God is Love

My heart is deeply saddened for those in Newtown, Connecticut—especially for the parents who lost their children in such a tragic way. I don't think there is anything more painful than losing a child.

As I was praying this morning, I thought about how many people tend to blame God for things like this. It breaks my heart to think that people could actually believe that God is capable of such horror.
 
There is a fierce battle raging between evil and good. Our generation is living in an unprecedented time of evil. Many have chosen to turn away from God because they don't know His true nature.
 

God is love (1 John 4:8). 

No one understands why such tragedy can exist. There are things we will never be able to understand in this life until we pass into our heavenly home.  

But there is one thing I am certain of more than anything else.

Jesus loves us very deeply.

Our minds cannot comprehend how deep His love is. It is perfect. It is indescribable.

His love heals.

His love comforts.

His love is enough.

I believe that as we turn toward God wholeheartedly, share His perfect love with one another, and truly live in the love of Christ we will see change in our world.

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner most being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in LOVE, may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the LOVE of Christ, and to know this LOVE that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3: 16-19 (NIV)

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love.” Psalm103:8 (NIV)

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” Psalm 103:10 (NIV)

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion...” Psalm 103:13 (NIV)

“Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.” Psalm 103:2 (NIV)

A Prayer

Father, I lift up every person who was involved in the tragedy in Newtown. I know You are filled with compassion for those families. I ask You to comfort them in their sorrows. Fill them with the hope and knowledge of Your eternal love. Keep them in the palm of your hand and fill the hole in their hearts with Your love and peace. Bring to their lives beauty to replace the pain. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Christmas Peace

My heart melts in the presence of Christ. His Spirit comes into the room and I just want to dance and worship and fall at His feet. His presence is so real that my physical body feels as though I can touch Jesus.

I have never seen Him with my eyes, but when He is in the room, there is a peace that comes in like a gentle winter snow falling to the ground.

There’s a song that describes the delicate beauty of the presence of Christ. “Winter Snow” by Audrey Assad and Chris Tomlin touches me deeply when I listen to it. It causes me to stop what I’m doing and draw near to Christ.

The lyrics are words that speak of the softness of Christ’s love…“Could’ve come like a mighty storm with all the strength of a hurricane. You could’ve come like a forest fire with the power of Heaven in Your flame. But You came like a winter snow…quiet and soft and slow. Falling from the sky in the night to the earth below…”

My prayer this Christmas is that many will stop to feel the softness of Christ’s spirit and rest in His perfect love in the midst of a chaotic world. I pray that the Spirit of Christmas will bring the peace that souls are longing for. Ultimately, I pray that Christ’s Spirit will cover this earth like a beautiful blanket of snow and that all will see His perfect and unfailing love.

He tends to his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart...Isaiah 40:11

Live Abundantly!
Amy

Rainbow Flowers and Small Miracles

 

If there were a magic solution to life’s problems and I could be delivered from all hardship, I would choose to hold onto the problems. As I look back over my life, there are countless blessings that have come to me as a direct result of the difficulties in my life. Would I really want to give up all of life’s blessings to bypass the hardships? I don’t think so. I would choose the hard road any day.

My life has had a number of disappointments, hurt, heartbreak and undesirable circumstances. But it has been while walking through the hard places that I have found true happiness. I've heard the statement, “When people experience hardship, they either get bitter or they get better.” I chose the latter. I have gotten better through adversity.  I decided to let go of self-pity and began seeking to know Christ better. As my heart turned toward Jesus and prayer,  my life began changing. My circumstances didn't change at first, but I found unspeakable joy in the midst of the trials. 

I remember a day when I felt pure bliss while experiencing hardship. My husband had been laid off from his job for several months and was busy seeking employment. I had recently begun working for a catering company on the weekends and I was also doing a few other things trying to make ends meet in ways that would allow me to keep my role as a mother my highest priority. Our cars were very old, our 22 year old house was falling apart in many ways. Yet, I can honestly say that I was the happiest I had ever been. My heart was at rest,  I had found a passion and love for life. To put it in a nutshell, I found pure gold in my relationship with God, our Creator, the One who gives us breath. He lifts us up in ways that nothing else can.

It was in 2008. I was sitting at my dining room table with a list of bills, wondering how we were going to squeak by that month. I spent thirty minutes talking to a representative with my mortgage company about payment options during my husband’s unemployment. After this conversation, I began jotting down some ideas. I realized how close we were to staying afloat. I had the thought, “If we could get some help with our groceries, we would be able to pay the remaining balance of the mortgage payment.” Simultaneously, as I was having this thought, the doorbell rang. I answered the door and it was my daughter’s friend, Emily and her mother, Kimberly. They were standing there with a beautiful bouquet of rainbow-colored flowers and a shopping bag full of food. With a huge smile on her face, Kimberly said, “The ‘Rainbow Buddies’ are here!” Instantly, I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, and like many times before, I was in awe of God’s perfect timing. This sweet woman that I barely knew had brought exactly what I needed at precisely the moment I needed it. What an amazing symbol of Christ’s love this was for me! My heart was rejoicing over this miracle from God.

It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that God allows hardship in our lives to punish us. I have discovered that it is really quite the opposite. God allows pain and sorrow in the lives of His children so that He'll have the opportunity to shower us with His love and bring glory to His name. Through adversity, we get to experience God’s love in the most miraculous ways. 

This reminds me of what God did for Noah thousands of years ago. Up until the flood waters receded, Noah must have really questioned God. But when the water receded and the rainbow appeared, I can only imagine how Noah’s heart was rejoicing over the miracle he saw God perform. He saw that God is real, He is love, and He keeps His promises.

I haven’t experienced the miracle that Noah did. But I have seen the realness of God. I feel His love encompassing my heart. I continually rejoice over the way He comforts me, the way He encourages me, and the way He showers me with His love by sending rainbow flowers and small miracles!

Genesis 9:13  "I have set a rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth."

Genesis 9:16  " Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds , I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on earth."

This article has been revised from a piece originally written in March, 2008.

Live Abundantly!

Amy