This week I reflected on Mother’s Day and thought of the question, “What is love?” Love is more than just expressing an emotion or saying the words, “I love you.” It is an intimate relationship with those whom we depend on--our moms, dads, families, spouses, and friends.

Love is a bond that develops over time and demands sharing our joys and disappointments, our highs and lows, with those tightly woven into our relationships. Love requires more than a one way communication and takes nothing less than active listening on our part to succeed. Love requires time and growth and knowing when to let go with growth.

We depend on love all stages of our lives: from infancy to walking; from walking to various trainings; from training to growth and development and from development to our final departing celebration.




 
Yes, love is people…the people in our lives, who give us so much of their time while we are here on earth. They are a listening ear, an encouraging word, a hug on a joyous occasion, or a shoulder to cry on during final departing celebrations. They are important to us and we are important to them.

For love to flourish, we must be willing to invest our time and be open to change and growth. The same can be said for our relationship with God. Our love with God will flourish if we spend time with Him in prayer and are receptive to His growth for us. This unselfish act of love is important to our life experiences with Him and His people.

So, back to the original question, “What is love?” God is love. God surrounded us with His love—the people in our lives--for us to experience Him. If we are to be truly intimate in our relationship with God, then must cherish and value the relationships we have with the people in our lives--our friends, families, spouses, dads and yes,--our moms.

Your comments about love are welcomed. 

 

 

(Micah 4:12)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few years ago in Florida, I was at a sunrise service on Easter morning. It was the first sunrise service I was ever able to attend. The service was outdoors in a shelter house. The altar was beautifully decorated with flowers and a hand carved cross spelling out the name Jesus. The cross was of medium size and placed right behind the altar.

I decided to take a picture of this beautiful cross. The service was beginning, so I snapped the picture quickly without a steady focus. I was only aiming to get a picture of the hand carved cross. I knew there would be some glare from the lights, but I didn’t care. I just wanted a picture of that cross.

After the service was over I looked at the picture. The image above is what was captured; it was a large beautiful light hovering above the altar. The hand carved cross was not even close in size to the size of the light.

There were only a few lights on in the outdoor shelter house for the service. However, I was not aiming at the lights when I took this picture. I expected some glare, but did not expect a huge light like this—and right over the altar!

I have not made any alterations to this picture. Maybe I am seeing more than what there is, but for me, it was beautiful to see this dazzling, brilliant LIGHT hovering over the altar on Easter morning.

He is risen!

Thank you Jesus for coming. Thank you for this Resurrection Day…He is alive!

(All photos and content in this blog have copyrights).

 

 

Every year on Good Friday, our church congregation reads the Passion of Christ and takes on the role of the angry crowd. We say the words, “Crucify Him, crucify Him! Release Barabbas to us!” with rage and passion, just like the crowd did as Jesus stood before Pilate.

Reading the Passion reminds us to look at ourselves as the responsible ones who placed Christ on the cross. We are the ones whom Jesus came to save and rekindle to God’s friendship. Yet like the angry mob, we play the group of people caught up in the frenzy of the moment ready to attack and condemn Him.

Many of us want to think that if we were present at that time, we would have saved Jesus and not been in that crowd. However, in reality, wouldn’t you have been in the crowd? In a time when Pilate ruled with an iron hand and Rome was ready to strike down anyone who came up against it; what would you have done? When one has many fears and doubts, it is easy to hide in a crowd and ride the wave of emotion. It is at that time we need to remember where Jesus is in our lives and just trust in Him.

Crowds are fueled by energy and many times that energy can be negative. That is what happened to the crowd when Jesus stood before Pilate. As they jeered and chanted for Jesus’ death, their energy was being ignited more and more by certain negative people. These same groups of people had just praised Jesus on Palm Sunday, but now were ready to condemn Him to death. Between those few days nothing had changed with the crowd, except their energy.

Crowds do not think, they live in the moment of energy and transmit that negative energy to others. Negative energy in crowds can lead to bullying, racism, gang violence, gender/sexual preference bashing, violent protesting, ethnic hatred, etc. etc. and the list goes on.

The next time you find yourself in a crowd, think about the energy. Is it positive or negative? Recognize that you may need to step away from the crowd to think clearly about things. It takes courage to step away from this type of energy; but all things are possible with Christ.

Think about it: Will your fears or doubts lead you to a negative crowd or are you already
living in one?

 

But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
Luke 23:34

 

 

Pat immediately replied, “I don’t want anyone to jinx my team in these final seconds. So everyone remain in your same seats until this game is over.”

“You got to be kidding? You don’t really believe that do you?” I blurted out.

“Yes, I do. I believe any changes will jinx my team. So sit back down for them to win,” she glanced back at me.

Laughing, I sat back down, not because of any jinx, but out of respected for her house. 

 

By the way, Pat’s team won that day, but not because of any jinx. They won because they practiced continuously to sharpen their skills for those tough games. The same can be said for our practice with God. The more we pray, rely on God and give Him control, the easier it becomes to trust Him in our tough times. Not jinxes, or superstitions--just God.

Let’s be mad about God this season.

 

Questions: Are you mad about God this season? What practicing skills are you using? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
 

 Second attempt: Satan is saying, “Hmmm, let me get Him to test the power of His God.”

 The tempter took Jesus to a parapet of the temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and ‘with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”
 

I had the opportunity of being at the Rose Parade this year and was able to view the beautiful floats. Some floats had animation, water surfing dogs, Hollywood stars, and even a few with acrobatic performers.

The floats were amazing and as one huge float came rolling down the street, the children began screaming with delight. It was a float which contained television super heroes, the Power Rangers. Although this float was fun and beautiful, it was not the one that stood out to me.

The one float in the Rose Parade that caught my eye contained beautiful flowers and seeds bringing out the quality of the intricate hand work design of the picture. Like the other floats you could smell the aroma of the flowers complimentary to the beauty, but this float was different in beauty.

The beauty of the float was not in the flowers or the seeds, but in the beauty of the one the float depicted, Jesus. The picture alone was awesome, but what made the float so beautiful in my eyes were the words on the float, “He who believes in Jesus will never die, but have eternal life. God’s promise for all.” Wow, what a powerful promise!

 

                      

           
A promise is an expectation of something--a much awaited anticipation for a guarantee—a sure thing.

Remember when your parents made a promise to you as a child? How hope built up in you knowing that your parent’s promise was a guarantee, a sure thing, an agreement? Well, the promise from our heavenly father is the same, a sure thing. He wants that anticipated hope to remain with us forever throughout our lives. He wants us to know the power of His promise, “..if you just believe you will have eternal life.”

God’s promises are more powerful than anything on earth and once He has given a promise, you can hold Him to it. He will not renege on His promises; they are covenants-secure agreements.

I know that all of us know of people who believe that God will not even give them a second look because of things they have done in their life. However, it is you and I who need to communicate with them the power of God’s promises. We need to remind them of God’s love and how He is able to see past any soiled mishap in their lives. Start spreading the power of God’s promise today to others. Remind them of Jesus’ agreement with us, “If we will just believe.”

God’s promise is a sure thing, something we can count on, and certainly more powerful than the Power Rangers. God is our super hero.

Question: How would you plan to tell someone about God’s powerful promise? Please share your plan in your comments.
 

•  Reflect on what Jesus is trying to tell you in the parable          and talk with Him about it.

Do you have any thoughts on how to obtain a closer relationship with God? If so please share them in your comments. 

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Our hearts should be on fire for God every minute of the day-- but are they? Sometimes the flame we use to feel might now just be a smoldering ash. We begin to wonder if anything can be done to rekindle that fire.

It makes me think of couples who have been together for a long time and complain that the flame has gone out of their love. They state they still love the other person, but the flame in their heart is just not burning as intensely as it use to blaze. You might feel that way sometimes about your love for God. It just doesn’t feel that intense as it was when you came to know Him.

Do you want to make some changes to rekindle the flame? If so, then you must believe it can be done and trust in God to make it happen. You have to want to rekindle the flame and take some steps to get the fire burning again. Listed are some things which helped me and may help you.

 

    Don’t let the flame in your heart linger to a slow burn. Make some changes to stoke the embers of your heart.

 4. Subscribe to Twitter/Facebook/Linkedin, etc.. Yes, you heard me correctly. Follow several God loving people on these accounts. You will be surprised how many people, on these accounts, tweet/write scriptures, talk about the goodness of God or just about His love on a daily basis. It keeps you inspired and focused on God. 

God wants you. He’s not going to give up on you. He is pursuing you like a long time lover. He wants your heart to burn with desire for Him. God’s love is a burning passion. However, you must have the desire to rekindle the flame and keep it burning with love. The work is on you.

Try some or all of the things on the list to stoke the fire. You will find those embers igniting to a red glowing flame of passion-- like a heart afire with God’s love.

Do you have other ways, not listed, to rekindle the fire? If so please share them with your comments.
 

How many times have you come across someone who reminded you of a cactus plant? Someone who portrays a hard callus exterior and ensures their prickly spines are showing to keep you and others away? Many times this works to their advantage shielding themselves from others, but what are they really trying to protect? What are they trying to hide?