Facets of Faith

Conversations about life, faith, and friendship.

Do You Believe God’s Promises – Really?

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Happy New Year! Welcome to Facets of Faith and our first series of 2018, Do You Believe God’s Promises─Really? As we talked about how we wanted to kick this year off, we felt digging into how well rooted we are in the belief of God’s promises was a great place to start. The greater our belief in God’s promises, the greater each of us will walk out 2018 to all its fullest potential. That is our prayer for every reader of our series, that she would know fully who she is and how much God has planned for her… this year and beyond!

My (Tracy’s) guess is we can all recall instances where someone made us a promise, but didn’t keep it. A broken promise is like ceramic pottery dropped to the floor, pieces scattered in need of clean up.

Betrayal is messy.

Not always is there ill intent when a person’s word is broken. Perhaps they had good intentions, but something got in the way of fulfilling their commitment.

Sometimes, it really is that a person’s word may not mean much. More than the words they utter, behaviors tell us better what to believe. As the old saying goes, sometimes “proof is in the pudding”.

Even minor infractions if left unattended layer and diminish the sparkling potential of two people coming together in friendship, matrimony, or some other special connection.

Keeping our promises really matters. But we humans aren’t always the greatest at doing what matters most.

According to the American Psychological Association, the U.S. divorce rate is between 40 – 50%.(1)  That’s a high rate of broken promises!  The statistic is merely one body of evidence that makes it easier for us to understand why we may find it difficult to believe in promises.

But it is imperative we do.

God gives promises to us that aren’t like the ones we humans give one another. God’s promises to us are unbreakable. Unshakable.

Christ is the Cornerstone that holds up strong evidence God loves us and keeps His promises. Prophecy pointed to Jesus long before His birth. Prophecy the ultimate Promise brought to life when Mary, a virgin, birthed our long-promised Messiah. God the Father spoke through the prophets of a Savior.  He kept His word and sent His Son! Nail-scarred hands strong evidence God isn’t like us. At all! God gives us proof He keeps His promises.

“God is not a man, that He should lie,

Nor a son of man, that He should repent.

Has He said, and will not do?

Or has He spoken, and will not make it good?”

─Numbers 23:19 NKJV

We are made in God’s image, not the other way around. God is not a man, that He should lie.

God is faithful. He keeps His word. Has He spoken, and will not make it good?

The HCSB version says it this way, Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?

How would you answer that question?

Do I always believe God’s promises – really?

My response? Not really. Not 100% of the time.

With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

All things?

All?

Really?

But what if I don’t see a way how? Guess that puts me between a rock and a hard place.

But what if I’ve been believing that for a long, long, long time? Guess I’m pressed up against the wall there too.

Sometimes, if I am looking at my circumstances rather than keeping my eyes fixed on the Lord, I can waiver in my belief. I can worry, wonder, and let fear inhibit my actions, because I temporarily “forgot” God’s faithfulness.

It’s like I’ve acquired spiritual amnesia and misplaced every good promise God has already brought to fruition – not to mention all the amazing promises still on the horizon.

But in His faithfulness, He brings me back to His promises and reminds me afresh.

A really great place to start is in the beginning where He and I (and you too if you’ve been saved) first met.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.─Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

If I agree with the idea of faith (and I do), it’s crucial I believe in God’s promises. Belief is all that is required for entry into God’s kingdom. Belief is where we all begin as Children of God. It makes sense that the very idea of belief would be warred against by the enemy. It’s foundational to our faith.

If we can believe in a virgin birth (Luke 2), if we can believe in talking donkeys used to accomplish God’s plan (Numbers 22), if we can believe Daniel didn’t get eaten by a lion (Daniel 6), we can believe God’s promises for us.

As an aside, can I say I love that God leaves these far-fetched examples in Scripture which make it all the more believable in my opinion. Because we know if you or I were writing it, we’d probably edit out all the elements that seemed a little unusual. That furnace thing (Daniel 3)? No one will believe it. Better remove it. Nope. God left all that great stuff in for us to see─really, ALL things are possible with God.

Let’s talk about three reasons it’s imperative we believe God’s promises, really.

1. Power

As believers, we access God’s power through His promises. When we pray and say God’s words, we have a powerful weapon to disarm the enemy. Even Jesus Himself used the Word to defeat Satan (Luke 4). That should definitely lead us to believe in the power of speaking promises to silence the enemy.  And of course the enemy wouldn’t want us to believe we have any power. He’d love nothing more than for us to doubt God keeps His promises. That’s why it’s crucial we believe by faith.

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.─Luke 10:19 NKJV

 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.─Romans 15:13 NKJV

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.─2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

 2. Position

 In addition to power, God’s promises remind us who we are in relation to Him. We are part of God’s kingdom once we state by faith our belief in Christ. Our position cannot be taken away. We are sealed as an heir.

One of the most common areas of attack is against our identity. If we doubt who we are and the position we hold in Christ, we are less likely to walk in the power and authority God gave us.

His promises remind us whose we are. When we have assurance of our position as heirs and children of God (to name just a few), we walk a little taller. And when we do, the world takes a bit more notice that something is different about us. We know who we are and are able to walk through life with confidence.

Our identity is key to achieving anything great – including walking in peace, love, and joy. God left us His promises to remind us we are His. And that changes everything.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13 NKJV

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.─Romans 8:38-39 NKJV

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:─John 1:12 NKJV

 3. Potential

When we believe God’s promises─really, we start to believe we can do something great because of them.  The hardest, most frightening things God has ever asked me to participate in would never have happened if I hadn’t believed His promises. I am pretty well aware of my personal limitations, but I’m not in this world by myself and in my own power. Neither are you.

The more we access God’s power and the more we know our position as a child of God, the more we are able to access our God-given potential. He wants us to do great things with Him. He’s prepared them ahead of time for us.

There’s a lot this world needs, not the least of which is love.

God has given us all gifts. Depending on your current level of self-esteem, you may or may not believe you have gifts or that yours are as valuable as someone else’s.

Everyone’s gifts have merit!

God made you as His masterpiece. He has something very special planned just for you. No one else can do it. I don’t know what that is, but my prayer is that God shows you. Your contribution is far too important!

No matter what your age, it’s never too late as long as you are still alive. Age doesn’t disqualify anyone. You’re not too young, nor are you too old to be used by God. Scripture leaves us with all kinds of examples of people being used for God’s purposes from young to old—Timothy to Abraham, Mary to Elizabeth. The heart matters. Not the hours you’ve been alive on earth.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ─Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”─Matthew 19:26 NKJV

Do you believe God’s promises─really?

Our answer to that question greatly impacts how much power, position and potential we walk in. How much power, position, and potential do you desire for your life and the lives of those you love?

You are blessed because you believed what the Lord said to you would really happen.─ Luke 1:45 ICB

I pray you receive all of God’s blessings as you believe Him and His promises, just the way He said they’d happen. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

 

1 Marriage & divorce. (n.d.). Retrieved January 02, 2018, from http://www.apa.org/topics/divorce/

Do You See What I See?

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Welcome to FACETS of Faith. Merry Christmas! I (Tracy) pray you see Christ in meaningful fashion as you read each of our perspectives this month. It’s a sweet season. Slow down. Savor Him. Look for Him with intention. Lord, help Your precious children see You for all You are to them and others. Reveal Yourself in this season where hearts are open in a special, tender way. In Jesus’ name, amen.

When you consider Christ, what do you see?

I see what I need depending upon what season I am in. I’m not talking about Christmas, Easter, winter or spring. I’m referring to my state of mind. Where am I at in life? How am I feeling about that? What are my present needs? Hopes? Hurts? Aspirations?

Do you see what I see?

What I see is who I need Jesus to be in that very moment.

I’m a woman. My needs fluctuate. You too? I can be on top of a mountain and want to twirl with Jesus like Julie Andrews singing, The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music. The hills alive, because I feel alive. Fresh, green, vibrant as the landscape echoing songs of jubilation back to me. You’re alive! Doesn’t if feel fabulous to breathe deep and take it all in? The score dramatic as my life and music create a crescendo, a beautiful chorus where people want to join in. In these moments, I see my need for a Dance Partner to twirl with me.

Not every day is a Julie Andrews kind of day. Sometimes it’s more like Alanas Morissette. I hate the world today. Angsty. Angry. Grrr. You wake up scrubbing sleep from your eyes, realize you are out of coffee, stub your toe on the sharp edges of your coffee table, creating the need to hop out your pain. All the while you think, Maybe I should go back to bed and toss the covers over my head, darkness beneath the blankets matching bleakness of this day. In these moments, I see my need for an Encourager to move me from sulking to singing.

Perhaps the darkness is more serious than a minor toe-stubbing nuisance. A diagnosis that feels gloomy. A marriage in disrepair. A dream dead. Loved ones lost, not knowing a Savior. In times of lament, I see Him as my greatest Comfort, the One I cannot do without.

That’s life, right? Ups AND downs. How do we deal with all that? We don’t get to pluck the good out and leave behind the things we’d rather not have. That’s not how life works, unfortunately. God said, in this life we would have trouble (John 16:33). Sometimes, that’s what we have.

But we also have hope. And we have a Savior. We have salvation for our souls when we say “yes” to Jesus and surrender our lives to Him. We have salvation for each and every day. The hard days when we want to sit in a puddle and fling mud all over ourselves to match our mood. The good days when our hearts are bursting full of joy, and we get to celebrate with the Only One who really knows what it took to get to the top of life’s mountains.

Do you see what I see?

 I see a God who sees me and you.

We could try to explain to others every step that stretched us out of our comfort zone as we climbed that mountain. But we don’t need to explain to God. He gets it. Because He gets us. It is glorious that He gets us.

The fact that He gets me, gets me through.

He’s also the first One I want to run to when I’ve got good news. He is my Confidant. I can confide in Him about ANYTHING. He is trustworthy. If you don’t know that, I pray you come to know it. If you do, I pray He gives you fresh revelation of that truth today.

Do you see what I see?

I see a trustworthy God.

Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”  Luke 1:42 NKJV

Above are the words Elizabeth spoke to her pregnant cousin Mary─Mary, the one who needed to trust God with her reputation and her future.

I love that Elizabeth didn’t use her inside voice. She proclaimed in a loud voice words to the effect of, Mary, do you realize how blessed you are? You carry the Christ! Who get’s to do that? You are carrying THE Blessing! Can you believe how blessed you are?

Elizabeth saw the blessing before Christ was born. Her attentive eyes of faith saw the beauty Mary carried in her. She saw Christ, our blessing.

Do you see what I see?

I see Christ our blessing. Do you see it too? Do you see Him as a blessing? Do you see that sweet precious baby born to a virgin as a blessing? He is you know. Even if you know Him and you love Him, do you really understand the depth of His blessing as He came through the womb of an innocent, pure, normal-until-that-day young woman?

It makes me wonder what Jesus saw in Mary that He would give her that kind of trust.

Mary faced hard circumstances. Judgement, I’m sure, from people who didn’t understand her situation. It was rather unbelievable, like many things of faith. God isn’t logical, practical, or fully comprehensible. It’s what makes Him God and requires our faith.

Do you see what I see?

I see a God who sees beyond who we are to whom we will become.

God saw a young woman whom He knew with His help would be strong enough to carry Him and care for Him in spite of what others might think. He gave her a close confidant in Joseph. God knew she’d need him to help her fulfill her calling. Angels were sent to Joseph too. He knew what God asked of him as well. Sacrifice. They both sacrificed much so that one day their precious baby boy could become our Sacrifice, the Sacrifice that saved the world —including you and me.

Do you see what I see?

Baby born to save the world through every day people.

Without the courage, trust, and belief of Mary and Joseph, we wouldn’t have our Christ. (Admittedly, God would have used someone else to deliver us. But because they were courageous, He didn’t have to.) What courage, trust, and belief is God calling you to? What won’t the world have if you don’t step into it?

“But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”  Luke 1:43 NKJV

Do you see what I see?

I see our Lord.

Like Elizabeth, we were given a Lord. He’s ahead of us in this matter. Waiting in the wings for each of us to say yes to Him as Leader of our lives. He wants to be, if we’ll let Him. We get choice. We get to choose Him as Lord (or not).

He’ll meet us on our most difficult days, like He ended up doing for his precious mama the day she looked on and saw her son, the Son, hanging on a cross willing to die for you and me. Before He did so, Jesus made sure His mama would be well-cared for by His closest companion, John, the disciple whom He loved. My friend, John, the one I love. I need you to love my mama. I know you will. I trust you to care for her. You’ve learned from me. Now take care of her. She’s going to need you. And I know you won’t let me down. That is a dark, desperate mama day. Literally, at Jesus’ death the skies turned dark (Mark 15:33).  Mary’s Lord made sure she wasn’t left alone.

When Mary sat in Elizabeth’s kitchen (where I visualize her because that’s where good conversation often takes place) and heard these words, I don’t think she could have imagined that dark day.

“For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for these will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”  Luke 1:44-45 NKJV

Do you see what I see?

I see blessing born from belief.

Mary was told she would have a child, and He would save the world. He did. And He does.  Jesus saves.

John the Baptist leaped in his mother’s womb for joy at the encounter with Christ. The stirring inside Elizabeth revealed to her Mary carried the Savior of the world.

Mary was given the immense privilege to care for the long-awaited Promise. Scripture fulfilled because she said “yes”.

Do you see what I see?

I see Jesus, our source of joy.

When we recognize Jesus, we see our source of all joy. Even a babe in a womb recognized it and leaped. Nothing else can bring joy like Jesus. The world will present all sorts of false narratives about what brings joy: buy me, try me, play me, let me play with you, idolatry.

Make no mistake. Joy to the world comes only through Christ.

When I look at Christ, I see joy. I see Him look upon us, me, with adoration in spite of my messy, muddled up attempts at living life for Him. I imagine His eyes twinkling as He looks upon me. She’s mine.  That one with the freckles. She makes me smile. Knowing He delights in me in spite of my sin (not because of it, in spite of it) brings me joy. He loves you in spite of your sin too; I hope you bask in great joy over that truth.

What struck me today as I wondered about what I see when I look at Christ is how He chose to introduce Himself to you and me. A baby. A baby born to a previously unknown, unpretentious, betrothed woman who the town probably thought of as tainted trash, because they couldn’t see the truth. A baby born to a virgin.

Jesus could have chosen any way to come. He chose this one. I believe He really wants us to notice how He came.

Do you see what I see?

I see a Savior who made Himself vulnerable and humble. That’s how He came.

Not a warrior. Not a knight. Not a king the way we’d expect THE King. When I look at Christ as a baby born to brave, young Mary I see Him as vulnerable and humble.

I don’t want to move on from that. I think that’s His main point to this piece.

He came in vulnerability and humility.

He is our model. He is our ultimate Mentor. He wants me and you to live vulnerable and humble too. It’s how people will see Him.

Vulnerability and humility are not in vogue. That’s okay. The things of Christ aren’t necessarily in vogue with society. The Pharisees couldn’t see Christ because He came in such a vulnerable, humble way. They expected some grand entrance, or at least a grand gesture. Can we have a little fan-fare please?

That wasn’t the way of Christ.

He chose a different fashion to reveal Himself to us. He expects us to do life different too.

When I look at Christ today, I see vulnerability and humility and the blueprint on how to live my life for Him. Christmas, Easter, and every seeming insignificant day. Maybe it’s in the seeming insignificant days we reflect Him most.

This Christmas, I pray we respond like Mary when He calls us to Him and His purposes. I pray we see Him and we help others see Him too.

And Mary said,

I’m bursting with God-news;

            I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.

God took one good look at me, and look what happened─

            I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!

What God has done for me will never be forgotten,

            the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.

His mercy flows in wave after wave

            on those who are in awe before him.

He bared his arm and showed his strength,

            scattered the bluffing braggarts.

He knocked tyrants off their high horses,

            pulled victims out of the mud.

The starving poor sat down to a banquet;

            the callous rich were left out in the cold.

He embraced his chosen child, Israel;

            he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.

It’s exactly what he promised,

            beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

─Luke 1:46-55 The Message

What do you see this Christmas as you look toward Christ?

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.  

 

What Do You Do When You Have a Giant Turkey in Your Life?

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Welcome to FACETS of Faith. Whether it’s your first visit to our pages or you are a regular reader, thank you for engaging! We pray God meets you across the pages of what He inspires us to write and share. Months in advance we ask for His direction. This month we felt led to explore difficult relationships. We all have them. How we handle them is what will define the amount of peace and joy we have in our lives. Since peace and joy is our prayer for you, our readers, we also pray God speaks to your heart and helps you have the best holiday season with friends and family!

Can you believe it? The holiday season is upon us. ALREADY. Someone told me the other day how many Fridays remain before Christmas. I won’t do that to you here. Who needs that kind of pressure?

As blessed as the holidays can be, aren’t they full of enough pressure all on their own?

Frankly, not everyone considers the holidays a blessing. Some wish it away like wind that brushes through the trees, stirring things up, desiring nothing more than for the leaves to safely settle back into place. When will this wind storm be over?

A number of years ago in a Bible study, I remember a person expressing sentiments like, I just wish the holidays were over already. I don’t like spending time with my family. They are full of drama, and the whole thing drains me dry.

Obviously, there is hurt and offense when that’s the place a person finds him or herself sitting.  The Thanksgiving table (or conference room table) isn’t long enough to separate you from the person you perceive too difficult.

Your best hope seems to be to pray this thing will all be over. Quickly. Please God. Let it be over, so we can get back to normal life where we don’t have to deal with difficult people. Grin and bear it.

Can I challenge you a little on that?

Dealing with difficult people is a daily experience, because there are a lot of broken people in the world who often don’t even realize how they are impacting others.

If they do realize how they hurt others and continue to engage in that behavior, imagine how much they must be hurting inside to keep sabotaging relationships. The well of pain must run deep.

What does God ask us as believers?

If you call yourself a believer, we need to deal with people’s pain (including our own) in a different manner than that of the world.

Our flesh might want to fight back, to defend ourselves, to resist relationship because sometimes it feels too hard. But that’s not what God asks of us.

Actually, He’s not asking.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.─John 13:34 NLT

God commands us to love. Loving like Jesus calls us to isn’t easy. It’s not simple like buying a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Nope. More like being grateful that God has given us the capacity to love, because He LOVED US FIRST. Because He did and when we really grasp that, love gets a bit easier even through its difficulty.

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.─John 15:12 NLT

How has God loved you?

It’s an interesting question to consider: How has God loved you?

I encourage you to journal, asking God to help you explore all the ways He has loved you. Let’s each of us get His perspective on LOVE. Even those of us with the best of intentions on loving well, really can’t fully grasp how to love like God.  Remember, His love is high and vast and wide and deep like it says in Ephesians.

But we can ask Him to help us understand and act in alignment with His love. He’ll hear it as a prayer and help us all learn to love one another better.

God wants that from and for us.

Why did He give Eve to Adam? God knew Adam needed a helper, someone to be in relationship with. But remember how they blamed each other when Satan and sin came into the equation? “It’s Satan’s fault.” “It’s Eve’s fault.” And where was Adam when he was supposed to be leading his family? Oh yeah, he wasn’t, and he didn’t take responsibility for his actions.  Let’s not be like them. Finger pointing never helped anyone.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.  Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we can ask or think.─Ephesians 3:18-20 NLT

If there is one thing I’ve learned from my time here on planet earth, it is that most people do not grasp the love of Christ deep down in their hearts. If they did, people would act much kinder to one another. Kind even when we see life from opposite sides of the coin. Kind when we want to cry out. Kind when we wish our own heart wasn’t so broken. Loving each other doesn’t mean we will always agree. It means we’ll love each other anyhow. We’ll love each other with God’s power when ours is insufficient.

That means every day. Because no matter how huge your heart is and how motivated you are to love well, you just won’t be able to without God’s help. But rest assured, He’ll help you.

What is the relational game changer?

I believe the relational game changer is when we experience the love of Christ as Ephesians states. The EXPERIENCE of Christ is what allows me to love others. I don’t always execute on that perfectly, but my heart now is in the right place on that. And that’s a good start. I want to love well, because I have experienced the deep well of God’s love toward me.

Even as I understand His deep love for me, I want and need to understand it more. That understanding is important for me.  It’s also imperative for everyone whose lives mine intersects.

God’s love is too great for any of us to fully understand. Too great! But I challenge you to try to grasp it anyhow. It’s a worthy pursuit.

Whose side are we on?

There’s power in loving well. When we love others well we take power away from the dominion of darkness. The enemy wants hearts to be full of hatred, anger, bitterness, enmity, offense, and unforgiveness. When we choose not to love well, we’re choosing to side with the enemy.

I know that statement sounds harsh. Sorry. Our behavior doesn’t change our position as a child of God. Our behavior doesn’t steal our salvation. But our lack of loving others well (or less than we are called to), does diminish our effectiveness for Christ. It also reduces the likelihood God can use us to the fullest of the potential He has placed within us.

What might be accomplished if we really grasped God’s love?

If every child of God more fully grasped how deeply God loves him or her, we wouldn’t have buildings large enough to house all the people flocking to get near our Shepherd. We’d be like Paul radically transformed by the love of Christ making impact beyond our imagination.

Isn’t that what the last part of our Ephesians scripture says?

through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we can ask or think.

Infinitely more.

What would happen in your church, your family, your community if you experienced God’s love more and then shared it with others? What are you imagining?

Now imagine infinitely more than that. Claim the promise. Infinitely more!

What does our experience of God require?

Once we grasp God’s love for us, our experience of His love requires a response. Our love for Him. Isn’t that how love works? A give and a receive needed from both parties invested in relationship. At its best, yes.

In Jesus’ words: “If you love me, obey my commandments.”─John 14:15 NLT

Perhaps when we love well (and when we don’t) God is showing us something about ourselves. Where are those places within each of us He still needs to touch? Is God showing you a past wound in need of healing? Is He showing you a place in need of restoration? Is He helping to equip you for a new assignment? Does He need you to look at something within, so He can use you and your gifting for more than you can think or imagine?

to accomplish infinitely more than we can ask or think.

What blessing does God have for you this holiday season?

Are you willing to love well to find out?

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them .”─John 14:21 NLT

Do you desire to know God more? More personally? Do you desire God to reveal Himself to you? When we are busy loving others, rest assured He will reveal Himself to us.

When I seek Him with intention to love others well, He whispers loud. He leads the way. He says, “This will bless.” “This one will feel loved when you write this.” “This one needs a hug. Go give her one.”

If you want to see God more in your life, love others. He’ll be sure to reveal Himself. Remember, He’s always there, right next to you, within you, all around. But we can see Him best when we are looking in love toward Him and others. When we do, we are blessed in the process. His plan is beautiful.

My prayer for you is that you will live a blessed, beautiful life full of God’s love for yourself and that you share it with others. Sweet, pure, and powerful love.  Love illuminates God’s glory. When we love God and love others well, perhaps there is no higher form of praise we can give Him.

I’ll leave you with Paul’s words to the church of Corinth.

Paul said, “I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.”─2 Corinthians 8:8 NLT

Are you eager to accept Paul’s challenge?

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