What is True Love? Envy

Envy: a feeling of being discontented about something that someone has that some one else does not have. A job, material things, a spouse etc.

In the bible, envy is painted mostly in a bad light. Why? Because it is sin. The first time we find it, is in Genesis 4:3-5 when Cain killed his brother Abel because God approved and accepted Abel's sacrifice, but not Cain's.

The act of being envious carries on through the bible in other places. And of course, on it goes throughout history. My aunt was murdered in 1990 by a teenager that shot her at point blank range at a bus stop. His take? About $100. Some people will kill for more. But some will kill for a lot less.

1 Corinthians 13:4 says that love is not envious. If we truly love, we are not envious of what other people have that we do not. If and when we as believers are envious, we can overcome through the power of the Holy Spirit because we know that sometimes our spirit does struggle in this area.

It is possible to have a godly jealousy as in Corinthians 11:2, but that is akin to a married couple. If someone is paying attention that is inappropriate to a mate, it is only natural to feel jealous. What we do with it at that point though can sometimes not be good  because it could cause the person to do something that would cause him to sin. Such as murdering the person. It can be one of those slippery slopes that as Christians we must keep our feelings and emotions in check and take positive actions in situations rather than sinful ones.

Love. It is not envious of others. Not always easy to over come but entirely possible through the Holy Spirit. Something we must pursue when we are struggling with it. And a release when we find it.

May 9, 2019 Promise: Whatsoever any good thing any man doeth the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he is bond or free. Ephesians 6:8.

Hello Friends. I hope all is well for you this day. I pray God's blessing as we are almost upon another weekend soon. Take care.

What is True Love?: Patielnce

Patience: the capacity to accept or delay trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset

Have ever know anyone that was impatient? Most of us are at some points of our lives. Many of us are a good part of our lives. And there are those people that live like it all the time.

It is said that ''Patience is a virtue."  A virtue of what?  Virtue can mean many things. Goodness, integrity, nobleness, and more. It is also means righteousness. 

God is all those things. And more. We are not righteous for there is none righteous, no not one. Romans 3:10-11 And though we cannot be righteous in an of ourselves, we are told in I Corinthians 13:4 that love is patient. And patience being a virtue means it is kin to righteousness. 

God who is righteous, is also patient with you and I. And even all those that don't even know him yet. He wants them to know him, and so he waits for as many as will, come to meet him. He wants none to perish. 2 Peter 3:9.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit for believers. We are to develop it within our own lives. It is easier for some then it is for others, yes. I have known some very impatient people in my day. Some that do get angry when they don't get their way right now.

 But it is still something that God wants us to be, just as he himself is. And as we pray and grow in Christ, we can learn to be more patient. With our family, friends and yes even God. Because as we know, God is not an on demand God. He may take his time. He may answer our prayers all together different then we think he should. And while we are waiting for him to answer a prayer, he may just be developing our patience at just that time.

May 7, 2019 Promise: Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall shall be filled. 

Hi Friends. I apologize for the delay in posting the blog for today. As a reminder, there will be days during this summer that this is likely to happen, but I will be here everyday unless I note other wise. Thanks for coming. God bless!

What is True Love?

Love: An intense feeling of deep affection

That is what love is. That is what the love of God is. But love expresses itself in several attributes as well. What are they?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy.It does not boast. It is not proud.It does not dishonors others, it is not self seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perservers. Love never fails. I Corinthians 13:4-8.

When it comes to you and me, how much patience do we have for people. Do we get jealous. Are we prideful. Do we dishonor or put others down. Are we in this life for ourselves more than for others. Do we get angry too quickly. In our minds or hearts do we keep track of all the wrong doings that others have done to us.Do we seek revenge. Are we happy about the evil that we encounter everyday. Do we rejoice in the truth or in the good things in our lives. Do we protect those we love. Do we fully trust God, or those we love. Do we have hope for the best even if things sometimes looks bleak. Do we keep trying to do right even when the road looks to hard.

Are there times when our love...just fails?

Love is many things and so starting tomorrow and for the next few days we will explore some of them. Please come back as we delve into love and what it means to us.

May 6, 2019 Promise: For I forgive their wickedness and will remember their sin no more. Hebrews 8:12

Hello Everyone. Thanks for coming by. May God bless your day!

For God So Loved the World

Many years ago when my oldest son was about 3 years old, we had went to a JC Penny store with my sister one day. I was still fairly a new and a young mother then. The dangers of children going missing were not nearly what they are today and being young, and my motherly instincts about danger weren't so great either, then.

Billy wasn't the kind of child that would take off running through the store and get out of my sight, as some children are and so I had been watching him, but I hadn't held his hand either. And all of a sudden, he was not with me.

Needless to say, that got my attention because I had lost him and it scared me.After looking a few tense minutes though, we found him hiding in a rack of clothing. He came out of it smiling. I was relieved and it had taught me a few things.

In retrospect of that time of my life, I look at it in a small way as how God feels about his human creation, Us.

I know that he does not panic as I was about to that day, because he sees all and he knows all. And he knows who is going to 'find him.'  I know that he and the angels in heaven rejoice over each lost person that repents. And yet, does he mourn over those that do not find him?

For sure God is sad when we rebel against him, just as we are with our own children. (Psalm 78:40) However, no where in scripture do we find that God the Father actually cries tears. God the Son did of course, in the Garden when he knew that the hour was coming that he would take on the sins of the world by being crucified. And Jesus wept at other times during his ministry. At the tomb of his friends Lazarus (John 11:33),  and over the City of Jerusalem. (Luke 19:41)

But Jesus was God that became man. He had all the emotions of a man but without the sin. His Father God is never said to have shed tears in scripture, but he does have mercy on us and whereas we may never fully understand the make up of God and who he really is and how his own emotions work (on this side of heaven) we can be assured of one thing that truly does matter. His love for us.

Perhaps we cannot quite grasp it as a young and fairly inexperienced mother of a three year old. Perhaps not even through the experience of a now sixty plus woman. But we can be sure of it because God in his love and mercy for us sent us his Son to die for the sins of his human creations. And even if we do not fully understand it now, we can know it now and some day we will know it fully.

May 5, 2019 Promise: We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary. Hebrews 6:19

Hi Friends. I am sorry for not posting yesterday. I had some tech problems and so hope all is taken care of today. I pray for you a wonderful Lord's Day today. God' blessings be on you and yours! Thanks for coming.

Strength or Weakness. Our Choice.

Have you ever thought of yourself as a weak person? Too weak to hold on to your life? Too weak to trust God and his Word? Maybe even too weak to get out of bed each morning?

There was a time in my life that I felt I was too weak. Until one day when after I had said that, my sister gave me this scripture from the life of the Apostle Paul. It says:

But he says to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore, I will boast more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, and in difficulties. For when I am weak, I am made strong. 2 Corthianians 12:9-11.

Imagine being strong even through our weaknesses. When we rest in God, that is what we have. Strength.

Many of us have been insulted. Many of us have been through hardships. Some of us have been persecuted. Most have had difficulties. All of which can defeat us or give us the strength of Christ. The power to move ahead. The power to throw off that which satan is trying to put us through.

It doesn't come naturally though. We have to be willing to seek God and his Word on an ongoing basis. Because if we don't, the weakness we feel will attack and take over.

When we listen to God, it is he that empowers us. Our weaknesses then become our strength.

May 3, 2019 Promise: Give and it will be given back to you, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. Luke 6:38.


Hello Friends. I pray for you peace, joy, love, and strength today. But above all, I pray for you God's richest blessings! Thanks for coming by!

What Jesus Requires of Us

One day the disciples asked Jesus who is the greatest in heaven. Jesus called a child over to him and said, "Unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of God. Therefore whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest of heaven and whoever welcomes a child in my name, welcomes me."  Mathew 18}1-4

Those good old disciples. Did they ask that question in hopes that perhaps they would be among the greatest in heaven? What exactly were they thinking? Were they surprised at the answer that Jesus gave them?

There used to be a time when families at dinner would make the children wait until the adults were served before the children were served. It was an old way of doing things. Kind of like that saying that "kids are to be seen and not heard."

Of course, that isn't the way it is much anymore, although I know there are some elderly men in our extended family that still adhere to that way of doing things. But the truth is, it goes way past dinner now in giving children everything they want and when they don't get it, they throw tantrums or even worse.

But those things are not what Jesus is saying here. I do think that Jesus would serve the children before the adults at a dinner. I don't believe he would give them every material thing they wanted. Tantrums or not. There has to be a balance somewhere or things can get very out of control. 

Children usually start out believing in what they are told. As parents or grandparents, we have much influence on them because we can teach them from our experience. If we develop a godly relationship, we can teach them so much. And for the most part, they believe us. At least for a time, they don't start out having great expectations of us. They just trust us. 

That is what Jesus was saying that day. We need to become like children who simply trust him. Who are humble. For those that have an "I am better than you" attitude and are demanding and think they deserve more than everyone else, these kinds of people will not make it into his kingdom. Those that do not think they have to be humble or make Jesus their king, these will not make it into his kingdom. And as we know, there are many people that are just like that.

That scripture does not give any clue to what the disciples were thinking about the answer that Jesus gave them that day. And it isn't even important. What is important is that children are valuable in the Kingdom of God and we need to have faith like they do or we will not make it into his kingdom. But that is indeed where we want to be.

May 2, 2019 Promise: There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18

Hi Friends. I am glad you came by and hope your spring weather has gotten off to a warm start. Living in the midwest, ours has been very iffy. Back and forth in April from nice to chilly. Today it is a really nice day so I will take that! Thanks for coming. Have a blessed day!

Seasons of Life

Where are you in this stage of your life? Young either married or not? Middle age? Getting on in years? I am the latter and while I have been through all thee stages prior to that which I am in now, I hadn't ever given much thought to this stage. I guess because maybe I never thought I would get here. Maybe I was too busy for a number of years raising my kids. Maybe later even as I was approaching retirement I didn't take the time to think about it then either because, by that time, I was working a full-time job and many hours overtime.

Truly, never did it dawn on me that getting here would be an entirely different experience. And with that came different challenges then I had ever known, of course. And like those challenges that I had not been prepared for as my life went from one stage to another, I was not really prepared for my more current ones either.

The real difference though has been that now I have had more time to reflect on the goodness of God. Have I always taken advantage of it? To be honest, I have to say "no." But God always has a way to get our attention and if that means taking us through some dark alleys of life, than that he will do. 

Does he really want to do that? No. But he promises that he has plans for us. Not to harm us but to prosper us. To give us a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11.

The thing is, he wants us to seek him with all our hearts and then when we do he will hear us.

And the problem is, we don't seek him. Neither with all our hearts and sometimes not at all. And we have the nerve to get mad that he isn't there for us. 

And yet because he loves us, he promises also never to leave or forsake us. Deuteronomy 31:6

If you are not to the last season of your life on earth. Think ahead and realize that that time will come and the more you prepare for it now, be it on how you will live at that time but also spiritually,  and it is better to be ready for it. At least as much as you possibly can.

For those that are there now, as I am, remember this from Isahia 46:4. Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he that sustains you.I have made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and I will rescue you. 

 I sure have found this to be true in my life. He has carried me through all of my life. All through where I have been. Good or bad. And at last in my older age, I have learned that indeed he has sustained and rescued me. In every season. At every age. 

How thankful I am for a God that loves me that much. Because as much as other people love me, they can't love me as God does. And he loves you that much as well!

May 1, 2019 Promise: I have heard your prayers and seen your tears.I will heal you. 2 Kings 20:5

Thanks for coming by Friends. Have a blessed day and a happy new week!