God’s Love

The Most Powerful Glue in the World!

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For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 ESV

Being a bit of a tool guy, I love watching commercials that start out with some crazy guy who takes his chainsaw and cuts his boat in half. In scene two, he glues the two halves of the boat back together and then in the final clip, we see him, waterskiing behind that boat while it is speeding effortlessly across the water! Maybe all of us, not just tool guys love these scenes because it is wonderful seeing broken things getting fixed! In our real lives however, there are mornings when we pull the pot out from the coffee maker and see grounds swirling around the bottom like the debris caught up in a tornado. We get an email, notifying us of a layoff or we spend the night tossing and turning, because someone we love is facing life threatening surgery in the morning. God doesn’t ask us to play make believe, pretending that nothing will ever go wrong. In fact, in today’s verse, He reminds us that in spite of all of these days, that try to tear us apart, His love remains the most powerful glue in the universe. This glue not only holds us together, but it keeps us stuck to His Purpose, His Plan and His Heaven. Nothing can separate us. No beating waves, no tragedy, no changing social norm, no failure no loss, or any enemy in the entire universe. All of these problems pale in comparison to the mighty force of His love, which was poured out at Calvary, and it will forever hold our hearts to Him!

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Receiving God’s Christmas Love

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For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17 ESV

The last few weeks have been a blur of events and emotions. Our California trip to attend my wife’s sister’s funeral and then 5 Christmas Services at different long-term care facilities have all blurred together in my mind. Last night we settled down to watch White Christmas (20 times and counting!) and slowed down enough to catch our collective breathes. We will not see family but are grateful that we have children and grandchildren to miss. We have each other, a few friends and a quiet life. How different our experience is from Mary and Joseph on a chilly night in Bethlehem.

The stable was dark and dank. There was no soft bed for Mary to lie on, no nurse or even mid-wife to attend. When the baby came, Joseph tried his best to find a place to lay him, but a feeding trough was all he found. There in that cold dark place the love of God was born as a fragile child, wrapped in rough cloth and laid in a hay bin. That Holy Night reminds me of another cold dark day, thirty-three years later when God’s love was poured out again. This time on a rough wooden cross, with blood streaming down from His hands and feet Jesus gave Himself for us. Now anyone willing to come as a child can find forgiveness and receive His gift of love (Eternal Life). May God bless you and watch over you in this Holiday season. Jesus still comes and God’s love is still being poured out. What we need are the eyes of children to see Him and receive His gift today! My song video this week features Away in a Manger. Have a blessed week all!

God’s Great Symphony

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His faithful love endures forever! Psalm 136:1 NLT

If we look at Psalm 136 as if it were a grand symphony we could think of, these first verses like the trumpets blasting out an opening about the goodness of God. They alert us and fill our ears with the knowledge that our God is higher than any other power in the entire universe and above every other god. Then the composer plunges ahead with soaring strings that reach higher and higher ringing out with the beauty of creation and how God made the heavens, the earth and the sun, moon and stars. But with each new measure that is played we hear again a harmony note reminding us of God’s eternal love. Then the orchestra hushes as the score moves on to recount a specific list of each thing that God has done for His people Israel.

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Next a military drum roll marches out the victories God has led them through. First the deliverance from the empire of Egypt, then the crossing Red Sea and finally the defeat of the armies of the Amorites. Each verse sings out that God is faithful and with every note that is played we see His goodness. When thunderous rising notes of opposition challenge His children, God’s unfailing melody of love assures us to rest. No wail of lament or minor key of sorrow will last. They will all pale in comparison one day to the beauty and power of God’s love that echoes in every verse. They carry us from the beginning of creation, through every problem that we have faced and show us that only His love lasts forever. Then the crescendo of praise hushes to a silence at the final fading note of the symphony causes us to pause in awe remembering all that God has done and we give thanks In that glorious amazement we realize that both our blessings as well as our difficulties will pass away but the great symphony of the love of God will last forever and forever!

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