A friend of Jesus

I have found friendships in a variety of places. My neighborhood, school, in groups I belonged to, at work, in low and high places, in ministry, through other friends and circumstance. Now and then you just meet someone you “click” with. My best friend in Jr High was a girl i met in my home economics class. Our teacher asked, “are there any birthdays today?” We both stood up and the class sang to us. We thought it was fun to have the same birthday and so our friendship began.

Not all friendships last, some come and go, some are for a season, some are inactive but easily rekindled after years apart, picking up where you left off, as if no time was lost.

Its so amazing to think that Jesus calls us “friend”, and that he feels a “click” with us. To know Jesus as my friend and confidant has been a beautiful journey. Healthy friendships are two way streets, where conversation, affection, respect and trust go both directions. For many years, my friendship with Jesus was a one way street. He was there, trying to talk with me, loving me, reaching out to me, waiting for me. I was busy looking elsewhere for all I needed. When I began to reciprocate and participate in the friendship Jesus offered, i found a friend who understands me, encourages me and teaches me. He knows my history and he knows my future. He will always be with me, guiding me to become the person God created me to be. He offers the same friendship to you.

Thank you Jesus for calling us into friendship with you. Today we say, hello, my friend. ❤️

Children of God

I have had several conversations lately about the kingdom of God and how it compares to the world that we know. Instead of just settling on the phrase “well, it’s completely different”, I want more specifics. My focus for the next five weeks will be a look at what the bible says about who we are in Christ. How is our identity in Christ different than our identity in the world?

We are children of God.

When I think about what it means to be a child in this world, I think about my experience as a child in the family I grew up in, as well as the experience my own children had with me. Both imperfect because we are imperfect. Its hard for most of us to think of being part of a family free of competition, criticisms, feelings of being lover-looked, misunderstood or unloved at times.

As a child of God, we are fully loved, fully accepted, nothing we do surprises our father, he will never leave us and he will never forsake us. We don’t have to compete with our siblings or wonder if we are loved. It’s a paradigm worth exploring. How can I live my life more aware of being a child of God?

Thank you Jesus for what you’ve done – so that we may be a child of God.

Amen

The greatest of these is love.

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

I’m ending my love series with the powerful promise packed into verse 13. A reminder that our relationship with God begins with His love – and never ends. Love welcomes us, approves of us, and stays with us, now and forever. The perfect shelter for any storm. The ever-present comfort that never wears out.

Focussing of God’s love over the last 25 days has changed me. I tested every verse against my experience of Jesus. Where have these words been true in my life? Kind of like when you test a company’s mission statement against your experience with them. In this exercise, however, I found way more love than I was looking for. My understanding of God’s love has broadened and I have a new degree of freedom to just be me. I am loved.

Lord, thank you for your love. A love like no other. May we all continue to seek you and grow in our understanding of who you are and who we are in you. You are our good good father. Amen

Love never fails!

God’s love for us is everlasting. His love for us will never fall-apart or disappear. Human love is often imperfect, the love we receive from others, the love we give to others and the love we have for ourselves. But the love Jesus has for us is perfect. We may never fully grasp this truth, but that does not change the fact – God’s love for us will never fail. He loves you because He loves you.

Amen ❤️

A love that we crave.

I have carried this verse with me all weekend. Mulling it over, and looking for its presence in my life. How would i describe this verse – as it lives and swirls around me.

To me it holds a complete description of the unfailing love God has for us – and – a the description of the love we all seem to crave. Does this describe the God-sized hole we all have in our hearts that only God can fill? A love that endures the circumstances we struggle with. A love that carries a banner of hope for us to follow. A love that upholds a faith in us, that we will find our way through the sins we struggle with. A love that never gives up on us. With this ever-present love encircling us – how can we fail? I am so grateful.

Love always protects.

“Always” statements make me nervous because if it refers to a good quality – I immediately feel like I’ve failed. Love always protects refers to the kind of love God has for us. The kind of love we can try to emulate, returning it to Him and extending it to the people in our lives. Although we won’t be perfect, He will be. He will weather the storms of our lives with us, loving us through all of them.

Thank you Father God for loving us, believing in us and sticking by us. Amen.

Love rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

Years ago, I was mediating a conflict between a foreman and a union employee he supervised. The tension had steadily risen for weeks as the foreman held his ground. During our session, the foreman finally spoke the truth and admitted to what he had said to the employee and sincerely apologized. I was struck at how fast the tension left the room once the truth was spoken. We were now able to move forward and soon their relationship was mended. It was a lesson I carry with me today.

Lord, help us speak truth when it’s our turn to share and help us discern when truth is spoken by others. Thank you for being the very best example of truth. Amen

Love finds no pleasure in injustice done to others.

The Vines dictionary describes injustice as – a condition of not being right, whether with God, according to the standard of his holiness and righteousness, or with man, according to the standard of what man knows to be right by his conscience.

This definition has caused me to pause and reflect on recent events. What has happened to the “standard” of what man knows to be right by his conscience?

Lord, without your influence we are lost. I pray that your wisdom will break-through and refresh our sense of right and wrong. May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen

Love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do.

There’s a song by the Superchicks called, We Live. A line in the song is engraved on my heart. “We live, we love, we forgive and never give up.” I think of it when I am tempted to make a record of a wrong someone has done to me, or, when I get tired of carrying a thoroughly written list around with me. Forgiveness erases the negative records in our hearts and frees up space to record our blessings. If it’s true that we will find what we look for, let’s gather blessings and fuel our hearts to love.

Lord, help us clear out the negative records in our hearts by prompting us to forgive, as you have forgiven us. Give us eyes to see the blessings around us. Amen. #jesuschrist #fathergod #holyspirit #dailydevotional #bibleverse #loveis #forgive

Love is not easily angered.

Often when I find myself “easily angered” it’s because I am overwhelmed. I have either taken on too many tasks or I have made the achievement of a task vitally important. My focus on my task prevents me from truly seeing the current situation clearly and I may react with anger. If I catch myself and take time to put all matters in their true perspective, I am better able to react in love. The holy spirit is brilliant in this situation and helps me expand my vision and gain a healthy perspective. My prayer today is that we will each learn to hear the holy spirit as he prompts us and eagerly desires to help us be better lovers. ❤️ Amen.

Love does not demand its own way.

We have all made drastic changes to our daily lives during the pandemic in order to benefit those around us. A perfect example of love. Lord, help us to continue to put others first as we move through the pandemic journey. We will share all of our frustrations with you as you teach us to love. Amen

Love does not dishonor others.

In my series on love, this is my verse for today. I have been quietly staring at it throughout the morning. There is so much to say and so little to be said. My heart is troubled and sad. The last several weeks have been so painful here in Minneapolis. My prayer is that love will grow up through the ashes. ❤️ Amen.

Love is Never Proud

Love is never proud. Another way to say this is – love is willing to put another person’s needs before your own. We bump into pride when we start to think “that’s beneath me”or,“I have more important things to do.”

Three years ago, I lost my central vision and my whole life changed. I needed help and didn’t want to ask for it. I was fiercely independent and built my life in a way to not be dependent on others. I was stuck in a prideful conundrum. As I began to experience my family and friends making adjustments in their lives to help me, I experienced love, in a richness that I had willfully avoided before. When love is not proud, it is life-giving. ❤️

Lord, help us see inconvenience as a prompting to adjust our plans to lend a helping hand and show love to those around us. Amen

Love is not Boastful

My husband has a funny phrase he uses when he catches himself talking about himself. He says, “well, enough about me, now its your turn to talk about me”. 😀 We’ve learned that when we focus on our accomplishments, we miss seeing what God may be trying to do through us, which is always better and long lasting.

Lord, help us to keep our eyes on you and allow you to work through us. Your ways are always better. ❤️ Amen.

Love is Kind

Recently I was standing in a checkout line, mask on, feeling awkward and uncomfortable. I heard a man’s voive two rows over. He was asking the cashier how they were fairing and then encouraging and thanking them. It affected my heart, even though he wasn’t talking to me, his kindness set my heart at ease. That moment has been with me for days and it inspires my prayer today. Lord, show us how we can move in the opposite direction of fear, isolation and frustration. Prompt us to greet others with a kind word, lend a helping hand, and give up our place in line for another. Help us sow kindness, as you have sown kindness. Amen.

Love is patient.

I am dedicating this month to my 3 year-old grandson, Luke. He has been accusing us of not loving him when he gets into trouble. I told him that love is something way bigger than “never getting into trouble.” As I refresh myself on what love really is, so I can better speak words of life to Luke, I know that together, we will all find blessings in these words. Lord, today we stop and think about how we can experience love through patience. You are our highest and purest example of patience, remind us of how this is true between you and each of us. We thank you for loving us and want to extend patience to those we love. Please help! Amen.