Year 4-Day 38: Today, I am grateful for reminders to set my heart on things that are eternal.
February in love month. It is a great time to reflect on what it means to love and be loved. It can be a time to refocus our vision when we think about love.
The media is full of so many mixed messages regarding love. It portrays the diamond hearts, flowers and chocolate as love. Sure...they can be symbols and way of showing love, but real love is so much more. A love that is deep, abiding and true is the love that is able to put the needs, desires and care of another above our own.
God said...in paraphrase..."Love me. Love each other." It is the secret to discovering the kind of love that sustains through any crisis and provides the glue when life gets tough. It, also, adds a sweetness to the happy times that leads to the joy cup overflowing.
God said...in paraphrase..."Love me. Love each other." It is the secret to discovering the kind of love that sustains through any crisis and provides the glue when life gets tough. It, also, adds a sweetness to the happy times that leads to the joy cup overflowing.
Loving requires commitment and action. To be in love with the Lord means attempting to see with His eyes, focusing on the eternal. It means seeking His heart and His will to guide our lives and our days. Believing...true belief...requires a response. A change in behavior. Lip service without action is worth nothing.
Did you know that many of the authorities at Jesus time believed in him? They did.
Did you know that many of the authorities at Jesus time believed in him? They did.
John 12:42-43: "Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God."
But, confessing belief out loud would mean loss of position and maybe worse for the authorities at Jesus time. They couldn't let go of all they had to embrace all the Jesus was and is. Their hearts were focused on the present and not the eternal.
But, confessing belief out loud would mean loss of position and maybe worse for the authorities at Jesus time. They couldn't let go of all they had to embrace all the Jesus was and is. Their hearts were focused on the present and not the eternal.
Belief...real belief...can't be contained. It will leak into the things we say and do.
Love...real love...is sweet, pure and true because it comes from God. He is love. Not so hard. Not so easy.
1 John 4:8 - 'Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."
How we love...even who we choose to love...is a reflection of what is in our hearts. His love in our lives gives us the courage to love better, love longer, love through the good and the bad. His love is a healing love that helps us forgive ourselves, forgive each other and helps us refocus on what is eternal.
Today, I am grateful for reminders to set my heart on things that are eternal.
Today, I am grateful for reminders to set my heart on things that are eternal.
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