Moments in Meditation - LOVE IS POWER

He sets the stars in place, the planets into motion.  He makes the earth shake. He controls the winds and the waves. He creates each person individually at conception, one atom at a time.


When I pray, I pray to the Lord of the Universe. Powerful beyond all of our strength. Creative beyond all of our imagination. In and out of time and space.

With reverence and awe. With honesty and intimacy.  With humility.

 

 Our God is POWER.

He is omnipotent. He is omnipresent. He is near. He knows my thoughts before I think them, my words before I speak them. He provides. He protects. He loves. He knows.

And yet, when I pray, I pray to my Abba, my Father. My heavenly father who breathes life into me, who loves me unconditionally, who promises me a future and a hope.

I give thanks. I give praise. I surrender all. I bear my heart and soul.

Our God is LOVE.

His love, care, concern, compassion and involvement in my life transcend any circumstance, situation, timeline or boundary that is placed upon me. He is everywhere all the time, intricately involved in the details of my life. The seen and the unseen. The temporary and the eternal. Because of His power. Because of His love.

To acknowledge this fact is to acknowledge His power, His sovereignty, His kingdom, His presence, His provision and unfailing love all at the same time!  To live life knowing and believing in Him in this way empowers my walk of faith and my availability to be used by Him and for Him at all times. To feel His power. To sense His love. To hear His voice. To know His will.

He is always in control and He cares ALL THE TIME.  To understand, believe and accept this concept is to acknowledge His amazing power, His infinite love, His desire for relationship and that He is truly Lord of All!

And, here, in this place, is where I find my joy and my rest.........

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest." 

Matthew 11:28

 

To live all things abundantly, to live a life filled with joy, grace, peace, wisdom and love, we must embrace our God in ALL of His FULLNESS. Not in part but in whole. ALL He is. He is ALL. In ALL. Nothing else but Him. Therein lies the abundance. 

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God....

 2 Corinthians 3:5

 

 And, only with ALL of Him, can we experience the pure power of His amazing love. Over sin. Over fear. Over death.  Our power comes in the knowing, receiving and giving of His love. In truly believing His Word. We become spiritually, divinely empowered because of His love and His power in us. Herein lies the victory!

 

HELP SOMEONE

Matthew 25:

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit upon His glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in His presence, and He will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at His right hand and the goats at his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.  

³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’


We often read these words and think of His instructions as physical--food, shelter, clothing--and indeed they are indicating provision for the physical life sustenance of others.
 
What image pops into your mind when we talk about preaching the gospel?  A sermon in church perhaps?  A Christian magazine article about the Good News? Going door to door and talking to others about salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord?  

Let's take a deeper look at the meaning of these words with spiritual eyes. Let's see them with an eternal vision rather than just temporal.

'For I was hungry, and you fed me.'  The Bread of Life [Jesus]

'I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.'  The Living Water [Jesus]

'I was a stranger and you invited me into your home.'

 Open doors to the Body of Christ and His Eternal Home without judgment.

I was naked, and you gave me clothing.  To be clothed in His righteousness.

'I was sick and you cared for me.'

Ministry to the spiritually wounded and broken 

through prayer, encouragement and edification.

'I was in prison and you visited me.'

Ministry to those in spiritual bondage 

breaking the chains of addiction, idol worship, and generational sin.

Herein lies the gospel message in two forms: 1) the physical needs and 2) the spiritual needs.  

So often we hear about and/or focus upon the physical needs of others.  We reach out to those who are lacking with donations such as money, food and clothing. We provide work programs for the unemployed. We serve at soup kitchens. We give our used clothing, canned goods and toys to those less fortunate. 

Those who are physically less fortunate come to mind very quickly. I don't know about you but my mailbox (both snail mail and email) are constantly full of requests for food, clothing and monetary donations. There is a huge need for ministry of all types in this area at home and abroad.


“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

But, there is more....!  How often to we think about the spiritual needs of others? We think about eternal life and internal peace. But how often do we consider the gospel message in terms of spiritual well being and provision?


  
⁴¹ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. ⁴² For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’


There are those among us who need to hear THIS gospel message. The spiritual healing and life transforming side of the gospel. Those who are churched as well as unchurched.  Those who don't know of His saving grace and His unconditional love. Those who have already received Christ as their Lord yet their walk with Him has gone astray.  They may live in abundance physically but they are struggling spiritually with carnality yet claim to know the truth of our Savior. They are not living the abundant life. Not walking in the His light but still in bondage to darkness.

We have a mission field in our neighborhoods, in our churches, in our communities! Right in our own backyard. so to speak. Hurting, needy people who need to know the depth of the love of our Lord and the power of His Spirit.  Even those of us with a roof over our head, food in our bellies and clothes on our backs. We may not be physically deprived but we are suffering spiritually in many ways.

• In an increasingly darkening world, we all need His Living Water and the Bread of Life to sustain us daily. 

• We need to be clothed in His righteousness to discover His grace and be able to extend it to others so they, too, can be clothed in righteousness. 

• We need to extend hospitality in our churches, in our homes and in our hearts as a beacon of hope and comfort, a safe haven.  Without judgment.

• We need to bear one another's burdens, pray for one another without ceasing, repent, speak life to one another.

• We need to provide ministry to truly set the captives free by teaching and preaching truth with boldness. We must die to self daily to be made new again and again. Hearts will be made new. Chains of bondage will be broken. Lives will be healed.

This message is the whole Gospel of Jesus the Christ.  This gospel is how we change the world and prepare a people for the coming Day of the Lord!

⁴⁵ “And He will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these My brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”


It is not enough to say "yes" to His gift of grace.  We cannot reject His gift of transformation, of healing, and spiritual renewal. We must say 'yes' to ALL of His ways and be changed from the inside out.  It is a package deal!

Be a witness for the WHOLE GOSPEL MESSAGE. Live holy lives. Profess His truth. Share your testimony and your grace with others. Let us ALL be ready for the return of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Let no one be left behind but lead everyone down the road to eternal life!

GOT YA COVERED

You may recall that I have two children, ages 10 and 13 years old going on 20 and 23...!  Love 'em more than I can express in mere words and would certainly give my life for them. In fact, as many of us moms know, we do give much of our lives--wants, desires, time, energy, needs--as a sacrifice of love for our little ones. Spend much of our time, especially in the younger years, caring for the details of their lives rather than our own.

As my children grow, get a bit 'older and wiser' in their ways, I do expect them to think for themselves and do things on their own without too much reminding or nagging.  Doesn't always happen....

In fact, just the other day, I found myself cleaning up the bird's cage, filling food and water trays, and replacing birdie treats.  Not my job. My kids share this job together. Most of the time. Not this time. This time it was mine, all mine.

 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
Matthew 11:28

As a mom, this situation puts me in somewhat of a quandary. Yes, I desire that my children be responsible and fulfill their duties. Most of the time, in our household, there are consequences for neglect such as this circumstance. Why did I find myself doing it for them?  You are probably asking this question of me yourself. And, I did ask myself....

....but I already knew the answer. Because I love them and I love the bird. Immensely. I care. About the bird, yes. About his needs and desires most certainly. And, about my kids, absolutely in the same way. Sometimes we all need a break from the routine. A helping hand from nowhere. A gift of time off, a sweet treat, time to breathe. A taste of sweet grace. "I've got you covered." I say in my head to my terrific, mostly reliable kids and to the sweet bird who needs his sustenance.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

Makes you truly wonder how many times a day God extends us His sweet favor and covers our backs.  Picks up after us in our messiness. He cares deeply.  About the smallest of things. He fills in the details, finds parking spaces for us, stretches time when we need it, sorts priorities, gives us that extra wisdom for the occasion, or the provision we desperately need just in time. A sweet taste of grace. Even when we are unaware.  Always when we don't deserve it.

 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;  and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" Matthew 6:28-30

My kids didn't deserve it that day. It was my gift. I could truly relate to them in that way as a reflection of how God experiences His relationship to us. I certainly won't extend it to them everyday. But, for that day, I was sufficient for that moment just as He is sufficient for us in every moment.

When you feel stressed or stretched, remember that. His sweet gift of grace is threaded into so much of the detail in our lives. In the brokenness, in the hurried moments, in the planning, in the forgetfulness or the apologies. So much rest and blessing in that......! Don't worry; He's got ya covered!

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  
2 Corinthians 12:9