Category: Love

Alone and Exposed

On By Leslie AnnIn Christian, Freedom, God, Love, prayer1 Comment

We all tend to view ourselves and others as parts of groups. Even when asked about ourselves, we tend to put ourselves in a group or groups. For instance, we will say something like: I am (blank); I am a (blank). Maybe it’s what we do for a living, our relationship with another person or group, etc. We tend to think that way don’t we? That’s not a bad thing but somehow we can turn it into a bad thing. It’s easy to see that there is an all-out effort these days to pit one group against another. Usually one is “supposedly” good and one bad, depending upon which group you prefer.

God woke me up this morning with some reminders. I want to share them with you.

We may look at the things going on in our world and think all hope is lost. Remember the old saying, “It’s not over until the fat lady sings”? I heard something recently – “The fat lady hasn’t started warming up yet.” In other words, it’s not finished until God says it’s finished.

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; All things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27

God reminds us that what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears is only outward appearances but God judges the heart.

“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” 2 Corinthians 2:9-10

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

He reminded me of Saul. He tried to destroy the Christians. He thought he was on the “good side”, doing a “good thing”.  When we look back at what he did and the group he associated with, we would certainly not consider him good, would we? However, God had a plan. It couldn’t be seen at the time by eyes or heard by ears but then, in God’s perfect timing, a miraculous thing happened. God got a hold of him and things changed dramatically. I won’t type his story here but check out Acts 9. We may not have been against God like Saul, but God tells us that if we aren’t for Him, we are against Him. Standing on the fence doesn’t give us “brownie points”. We must choose a side.

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Matthew 12:30

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.“ Hebrews 4:13

The thing is, none of us will be surrounded or sheltered by whatever group/groups we associate with when we stand before the Lord, whether each day on earth or on judgment day. We will all stand alone and exposed. We will give an account for our lives, our thoughts, our words, our actions. We can’t hide from what we might think we have kept hidden deep inside ourselves. God sees and knows all. We better come clean now and allow God to reveal any sin in our lives and repent (turn away from it), seeking His will, His way, His glory.

“Do not {translation – never, never} repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written “It is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:17-21

As a dear friend told me once (thank you Connie), God doesn’t call us to judge others, but we should be “fruit inspectors”. Just as people will view us by the fruit we produce, we view others by the fruit they produce. We should not condone evil behavior or join with it. We should fight against evil. But, we should leave room for repentance by praying for them. ALL things are possible WITH GOD.

So, while evil is out in the open and becoming bolder every day, remember, God isn’t finished yet. The fat lady isn’t warming up. People get ready…

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Ephesians6:18

After all, God wants ALL to come to a saving knowledge of Him through Jesus Christ. Our job is to point people to Jesus, share the Good News of salvation, and walk out our faith in loving obedience. There is a spiritual war going on – a war between good and evil. Let’s join God’s army and follow His plan of attack!

Addicted to Love {6.20.16}

On By Leslie AnnIn Christian, God, Love2 Comments

Do any of you remember the song “Addicted to Love”? For some strange reason it’s been in my head for about a week. I’ve been thinking about addictions and it popped up. Like a song you hear and can’t get it out of your head until another one takes its place. This verse is what I keep thinking about:

“You might as well face it, you’re addicted to love.”

Addiction: The act of devoting or giving up in practice, the state of being devoted. To devote or surrender oneself to something habitually or obsessively.

We can find ourselves addicted to many things. It can be fame, money, certain foods or drinks, alcohol, drugs, exercise, hobbies, television, internet, Facebook, pleasing people (fill in the blank for your life). addictive behavior

We want to feel like we control our lives. And, we do have control over some things. We have control over the choices we make. We have control over our attitudes. Maybe that’s why we are so easily tempted to the bondage of addictions. It’s our self-satisfaction we desire and sometimes think we deserve. I believe we all have tendencies to addictive behavior. Whether it is having to have a cup of coffee, soft drink, or tea before we think we can begin our day, an addiction to drugs or alcohol, or not letting anything or anyone disrupt our exercise or TV schedule, they are all types of addiction. I mean, the fact that I can’t open a bag of chips and stop at 1 or 5 or 10, but can keep eating long after the hunger is gone, that’s addiction. The fact that I will stop at McDonalds to get a tea even if I’m not thirsty, that’s a habit turned to addiction.

When we realize we have an addiction that is starting to control our lives instead of us controlling it, we need to take action. We all have a void in our lives that only God can fill! He is the only person who can really help us and fill void. After all, He knows our struggles already. He knows everything about us (Psalm 139:1-16). He created us to love and worship Him. And, NOTHING is too hard for God. He is creator! (Jeremiah 32:17) He loves us with a love that we can’t even comprehend. And, God’s power in us is strong enough to demolish any stronghold (2 Corinthians 10:4-7). The Spirit of God gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).

God’s Word tells us that no temptation has seized us except what is common to man and God is faithful. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. And, when we are tempted (and we will be), He will provide a way out from under the temptation. We just need to be willing to take that escape route. Sometimes I’m willing and sometimes I’m not. I do like to get my way, even if I know it’s not in my best interest. Maybe that’s another definition of insanity. It’s like doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

1 John 4:8, 16 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because GOD IS LOVE.” “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. GOD IS LOVE. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.”

1 John 5:3 “This is love for God: to obey his commands.”

I don’t know about you but…I need GOD and I need His help to put Him first in all things and only be addicted to love – Love for God and others. After all, GOD IS LOVE. Only through God’s power in me will I be able to truly love Him and all others. Because, like me, not everyone is always loveable.

addicted to love I want to be addicted to God to the point that being with Him and following His lead are both a habit and obsession. In order to truly love others, I must love GOD FIRST and MOST – all the time. Only then will the light of God shine in my life for others to see.

I pray that one day people will say to me, “You might as well face it, you’re addicted to love.”

False Fantom Feelings {5.11.16}

On By Leslie AnnIn Christian, God, Love3 Comments

Before I begin, I’m sure some of you are thinking the same thing I did [that is NOT how you spell phantom]. Well, I looked it up in the dictionary because I just had to keep with same letter words for this title. I can’t explain it – just one of those weird things about me. Now that the spelling issue is out of the way, on with the story…

On Mother’s Day one of our sons took me to see Phantom of the Opera. I had never seen it before and did not know the story. I was immediately impressed with the singing (and the capacity of those singers to hold notes for so long). The set design and changes though were amazing. I was enthralled just watching it all. I’m sure I had my mouth open part of the time wondering how they came up with the idea and then pulled it off. Of course, I liked the dancing too. As we came to the end though, I was overwhelmed with the sadness of the story. I have thought about it afterwards and realized that many of us have had similar thoughts as that of the Phantom. He felt alone and isolated. He was disfigured, avoided, mocked and feared. He lashed out at others because of those feelings. Don’t we often do the same? How many times have you let yourself fall into a “self-pity party” and blown things out of proportion, causing you to act unkindly to others or fabricate motives for certain actions or words of others? Like all of us, the Phantom wanted to be loved for who he was. What is so sad is that all that time, God’s amazing love was waiting for him, just like it is waiting for all of us. The Phantom’s feelings were false. For truth, we must go to the ONE TRUE GOD and HIS WORD which IS TRUTH.

God created all of us, just as we are. There is nothing in our creation that surprises or disgusts Him. We were perfectly formed and are perfectly loved. In case you have forgotten, read His Word that assures us of this fact.

Psalm 139:1-18 says:  “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake I am still with you.”

If you ever begin to think you are not good enough for God to love and that He doesn’t know all the “uglies” about you, please read these verses above. There is NOTHING about us that God does not already know. His love for us is unfailing and the depth of His love is more than we can comprehend.

He loves us enough that He sent His Son to die for us. He’s waiting for us to live with Him in Heaven (John 14:1-4). Christ has gone to prepare a place for us – for all who have repented and accepted the free gift of salvation through Jesus. If you have not done that already, would you accept His free gift now? God loves YOU (just as you are)!  The extra bonus of God’s love is that He doesn’t leave us as He finds us. When we allow Him to be Lord of our lives, He will change us and mold us to be more Christ-like so that our light might shine before men to bring others to this incredible lover of our souls. Here are just a few other scriptures that confirm God’s love for us.

Psalm 13:5, Psalm 25:10, Psalm 33:22, Psalm 36:5, Psalm 63:3, Psalm 100:5, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 108:4, Psalm 149:4, John 3:16, Zephaniah 3:17, Ephesians 3:14-19, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:38-39, Matthew 10:29-31

But, we do have a responsibility to share that love. Read Mark 12:30-31 and Luke 10:27.

As you read this post, please pray to God to reveal His great love for you and then return it back to Him. I assure you that if you do that, your attitude will reflect Christ and His Light will shine through you as you go about your day. Remember, Fantom Feelings are False! STOP them in their tracks and reflect on TRUTH – God’s Truth, His Word, His Love. HE IS TRUE and can be trusted! God Bless!

Love {2.21.16}

On By Leslie AnnIn Christian, God, Love

Love means a lot of different thing to a lot of people, doesn’t it? To a child it might mean a kiss and Band-Aid on a hurt knee or a hug when they are scared. To a teenager it might seem like the do all or end all of their daily activities. To a young couple, it might mean flowers, movies, love notes (probably in the form of text messages). To an older couple, it might mean taking care of and helping each other remember things. No matter what stage in life, we all hunger for love.

valentine flowers

A friend showed me the Valentine’s Day gifts her husband gave her this year. She received a beautiful necklace and earrings. Her smile beamed as she showed them to me. It made me very happy for her. I am a romantic at heart, I have to admit. The rub comes in that my “valentine” is not so much. But, he shows me love in a million ways and after many years together we know and accept each others differences in how we share and show love.

There is one expression of love, however that all of us need and desire (even if we don’t know it). It’s the unconditional love of God. It’s a redeeming love, a saving love, a true love –  that Christ died for all of us so that we may live a victorious life here on earth and an everlasting life in Heaven after this life is over. Once we receive (accept) this love offering from God, we are able to share it with others. Sometimes it’s easy to love others. Sometimes it takes the divine intervention of the Holy Spirit to enable us to truly love. I think this quote is a great expression of our responsibility to love others. love others

As you go about your day, look for those who seem to need some love and share yours. I’d love to hear your stories. Please share here – it will encourage the rest of us.