Tag: Love

Posted in LGG Study

Jesus Our Everything: Week 4, Day 1

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Question of the Day: One of our SOAP passages today says that the new covenant isn’t based on the letter but on the Spirit? What’s the difference?

Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 8:7-13; 2 Cor. 3:4-6 (S.O.A.P. Heb. 8:7-8; 2 Cor. 3:5-6)

For if that first covenant had been faultless, no one would have looked for a second one.[a] 8 But[b] showing its fault,[c] God[d] says to them,[e]

“Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
9 “It will not be like the covenant[f] that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard for them, says the Lord.
10 “For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put[g] my laws in their minds[h] and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people.[i]
11 “And there will be no need at all[j] for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.[k]
12 “For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer.”[l]

13 When he speaks of a new covenant,[m] he makes the first obsolete. Now what is growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear.[n]

Today’s LGG Blog

Posted in God is good

A Way To Know You

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Father, You are good and in Your goodness You have provided Your Word as a way for us to know You.💜 Your Word allows me to personally know Who You are, to know my sinfulness and need for a Savior; It makes a way for me to not only know The Savior but to trust in Him and to have a relationship with You, the True and Living God. To be able to grow in the wisdom and understanding of your Word is a blessing that allows me to live and love like Jesus❤️, to bring salt and light into this dark world, and to share You with others.

I do not deserve this blessing but have received it as a gift from You💜 It is a gift born not of merit but of Your love and desire to have a relationship with me. You are good and I am greatly blessed!

Posted in LGG Study

Day 2 – Jesus our Everything

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Today’s Scripture: Hebrews 1:5-14 (S.O.A.P. Hebrews 1:8-9)

Question of the Day: I challenge everyone, even if it’s just one word or phrase, to describe how you see Jesus after reading God’s description of Him.

5 For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus:

“You are my Son.
    Today I have become your Father.[a]”

God also said,

“I will be his Father,
    and he will be my Son.”[b]

6 And when he brought his supreme[c] Son into the world, God said,[d]

“Let all of God’s angels worship him.”[e]

7 Regarding the angels, he says,

“He sends his angels like the winds,
    his servants like flames of fire.”[f]

8 But to the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever.
    You rule with a scepter of justice.
9 You love justice and hate evil.
    Therefore, O God, your God has anointed you,
    pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else.”[g]

10 He also says to the Son,

“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth
    and made the heavens with your hands.
11 They will perish, but you remain forever.
    They will wear out like old clothing.
12 You will fold them up like a cloak
    and discard them like old clothing.
But you are always the same;
    you will live forever.”[h]

13 And God never said to any of the angels,

“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
    until I humble your enemies,
    making them a footstool under your feet.”[i]

14 Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.

Posted in Quiet Time

Romans 8:1-11

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Today’s Scripture: Romans 8:1-11 (S.O.A.P. Romans 8:1-2)

Question of the Day: What is condemnation and how are believers free from it?

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a] 2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit[b] in Christ Jesus has set you[c] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For God achieved what the law could not do because[d] it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by[e] the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit. 6 For the outlook[f] of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in[g] the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but[h] the Spirit is your life[i] because of righteousness. 11 Moreover if the Spirit of the one[j] who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ[k] from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you.[l]

After Thoughts
Posted in Quiet Time

John 13:31-35

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Today’s Scripture: John 13:31-35 (S.O.A.P. John 13:34-35)

Question of the Day: How can we love one another like Christ loved us?

31 When[a] Judas[b] had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him,[c] God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him right away.[d] 33 Children, I am still with you for a little while. You will look for me,[e] and just as I said to the Jewish religious leaders,[f] ‘Where I am going you cannot come,’[g] now I tell you the same.[h]

34 “I give you a new commandment—to love[i] one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.[j] 35 Everyone[k] will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.”

After Thought
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John 13:1-17

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Today’s Scripture: John 13:1-17 (S.O.A.P. John 13:14-15)

Question of the Day: Why do you think Jesus chose to wash the feet of His disciples?

Washing the Disciples’ Feet – Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that his time[a] had come to depart[b] from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end.[c] 2 The evening meal[d] was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart[e] of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray[f] Jesus.[g] 3 Because Jesus[h] knew that the Father had handed all things over to him,[i] and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 he got up from the meal, removed[j] his outer clothes,[k] took a towel and tied it around himself.[l] 5 He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself.[m]

Then he came to Simon Peter. Peter[n] said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash[o] my feet?” 7 Jesus replied,[p] “You do not understand[q] what I am doing now, but you will understand[r] after these things.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!”[s] Jesus replied,[t] “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”[u] 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, wash[v] not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus replied,[w] “The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet,[x] but is completely[y] clean.[z] And you disciples[aa] are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 (For Jesus[ab] knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, “Not every one of you is[ac] clean.”)[ad]

 So when Jesus[ae] had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table[af] again and said to them, “Do you understand[ag] what I have done for you? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly,[ah] for that is what I am.[ai] 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example[aj]—you should do just as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the solemn truth,[ak] the slave[al] is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger[am] greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you understand[an] these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

After Thoughts
Posted in From the Insideout

Loved – to the Very End

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If I am to imitate Jesus – to be a good reflection of who He is – I must know Him well. I must know how He talked, the habits He had – the company He kept, and the way He spent and prioritized His time. I must know how and even why Jesus loved and lived. I must know and understand His character and what made Him who and how He was.

I can only truly find these details in God’s Word, the depth of which is not meant to be examined here today but the crux of which is this – He was from God. God, who had loved the world so much that He gave Jesus, His only begotten Son, to suffer and die so that all who believed in Him might live. Everything He did and said, the way He lived and loved, how He responded, and the things He thought all hinged on Him being from God. Yes, He was Himself God, but He took on human form, making Himself also a man*, and it is that reference that I found myself examining in the passage I read today from John 13:1-17.

Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus. 3 Because Jesus knew that the Father had handed all things over to him, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 he got up from the meal, removed his outer clothes, took a towel and tied it around himself. 5 He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself.

6 Then he came to Simon Peter. Peter[n] said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not understand what I am doing now, but you will understand after these things.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus replied, “The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 (For Jesus knew the one who was going to betray him. For this reason he said, “Not every one of you is clean.”)

12 So when Jesus had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table again and said to them, “Do you understand what I have done for you? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, for that is what I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example—you should do just as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the solemn truth, the slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you understand these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

His habits were Holy and Righteous – why? Because He was from God. He was found most often in the company of His disciples – but also – in the home and the company of sinners. Many questioned this, but we know it was simply and profoundly – because He was from God, sent to seek and save the lost. Because He was from God – He spent His time feeding the hungry, healing the sick, teaching the masses about the Kingdom of God, and communicating with the Father. He came to give life to the full – why – because He wanted us to be one with the Father just as He is. This oneness can only be experienced when we know God, which is precisely what Christ desired for all people – because He was from God.

Jesus wasn’t just their Lord and teacher. He was God Himself, yet, here we find Him, just before His imminent suffering and death, to have gotten up from the table and removing all hindrances prepared Himself outwardly to perform a ‘servant-like’ expression of His love. As Matthew Henry said, “He taught them the value of spiritual washing and the cleansing of the soul from the pollutions of sin,” and He did this through the lowly act of washing their feet. In preparation for His departure, it seems He wanted them to not only witness an act of selfless love but to be the recipients. So, Jesus gave them a very humble and passionately moving example of serving others from an attitude of love and humility instead of from a position or status. He did this throughout His ministry as an example of how we are to live and love and serve. He loved beyond who and what He was and knew He was entitled to*. Jesus lived and taught a love that served not self but others and spilled out in actions that proved His love was not only genuine but one that endures to the very end.

*Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, 2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. 3 Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. 4 Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. 5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, 6who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. 8 He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death —even death on a cross! Philippians 2:1-8

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If you haven’t read this morning’s “After Thoughts” from today’s Scripture reading – you may want to – to fully appreciate my statement that God seems to be making a point with me about the benefit of encouragement. It will also help you understand why today’s prayer starter was another fingerprint from God. 💜

My daughters and I love to look for and share God’s fingerprints with one another. We do this because we have learned that they are a source of encouragement. This morning I was reminded through a prayer starter that it’s also good to look for opportunities and ways to encourage one another.

Let me repeat the words of “Criswell Freeman” from my reading this morning: “Are you a continuing source of encouragement to your family and friends? One of the reasons God put you here is to serve and encourage other people …”

To verify that this aligns with Scripture consider Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 where he tells the believers to encourage one another and build each other up. Or, the words from the author of Hebrews, who said: Encourage one another daily as long as it is called today so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (13:24). Encouraging others is definitely a purposeful part of the believer’s life and is beneficial to both the giver and the receiver.

Why? Because not only does it allow God’s light to shine through us – which means He is glorified, but also because, as Proverbs 16:24 says: “Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body”.

So here’s my encouragement for today – let’s look for opportunities and ways to encourage others – friends, family, neighbors, a member of  your church family and even strangers. It can be as simple as a kind word or “applauding” them for a job well done, helping with a need or sending a text or a card in the mail. Make plans to encourage someone you know who is going through a difficult time or ask God to show you opportunities throughout the day and be spontaneous with the encouragement – or both – see how many people you can encourage in one day and watch for the encouragement God will send you 💜



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James says it like this: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow, So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed you will be perfect and complete needing nothing.” James 1:2-4. Paul says something very similar in our focus passage today: “… we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance character and character hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Clearly the message is the same – God does not want us to give into or sit around complaining about our troubles and sufferings. Actually, instead of complaining or wallowing in a “woe is me” attitude He calls us to rejoice or to count it an opportunity for ‘great joy’. The question begs to be asked though, how does one rejoice in real and present suffering or stop to consider it an opportunity for great joy?

Throughout my lifetime, God has given me – and my family – many opportunites to learn the answer to this question, but yesterday he gave me yet another example through my daughter Abi. She was having a particularly difficult day. It was definitely a day laced with troubles and sufferings, both physical and emotional. I could tell through several texts that I received that she was struggling and even distraught at times and I expected to find her like that when I arrived home. However, when I walked in the door – while I found her to be tired and emotionally drained there was no sign of the woe is me, overwhelmed attitude I expected to find. As she relayed the devastating phone calls and the frustrations that had occurred she began to share how she had cried many tears, and how she had cried out to God, until her head hurt. Then she said something that blessed my heart –

“I finally started listing all of the encouragement God had given me.”

She explained how, in a moment of anguish, she had cried out to God specifically asking for encouragement As I listened to her list them out for me and describe all of the ways she could see God’s fingerprints I was blessed and rejoiced over her greatly! Then as I sat down to read today’s passage I knew Abi had practiced exactly what Paul had encouraged the believers to do. In the midst of her suffering, in the heartache and the unknown and the fears and frustrations, in the hardship and real and present needs she had found a way to rejoice. Earlier in the day, in the wake of yet more disappointment and apparent “tested faith”she texted me to say: “I know God has this and that’s what I keep trying to remind myself but I just needed encouragement and I don’t know why He couldn’t give it.” Yet, there – in the midst of it all – God had led her to begin naming even the tiniest of ways that she had seen His fingerprints. I’m not sure she would say she rejoiced “in the cause” of her suffering, however, she certainly had found a way to count the suffering an opportunity for great joy which did indeed lead to a visibly and audibly enhanced character of peace, producing an obvious deepened hope in our God.

Posted in From the Insideout

A Faithful and Enduring Love

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Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for His loyal love endures. Psalm 136:1

Today’s passage of Scripture is not new to me. Morning after morning my prayer journal entry begins with: “Father, You are good …”. The words that follow are never the same, sometimes they flow from a thought prompted by a song, or a particular praise, or an attribute of God, and sometimes from another verse or passage of Scripture. Often, that Scripture has been Psalm 136:1, though typically I write it from the NIV version which says: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, For His love endures forever”. I have recently started reading from the NET translation which exchanges “His love endures forever” with “His loyal love endures.” The word ‘loyal’ struck me as a very strong word – a word bearing the same weight as forever – yet some how with a deeper, richer implication.

Check out this list of synonyms associated with the word loyal: faithful, true, tried and true, devoted, constant, steadfast, dependable, reliable, trusted, trustworthy, unchanging, unwavering, unswerving, dedicated, committed, firm, stable, steady, and unfailing. Yes, and amen! That is my God! I can trust Him because throughout my lifetime He has been tried and true, proven reliable and trustworthy. I have learned repeatedly, through experience, the truth of the statement – “when you can’t see His hand trust His heart”. I can testify to the truth that He is unfailing and dependable and committed to the relationship we have as Father and daughter. When I disappoint Him His love is stable and unswerving, He does not turn away from me but with unwavering devotion He pursues me. Suddenly, I have a fresh understanding and appreciation for this verse and I am moved with the Psalmist to give thanks to the God of gods, my God, whose loyal love endures.