Friend to Friend ~ Series on Friendship

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17 NLT

(unknown photographer)

The sharing of the Holy Spirit lays at the root of Christian friendship. Mutuality involving encouragement, good counsel and accountability remain essential components, but a relationship that has Christ as its core becomes a priceless interrelationship. Ecclesiastes 4:12  describes the strength of more than one: A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better than one, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. A common proverbial expression in ancient literature, this "threefold cord" indicates value in companionship and preparedness. Experiencing unity and grace through Christian relationships helps to deepen our understanding of God's love.

While every relationship differs, certain characteristics define Christian friendship. God must be first. This friendship must share a common love for God which brings spiritual joy, even in times of distress and chaos. Communication involves giving and taking both encouragement and counsel. Within the relationship, security comes from loyalty, from honoring confidences without fear of betrayal. Christian friendship can be an enduring kinship ~ but only if Christ makes three! 

Consider this Yiddish Proverb: There are 3 types of friends; those like food without which you can't live, those like medicine which you need occasionally, and those like illness which you never want. Then ask yourself: What kind of friend am I? ~ dho


Christian friendship can be an enduring kinship ~ but only if Christ makes three! Donna Oswalt

Jesus-Centered Friendship ~ Series on Friendship

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your current culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Romans 12:1-2 The Message

The old hymn, Jesus Is All The World To Me, begins, Jesus is all the world to me, my life, my joy, my all; each verse ends with He's my friend. The words of this hymn reinforce the theology of living a Jesus-Centered life. In times of sadness, trials, and blessings, at beginnings and endings, and into eternity, Jesus provides everything we need. This divine promise for us hinges on whether or not we make Jesus the center of our world. The world stands full of contradictions and excuses luring us away from an intimate relationship with Jesus.

To become a living and holy sacrifice, an offering to God, one must accept the cost of obedience. The world's prince, Satan, never reveals the price of disobedience; rather, he charms the mind with unattainable more, teases the heart with fading hope, and leaves the soul with elusive satisfaction. To conform to culture's expectations only fuels futility, but through the Holy Spirit comes a spiritual transformation that is the foundation of discipleship. A Jesus-Centered life merges righteousness and holiness combining spiritual worship and holy living.

God's Grace opens the door to having a Jesus-Centered life. Our response comes next. Peterson's The Message describes how to take our everyday, ordinary life and embrace God! To recognize God in a culture that proudly denies Him, to give generously within a culture that takes selfishly, to hold faithfully to God's promises in a culture that persecutes His truth, to value life surrounded by a culture that marginalizes weakness, to love others more boldly than culture hates God - THIS is to be transformed by Jesus. When one truly embraces God, every aspect of living should reflect Christ's Light into the world. Then the soul can sing, "Jesus is all the world to me, my life, my joy, my all. . . Eternal life! Eternal joy! He's my friend!"  ~ dho

In times of sadness, trials, and blessings, at beginnings and endings, and into eternity, Jesus provides everything we need. This divine promise for us hinges on whether or not we make Jesus the center of our world.  ~ Donna Oswalt

Divided Loyalty ~ Series on Friendship

You are My friends, if you do what I command you... I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father." John 15:14-15 NRSV

In the early first century, Roman emperors expect the people to declare their loyalty to Caesar acknowledging him as the supreme power. This annual public declaration of loyalty requires every citizen to place an offering on the altar saying, "Caesar is Lord!" Those who refuse, such as Christians who profess their loyalty to Christ, are frequently mocked, arrested, tortured and killed. Under Nero, one of the cruelest Roman emperors, Peter and Paul are put to death, crucified upside down and beheaded respectively, for spreading the Gospel message, and claiming "Jesus is Lord". The message of the Jesus-followers explains there is a kingdom greater than Rome, directly in opposition to the Roman world view. 

Everyday, the outward expressions of our values conjoin with our commitments to demonstrate where our deepest loyalty lies. When material possessions, political affiliations, and social rankings become priorities, when want replaces need, when spiritual riches dwindle, divided loyalty exposes us. The very first of the Ten Commandments clarifies, "You shall have no other gods before Me." Jesus tells us, "No one can serve two masters for either he will hate one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other." In another lesson, Jesus reminds that just like you can identify a tree by its fruit, you can identify people by their actions. Loyalty becomes the fruit of our fellowship. 

The Old Testament uses the word hesed for loyalty 249 times, and according to Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary it "is one of the richest, most theologically insightful terms in the OT," Meaning "unfailing love, kindness and devotion," this kind of loyalty usually grows within a relationship, often in a covenant relationship. A covenant relationship involves a promise or vow, whether between God and a person or between individuals.When we enter into a covenant relationship with God, His divine, everlasting promises of reconciliation with Him and victory over sin lavish us with Grace. Remaining in fellowship with God develops our spiritual understanding of trusting Him. This trust blossoms into love evidenced in our lives - in our relationships. The Kingdom of God is greater than Rome, greater than the world, greater than this universe. Does your public declaration of loyalty declare "Jesus is Lord" of my life, my everyday, my every moment? ~ dho

Everyday, the outward expressions of our values conjoin with our commitments to demonstrate where our deepest loyalty lies. Donna Oswalt

Loyalty becomes the fruit of our fellowship. Donna Oswalt

Christ, the Law of Liberty~ ~ Series on Friendship

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged 

under the law of liberty. James 2:12 ESV

Liberty actually means "freedom from captivity", and America celebrates its freedom this week on July 4th! For Christians, liberty is true freedom from sin, genuine freedom to walk in obedience to Christ. In Christian liberty there is freedom from the bondage of sin through faith in Christ. With the Holy Spirit helping our every effort, the Believer walks in obedience with God. Wiersbe writes, "We are judged by the law of liberty - the law of love written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit." Christ is the Law of Liberty.

In James 2:8 the "royal law" [also known as the Supreme law of God, the law of love, Sovereign law] states:You shall love your neighbor as yourself. This law comes from the King of kings and defines our response to others. As someone freed from the captivity of sin, someone given eternal life through the law of liberty, God's freedom-plan redefines our purpose. In word and deed, we are to love our neighbor as someone under the Law of Liberty. Our words and deeds - free from prejudice, from oppression, from exploitation - should reveal Christ's love written on our hearts! His Grace and Mercy become ours to share. Celebrate Christ - True Freedom - this July 4th week! ~dho

Our words and deeds - free from prejudice, from oppression, from exploitation - 

should reveal Christ's love written on our hearts!  

~Donna Oswalt

Joy-Full Friendship ~ Series on Friendship

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."  Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV

Discontentment leads to resentment, resentment to rage, rage to shouting, shouting to abuse; this is the chain of events that acts of malice ignite. These intentional malignant actions, each one fueling the next, cause pain and distress. Negative emotions like resentment and animosity are toxic and destroy relationships. Warren Wiersbe says, "Corruption from the lips only means corruption in the heart." 

Augustine in his Confessions lists the joys of friendship: “to make conversation, to share a joke, to perform mutual acts of kindness, to read together well-written books, to share in trifling and in serious matters, to disagree though without animosity... and in the very rarity of disagreement to find the salt of normal harmony, to teach each other something or to learn from one another, to long with impatience for those absent, to welcome them with gladness on their arrival.” 

The way we interact with others reveals not only our heart's attitude, but it gives insight into our relationship with God. The joys of friendship with God include holy conversations and divine instruction, unconditional love and unrestrained fellowship, peace and hope, all wrapped up together in Amazing Grace. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of our life.(The Message Ephesians 4:30) Our expressions of kindness and tenderness and forgiveness that we offer one another measures our friendship with God. ~ dho

Unrestrained Fellowship ~ Series on Friendship

Thus, the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend... Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Take these people up to the Promised Land.' But You haven't told me whom You will send with me. You call me by name and tell me I have found favor with You... And the LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." ...And the LORD replied to Moses, I will indeed do what you have asked, for you have found favor with Me, and you are My friend."

Exodus 33:11-17 NASB/NLT

God calls Abraham and Moses by name, speaks to them as friends, identifies each one as friend. In studying these heroes of Faith, it is clear the privilege of friendship with God comes with many responsibilities but also provides deep, intimate fellowship. These ancient words in Exodus reveal not only the trust and responsiveness of Moses to God, but also God's promise of His Presence to Moses. This relationship demonstrates reciprocity, mutuality, and unrestrained fellowship!

God's promise, "My Presence will go with you," reassures Moses. In Hebrew My Presence literally means My Face. (NKJV Study Bible) Moses asks for God's Presence, His personal companionship; God willingly responds. Of all the nations on earth in Old Testament times, only Israel would go forward with the presence of God Almighty. With Jesus Christ, God completes the picture of His abiding presence. For through Christ, each of us can have this unrestrained fellowship with God.

Philip Yancey writes in his book Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference, "keeping company with God involves two parties, and I have an important role to play in the relationship." There are those people who seem content with a superficial relationship with God, those who settle less. Some people deeply desire a growing faith walk with God, some who long for more. God is waiting for those who want to experience an intimate relationship with Him. In God's Presence, the Believer is called by name, feels His nearness, and can understand His voice, just as a man speaks to his friend. In Christ, unmeasured grace and unspeakable joy fuse in unrestrained fellowship! I want MORE of this! What do you want?  ~dho 

Covenant Benefits ~ Series on Friendship

"Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was declared right with God because of what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, he was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to do. His faith was made complete by what he did - by his actions. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say, 'Abraham believed God, so God declared him to be righteous.' He was even called 'the friend of God'." James 2:21-23 NLT (see Genesis 22, story of Abraham and Isaac)

How does this New Testament verse describe Abraham, and what does his behavior reveal about his faith? First, after remembering Abraham's ancestry and the Jewish lineage, Scripture tells us he is declared righteous by God because of his obedience to God's command. We then understand Abraham's faith foundation comes from fully trusting God. Abraham's faith was made complete in his obedience. Then, God calls Abraham "friend". 

In defining friendship, one idea centers around a trusted confidential relationship. Abraham fully trusts God, and we understand this in observing his actions. Back up a few decades and read Genesis 15; God makes a covenant with Abram, long before this act of obedience demonstrates his faithfulness. A Promised Land and many descendants will become his legacy. When Abraham is 99 years old, God again blesses Abraham, renewing His covenant calling him the father of many nations and millions of descendants, and promising him a son, to be named Isaac. This relationship exemplifies a trusted confidential relationship that evolves into a genuine friendship with God.

A lifestyle of spontaneous obedience is the most compelling evidence of our friendship and affection for Christ. [Blackaby Study Bible] A growing intimacy with Christ reveals an increasing awareness of His Presence. Christ chooses us, but our hesitation or reluctance or denial to respond creates barriers. Without an intimate relationship with Christ, our offerings to the world are of limited significance. Christ meets us where we are and offers us His covenant benefits.  How does your lifestyle describe you, and what does your behavior reveal about your faith? Can God call you friend? ~dho

Genuine Frienship ~ Series on Friendship

We can never replace a friend.  When a man is fortunate enough to have several, he finds they are all different.  No one has a double in friendship.  

Johann Von Schiller

Although we all have had friends for seasons, those who come and go, each are individually unique, irreplaceable for those particular times and certainly not forgotten. As new seasons arrive, God does fill that void, sometimes. I also find those who remain true soul friends, despite time and distance, are NOT so replaceable. When circumstances claim them, for a while or until eternity, their place in the heart remains. Occasionally life returns them, in planned reunions or at unexpected intersections. In these moments, we fall into conversation with comfort and ease; afterwards, we pause, reflective and grateful. Genuine friendship is a matter of the soul, a holy engraving by the Giver, each one chosen for us. What splendid friends they make! ~dho

"And these God-chosen lives all around 

- what splendid friends they make!"

Psalms 16:3 The Message

Spirit of the Living God

Easter gatherings with their celebrations are fast becoming memories as plans for Spring Break and summer vacations begin to fill the calendar. Before life fills our plates too full with other thoughts, I would like to spend the next several weeks sharing some of the insights I gleaned during these recent weeks of Lent. Pentecost this year is Sunday June 4, 2017.~dho

"Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;

I can feel His mighty power and His grace.

I can hear the brush of angels' wings.

I see glory on each face;

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place."

As promised, Jesus returns to Heaven to be with God, but His presence will remain with mankind in the form of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus returns to heaven, the Holy Spirit descends to the earliest believers like a mighty windstorm, like flaming tongues of fire. The living breath of God becomes the life source of the faithful. God's plan for the Christian church begins with the outpouring of His Spirit in Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago. For anyone believing in Christ, the Spirit leads and teaches, intercedes and empowers, even in this place, at this moment! 

Spirit of the Living God, fill me with Your presence. Holy Fire, kindle my soul. Gift of God, open my heart to truth and wisdom. Anywhere and all the time, You refresh my soul! ~ dho   

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. 
Acts 2:1-4 NLT

" . . . Spirit of holiness, on us descend. . ."

Servant of God

Easter gatherings with their celebrations are fast becoming memories as plans for Spring Break and summer vacations begin to fill the calendar. Before life fills our plates too full with other thoughts, I would like to spend the next several weeks sharing some of the insights I gleaned during these recent weeks of Lent.~dho

The spiritual discipline of service requires an "attitude of obedience". In A Year with God, Foster gives us the definition of servanthood. As I think back on these instructions, I must ask myself if I have become a better servant or gained a deeper understanding of service. What do my actions really show? What is my heart's intention?

Being a servant of God and of others [is] a way of living - a declaration of obedience, not an occasional volunteer activity. Richard Foster

As the season between the resurrection and Pentecost draws to a close, implementing the lessons learned becomes more critical. Without a demonstration of living more like Christ, our insights fall short. Colossians 3:23-24 tells us how to work, how to be obedient, how to honor Christ with our efforts. -dho

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. Colossians 3:23-24

"O good and gracious King!"

Easter gatherings with their celebrations are fast becoming memories as plans for Spring Break and summer vacations begin to fill the calendar. Before life fills our plates too full with other thoughts, I would like to spend the next several weeks sharing some of the insights I gleaned during these recent weeks of Lent.~dho

During the Lenten season, there are many hymns that are traditionally sung. One that is often part of worship on Palm Sunday is "All Glory, Laud and Honor". A particular memory of this hymn happened on Palm Sunday in 1991 at Church of the Savior in Cleveland, Ohio. On this first Sunday we take our younger daughter to church, only 3 weeks old, we sing this hymn. The words stir my heart as I hold my newborn and think of the innocence of children singing "sweet hosannnas" as Jesus enters into Jerusalem. I am reminded again each time this hymn is sung. 

Take a moment to reflect upon the words of this hymn. Imagine the day, the joy, the celebrations. Imagine the day's events, conversations, and songs. Take a moment to once again offer praises and prayers to our Redeemer, our good and gracious King! - dho

"All glory, laud and honor
to You, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
You are the King of Israel
and David's royal Son,
now in the Lord's name coming,
the King and Blessed One.

The company of angels
is praising You on high; 
and we with all creation
in chorus make replay.
The people of the Hebrews
with palms before You went;
our praise and prayer and anthems 
before You we present. 

To You before Your passion
they sang their hymns of praise;
to You, now high exalted,
our melody we raise.
As You received their praises,
accept the prayers we bring,
for You delight in goodness,
O good and gracious King!"

** text originally written in Latin around 820 by Theodulph, bishop of Orleans. 

Easter gatherings with their celebrations are fast becoming memories as plans for Spring Break and summer vacations begin to fill the calendar. Before life fills our plates too full with other thoughts, I would like to spend the next several weeks sharing some of the insights I gleaned during these recent weeks of Lent.~dho

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. Psalm77:11

During Lent and since, I have been a part of a women's Bible study at our chuch called Wonderstruck by Margaret Feinberg. Each week we are challenged to 'awake to the wonder of God'. Feinberg writes, "God desires to captivate us not just with His handiwork but with Himself - displaying facets of His character, igniting us with His firey love, awakening us to the intensity of His holiness." In one exercise we were asked to recall and write down at least 5 praiseworthy deeds that God performed in the Old Testament, 5 deeds God performed from the New Testament, 5 deeds God has performed in my faith community, and 5 praiseworthy deeds God has performed in my life. If you are counting, that is 20 deeds. As we shared in groups, many had written some of the same deeds from the Bible that I wrote while others had ones I had not thought about. Other lists recalled more personal moments. Feinberg reminds us that "unless we are intentional about remembering  the deeds of God, we become forgetful aobut God and His presence in our world." 

In those days leading up to Pentecost, Jesus spent time with the the disciples, preparing them for when He would ascend back to God, preparing them to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, feeding them with holiness until the coming of the Holy Spirit. Those days had to be full of wonder at all that had happened the last three years, the healings and miracles, the traveling and teaching, the obedience and the lack of understanding. Christ's very presence after the crucifixion and resurrection must have left them wonderstruck. Be wonderstruck, too, when you consider God! Can you list the praiseworthy deeds of God that have impacted your life? -dho 

Praise His Name

 Easter gatherings with their celebrations are fast becoming memories as plans for Spring Break and summer vacations begin to fill the calendar. Before life fills our plates too full with other thoughts, I would like to spend the next several weeks sharing some of the insights I gleaned during these recent weeks of Lent.~dho

Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround him; strength and beauty fill his sanctuary. Psalm 96:1-6 NLT

This year for my daily devotionals, I am using A Year With God, Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines by Richard Foster. During Lent, one of the disciplines studied was worship. Foster writes, "When we pour worship out over our daily lives, we grow ever more sensitive to God's voice and presence." In describing some of the praise psalms, he calls them "poetic proclamation". Worship is an essential aspect of faith. Being alert to and recognizing the holiness of God feeds our minds and souls. A heightened awareness of the beauty of creation reveals the majesty of the Creator, opens the heart to God's perfect design. Summing it up with St. Augustine's words, "A Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot." Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Alleluia! Amen! 
-dho

National Day of Prayer

True Humility

Easter gatherings with their celebrations are fast becoming memories as plans for Spring Break and summer vacations begin to fill the calendar. Before life fills our plates too full with other thoughts, I would like to spend the next several weeks sharing some of the insights I gleaned during these recent weeks of Lent.~dho

As Christians, the mystery of grace teaches us that as we lose ourselves in the overwhelming greatness of redeeming love, humility becomes to us the consummation of everlasting blessedness. Andrew Murray, Humility, the Preface 

One of the books I read during Lent was Humility by Andrew Murray, missionary to South Africa. Murray, Christian writer, teacher, and pastor, lived from 1828-1917. Many of his pithy theological and spiritually applicable writings are now available in reprint. Over the years, I have read several of his books, including Abiding in Christ, Absolute Surrender, and A Life of Obedience. Murray wrote, "True humility comes when before God we see ourselves as nothing, have put aside self, and let God be all."

The chief mark of counterfeit holiness is its lack of humility. Andrew Murray, Humility, pg 61

So often we struggle with our own importance, wrestle with obedience to God, turn from dependence on God. Humility is the antithesis of self-importance, disobedience, and arrogance. Even our pretentious religious words and good deeds lack humility and become the very definition of "counterfeit holiness."  Philippians 2:6-8, 12-16 from The Message give voice to the lessons on humility that Christ teaches:

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion... What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure. Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night...

One Sunday worship service early in the Lenten season, we sang a hymn, and the chorus exclaims the only way we can have true humility, to surrender and be obedient to God: 

Jesus is Lord of all!

Jesus is Lord of all!

Lord of my thoughts and service each day; 

Jesus is Lord of all!

-dho

Margins of Life

My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? James 2:1

Easter gatherings with their celebrations are fast becoming memories as plans for Spring Break and summer vacations begin to fill the calendar. Before life fills our plates too full with other thoughts, I would like to spend the next several weeks sharing some of the insights I gleaned during these recent weeks of Lent. I hope you will look back over your markings in the margins of books read or the scribbles in your journals and find His presence again now, asking how you can make your faith more alive. Spiritual growth is more than asking questions, searching for answers, or finding holy guidance. In these next weeks I will share some of the words and phrases and thoughts that are challenging me to examine myself before God and move to a deeper level of spiritual understanding and response. I would love to hear your thoughts (you can comment at the bottom of the blog post - or contact me here via email with your thoughts.) 

"Where faith is really faith it cannot be shoved to the margins of life." Gerhard Lohfink

One book I have been reading during Lent, Called to Community, The Life Jesus Wants for His People, is comprised of a myriad of Christian educators, writers, theologians, philosophers, pastors, and martyrs, some living long ago and some living now. In one such chapter, Gerhard Lohfink, German New Testament professor, uses this phrase that true faith cannot be shoved to the margins. We are called to Christianity by faith in Jesus, even faith itself is a gift from God. So why would we think that faith is something to hoard or boast about, keeping it to ourselves? When does our busyness begin to dictate our response to God? How am I keeping my faith shoved to the margins of life?

While church is defined as "a community of Believers", it does not infer that all the Believers will be the same, all the same gender, all the same economic level, all the same nationality; rather, even in our differences we have common beliefs. We must all believe that Jesus is the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, sinless and yet betrayed, crucified and died on the cross, and resurrected to new life. These common core beliefs of Christianity bind our hearts and minds and souls with Amazing Grace because of Perfect Love. But, we have to be certain that our individual faith-story isn't just the words to the Apostles Creed, the Newsboys song "We Believe" or Psalm 23. Faith cannot be shoved to the margins and still reflect a true, growing relationship with God, not the margins of society, not the margins of our families, not the margins of our calendars. True faith must be more than scribbled notes on the margins of our Bibles, the good intentions that skip across the margins of our thoughts, the generosity that walks passed the margins of opportunities. "Where faith is really faith it cannot be shoved to the margins of life." -dho

**Again, I would love to hear your thoughts (you can comment at the bottom of the blog post or contact me here via email with your thoughts.) 

  

EASTER Sunday! ~ Go!

Deus caritas est! “…God is love.” 1 John 4:16

As we enter this season of reflection and renewal, let’s rediscover God calling to His children, revealing His goodness, and transforming each one with Perfect Love. "This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1 John 4:10) ~ Donna Oswalt

More surely than ever before, I know now that we are called to give our very lives to one another and that, in so doing, we become a true community of love. Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved (p 115)

In The True Vine, Andrew Murray writes of Christ's joy: His joy is nothing but the joy of love, the being loved and of loving. It was the joy of receiving His Father's love and abiding in it, and then the joy of passing on that love and pouring it out on sinners. Christ is Perfect Love, an offering to imperfect people. Like His disciples and closest followers, we are imperfect people yet perfectly loved by Jesus. 

As He spoke, He held out His hands for them to see, and He showed them His side. They were filled with joy when they sas their Lord! He spoke to them again and said, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent ME, so send I you. John 20:20-21 NLT

On Easter Sunday, the day of resurrection, Jesus appears to several people, each Gospel giving a similar but varying account of all those who witnessed the risen Savior. John writes of Jesus coming in the evening to the disciples who are meeting behind locked doors fearing the Jewish leaders. Jesus offers them peace and joy; He reminds them this assurance comes from the Father. He breathes the Holy Spirit into them. The are prepared to take the Good News of redemption and reconciliation into the world. The root of Christ's joy is the Father's love.

Jesus gives us the same command today, saying as the Father has sent Me, so send I you. We are to carry the Good News of His amazing grace into the world. We are to build up the community of faith by sharing His love. Christ prepares us with His peace and affirms us with His joy. After Christ's return to Heaven, at Pentecost the Spirit comes to dwell within the hearts of all believers. The sure foundation of our joy is Christ, Perfect Love.

READ John 20:19-23  (complete story of the resurrection, see John 20, 21)

consider this!

- Imagine being in the room with the disciples when Jesus 'suddenly appears'. Describe their joy.

- How does Jesus model the task of sharing the Gospel?

- Have you experienced the resurrected Jesus? How will you share such Perfect Love?

Blessed Assurance! You are Eternal Love! I am overwhelmed that the love of the Father and the grace of the Son and the presence of the Spirit are mine! You choose me and love me and send me to be a witness for You. Your unfailing faithfulness and enduring love prepare my heart with peace and joy! You empower me to tell my faith-story. With the joy of Christ, I go! Amen. -dho

All rights reserved; copyright 2017 by Donna Oswalt/Co-Founder of Mangrove Ministries/Christian blogger and author;  Breathing Room For My Soul (blog)~ Follow on Twitter @soulchat

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