#loveproject2015

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#6

It is only appropriate to speak of an unfailing eternal love today on Easter Sunday. A love that never fails but only strengthens, a love that lifts darkness, a love that embraces the broken while filling the empty, a love that is meant for all mankind to experience, a love that covers a multitude of sins, a love that knitted us together in our mothers womb, a steadfast love with no expectation of perfection but only hopes of transformation of the soul. That love is only purely given through our heavenly father.

In the beginning God molded Adam, and from Adam he created Eve, and placed them together in a perfect world where no sin lurked in the shadows. However, as the story unfolds Eve fell short to sin and Adam followed soon behind her. If Adam and Eve fell short to sin in a perfect world then how much more do we fall short to sin in a broken world? This is the reason alone that God sent his only son to be sacrificed. Where Abraham’s son Isaac was spared from death God himself sacrificed his own son with future generations in mind. Through the sacrifice of Jesus we all have the opportunity to live a life of love, and through this love the transformation process will beam from our souls like rays of sunshine.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”

John 3:16-17

My prayer  today is for God’s love to beam through me like the light shining down from stars above. The scripture says, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” John 3: 21. I pray that God continues to guide me through my life and remind me daily that perfection is not his plan but transformation is our destiny.

Love is meant for us all, freely given without expectation of perfection.

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#4

A root is an organ of the plant that aids in the longevity of life of the plant. Without the root of the plant the plant simply wouldn’t exist. Roots serve many purposes; they help with the absorption of water, they anchor the plant into the soil, they store nutrients for the plant, and they help the plant reproduce. It is not by mistake that the heart is referenced in Ephesians 3 as being rooted in love. “So that Christ may dwell in your heart in faith and I pray you being rooted and established in love may have the power together with the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…” Eph 3:17

The heart is the most vital organ in the body, without a functioning heart no life could remain. God says the heart should be rooted and established in love, and if the heart is rooted in love then the rest of the mind, body, and soul should act out of love on all occasions. This seems like a simple task to complete but taking it out of the text and displaying it throughout life is another level of the love experience. In the later part of the scripture it says that “in the power together the saints,” which references fellow christian’s. It is note worthy that this scripture signifies love with togetherness instead of loneliness.

God’s love is meant for us all, every last one and is not meant to be hoarded to ourselves but shared with us all. Even when we experience pain or injustice from others in any way or form love still stands. God’s love is the root to our salvation, our eternity, our hope, and our future. The fullness of God is to be rooted in his love through us in our hearts so that from our heart it may flow like a river to others, and together with all saints we establish this love wherever we go by being rooted in it.

My prayer for you this week is that your heart may be rooted in love so that others may experience his love through the nourishment of the root of yours. I pray life blossoms from your love and healing of pains and brokenness disappear through the overwhelming shoots of love that are reproduced from the vine so tightly laced around your heart. In this I pray, Amen.

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#3

"Whenever we cannot love in the old way, human way...God can give us the perfect way" Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

God is the lifeline to perfect love when we as humans fail. He provides comfort, compassion, mercy, and grace for us even when we deem ourselves to be the most undeserving. Since the beginning of humankind His comfort, compassion, mercy, and grace has been evident. The first sin of mankind appears in the book of Genesis in chapter 3. Eve, the first woman created, eats the fruit from the forbidden tree of wisdom and then encourages Adam, the first man created, to do so as well. The table of sin is set from this moment forward for all mankind.

 The emotions Eve felt in that moment of sin are extremely relevant today. When we ourselves sin and destroy something God has entrusted us with our emotions still flow like a river, like they did out of Eve. As Eve realized she had sinned she immediately became exposed and ashamed as she ran to find fig leaves to cover herself, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized they were naked" Genesis 3:7.  We, like Eve, may feel exposed, naked, alone, and begin to isolate ourselves, push others away, become ashamed and hide, and even believe we are too ugly to be loved by anyone especially God. The shame from the enemy may then lapse over us like a blanket, suffocating the life God has for us.

 Now lets move to the book of Matthew chapter 1 and analyze yet another daughter of the King. Here God sends an angel to a virgin girl named Mary to inform her that she will be filled with the Holy Spirit and birth the Savior of the world, "what is conceived in her is the Holy Spirit, she will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus" Matthew 1:20-21. You might think how are Eve and Mary comparable? and what does this have to do with God's love for me? My response is simple...

 In Genesis 3, Eve sets the stage for the fall of man, but in Matthew 1 God redeems Eve's sin through Mary's blessing. Eve is held responsible for making the first sin, but later Mary is chosen to carry the Savior of the world that would wash away ALL sin. From the first chapter of the Old testament to the first chapter of the New, God proves his love by redeeming his daughter. Where Eve carried the sin of the world, Mary birthed a Savior to cleanse the world. We can identify with Eve's sin and heart ache still today. Sometimes we place ourselves in the cell of purgatory and wonder how we got here and will we ever become free. But this is when God reveals a new level of his love to us, that lifts us to higher ground where His grace and mercy clothe us, "the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin" Exodus 34:6-7. Even though Eve was the first to sin in the Bible and her consequences of sin continue to effect humankind today, God's love for her proves to be exorbitant.

 My prayer for you this week is that you remember God sees you in all your pain and shame. Know that, no matter what he simply loves you. I pray, that His love resonates inside your soul and a new creation rises from your inmost being. Allow him to exchange your mourning clothes for clothes of love and joyful dancing. Amen.

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#2

"God designed love to be based on our free will. He didn’t want to be loved out of fear, or out of compliance. He wanted to be loved out of gratitude. But love has a price tag. If love is free, then a lover is free to be unloving. Otherwise love is forced. Because we are free to be unloving, many of us have been run over by the steamroller of the selfishness of others" - Henry Cloud (Safe People)

So THIS is LOVE…

This week I experienced the “steamrolling” of love that Cloud so poetically stated in ‘Safe People’. The love that God offers and sent to us through His son creates a utopia of a world in the minds of Christians. In this world that Christians create, hurt from love of a “sister” or “brother” in Christ doesn’t exist, until it happens. As humans we all desire things from others, yet we do not always return what we ourselves have desired. So in the event that our love we “freely” give is discarded and not returned what do we do? 

 Ephesians 5: 1-2, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”.  

We are called to be imitators of God and as His loved children we are asked to live a life of love. Notice how the scripture in Ephesians doesn’t acknowledge an exception to the rule of love, it simply says love, it goes even a step further and says let your life be a fragrant offering, which means a sweet like smell, of love. Through life there will be people that caste different aromas than the fragrant offering written about in Ephesians 5. Some of these people may be strangers, co-workers, family members, spouses, friends, it doesn’t really matter who they are, because the love that they lack brings out a hurtful aroma. 

Philippians 1: 9, ” And that this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” 

Over time walking with Christ our knowledge and depth of love will mature, deepen, and ultimately grow. This growth comes from heartache, pain, and trials but non the less it will encourage growth. The only requirement from God, is that through the obstacles we face and the pain that we experience love is the main aroma that fills the atmosphere around us. My prayer this week is that when the flesh rises up and refuses to eject a fragrant offering to the one causing us pain, the Spirit will go before us like a vapor leading us only to love. 

Freely given without a price, as vast as the ocean, as wide as the mountains are across, as deep as a canyon, is the all consuming love that God has for His precious children. He does not love based on good or bad behavior, His love is steady and remains constant. His love is perfect, unbreakable, unchangeable, and blameless. Whether we choose to receive or identify with His love, the aroma of it remains.

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#loveproject2015

The journey….

My curiosity of what we as humans believe love is compared to what God intended love to be encouraged me to embark on this journey of finding the true meaning of love, which by definition means an intense feeling of deep affection. Over the course of 365 days I will meditate, concentrate, eat, breathe, sleep, and eventually be transformed by this word love. Please note, I by no means am implying the perfection of mastering this word but only wish to have a deeper understanding of love so that I can be transformed. This four letter word is small yet holds such power, for it is the basis of what our Lord and Savior was birthed from and crucified for. I welcome all to walk alongside me this year as I weekly document thoughts, stories, scriptures, quotes and anything else that I feel as though will help further transform me and possibly others. So let’s walk hand and hand together and explore the greatest gift of all, love. ❤️

entry 1

"Love is patient love is kind never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do wrong. It is never glad at injustice, but rejoices with truth. If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, and always expect the best of him, and always stand firm your ground in defending him. All the special powers and gifts from God will someday fade away but love endures forever"

1 Cor 13:4-8

If we truly read the definition of what God says love is, does it even compare with our own? Are we applying it properly to life and the people we do life with?  Do we fully understand the greatest commandment of all? 

    From day one God loved his creation that he formed from the dust of the earth. So if we were sculpted out of the hands that represent love then how much more should we live life in unity loving on others, without limitations, restraints, or expectations, just love.  Paul says…

 ”If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love I have nothing”  1 Cor 13:2

So above all else love. If we live life properly by the Christian standards by doing all the acts/deeds that are demanded yet we harbor malice in our hearts and preserve bitterness in our souls, instead of rooting our hearts in love, we fail, because like Paul said, even the prophetic gifts are left behind and only love is taken with us. I pray that you, me, the world can find love the way God intended it to be and freely disperse it to all, I pray that we open our lungs to the breath of God as we read his word, we inhale the truth of His love story, and we are able to exhale His love freely to others.

love always protects, preserves, remains steady, constant, it lingers, it covers, it encourages, it is safe, it is the greatest gift of all….