Promises I Can Count On

As I was going through my morning routine today, getting ready for work, the Lord spoke a scripture to my heart.  I stopped what I was doing, and I looked it up - Proverbs 3:6.  After reading that one scripture, I went to the top of the chapter and read it in its entirety.  With joy in my heart, tears on my face and the presence of God in my room, I realized that Proverbs 3 contained promises that my Father wanted to give to me.

There are 16 promises in Proverbs 3...just as there are 16 things that I need to do to obtain those promises! After some research, I found that the number 16 in Biblical Numerology is identified with things that deal with love, passion, things we hold dear, cherish and devote ourselves to.  Here’s how this chapter lines up in my mind (scripture reference in parenthesis):

What Do I Need To Do?	What Are His Promises?
Don’t forget His laws (1)	Long life (2)
Keep His commandments (1)	Added peace (2)
Don’t lose grip on His mercy (3)	Favor of God and those I interact with (4)
Don’t leave truth (3)	Direction for my life (6)
Trust Him wholeheartedly (5)	Health (8)
Acknowledge Him (6)	Increase and prosperity (10)
Don’t think you can outsmart God (7)	He will delight in me (12)
Pay your tithing (9)	Happiness (13)
Allow God to correct your life (11)	Riches (16)
Use wisdom in all things (21)	Honor (16)
Be discreet (21)	Pleasant attitude (17)
Be confident (23)	Confidence (26)
Don’t be afraid of fear itself (25)	Protection (26)
Give others credit when due (27)	Blessings (33)
Be kind to others (29)	Grace (34)
Don’t envy (31)	Inherit glory (15)

 With God on my side, how can I lose?  Every promise in His word is true, and every one of them can be mine! Every one of them can be yours too! It is exciting to me to know that I have a Father who wants the very best for me.  My earthly father was an incredible man who loved me with every fiber of his being.  He made promises to me…and kept most of them; he truly was a man of his word.  But, my daddy was human – he made mistakes just like the rest of us.  How much the more does my heavenly Father love me? And my daddy would be the first to tell you that Jesus will always keep His promises.  He would quickly tell you that he was just a man, but Jesus was THE man.

I can go through my day confident that God will stay true to His word.  Even when I fail Him, He allows me the opportunity to pick myself back up, brush the dust from my knees and start walking again.  I hold His promises dear to me; I cherish them.  I have devoted my life to His instructions so that I may obtain His promises.

**Heavenly Father, thank you for the promises

That you have offered to us in your word.

It’s such a good feeling to know that you

Love us the way that you do. 

So much that you died on an old rugged cross

Just so that we could have all of these promises!

Help me to follow your path and do the things

That you have instructed me to do

To inherit your promises.

Thank you for loving me in spite of me.

Thank you for allowing me chance after chance

To get back up and start afresh with you.

Your mercies are new every morning,

And for that I am so grateful!

You are a gracious Father...Amen**

Unconditional Love

A song we sing at church keeps rolling over and over in my mind..."it's so easy to love you, it's so easy to love you, it's so easy to love you, 'cause you're my friend."  There are two parts to that song that stand out to me...the first is that it really IS so easy to love Him.  The second is that I am His friend...He calls me friend.

I looked up the word friend to find the true "technical" definition of the word.  A friend is a "person who is attached to another by feelings of affection; a person who gives assistance, a supporter; a person who is on good terms with another, not hostile."  As I began to read through these definitions, with this song rolling over and over in my head, I couldn't help but identify those descriptors with many people in my life.  I know the song, in particular, is referring to the fact that it is so easy to love Jesus, but He also makes it very explicit in His word that we are to love others as well.  From the front to the back of the Bible, we are continually admonished to love.

The word "love" is a word that has been overused, misused, abused and even sometimes underused. I have been abundantly blessed with people in my life that I can truly say I love in every sense of the word.  My kids; my grandbaby; my family; many, many friends; there are even some people no longer in my life on a regular basis, that I can honestly say I love.  There are many different types of love: Erros (romantic), Philos (friendship) and Agape (unconditional).  As my mind began to run through the list of those I love, I could easily assign these categories to them. Of these three categories, the greatest type of love is Agape - unconditional.

How many of these people in my life do I have an "Agape" love for? How many can I truly say I love unconditionally? And what does "unconditional" really mean? As I began to search my heart and focus on these terms, I knew exactly what it means.  To love someone unconditionally means to love them without boundaries, with no limitations, regardless of the rights or the wrongs, agreements or disagreements.  Unconditional, Agape, love strips away the negative thoughts, emotions and feelings.  It doesn't keep record of any wrongs done or attempt to avenge any slights.  Put in those terms, do we really display Agape love to those around us? Do we let those we love know how much we love them? Do we wait until it is too late to show our love?

As I asked myself these questions, and really began to focus my attention on this topic, I realized I probably don't do as good of a job as I should in showing unconditional love. I can assure you that I couldn't promise that I could love like Christ loved.  I don't know that I could give my only son to die on a cross for the sins of the world.  I couldn't imagine sacrificing my grand-baby to prove my love for someone else.  The good news is that the sacrifice has already been given.  But with that sacrifice was the shining example of unconditional love!  I don't believe that God intends for any of us to prove our love in literal terms of sacrificing our children or loved ones.  However, I do believe that many times there are things in our lives that we need to "sacrifice" to show others the depth of our love.  If we are to love like Christ loved the church, or to love our neighbor as ourselves - as we have been admonished in His Word, then we have to be willing to do whatever it takes to show unconditional love. I must say - I have been convicted.

**Father, I humbly come before you with a repentant heart.

Your word admonishes us time and time again to love;

The greatest attribute we can possess is the ability

to love as you have loved, with an Agape love.

Help me to show forth your love for those around me;

my family, my friends, my church family, my co-workers,

Help me to lead by example of what it really means

to love unconditionally - without limits.

Your love knows no limits, no boundaries.

In Jesus' Name I ask - Amen**

Greatest Love of All

The day had come and gone...a day that I dreaded...more so this year than any in the past...it was Valentine's Day.  To some that may sound like a negative statement, so before you judge what you think this blog is about, please take time to read it through.  Take a moment to hear my heart in the message.

As I sat at the kitchen table the night before Valentine's Day with my daughter and my son's girlfriend, we were talking about what everyone was planning for Valentine's Day. We talked about how overrated the day really is...you need to tell those you love every single day how much they mean to you.  As I walked away from the table that night, my heart and my mind were at war with each other.

I want so much out of life...I want God's will for my life, for my kids' lives, for my friends' lives.  I want to be God's will for someone special.  I realize that I have so very much to be thankful for...my kids, my precious grand-baby, my family, my church, my friends, my job...my heritage!  I have been so abundantly blessed.  On the flip side of that, though, days like Valentine's Day remind me of what I don't have...a terrible reminder of everything I feel that is missing in my life.  Oh sure, I could have had me a pity party...a "Non-Valentine's Day" party...but I had to shake myself out of that mindset and make a choice to move forward rejoicing in knowing I have the "Greatest Love of All."

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.   

Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
I Corinthians 13 The Message

Can you imagine what life would be like if we all truly followed this passage and made it our life motto?  The world would be a much softer place; less hearts would be broken; fewer lives would be torn apart; more people would smile...the list is endless of all of the benefits we would reap.  The fact is that love would never become obsolete! 

**Lord, the love you have shown for me

is beyond my wildest imagination;

You gave your only son to die on an old rugged cross

JUST FOR ME!

As I journey through this life, I want to show love

to those around me.  I want to be a shining example

of how you love.

I want to have the kind of love that 

your word teaches in I Corinthians 13.

Teach me your ways, show me the path,

help me to become more like you.

In your name I ask...Amen**