Dry Times

  Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Romans 4:18

Beloved of the Lord,

God’s word states we are to walk by faith and not by (feelings) sight. During a spiritual high we sail along waving our flag of victory and we may even sing our prayers, for they flow out of us and are sprinkled with praises. We may be ready with much ‘spiritual’ advice for those who are in a spiritual funk or struggling with life. Oh, how careful we need to be. God works His perfect will in different ways and at different times. Feelings can make our lives good or the lack of spiritual feelings can leave us ‘feeling’ off track or discouraged. We must learn not to allow feelings to dictate our spiritual disciplines such, as prayer or study.

If you are in a dry time your greatest frustration may by trying to shake yourself out of it. But it is not in your power to do so. God makes no mistakes. He has you where He wants you. He is trusting you with this dry season of life, for your good. Most likely He has not consulted you or filled you in on the details, but is trusting you with the mystery of His will; giving you the opportunity to walk by faith.

How easily I can skip praying or reading His Word, when I don’t feel like it. I read and it‘s as dry as day old toast. Praying, my words seem to rise no higher than the ceiling and I feel oppressed. It 'feels' as ineffective as texting someone who has no cell phone. Thankfully, God the Father sees our hearts. He does not just hear our words. Praying can be such a wonderful time of nearness and at other times you labor to force each word. God seems far away, like He has gone on vacation or He’s plugging His ears. 

Scupoli believed “innumerable benefits are derived from dryness and the absence of devotional feelings,” and he refers to the desert season as “marvelous help, although at the time we are not conscious of it.”

You may have been in the fire lately and are having a hard and painful time of it. God seems to have withdrawn Himself. Withdrawn His grace. This can be excruciating and frustrating. Do not lose heart. It is important to remember that our ‘feelings’ are not a gauge to measure our spiritual maturity. We walk by faith. "Unless you stand firm in your faith; you will not stand at all." Isaiah 7:9

Feelings are never a yardstick of truth. They will betray the truth far more often than they will confirm it. GLT

My mentor taught me early on “when feelings run high, common sense runs low…. do not live by your feelings, but trust God even when you do not understand what He is doing. You know that all things are working together to create the likeness of Christ in you, even the deserts of life. God is preparing you for something more. When God takes the feelings away He has a purpose. So do not be sidetracked with negative self-talk, such as God is punishing you. We cannot control our feelings but we choose our actions. We are responsible for our choices. If we love God for what He gives us, are we not really loving ourselves, not Him? If we are loving Him, we will not give our feelings dictatorship.

When going through the desert, speak God’s truth, by exercising faith in God’s word, apart from any feelings. Remember we are planted together with Him in the likeness of His death.  Rom 6:5   Stand in this position-> in Christ and you will begin to experience resurrection life by the power of the Holy Spirit. You must stand firmly on this basic truth. Reject your old life on the basis of your death in Christ on the Cross, and count yourself alive in Him: dead to sin—alive unto God, in Christ. Romans 6: 11  

Let the facts of your position overwhelm the feelings of your condition. GW

The wilderness will not last any longer than He has purposed. Remember in Psalm 119:91 He promises ‘all things serve Him.”

Abraham, his body as good as dead and Sarah past child bearing were in a desert. Had God forgotten to be gracious? To be a barren woman was considered a curse, not to bear children a desert of heartache and shame. Hear what God’s Word tells us about Abraham choice to believe God: Romans 4 18-21

 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “ So shall your descendants be.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

Against all hope he believed! My feet are dancing! We can choose faith, too.

God, You who Possess heaven and earth and yet see my desert, and You, who with purpose and plan remove the ‘feelings’ of your Presence, I bow in awe of You! Forgive me for living by my feelings instead of walking by faith. The natural, arrogant result of my dry time is to cry out to You, demanding You remove it and restore my joy!  Forgive me. Lord, let me not fight the withdrawal of spiritual feelings, but choose to hear the Cross calling me to death! Thank You, that in the measure in which I count myself dead with Christ, I will experience His resurrection life. Let me pray, read, and worship because You are worthy and good, no matter how I feel. Give me faith to trust You. I love You. I am yours and no one can ever snatch me from Your grasp. I pray in the Name above all names amen and amen

The believer, in whose daily attitude the mark of resurrection is seen becomes what the world is looking for, a convincing witness to the power of the living Redeemer. GW

Have a blessed week walking by faith, no matter how you feel!

Consider Death

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain Rev 21:43,5

 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Phil 1:21

Dear Brothers and Sisters, you who are dependent for each breath you take,

I am losing a dear friend to cancer. We do not have many visits left before it will be our last here on earth.  It is always too soon to say good-bye and I am forced to move over and make room for grief to wrestle and wound me, again and again. Death ends a life here, for it was temporal from the first, but does not end life eternal with our Savior Jesus. I want to provoke your thinking by sharing what I have been thinking about.

An interesting aspect of facing imminent death, for the Christian, is that it really snaps everything else into perspective, without apology; and is coupled with a discernment  which evaded the person previously. Often they are able to release earthly things when they are confronted with weeks or months to live.

Also, to face facts, we must acknowledge the mortality rate is still 100%. All die, the question is ‘are you ready?’ Even losing the life of a pet is extremely hard. Do you truly believe He has gone to prepare a place for you where there is no death, tears, sickness, fear, sin, bullying, hatred, war, disease, boredom, manipulation, cheating, gossip, drunkenness, drugs, murder, rape, violence, revenge, selfishness, oppression…. or off key singing?

Do you believe all that awaits you there? No more darkness, streets are golden, an unpolluted atmosphere, and unbounded joy! All beyond our imagining.  Reunions will be without the usual sin we drag along. No divisions, no pride or shame, no belittling. We will not wrestle any longer with our old sin nature. Now, my feet are dancing. No longer our cross but crowns to lay at His feet. Banished will be the loneliness that led you into temptation, and you will never be overlooked again or be the one not chosen, loss will not exist! You can no longer be deceived, for the devil is thrown in the lake of fire forever.  Hallelujah to my King! All this is so amazing, wonderful, and freeing, albeit, it is a poor runner up to Who awaits us when we step out of time and breathe celestial air.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16

Hear what God is saying… He numbers our days before we take our first breath. Do you believe this? When someone dies young,  do we believe God numbered their days? And at any age, when a life threatening disease comes, we wear ourselves out trying to defeat it. Understandable, but a bit confusing. On one hand we say we want to go to heaven, but on the other hand we do all in our power to scramble away from death! We want to go to heaven, just NOT now.

 Woody Allen is known for this comment: “I'm not afraid of death ; I just don't   want to be there when it happens.”

If death knocks on our door this week, consider this: If He is who He says He is and heaven is what He says, Should we not celebrate, even throw a party and rejoice, that we are going ‘home’? Just a thought.  We were created to enjoy God forever! But because of man’s sin we die. Only because of Jesus sacrifice can we live with Him forever. Do we need to search our hearts to see if we are too much in love with the world and with all the stuff we have gathered? Enjoy your stuff, but do not let it own you. You have one Master, even Christ. From heaven’s perspective all that we grasp here, is temporal.

 I love Jesus words in John 14:21

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.   Paul believed these truths, hear his words in Phil 1:21

                                             For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Consider this: We grieve over loss of our loved ones, but if Jesus ask the person who has entered heaven if he would like to return to life here. He would fall to his knees and beg, “Please don’t make me leave You, LORD.” Those who go before us are healed, pain-free, unashamed, happy and at rest, giddy with joy of Him. He is abundantly satisfying.

“You can grieve for me the week before I die, if I’m scared and hurting, but when I gasp that last fleeting breath and my immortal soul flees to heaven, I’m going to be jumping over fire hydrants down the golden streets, and my biggest concern, if I have any, will be my wife back here grieving. When I die, I will be identified with Christ’s exaltation. But right now, I’m identified with His affliction.” R.C.S

AMEN!

On this mountain He will destroy

    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,

the sheet that covers all nations;

He will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears

    from all faces;

He will remove His people’s disgrace

    from all the earth.

The Lord has spoken.

In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;

    we trusted in Him, and He saved us.

This is the Lord, we trusted in Him;

    let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”  Isaiah 25:7-9

The last enemy that will be abolished is death. I Corinthians 15:26

My heavenly Bridegroom, You who know how easily I am distracted, draw me nearer until I want only You, want only Your will, want to please You and look to You, to meet my every need. Change me for Your glory. In Jesus I  pray,  az

We are immortal until our time on earth is done…

Enjoy this moment, it’s all you have,

Az                                                                                    May 4,2012

Nothing Can Separate Us!

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans 8:35

Dear Sisters and Brother’s who long to know Jesus more intimately,

How often our world is rocked and severely wounded by separation. Children grow up without grand-parents near-by, we move separating us from dear friends. Men, women and children are torn apart and separated by divorce, others are hurting because a father has walked away, while others leave us if abducted or incarcerated. Families can be separated when a loved one joins the armed forces. A child who is bullied in school feels a deep separation and wrenching emotional pain, as they jockey accusing thoughts! Separation occurs when we are persecuted for our faith. Albeit, one of the most difficult separations, results as a relationship deteriorates, it may include rejection by loved ones, leaving in it’s wake, an unwelcome weight of fog and brokenness. Even when our pets die or we have to find them a new home, we are left to suffer and grieve their absence. Good reasons or bad, can and will separate many from each other; leaving raw, gaping wounds in heart and mind.

 

Life is short. Life is hard. But for each moment of our day we have Jesus.

God could have kept Daniel from the lion’s den. He could have kept Paul and Silas out of jail… He could have kept the three Hebrew children out of the fiery furnace… but God has never promised to keep us out of hard places. What He has promised is to be with us through every hard place, and bring us through victoriously! C.L. B.

Romans 8:18, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Then this thought invaded: 'God could have kept Christ from the suffering of the Cross.' This question followed: 'Where would I be if there was NO Cross, NO Redeemer, no redemption? My sins, at this moment and every moment, would separate me from this Holy God! I would be rejected. Is there a more frightening thought? The dark of this thought would drown me; I could taste the night when I thought of history so rewritten. In such night, I would have chosen suicide without Jesus intervention as Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world!  I cannot comprehend a world without the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead! Men love darkness more than the Light and how much greater the dark world would be, without the Light of life. But Truth pierces the storm of such darkness, a bolt of Light to my heart when I read the following in Romans! I had to fall to my knees in awe and thanksgiving as I struggled for words that could frame my gratitude and be worthy to use in praise.

Read this most profound question in Romans 8:35:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

 As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.^”

 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present, nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Read it slowly, hearing each word! Are you dancing? If not, take your pulse! This is an amazing list and covers it all! Hear the truth that NOTHING can or will separate us from His love. My feet are dancing with awe and wonder... Therefore my brothers and sisters, do not lose heart! Recognize the enemy is using anything he can to manipulate and discourage you! Refuse to be discouraged and begin to sing His worth, and praise Him for His love and faithfulness. Put to memory some of these verses for they are Truth and strength and give wisdom, perspective, insight, and build faith. He lives.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

II Corinthians 4:16-18

But nothing, not even my life, is more important than my completing my mission. This is nothing other than the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus: to testify about the good news of God’s grace.  

Acts 20:24 God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (He will never separate Himself from us, never, never, never!)

 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
 What can mere mortals do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

The pain of trials and separation now:

* Remind me I am not home yet.

* Remind me the battle is the LORDs.

* Remind me He is Sovereign.

* Remind me trials are temporary.

* Remind me to focus on the eternal.

* Remind me He uses all things to create the likeness of Christ in me.

Blessed Savior, You who will never leave me nor forsake me, You who will never separate me from Your love, because You are Love, I praise You. I can never get away from Your love, even if I walked away, You love. Even If I use Your holy name irreverently, You love, even though I am selfish and fearful and unbelieving and grieve You, still, You Love. Though I run to the farthest corner of the earth… You Love. Such love works brokenness in me and I come and kneel, no I am on my face before You, for such Love, as this humbles and terrifies me. ‘Holy, Holy, Holy!!’ Hear my whisper, ‘Abba, my Abba’ and let me draw near, snuggle on Your Daddy-lap, and allow You to comfort and heal my broken places and the cruel wounds life has inflicted. Lord, You are so gentle. I will not be afraid of tomorrow, nor will I lose heart and quit! Because of You, by faith, I will finish strong. Blessed be Your name.

Never, Never, Never will I be separated from His  eternal Love!

This moment is all I have and for this I have Jesus!

az

That's My King! vimeo.com

Visuals set to the audio of the famous sermon "Seven Way King" as spoken by Dr. S.M. Lockridge. The audio is slightly edited for a better flow in the video. The music in the background was performed live by the GCC band while the video played on the...

Brothers and Sisters,
I want to share a letter I received from my mentor. I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Dear Arlene,
I just returned from Church and I turned my computer on to see if I had missed any messages and as I was waiting for my messages, I found my booklet by mjs on Philippians 3:10  I began to read it while waiting and here are some of the things I read:

    Let us remember that circumstances are planned of  the Father to fit us for the calling He has in view for us.
    Let us consider the four progressive realms of that incomparable composite of growth truths, Philippians 3:10
    1] That I may know him"
    2] And the power of his resurrection
    3] And the fellowship of his sufferings
    4] Being made conformable unto his death.

1] That I may know him was the burden of Paul's heart and the Father's.  It is to enable us to know Him that He both saves us and conforms us to the image of His Son. "this is eternal life, that they might know thee, and the only true God, and Jesus Christ." John 17:3    this is Identification

2] And the power of is resurrection:  this is the principle of Union. Paul's prayer was: "the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of he glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. " Ephesians 1:18-20

3] And the fellowship of his sufferings: Your present growth and training always constitute preparation for the next phase of development.

4] being made comformable unto his death.  You are called upon to reckon your old man as having died positionally at Calvary, and to reckon yourself as a new creation dead to it. ...The Holy Spirit is training you to ''run with patience the race that is set before us'  He keeps you looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. As you learn to behold Him you are increasingly conformed to the image of the One who for the joy  that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame; and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

ALL THINGS The Spirit uses all and wastes nothing in producing this balance of death to the old man and life to the new.

Arlene, I had forgotten about this book.  I shall take it to work with me tomorrow and read some more.

The school of suffering graduates rare scholars.

Prayerfully Yours,  D
 

The Other Side of Faith

But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 6:27-18

Dear Brothers and Sisters, beloved of the Lord,
Do you love everyone you meet? Your answer is probably an honest
"I can't. I don't even love my loved ones all the time." Has God shorted us on His provision and power to love? Think again....


 “Here’s the scandalous truth of Christian teaching: Jesus and His followers make it abundantly clear that we do not have the luxury of loving some people but not others. Anybody can love selectively. glt

Love is not a feeling. Love is doing what is good and right for the other person, regardless of what they deserves or how they has treated you. Love is allowing the One who is Love to love through you. This is not just a faith walk but a walk of faith expressed in love. Last week I shared ‘the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love.’ Galatians 5:6  We work and serve the Lord, knowing we are instructed to walk by faith. But how often is what we accomplish done without love, in the strength of our flesh?

As I fed on I Corinthians 13, I saw an in depth definition of love which I had previously not connected with faith, as mentioned in Galatians 5:6. I want to share my gleanings with you, dear brothers and sisters:

'If I have faith to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I am generous to a fault but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I surrender myself as a sacrifice, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
If I have all patience, and I am kind and fully accepting, humble in word and deed and always act in a way that honors God, and I refuse to seek selfish gain or hold a grudge and if you do not find me rejoicing in evil, but I am a proponent of Truth at any cost, and if I bear suffering with a sweet spirit and believe God’s word, and if I hold hope with a joyful endurance, but do not love, what good is it?'

When empowered by the Holy Spirit and I stand by faith, and when I persevere in tribulation, which brings about endurance and good character it results in hope, I will not be disappointed because God's love is poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit in me. God is Love and He lives in me!! This is the other side of faith, the complete picture.

I’ve come to believe that the ability to love people of all kinds, and to love them well, is the true definition of spiritual maturity. Tauler

Spiritual maturity is not about how marked my Bible is, nor about what others think of me or church attendance, or my sacrifices of service or money given. It is not even about great faith! Peter had faith and with great passion claimed Jesus was ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’ and later out of love, made a second declaration: ‘Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” matt 26:35 But within a short time the cock crew and exposed the truth, an exclamation point to ‘I do not know the man!’ .

I am to be like Jesus. But I am like Peter. Getting up from my sweet quiet-time with the Lord, having worshiped and proclaimed how I love Him and the wonder of feeding on His word, I move into my day, only to find the love I enjoyed moments before, can vaporize like the morning dew and irritations enthrone themselves in my heart!  Where did the love go? Where are the good intentions from a moment before? The obedience? The ‘dying to self’?  Instead, a test came for which I thought I was prepared, but I failed without hesitation! How can I long to be transformed into His likeness, yet so easily abandon the throne to my flesh? I have found God faithfully tests me in what He is teaching me. Study love and He will test you in your walk of love.


If I value true transformation, I’ll value the opportunity to have my ability to love tested, tried, and refined. glt  (ouch!)


Do you desire to grow in love and patience, but avoid people or situations that try your patience? God says in Romans 5, ‘tribulation brings about patience.”

…we can be full of joy here and now, even in our trials and troubles. Taken in the right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance; Romans 5:3 They are what God uses to create the likeness of Jesus in us.


God is love, so wherever He is, there is love! But for this love to reign in my life I must embrace the cross. Spending time on my knees in prayer and reading His word, does not negate the cross. Understanding and appropriating the facts of the cross proves to be one of the most difficult and trying of all phases for the growing believer. mjs  As we move through our day we make myriads of choices, small and large. Dying to self is required to love others. Reckoning ourselves dead to sin, counting it true that you have died with Christ and risen with Him, is the liberating key!

We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. I John 4:19-20


Father, my heavenly Bridegroom, you who woo me to be near You and feed on You, and by Your Spirit, you make real the truth that I am crucified with Christ and risen with Him, I come, I bow, I worship. You are life and peace and truth and my contentment and the strength I need to make it through today. Thank You for pouring Your love into my heart for those I cannot love and on those who I do love. I am so needy and bankrupt of what really counts, and I look to You to be all in me and through me. Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God, wash me in Your precious blood, cleanse me, and fill me and love through me that I might glorify You. I pray for my precious brothers and sisters around the world, give them ears to hear Truth and protect them and strengthen their faith as they trust in You.  I pray in Your Name, Jesus, amen

much love,

az

The Only Thing That Counts..... (correction)

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6

Dear Sisters and Brothers,                April 3, 2012
I love His Word! My desire is to read it, believe it and live it. My frustration is the length of time it takes to progress from the believing it, to the living it. I want to love Him perfectly, now! I want to serve Him and put a smile on His face. I want my life to shout  to all, who He is! “ He is good and He is love and He is Holy. But when I go ahead with my plan to bring Him glory, working with great effort to serve Him, things inevitably go awry. I sputter to a bumpy stop. He gently reveals a truth I was going too fast to hear, that it is ‘me’  working 'my' will, forgetting Philippians 2:13, that it is He who works in me both to will and work for His good pleasure. Waiting is a test of faith; a test I have often failed. Too many times I have not waited for Him to show me His will.
Me, I like lists. It pleases me to check off many items before the sun gives way to night. The more check marks, the more pleased I am with myself, I judged I did well that day, when one day, unexpectedly everything changed! The Lord asked: ‘Arlene, where is the love?’ I quickly responded back with a question, “What do You mean, Lord?” He took me to Galatians 5:6 'The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love' and the impact of this verse challenged and changed me. I will never be the same. pleasure.“

This is preceded with verses on surrender every knee bowing before Christ. Circumcision is mentioned here as a reference to religiosity with it’s rules and traditions. If our faith is in what we do or in anything except Jesus death and resurrection, it is not true faith. Even the devil believes and trembles, but it won’t save him. Religious works, acts of kindness or giving money for some need, can be done one of two ways: by the power of the Holy Spirit or in our own strength. One is eternal, one is temporary. Man’s great need is to be loved. We are called to walk in Love. Jesus said “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

 
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Measure all you have said and done this week with these eleven words. Consider letting these words define you all you do and say. How can we live this love? I cannot! Until the Holy Spirit fills me with God’s love and creates in me a hunger for this divine love and I will not be satisfied with just being saved, but am moved to humbly seek Him, taking up my Cross to follow in obedience, for I am called to His love. A Love that brings unity, for true love, loves all people. (impossible for me) Nothing less can be called God’s love. This love is like a fire: I know no fire like the fire of God, a fire of everlasting love that consumed the sacrifice on Calvary. This is the baptism of Love that I desperately need; it causes me to burn with a need to repent. On my face before Him I confess my lack of love.

“Lord, let love from Heaven flow  down into my heart. I am giving up my life to pray and live as one who has given himself up for the everlasting love to dwell in and fill him.” a.m.
God is Love. I John 4:8    The fruit of the Spirit is Love. Galatians 5:22

Consider this thought: ‘And have we degraded the Holy Spirit into a mere power by which we have to do our work! God forgive us! Oh that the Holy Spirit might be held in honor as a power to fill us with the very life and nature of God and of Christ!” a.m.


  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God...  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.  I John 4:7, 10-13

This scripture combined with Galations 5:6 calls my heart to love. This is HUGE! It is Christ loving through me! God delights to do this and in this way, He is glorified. Only then will His love touch not only the lost, but our hurting brothers and sisters. The greatest gift we are given, to serve Him, is not our abilities; but the gift of His Love. This sets my feet to dancing, knowing He delights to share Himself with us.

Living Love, Eternal and Almighty, Love that will not let me go, fill my heart with faith to believe that You truly want to pour out your love and shed it abroad in my heart. By faith I accept this Truth. I am incredibly and eternally loved by Love itself. And I am purposed to give it away. I confess I have lacked love again and again. How little I have understood Your great love and I ask You to teach me. Keep me mindful of this Truth:  ‘The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love!’ How incredible this statement.  O Lord, how deficient your church is in this love, revive us dear Sacrifice of Love. Your nature is mercy and Your identity is love. These are not just bits and pieces of You, but it is who You are! Come have your way in my heart today, tomorrow, and forever. Amen in the Name of Love, Jesus. 
 He is Risen!!!!!!    love az
          

The focus this Easter week is on Jesus – in His divine condescension He took the form of a man so that he could bear the punishment for all the wrong done in the world by each person for all time. See His goodness and mercy. Stand in awe of Him. Seek to please Him in reverent, humble obedience. Let Him work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. Then you can join... in the joy of His salvation.  (Vantage Point)