does loving another come easy?

1 John 2:11 " For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another."

1 John 2:18 " My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Luke 6:32-36 "But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful."

Is it easy for you to love ALL those around you? As we read this scripture, it kind of hits home at some points. Jesus knew it was not going to be easy for us to love all around us, just look how many times He speaks about love in the bible. He didn't just give His life for those He loved, for His close friends, He died for ALL people, black, white, red, and yellow. He died for the poor and the rich. He died for those who have much and those who have little. Its easy when a friend calls and is in need of help. We seem to jump right to it, but what happens when someone calls and we don't like them so much? We tend to say we are busy, or we just cannot give up our time. We can bump our cart into a friend and laugh about it, but if someone we don't know pushes their cart into us, we find ourselves angry. Its great to lend a book to a friend, but what about someone that is mean to us? Are we going to hand that book over so easily? We may not like everyone around us, we may have our differences, but we are to love all those around us, and respect them, for God created all. What do we really know of love? God showed us the greatest gift of all by loving us enough to die for us. Would you die for a friend? Most likely you would push them out of the way of the bus, but what about a stranger? Would you move to save them by endangering yourself? I am ashamed to say I have not loved all those around me, I have not showed the love of Jesus to all I come in contact with. So if I am not, am I showing Jesus to the world? How can I teach someone about the love of Christ when I myself am not living it? Remember those clicks in high school that hurt so much, unless you happened to be part of one? Well, they still exist today and they are in our churches too. There should be no click of people, we should be willing to accept everyone in love, never making a difference in anyone, but showing the same love we want Jesus to show us.May we be willing to open our eyes and check ourselves to see if we are in deed loving those around us. Anger and bitterness are not our friends and satan loves it when we are at odds with others, so just think of all that could be done for the glory of God if we showed love to one another, if we worked with one another and helped each other out not expecting anything in return. What if we loved with our eyes and ears closed, and just allowed Christ to move in our heart? Praise Jesus for the love that He has given so we too could love without judgement and have compassion for those around us~

Lord, please give us Your strength, Your love, and Your heart, so that we might open our hearts up to others and love those around us just as we want to be loved. Forgive us for not showing love to Your children and making a difference. May we open our arms to all around us, may You change us to look more like You. May we accept Your love and spread Your gospel by loving those around us~

having faith in the unseen

We seem to place our faith in the wrong things, and at times we only place our faith in the things in which we can see, but is that really faith? Faith is believing in the unseen, the things in which we know are there, but we cannot see with our human eyes, for God's ways are much higher than ours. When we see the leaves of the trees blowing, when we feel the cool breeze, we cannot see the wind, but we know its there. We believe our parents when they speak of our birth, although we cannot remember our birth, we know without a doubt it happened in faith. We cannot see the white blood cells in our blood, but by faith we know they are there to protect our bodies against disease. Why do speak of miracles? We do because many times its something we cannot see with our own eyes, but we know the healing took place, we know the angels were there to protect us against harm by faith. In the nature around us, we often hear people say,"If a tree fell in the woods and no one was there to hear it would it still make a sound?" That sound still takes place by faith. When someone tells of a story, we often look at them with amazement, even though we weren't there to witness the wonder we still believe by faith. Just sit for a spell and think of all the things that we know to be true, but have never seen them with our eyes, but we believe by faith. I was not there when my Savior gave His life for me, but I believe with faith. I was not there when the hurting woman touched the hem of His garment, but by faith I believe in her healing. I was not even there when the bible was written not by man, but of the Holy Spirit through them, but with faith I believe upon those words that have become a beacon in my life. When I call out to Jesus in my time of need, I do not see Him stand or kneel before me, but with faith I know He is there holding my hand, seeing me through each step. There are wonders still being discovered, and wonders that the smartest scholars cannot explain, but when we have faith, we don't have to explain, we just believe, knowing that our world around us was created by a mighty God, and in that everything big and small speaks His name. His glory is shown through all that has been touched by His hand. When I went in for surgery for a lump in my neck, and the doctors could not find it, we knew God had brought healing to me. I did not see His hand touch me with His healing power, but with faith, I believe. We don't have to argue our faith with those who do not believe, our Savior has shown Himself throughout His amazing creation. Everything shouts His name in praise. Are you looking for faith today? Does your faith need strengthened? You don't need to look any farther than your heart. Our eyes can be opened to the beauty of the Lord by just believing and trusting in Him. Today whatever is burdening you, let it go and trust in Him. Although we can see trouble all around us, He can see the healing, the strength and the comfort we need. He is there if we just call His name. Can you see Him? As I look at the nature around me, as I study science, as I look to the beauty of my children I can see Jesus in all around me. Our friends are not always present in our lives daily, but in faith we know they are there with us in love.

Romans 1:17 " For in it the righteousness of god is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, the just shall live by faith."

Romans 10:17 " So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by faith."

2 Corinthians 4:18 " While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Ephesians 2:8-10 " For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

AND WE HAVE A WINNER!!

The winner of "40 LOAVES by C.D Baker is Ms. Sharon Christensen!! I will ship this out to you as soon as I can and you may even have it in time for Christmas. I hope you enjoy the words of this sweet book that help us find answers we are looking for not just about Jesus, but about ourselves. Happy Reading Sharon and congradulations~

you wanna fly like an eagle?

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not grow faint." Isaiah 40:31

This is one of my favorite verses to go to when I feel as though the world is crashing down around me. We can take each phrase here and gain so much. When we feel weak, we when we feel as though we can't go on we can call upon the Lord and He will be there. All we have to do is say His name. When we are down He will renew us. What a gift, to be renewed by our Lord, to feel His strength and power running through us. Have you ever watched an eagle fly? They don't flap their wings a lot, they don't run out of energy, they open their wings and soar. When the wings of a bird are wet they cannot fly, just as when we are down, when the burdens are piling up on us, we cannot have the strength to stand, but when we let go we can learn to soar too. We are often impatient, we want things right now, we want those blessings right now, but we must learn to wait on the Lord and His timing, for He has His hand in all and He knows just what we need to bring Him glory. When we go ahead and do things on our own without waiting on the Lord things seem to go wrong even though we have tried so hard to make them right. But when we choose to wait on Him, the blessings will fall upon us and our eyes will be open to things we would have never seen unless we would have waited on Him. Before we learn to run a race, we must first learn how to walk in Faith. A runner trains for many months and at times years before they are ready to take on a marathon, we too must train in our marathon of life. We can't just take off running, we must wait on the Lord and when we do He will give us the strength, the stamina, and the courage to overcome, to make it across that finish line. Praise Jesus He gives us His word to learn from, and when we seek Him first, we will not only fly, but we will soar like an eagle and the beauty of an eagle is something to be amazed by. As a child I use to watch them for hours, admiring their flight, their beauty and come to find out years later, the Lord shows me I too can soar with the beauty of an eagle. In confidence we can wait upon the Lord. In faith we can believe all in our life will happen in His timing for the best blessings of all, and in hope, we can see the unseen with a powerful faith. Are you ready to soar today? Believe, trust and obey our Savior, letting go of all that is keeping you grounded~

Children learn what they live by

"If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.
If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself.
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to hate.
If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident.
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative.
If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love.
If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with recognition, he learns to have a goal.
If a child lives with sharing, he learns about generosity.
If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.
If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is.
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself.
If a child lives with friendliness, he learns that the world is a nice place to live in."

In these beautiful and powerful words we can find great wisdom. As we wake daily and move about our children are always watching and listening to all around them. What we do in moderation our children will do in excess. When someone calls and we tell our child,"Tell them I am not home", we are in turn teaching our child its okay to lie. When we yell at someone in the store we are teaching our children we are better than others. When we talk about someone in front of our children we are teaching them its okay to share gossip. When we choose to speak badly of someone we are teaching our children its okay to judge. But when we teach our children grace we are showing them Jesus. When we teach our children forgiveness we are showing them the love of Jesus. The example we are to our children will either lift them up in life or tear them apart. Our children do not belong to us, they are God's children, and we are to love them as He would have us to. We are to lead them in the right direction with love. As parents we often make mistakes, and when we do the greatest gift we can give our children is an apology. For our children to hear us say we are sorry means the world to them. To share with our children is what they desire. As I worked with the youth in our church for almost eleven years, the kids opened up to me, they shared things they wouldn't share with others. I would encourage them to share with their parents and most of them would say," I can't share with them, they won't listen." I too learned this wisdom the hard way. I wish I would have listened more instead of talked. Our children need us to ask more than,"How was school today", "How was work", or "Did anything exciting happen today?" They need us to be there, to share our own experiences, to be involved in their lives and thoughts, giving them respect also. For our children to know they are loved it is more than presents, and saying the words, its adding the actions to it. Most children would rather spend a day with their parents than have a gift. They would rather share a moment they will forever remember than hear us say,"I am too tired tonight". We often hear there are no directions to being a parent, there is no book to show us the way, but there is and that is the bible, God's word. May we as parents search our hearts, ask God for wisdom and grace when it comes to loving our children, for they are the future, they are our legacy. If they feel love they will share love and be a bright light to others and their future will be filled with the blessings of love that our Father in heaven so desires for His children~

Sharing the Christmas Story by Matthew West

This season at Tyndale we are trying to reach one million people with the gospel of Christ through sharing the Christmas Story from Luke. Matthew West has given the gift of his voice to share in this wonderful story that touches our hearts and is the reason for the season. You can go to Matthew West's site at http://matthewwest.com/. You can download the full Christmas Story at http://www.thechristofchristmas.com/. There are many ways to use this download, for the enjoyment of your Christmas day, to send to others, to share from your phone, Christmas e-cards, posting this to your blog also and adding the download to your facebook page. Help us to spread the gospel of Christ this season and share the deepest meaning of this day, Christ's birth, His gift to the world. You can also download a copy of the gospel of John in the New Living Translation to share with family and friends, to send as Christmas gifts to those you love. Please help us spread the truest form of love ever given this season. Blessings to you and I would love to hear how you have shared this with others to bring blessings to those you love. What a great gift to share on Christmas morning, the message of hope, of life and of love.

my childhood gift

Every Christmas children around the world are making their lists and checking them twice, making sure they have everything down that they desire. When I was a child I always wanted a sock monkey, I just fell in love with them the first time I saw one in a window. I had my share of awesome gifts, yes, I had a Chatty Cathy, a Ms. Beasley, and I remember my pink, banana seat bike that I rode everywhere. I had shared my story with my husband of just how much I wanted a sock monkey when we saw one together. He just smiled at me, and said,"Yup, those are cute." So last night when he came home he asked me if I would like to open a Christmas gift. Now, whats a girl gonna say to that? Of course I wanted to open it. He came in and had me close my eyes and there right before me was the sock monkey I wanted as a little girl, in my hands with a smile on my face from ear to ear. I have had many wonderful gifts from my husband, some big, some small, and some that have come in tiny little boxes, but this is one of the best he has ever given me. For him to remember my childhood gift I never received showed me just how much he loves me. For him to drive to find one, for him to surprise me only shows me how special I am to him. At Christmas its not so much about the gift, how big or small, it is about the thought behind it, its about the love shared opening your hands to another to give them something so special that you know is just going to light up their eyes. He could pull a brand new car into our drive way, with a big red bow on top, and this little gift from my past would still beat out any other gift, for it really came from a love inside his heart. That is what I love about Christmas, the love that we share together, the reaching out to one another, blessing one another with the love that Jesus instilled in our hearts. As I sit and look at my little monkey sitting here by my computer, I pray your Christmas dreams come true also. They may not be a childhood gift, it may be something you have been praying for for years, but believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, leaving all your requests at His feet and He will provide. I thank my husband for giving me a gift I will treasure forever and for putting a smile on my face just when I needed it the most~

Lord, this Christmas I pray others will see You and worship You with a love that is brand new, and may we remember just what it was like to be a child full of joy, and may we take that joy and spread it to all we meet~

Oh sweet Charlie Brown

Growing up we all watched the Charlie Brown specials. I loved it as each year they would come and I would sit before them in awe, with my eyes glued to the television. Charlie Brown was sent out to get a tree, and he didn't bring back one that was big, one that was nine feet tall, he brought back one that he saw beauty in, one that he thought had potential. As the others laughed at him, he never gave up hope in that little tree, he gave love to that little tree, and with that love that tree began to shine. As Charlie Brown stepped out, as he took the steps to see beauty in something that others laughed at, he showed what the love of God can really do when we have hope. Charlie Brown always seemed to have hope when all around him lost it, isn't that something even as adults we can learn from today? I don't think we ever out grow Charlie Brown, he seems to have a place in our hearts, for he knew the meaning of Christmas. And isn't that what we are to do, to spread Christmas cheer to all around us with the hope in Jesus Christ? May your Christmas be filled with hope, may you see the hope that Jesus gives us so freely, if we just choose to believe~

Romans 8:25 " But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."

do you feel like your missing your spots?

Do you ever feel like you just don't fit in? Do you feel like your missing something? Maybe all your spots are not the same as the others, maybe your even missing some, so some would say that makes you different, but it doesn't, it makes you unique, one of a kind. When we choose not to accept those that are different from us, when we choose to stay in our circle, when we choose not to befriend someone because they look different than us, we are missing out on something very special. We all have something beautiful to give, we all want to fit in, we all want to be part of something, to share our sisterhood or brotherhood with other Christians, but at times it us Christians who can be the worse at not accepting others for not being like us. Just as when you go and pick out a puppy for your family, there are the boys, and the girls, who usually cost more, then you also have those who are missing a little something, the smallest of the group, maybe carrying a blind eye, and so your price tag goes even lower. Which puppy do most people choose? They choose the best, the one that looks the best, the one that will bring them the most, and will fit into their family perfect. But what about the little one who just wants love? What about the little blind one who has so much to give? They are tossed aside, they are at times left behind, for the bigger and the better. Why? Why can't we just all be accepted for who we are, not what kind of house we live in, how much money we make, what our career is, or who we know? Why can't we stop looking at the outside of man and look at his heart? If your not running with the pack, you are running alone, and that is a sad place to be when you have so much to offer, but how will others ever know unless they give you a chance? Sometimes when we close our eyes, we bend down, it just might be that puppy who crawls up on our lap that we least expected that brings us the most joy. Popularity doesn't last a life time, money may buy you friends, but are they the kind of friends you want? The outside may be what we are searching for, it may be that we search out the best of the best to make ourselves feel better, but that outside can be deceiving. To know the heart of a man, to really know him, we must spend time with him. Jesus didn't just walk with the popular, with those who had money, He walked with those who were on the outside, those that others would never accept. He is our example, He has showed us what love is, what friendship is, for no other will ever love us as He, and no other will ever be a closer friend. Are you on the inside of that circle? Are you afraid to let others in, to open your heart to others waiting to make friends? If you are I challenge you to go outside your circle, look at those little puppies who are not the high priced ones, but those wagging their tail, those who are looking for love and have lots to share. If you stay inside that circle, you are missing a great gift of the friendship and wisdom of others. We all have something to give, to share, so begin today reaching out to the one who is different, the one who isn't in your circle, and see the blessings that sweet one will give.

Lord, may I never just look at the outside of man, may I look at the heart of man, not judging them by their circumstances, but choosing to love them the way You love me.

Philippians 2:3-4 "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but for the interests of others."

1 Samuel 16:7b-c " For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

the beauty of the snow

I am a girl who loves the winter, who loves the cold breeze blowing as I am all bundled up with my scarf and mittens. I love looking out the window at the beauty of the falling snow that seems to cover all around me with a pure blanket of white. There is a calming in watching the snow fall, and a beauty with amazement at how each snowflake is unique, not one is the same. As God saved me by His blood, He washed me clean, He washed my sins away, and made me pure before Him, just as the white snow, and as He created you and I, just as the snowflakes, we are all different, with our own beauty to bring glory to Him, and joy to those around us. Just as the cold of this evil world can make us want to stay in, pull the covers over our heads, we can wrap up in God's love and protection , along with His strength and go out and enjoy each day, knowing He is there and His beauty can shine through. Just as the beauty of looking out the clear window, with Jesus we can see clearly, we can see the beauty of the snow, and be a reminder to us of His love and forgiveness when when He washed us pure as snow.

Psalm 139:14 "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well."

Psalm 51:7 " Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."