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LOVE TAKES TIME
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” – 1 John 4:7
As Christians, we are encouraged to love one another. So in a world where love is defined in many different ways, who better to look at and follow His example than God, who is love (1 John 4:8)?
Like 1 John 4:16 explains, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Love Others First
For many, love is a reciprocal response. Someone loves us, so we love them back. This all started with God, as 1 John 4:19 tells us, “We love because He first loved us.”
So what if, like God, we just start loving people first? Often this is easier said than done. Especially if, maybe like me, you’ve experienced a time when someone decided they just didn’t like you. In these cases, we usually don’t know why or what is the reason behind their feelings. When something like this happens, we can choose to overlook their attitudes toward us and love them anyway. Sometimes our unconditional love will win them over, but sometimes it doesn’t.
Still, that’s the risk we take when we choose to love others first. In these situations, we get a taste and a very small glimpse of what God has been dealing with down through the ages in loving those who don’t love Him back. In everyday life, we’re given countless opportunities to step out and love others in our homes, churches, workplaces, and communities.
Love Even When It’s Messy
God knows loving men and women in their sins is pretty messy. Romans 5:8 explains, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Likewise, parenthood helps many men and women understand how God could love us in our messes. It’s also good training ground for learning how to love others in their disarray. All around the world, moms and dads face unpleasant scenarios in taking care of children. From diaper disasters, food mishaps, exploring incidents, and more, parents push through the chaos to keep loving and caring for their children.
Likewise, loving others can be messy, especially when walking through various situations with them that are uncomfortable, unpleasant, or inconvenient.
Love Sacrificially
Real-life TV shows of love, romance, and marriage often give insight into how individuals view love and what they believe loving one another involves. Frequently when a prospective bride or groom is asked how they fell in love with the other person, his or her answer involves how the other person’s love makes them a better person or feel special and loved.
But what if once married, the other person stops making them feel like a better person? What happens if they stop feeling loved by their spouse?
For many couples, whether married for a few years or longer, they start to realize that love isn’t about how a spouse makes us feel but rather what cost are we willing to pay to show them love. Are we willing to give up our pride, selfishness, resources, plans, and more if needed to love our husband or wife?
John 3:16 describes the high cost God was willing to pay to demonstrate His love to us “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God demonstrated the high cost of loving others and how to love sacrificially. He paid the ultimate price to prove His love to us. As the Author, Creator, and only Source of love, He modeled what it means to express love to those around us by loving us first, loving us in our messiness of sin, and loving us sacrificially.
Are you willing to lovingly reach out to others this week? If so, ask God to help you love others like He loves you by loving them first, sacrificially, and in their messiness.
By Lynette Kittle
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MESS OR MASTERPIECE
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” – Ephesians 2:10, NLT
I read recently, “a piece of art doesn’t have to be perfect or finished to be a masterpiece.” The author further observed that what makes art valuable is the story behind the piece. While the book was secular, there are some spiritual truths to these words.
First, whether we acknowledge the message of the Bible or not, God has set eternity in the hearts of man and written His Word on our hearts and in our minds (Ecclesiastes 3:11, Hebrews 10:16). Secondly, because we are made in His image, everything we create tells a story of God to those around us (Genesis 1:27). Our lives tell a story whether we have surrendered to Christ or rejected God.
What kind of story is your life telling? Does it point to the gospel message? The Bible calls those of us in Christ Jesus, His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). A masterpiece is an artist’s creation displaying his or her mastery and skill level to onlookers. A masterpiece is an outstanding creation that proves an artist’s abilities and qualifications.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually feel like a work of art. I relate more to a messy finger painting made by a toddler than an artistic masterpiece. But then, I recall the author’s comments from the book laced with art jargon, and I remember, we don’t have to be perfect or finished to be an artist’s masterpiece. So, here are two ways we display His workmanship to the world around us, even if our lives aren’t perfectly packaged with neat little bows.
Our Stories of Redemption
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT
A transformation from death to life is an abrupt change. Whether you grew up in the church your whole life and finally repented from knowing about God to knowing God, or you left a prodigal lifestyle to follow Jesus, your life tells a story to the world around you.
For me, this looked like leaving a life of numbing my pain with alcohol and relationships to looking to God’s Word for healing and placing Him at the center of my relationships. While my outward actions took a while to change, the drastic shift in my desire to satisfy worldly cravings changing to wanting to please God was enough to tell a story. What about you? What has God redeemed you from?
Our Impact on Others
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5, ESV
Even if no one ever acknowledges the changes in you, those closest to us will be impacted by our transformation. As humans, we were created with mirror neurons that cause us to mimic the people around us. The longer a person is around us, the more we pick up their mannerisms and little sayings. And vice versa. As we flow with living water, the people around us will begin to flourish.
And while you won’t be perfect or quite finished yet, you will be His masterpiece because just like a marvelous painting tells the story of its artist, your life transformation will point to the One who knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). Our lives tell a story, may the redeemed say so (Psalm 107:2).
People are God’s work of art. Our lives either tell the story of what happens when we disregard His call to truth, or they tell the story of His redemption and its power to transform us. I love that no matter the current stage of becoming we are in, we display the workmanship, the qualifications, and the worthiness of our worship of our creator God. Just like a painting at every stage, the beautiful brush strokes tell a story of the artist holding the brush.
Do you struggle to believe God calls you His masterpiece because you don’t have your life “all together”? If so, take a dry-erase marker and write Psalm 139:13 or Ephesians 2:10 on your mirror or kitchen window. Meditate on God’s Word and pray that God would help you believe His Word over how you feel.
By Ashley Moore
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GOD AT WORK
“So if it please the king, we suggest that you issue a written decree, a law of the Persians and Medes that cannot be revoked. It should order that Queen Vashti be forever banished from the presence of King Xerxes, and that the king should choose another queen more worthy than she. When this decree is published throughout the king’s vast empire, husbands everywhere, whatever their rank, will receive proper respect from their wives!” (Esther 1:19–20)
Memucan wanted an edict prohibiting Queen Vashti from ever entering King Xerxes’ presence again written into the law of the Medes and the Persians—the law which can never be changed. In that way, his suggestion would affect far more than Vashti; it would have a direct effect on everyone’s marriage. But if it was an attempt to get the women of Persia to have greater respect for their husbands, it was a strange way to make that happen!
What you have to keep in mind is that Esther doesn’t have the foggiest idea that any of this is going on; she knows nothing of the events transpiring in the royal palace. She also knows nothing yet about this “royal edict,” which will set events in motion that will totally change her own life. Esther is going about her no-big-deal business, living her everyday life, greeting the sunrise of each ordinary morning, carrying out her day-to-day responsibilities. Is she in for a surprise!
This is the wonder of God’s sovereignty. Working behind the scenes, He is moving and pushing and rearranging events and changing minds until He brings out of even the most carnal and secular of settings a decision that will set His perfect plan in place. We see that here, and we’ll see it throughout the story of Esther.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that God is asleep when it comes to nations, or that He is out of touch when it comes to carnal banquets, or that He sits in heaven wringing His hands when it comes to godless rulers (even today) who make unfair, rash, or stupid decisions. Mark it down in permanent ink: God is always at work. But His ways are so different from ours, we quickly jump to fallacious conclusions and either react rashly or get paralyzed in panic.
Know this: God holds the future in His omnipotent hands. So you can rest assured.
*Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll
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SOLITUDE
Solitude can be nice—relaxing, even—especially after a busy day or a long shift at work. Spending time alone can leave you feeling recharged and rested. But loneliness is different.
So, what should you do if you feel lonely? First, ask yourself if you’ve accepted Jesus’ invitation to have a personal relationship with Him. He is the nearest, dearest friend you can ever have. Second, remember that God repeatedly promises that He will never leave or abandon you. (See Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:5; Joshua 1:9; Psalm 27:10; John 14:18.) You can also …
Pray. Ask the Lord to help you have a right understanding of who you are as His child. Scripture tells us that God loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) and that He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Ask Him to help you to feel His love and friendship.
Memorize the Lord’s promises. We mentioned a few up above, but are there any you want to add?
Prayerfully examine Scripture to find a few that encourage you.
Pray about godly friendships. Ask God to bring the right people into your life—particularly those with whom you can laugh and pray. Friendship is an extension of the Lord’s love and goodness in your life.
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THE DAY AFTER
One of the great joys of Thanksgiving is leftovers. For some reason, turkey and dressing taste just as good reheated as they do fresh out of the oven, maybe better. How much walking would you need to do for a turkey sandwich, some stuffing, some mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a piece of apple pie with ice cream? Over 13 miles! Add some gravy, and you’re up to nearly 15 miles! I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time to walk 15 miles after a meal, and in my case the ability.
We are right in the middle of the long Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving is an indication of the heart. It shows that our lives are in balance—and that our communication with the Lord is not all about our wants and our needs. There are two levels of gratitude. Let us call them the lower level and the upper level. Unfortunately, and I admit I am in this category, we kind of dwell in the lower level. That is where we see God’s work in our levels as intermittent spurts of goodness. Some big blessing comes along, and we say, “Thank you, Lord!” but living on that level of gratitude only shows that we are selfish, and that we miss the total perspective of God’s goodness. We thank Him for the pleasurable things because our view of goodness is comfort, rather than becoming like Jesus.
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:9 KJV)
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BLESSED WITH AN UNPARALLELED HOPE
Titus 2:13 KJV
13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
On this 2020 Thanksgiving Holiday, my wife, Joann of nearly 60 years, and I wish to prayerfully convey a most blessed Thanksgiving to each and everyone.
In the familiar story of the 10 lepers, found in Luke 17:11-19, we read where all 10 lepers received the blessing of healing. However, only 1 returned and expressed his gratitude for his deliverance. As a result, he received a blessing of being made whole!
On this Thanksgiving Day we have the benefit of “Unparalleled Hope” through Jesus.
Have a very blessed day!
Pastor Charles and Joann Winchester
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