faithfulness Love

What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love!

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 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  John 13:34 ESV

Some years ago I worked trimming trees on a large estate in Katonah, New York. Since the work we did was usually done in the winter, it was a special blessing that tucked into one of the wings of the house was a green house with a small semi-heated area where we could warm ourselves at lunch. Though we rarely saw the owner or even the caretaker we were able to get in because the spare key was kept under the edge of the fountain. That key opened a little door marked, “Service entrance”.

That entrance always reminded me that God also leaves the key to His door under the fountain. At that fountain we find, not a to His service entrance door.

When Jesus gave us His new commandment He required that we love one another in the same way that He had loved us. Then, “How did Jesus love me?” we should ask. Was it not most love of all loves when He gave His life on the cross for our sins? What a mighty Savior who gave Himself humbly for us. If today we will pause at His fountain we will discover there in a hidden place the key to the service entrance to heaven. That key He gives us with His command to love God’s children from every corner of the earth!

Waiting on God’s Weaving

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Wait for the Lord: be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.           Psalm 27:14 ESV

One of my least favorite plays (which I was compelled to watch because mom said so) was titled “Waiting for Gadot” It involved a couple of guys hanging around  waiting for a friend who guess what…never showed up! For an eight year old who far preferred Davy Crockett; Daniel Boone or Kidnapped; this was akin to Chinese water torture. Though I hated the play, it left an indelible impression on me about waiting. However when King David uses the word wait in this Psalm he isn’t at all suggesting the waiting for the train kind of waiting that we might associate with it.

Instead the Hebrew word for wait: quvah – comes from a root which implies two cords being woven together into a rope. Secondarily it includes something that my second language of Portuguese calls it; which is hope. In fact in Portuguese hoping and waiting are even the exact same word!

So what you might ask, “what good does that do for me?” That’s a great question and the answer is plenty! This kind of waiting isn’t just hanging out and hoping that God will show up. In fact God already has shown up in Bethlehem and His plan since that moment is that in our times of doubt and fear that our hearts will be steadily and slowly woven together with His. As the Apostle Paul states  in his letter to the Romans:

“And hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. Romans 5:5 ESV

So whether our crisis is a sickness like the Corona virus which has brought our nation to a halt; a broken relationship or shattered dreams, God is right here – right now waiting for you and I. His heart is open and ready to receive us when we open our hearts to receive Him. As Jesus hung  in agony on the cross He gave His spirit into His Father’s hands. Our waiting on God means putting our hearts into His hands and then stepping back as the Holy Spirit weaves us together with Him in the love of Jesus Christ!

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Learning to Pray – Day 2

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Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 ESV

Our first step in learning how to pray room begins by becoming God’s child, but the second only happens as we yield our will to His. When we pray your kingdom come and will be done it isn’t about who will win the next election or what laws will be declared constitutional by the courts. God is most interested in His kingdom coming in our own hearts.

Consider the life of Jesus who never sinned, acted from selfish motivations or asked others to do so. He always walked in perfect fellowship with His Father and yet on the night before He was crucified He prayed alone in a garden. He told His disciples to pray with Him because of the weight of His sorrow as He faced the cross.

Then Jesus prayed an astonishing prayer. He asked God to find another way if it were possible for Him to finish His mission on earth. If Jesus had to pray this how much more the rest of us! Even if we did everything right, and avoided breaking even one of God’s rules we still come up short until we are ready to yield our will to His. The old Hymn we learned to sing when we were young declared, “I surrender all” but practically speaking we should have sung, “I surrender some!” Nobody knows this better than Jesus so He includes this part of our prayer: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done”. He wants us to remember that every day we will need His help. And every day He is willing to answer!

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