Grace. Love. Mercy. Kindness.

Matthew 5:43-48 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you, what reward will you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Luke 6:27-36  "But I say to you who hear. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your good do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what benefit 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 benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons and daughters of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."

Romans 12:9-21  "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in showing zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Jesus, help me to show love to those who are unloving to me. Help, me show mercy and kindness when I receive none. Give me patience. Overwhelm me with Your love so that it overflows to those around me. I can't do this apart from you Abba. 

battles

This past week and into this week I have been seriously struggling with being lonely and feeling completely worthless and unwanted. This semester is just proving to be overwhelming for me. I went home for the weekend because 1) I didn't feel well and 2)I needed some time with my momma. Honestly, it was a battle to make myself come back to school. Most of the time I feel entirely isolated. I keep thinking that maybe God is trying to teach me to cling to Him right now, but the more I try to dig deeper into His word, the more difficult things become. The more isolated I feel. And the more I just want to quit.
  Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I do NOT quit things easily. So for me to be wanting to just throw my hands up and call it quits is a big deal. That doesn't really happen. Sure, I get frustrated, but I always push through it. This seems different. I am alone, three hours from home, struggling with feeling rejected (especially today) and basically I am just miserable.
  I just don't know how to get out of this rut. I also don't know how I got in it in the first place. I just keep praying Jeremiah 29:11. God knows His plan for me. It's a plan to prosper me and not to cause me harm. A plan to get me a future to hope for. Now if I can just find the strength and courage to get through this.....

Made in His image.

I was sitting in my car at snowflex today. Just listening to worship music and thinking about life and God and the meaning of it all. (I can be a deep thinker) It occurred to me that the same God who created the beautiful mountains that I was seeing and the trees and animals that reside in them, created me and every other person in this world, in His image. He knew my name before time began. He knows who I've been, who I am, and who I will be in the future. And even though He knows everything about me, He still loves me. He loves me through my flaws. He loves me when I make mistakes. When I run from Him, He draws me back in through His love, kindness, and grace. He never leaves. His love never fails. He's always there to catch me when I fall. He reprimands me when it's needed but it's always through love and He always has my best interest in mind. There is absolutely nothing I could do to make Him stop loving me.

  So why do I seek fulfillment in other things that I know will leave me empty? Why do I ever doubt Him? It says clearly in His Word that He is faithful. "He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." -John 1:9  But why? Why does He care about me when there are millions of other people in the world? So many other people who are far more important that I am. He loves us all equally though. He loves us with an unconditional love that is beyond any human capability to understand. All because we are made in His image. This is what sets us apart from everything else that He created. If He provides for the animals, How much more will He provide for us? How can I doubt that He will take care of me when He takes care of the creatures that we, as humans, have been made higher than? It comes down to trust. Complete and total trust. I will admit that this is something I struggle with. I have a hard time trusting people that I can touch and see and hear. How can I trust God when I can't do any of those things? When none of my senses show that He is real. But if I could see Him, then it wouldn't be faith. If I could see Him, then He would be just like any other person that I can see. It wouldn't take the trust that require complete abandonment to what seems logical. God defies logic. He defies all reason. But He IS logic and reason. He is the only one who makes sense. I would much rather believe in a God who made me than to believe that I just appeared from nowhere or that I evolved from a monkey. 

  Ultimately I believe in God because He has never failed. He never will. People will ALWAYS fall short. We always hurt each other. We always mess up. God never will. He is perfect. He can't be anything but perfect. And even though He is the perfect spotless God that should want nothing to do with us, He loves us. He sent His only son, Himself in the flesh, to die a horrendous death so that we can commune with Him. So even when I can't feel Him, I know He's there. When I think I am all alone in the world, He's there to hold my hand and hold me steady. When I doubt, He's always right there to remind me why I believe in Him in the first place and to show me that Yes, He is so very real. 

  The God of the universe loves me, cares for me, has a plan for me, and will never, ever leave my side.

But guess what? The same applies for you. It just takes faith and trust in giving your life to Him. Belief isn't enough. Even the demons believe in Him. But they can't have a relationship with Him. We can. It's not difficult. It's really simple actually. When I asked Jesus to rescue me, I just was completely honest with Him. I remember exactly what I prayed. Here's what I said; "Hey, Jesus. I'm sorry. I am so so sorry. I have lived a complete and total lie. I can't do this anymore. I don't want to do this anymore. I'm ready to give up on life. I don't want my life anymore. I want YOU to take it. You do what You want with it cause I'm just gonna keep messing it up. Take my life. It's Yours. Whatever You want me to do. I'm Yours."

That's what I said, but everyone is different. There are no special words to bring salvation. Jesus just wants you. Not bits and pieces, but all of you. Every little bit. It takes complete surrender. It seems risky and scary at first, but I can promise that a life without Christ is a life that is never complete. 

I love you. Jesus loves you more.

"So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us. Oh, how He loves us. Oh, how He loves us. Oh, how He loves." -John Mark McMillan   http://youtu.be/U0luHiWwi08