breathing room for my soul

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Preparing for Easter ~ Real Love

I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts. ~John Locke

The well-known idiom actions speak louder than words is true. If our hearts embrace real love then we will respond with real love to others. Loving is not always easy and involves time and sacrifice. We like to believe ourselves to be generous but often we are more generous with our 'things' than our ''time'.

Read 1 John 3:14-18

This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave His life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters. . . My children, we should love people not only with words and talk, but by our actions and true caring. 1 John 3:16,18 NCV

Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for us ~ His life on the cross! Scripture says we should give our lives for others. How can that be? Our giving does not have the power to pardon sin, but with Christ, we are empowered to forgive, to listen, to love, to reach into another's pain, to touch another's grief, to celebrate another's joy. With Christ, we speak His name with good deeds and a sincere heart.

Consider this!

Have I ever received real love?
When was the last time I put down my life, lay down my agenda, gave some of my precious time, offered real love ~ for someone else?
What do my actions reveal?

Lord ~ It is so hard to believe in Love so real! It is hard to accept Love so pure! You are Perfect Love given to me. Words come and go, heard and not heard, written and forgotten, but when I love others in their ordinary days, touching their everyday wounds and weaknesses, dilemmas and decisions, fears and failures ~ I am loving You and offering Your Love to others. Use me, Lord! Amen. ~ dho

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Preparing for Easter ~ Evil vs. Righteousness

Christian discipleship is a decision to walk in His ways, steadily and firmly, and then finding that the way integrates all our interests, passions and gifts, our human needs and our eternal aspirations.

Eugene Peterson ~ A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

Love is the message God has given us from the beginning. To love God and to love each other sums up all the commandments. What is the first Bible verse children learn? ~ God is love! Because He is love and because He loves us, we can love.

Read 1 John 3:11-13

This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
1 John 3:11 NIV

In these verses, a reference is made to Cain and Able in Genesis (4:1-16). Cain does not give his best to God; Able does, and this makes Cain look bad. In fact, Cain is so angry that he kills his brother Able. Sometimes when we choose to live righteous lives, the world will respond in a negative way. The world always tries to undermine God's Goodness. As we read a few days ago, Live deeply in Christ, let His Holiness permeate all areas of your living, even though the world will hate you. God promises to always be with us; He does not promise an easy path.

Consider this!

Who should love?
Whom should we love?
Will you?

Father of Light ~ We live in a world that loves itself. Without You, we do not even know what love is. You are the Love we must choose for ourselves, the Love that we must offer to others. Give us strength for the long journey through the darkness. Amen. ~dho

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Preparing for Easter ~ Righteousness of Christ

When the heart begins to burn with truth, when it takes root in you and you simply must respond to it, that is when you know with certainty that God is real, that the hope of your calling is genuine, that the power of His presence is available, and that the riches of His ministry through you is manifest to others as well.

Ray Stedman from The Power of His Presence / www.raystedman.org

Christians are not perfect but the intentions of their actions should be Christ-focused. Evil is real, and Satan always lies waiting for another opportunity to tempt us. Sadly, we frequently follow his lead. As children of God, we must strive for righteous living. Joyfully, we can find our Example, our Success, our Intercessor ~ in Jesus.

Read 1 John 3:4-10

Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it show they belong to the Devil. 1 John 3:7-8 NLT

The world will tell you there is no evil, that Satan does not exist. The Living Word of God tells you the truth ~ evil and Satan are alive and well and looking for you! As humans, we are incapable of "not sinning"; we are sinful creatures, fallen and imperfect. In Christ we are made new; our new hearts desire to live a more holy life. To engage in habitual, repetitive sinning, is not righteous living; it is destructive living. Christians are called to live as Christ and love one another.

Consider this!

Read 1 John 3:5; compare our sins with Jesus.
Read 1 John 3:8; what do we know about the Devil's sins?
What do your actions reflect ~ child of God or a child of the Devil?

God ~ Your goodness overwhelms me as the Spirit draws near to whisper of Perfect Love and holiness and peace. The world distracts me and shouts and lures. But You are greater than anything in this world. I hold to Your Promises. Amen. ~ dho

Monday, March 14, 2011

Preparing for Easter ~ Marvelous Love

God loves us for ourselves. He values our love more than He values galaxies of new created worlds. A.W. Tozer

The love the Father has for His children exceeds the boundaries of our imaginations. It is both marvelous and wonder-full, generous beyond explanation.

Read 1 John 3:1-3

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! . . . And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 3:1, 3 The Message/NASB

Consider this!

Who are the children of God?
Read Galatians 4:4-7; how is it possible to become a child of God?
Are you in God's family?

Father ~ Your love for us is higher and deeper and wider than we can understand. Jesus ~ You are the hope that makes us holy. Spirit ~ breathe into us new life. Amen! ~ dho

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Preparing for Easter ~ Live Deeply in Christ*

1st Sunday of Lent

Whatever keeps me from my Bible is my enemy, however harmless it may appear to me. A.W. Tozer

The secular response to Christ - if there is any acknowledgement - is that Christ was a great teacher and a good person. The world says there are no absolute truths, that truth is what you believe to be true. The Holy Scriptures, the foundation of the Christian faith, tells a different story. Christ is the Living Son of God, the willing and sinless sacrifice offered for all the iniquities of humanity. He has always been and will always be. Jesus came in human form to earth to fulfill God's Plan of salvation for mankind. There ARE truths that must be part of our faith statement as Christians. Without these absolute truths, we claim a belief in nothing more than good intentions.

Read 1 John 2:18-29

So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will continue to live in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life He promised us. . . you have received the Holy Spirit and He lives within you. . . For the Spirit teaches you all things, and what He teaches is true. 1 John 2:24,27 NLT

Through careful and continued study of the Scriptures, these truths become more clear. God reveals Himself to us today through the Living Word. The Scriptures are both ancient and living words, telling us the stories of old and using these lessons for today. Our struggles in the world are no different than centuries ago. There was unbelief then and unbelief today. Then - time after time, faith required a bold stance in the face of uncertainty, and today - we must continue to stand boldly in faith to our Creator, Redeemer and King.

Consider this!

How do believers come to more fully understand the character of God?
Why does the world dilute and deny the absolute truths in the Scriptures?
What do you believe about Christ?

Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me. Father, Son and Spirit ~ three in One ~ we cannot understand Perfect Love, but we can accept this Gift by faith. Give us the courage to grow in understanding of the Living Word that we might be light in the darkness. Amen. ~ dho

* 1 John 2:28 The Message - . . . Live deeply in Christ.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Preparing for Easter ~ God Calls

The place where God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet. Fredrick Buechner

We search the world for meaning, for purpose, for reasons. When the world does not offer wanted answers, we wonder if God has forgotten us. If we pray to God for meaning, for purpose, for reasons, and He does not respond as we expect, we doubt that God is listening. We crave more and more of the world's tokens, collecting the trophies of greed and pride, and we are empty. And still, God calls to us and seeks us ~ wherever we are. God has designed a purpose for each of us ~ a place to serve. God abides with us ~ in all times. Perhaps it is we who have forgotten; it is we who are not listening.

Read 1 John 2:12-17

I remind you, dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus' name. . . And a second reminder, dear children: You know the Father from personal experience. . . Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world - wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important - has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him.
1 John 2:12-16 The Message

In a growing relationship with God, our wants change. We can respond with greater compassion, with quiet humility, with sincere love. We begin to respond to the Father's love. We search the heart, the mind, the soul for His Presence. We find deep gladness.

Consider this!

When your deep gladness in God merges with the world's deep hunger, what happens?
How does a growing personal relationship with God change your wants?
What are your cravings?

Living Word ~ remain in our hearts ~ guide our thoughts ~ abide with us always. Forgive us when we ignore You. How often we stand at the corner of "Want" and "More," uncertain and unsure! Yet You forgive our selfish ways, call us to a place of deep gladness. Take away our cravings for the world and replace them with cravings for You. Amen. ~ dho

Friday, March 11, 2011

Preparing for Easter ~ 'love one another'

I live and love in God's peculiar light.
Michelangelo

"To love one another" is to walk in the Light! While we cannot explain God, by faith we demonstrate His love when we love others. To say we live in God's light and act with contradiction - with envy or jealousy, with anger or criticism, with pride or arrogance - we are not being truthful. When our actions offer compassion, peace, joy, humility and generosity, we are living and loving in God's peculiar light.

Read 1 John 2:7-11

. . . This commandment - to love one another - is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. This commandment is true in Christ and is true among you, because the darkness is disappearing and the true light is already shining.
1 John 2: 7-8 NLT

The commentary in the Life Application Bible reads as follows:
Christian love is not a feeling but a choice. We can choose to be concerned with people's well-being and teat them with respect, whether or not we feel affection toward them. If we choose to love others, God will help us express our love.

When we seek deeper, more intimate relationships, love must be present. Without this component, there is no evidence of a meaningful relationship with God or between us and another. As we grow spiritually, our love becomes an outward manifestation. God teaches us how to love by example ~ by loving us more than we can even understand love ~ by sending Christ as His Love Offering for us.

Consider this!

How can the message to 'love one another' be both old and new?
How does a Christian wander in spiritual darkness?
How do you love?

Holy One ~ You love us more than words and call us to love each other. The world tells us to love self most but does not love us at all. The contrast of light and darkness shouts! Jesus, the True Light, guide us through this dark world. Help us grow our love in You. Amen. ~dho

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Preparing for Easter ~ Grace-full

The fullness of our heart is expressed in our eyes,
in our touch, in what we write, in what we say, in
the way we walk, the way we receive, the way we need.
Mother Teresa

We find in Christ the One who speaks our needs to the Father, the One who pleads our case, the One who intercedes for us. Christ is the sacrifice for our sins, the One with whom we are to become intimately connected, the One we are to reflect in our living. Our actions evidence our heart and define our relationship with Christ.

Read 1 John 2:1-6

[Jesus Christ] Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 2:2 NASB

Propitiation means atonement, atoning sacrifice; it means GRACE! Jesus became the sacrificial lamb ~ the perfect, unblemished lamb ~ offered for our sins, for our salvation. Christ is the very essence of Amazing Grace. Only through Him can we be made righteous.

Consider this!

In God's Court, Satan is our Accuser, and Jesus is our Defender. What evidence does Satan have to convict you? Remember - he is seeking the death penalty.
When you stand before God, what evidence will Jesus have to present on your behalf?
Will your verdict be "case dismissed"? If so, who paid the penalty for your sins? What was the cost?

Jesus, You are more than an Advocate, You are the Offering. We cannot live the truth of Your Righteousness without Your suffering sacrifice. Teach us to become more and more like You. Amen. ~dho

A New Beginning

"This is my [new] life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details . . . God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.

And so here I am . . . writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along."
Ephesians 3:7-10, The Message

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