earth, I would have. I wanted to do whatever He wanted no matter what the cost. Over 30 years have went by since I sat in that chapel writing those words. I’ve had my times of living a life for God that I felt like I was red hot on fire and then lukewarm since then. I have often wondered If I heard God say, ” Pack up everything and go,” would I be willing to obey like my younger heart would have? Then I thought of the poem above that my younger heart wrote during a time of prayer.

Things haven’t really changed much since that day. The world I live in is still dark and full of death and destruction. Just this week two shootings have occurred in my country for no real reason except evil in the hearts of mankind. However, I know the remedy, Jesus. It seems like all that I can do is like a tiny band aid on a gaping wound.

In Isaiah 6 the prophet Isaiah saw a vision of the Lord. His way of going about life was wrecked by what He saw. He saw a God who was so holy, glorious, and awesome in power, that all he could think of is how sinfully human he was. But he also heard the voice of God asking, “Who will go for Us?” Sitting there realizing how unqualified he was he replied, “Here am I. Send me!” Sitting in the presence of Jesus has that effect on a person. Seeing what Isaiah saw, a God who is so much bigger than us and yet so loving and so kind, I also can hear His voice calling to me. “Who will go for Us?” Although I have no idea what that will mean for me, may my heart say as Isaiah’s did, “Here am I. Send me!”

As it usually does during my times of contemplation, I come across a song that stirs within me. The lyrics of this song are so powerful. May it be my prayer. May it be the prayer of all of us.

God has given us so much to be thankful for this season. Let us purpose in our hearts to not only give thanks, but give ourselves to Him fully! Taking the remedy to our brokenness to the world around us! Come Lord Jesus!

“If it’s bandaging the broken
Or washing filthy feet
Here I am, Lord, send me
If it’s loving one another
Even when we don’t agree
Here I am, Lord, send me
If I’m poor or if I’m wealthy I’ll serve You just the same
Here I am, Lord, send me
On the mountain or the valley
I will choose to praise
Here I am, Lord, send me
If I’m known by how I love
Let my life reflect how much I love You I love You
And before You even ask
Oh, my answer will be yes ‘
cause I love You I love You
If the truth cuts like an arrow
I will say it anyway
‘Cause here I am, Lord, send me
And if it’s means that they’ll reject me Lord, I will still obey
‘Cause here I am, Lord, send me
And if I’m known by how I love
Let my life reflect how much I love You I love You
And before You even ask Oh, my answer will be yes
’cause I love You Oh, I love You
When I’m standing in Your glory
I’ll be glad I chose to say
“Here I am, Lord, send me”
“Well done, good and faithful” I live to hear You say
Here I am, Lord, send me”

“Send Me” – Bethel Music

WOW Devotion- 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

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I have been writing weekly devotions for a local ministry, Women on Wednesdays.

https://www.wowjcmo.com

Here is the latest written about how a heart that is wholly devoted to God loves:

Click on Link Below

https://mailchi.mp/a47ce29726bb/wow-devotion-for-our-scripture-reading-romans-5853097?fbclid=IwAR2PhSkja0bJwsk8YsYPm90d_1YwG_7uASFcKLlylt7HoA6N8lqRmvg6HEM