Tag: love

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Bringing God Into Focus

An overexposed photo of a waterfall
Galatians 6:1 (ESV)—Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

I love experimenting with my camera, especially using long exposure with waterfalls. Usually, though, I’m somewhere midday when it’s too bright outside for this type of photography. The photo becomes overexposed, and no amount of photo editing can fix it.

The risk of overexposure comes with a person caught in sin, too. Paul did not suggest yelling at them in public or ignoring the sin out of love. He suggested gently restoring the person.

How do we do this? We act on God’s Word. We allow our actions to shine the light on God and not on the person’s sin. Our goal is to restore with grace and not judgment.

One way to achieve this is to carry the burden of our fellow sinners—a great example of loving your neighbor as yourself. For instance, offers of forgiveness and comfort can balance critical comments from others and can enhance the person’s mental health.

Above all, a show of “love [that] binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14, ESV) brings God into focus for the person we are helping as well as for ourselves.

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Allowing God to Lift Us

Devils Tower National Monument in the background of a grove of pine trees.
Psalm 27:5 (ESV)—For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

Though there are many formation theories of Devils Tower National Monument, my favorite is the Native American belief the Great Spirit made the rock rise from the ground to save a pair of girls running from giant bears. The steep rock lifted the girls too high for the bears to climb and the striations in the rocks are claw marks from the bears trying to chase the girls. (See the NPS website for the complete story and other stories.)

Like the Great Spirit, God lifts us from danger to put us in a place of safety. He lifted Noah and his family in an ark to survive the flood. He lifted people from the alienating bonds of sickness. He even lifted people from death.

Because God has our best in mind, we can trust he will lift us high on a rock in times of tension. In this safe space, we experience comfort in loss, celebration in overcoming, peace amid anxiousness, love during loneliness, and release of fear.

For these things and so much more, our God is worthy of praise. Today, let’s tell him the strife we’re facing and allow him to lift us high upon a rock.

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Settling Into Our Friendship Home

A flock of birds flying in the air, against a background of a tall building and a power line.
Proverbs 27:8 (ESV)—Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.

Sunset, in Denver, Colorado, shadows streaked across the sky, a flock of birds dancing as one while twenty or more lined up on a power line in the distance. Their back-and-forth dance, a choreographed masterpiece, lasted about five minutes. My feathered friends then, all at once, as if they’d heard a signal, shot down from the sky and into the trees lining the sidewalk, and a symphony of birdsong exploded into the air.

A sight to behold, for sure, and a reminder of God’s design for seeking wisdom in friendship. When we flock together and seek heartfelt, biblical wisdom from one another, our friendships become a restful “home” and a safe, secure place for our relationships to grow and thrive.

With our friendship homes, we don’t need to stray to find our heart’s desires; instead, we settle into the firm foundation of God with a community of believers. We pray for, gently guide, serve, and confide in one another. Most important, we love one another, settling into the tree and creating a symphony of friendship that puts our soul at ease.

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Tossing Fears Aside

Seaweed floating in the ocean
Hebrews 2:1 (ESV)—Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

The soft brush of stringy tentacles wrapped around my leg; it was as if I’d run into a spider web, only I was knee deep in the Atlantic Ocean. Cue a shudder.

Deep down I knew the source of the underwater creature, but still my mind said, “Please not a shark!”

At another bump against my leg, I plunged my hand in, grabbed the offending entity, and flung the seaweed away from me. Toward the other seaweed floating in the waves, not to mention the seaweed along the shoreline.

The unknown creatures of the (knee) deep can cause us to lose our grip on reality. The little bumps in our journey may make us feel lonely. Maybe we question God’s purpose for our struggles because our worst fear came true. Or maybe the little fears have us dreaming up the worst-case scenario (nothing like seaweed to make your brain scream, “Jellyfish!”)

Our deep-down truth, though, is God has paid for our salvation. This message moors us to God. Loneliness is a human emotion, but in these moments we can talk with God as did Job and Jeremiah. Struggles happen, but God uses them to refine us and achieve his plan. And fears, love banishes them, so if we have God’s love, we do not have to fear.

The evidence of God’s love and plans surround us. The truth reminds us to not worry about the creatures living deep down in the unknown. We can toss away our fears like a handful of seaweed and trust in the knowledge that he has saved us.

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Following the God Who Saves

Daniel 3:26 (ESV)—Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.

Hand wrapped around a yellow Neutrogena bottle, I squeezed and thick, white lotion spurted into my hand. Slathered on, the lotion formed a transparent white smear on my legs, and I danced to the water to cool my sand-scorched toes.

After a while, I returned to the shore, slapping on more SPF 50. Only this time, sunscreen mixed with sand, leaving a gritty layer on my skin and, later, the realization I’d missed a spot and gained a touch of sunburn on my left foot.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon offered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego a sunscreen of sorts: worship his golden idol to avoid death in a furnace. The three Hebrew men had to choose to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s god and live or to stay faithful to their God and face death. A temporary measure, for sure, given this king’s past threats on these men’s lives (read Daniel 1).

Did they apply the offered sunscreen to protect themselves from the king’s threats? No. They chose the only surefire method of coming out without a touch of sunburn: God. The men refused to worship any other god and the king ordered them thrown into a fire hot enough to kill the men who delivered them to the furnace.

These men, when faced with death, did not apply the sunscreen of living in the shadow of an earthly king; they chose to live in the light of the true God. Their walking out of the fire without even singed hair or a whiff of smoke on their bodies proved God’s power even to Nebuchadnezzar (who, may I add, still tried to display his own power by threatening to kill anyone who spoke against God).

Indeed, God’s power protects better than the threats of any earthly king, greater than any protection we try to apply to ourselves. God offers us the only fail-proof protection. He gives us as his followers “great salvation” and “shows [us] steadfast love” (2 Samuel 22:51), better than any SPF that fades with time.

And like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we can walk into the fire without fear and come out as a shining example of God’s power to overcome any trial. Who needs sunscreen when we follow the God who saves?

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Words of Affirmation: Fan the Flame

The talent of writing can fit into many spiritual gifts, and not every writer has the same spiritual gifts. Our words can teach about God’s word and provide encouragement. Our writing ministry can build the church and motivate others. We may have the ability to teach God’s Word and make it clear for others.

However, spiritual gifts can cause writer to feel fear and timidness. What if we don’t correctly discern God’s Word? What if our encouragement doesn’t reach the right person? What if my blog doesn’t have a large enough following?

These questions can be intimidating, but we have hope that God created us with a spirit power, love, and self-control. So, today, fan the flame of your writing and know the Holy Spirit is on your side.

2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)—for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
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Devoted to Love

Romans 12:10 (ESV)—Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Travel. It can bring out the happy, carefree us; it can bring out the hands-on-hips, ready-for-a-showdown us.

And how do I know that?

Just yesterday, my hubby and I hopped into the car for a two-hour drive to watch the eclipse. About halfway there, we stopped at a gas station for snacks at my request, much to the chagrin of my hubby, who very much wanted to get to our destination. Still, he filled the tank while I went inside for a leisurely browse of the snacks. A bit too leisurely if I correctly read my hubby’s facial expression when he came inside to collect me. Even so, I argued a bit and continued my browsing, albeit with my gaze moving faster over the selection of goodies.

Immediately, in the car, God prodded me: Apologize. He said I should have swallowed my wants (not quite as tasty as my snacks), paid for the drinks in my hand, and left the store without looking further. He finished with, “Honor one another above yourselves.”

Yep, one of those memory verses I’d tucked away, a verse about love that applies to every relationship, not just spousal ones. This characteristic of Christ allows us to be humble, to sacrifice our selfishness for the wants of another. Humility helps us to push aside our worldly feelings and love with zeal, joy, and faith. And we can sacrifice these human faults to live as Christ did because we have the peace of knowing Christ overcame the world (John 16:33).

On this day, I sinned. But I chose to turn from the darkness and walk in the light (1 John 1:7), to apologize for my behavior of not honoring another above myself. My hubby forgave me—and for good measure, we sealed the deal with a kiss.

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Praying for Abounding Love: Thoughts for Travelers

Philippians 1:9–11 (ESV)—And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Paul’s prayer about love speaks to my traveler’s heart. While exploring the world, we have a chance to reflect God’s love, and it’s important for us to pray for more love. More love for the flight crew when our plane gets delayed. More love for the hotel workers when our room is not ready at the scheduled time. More love for when the weather doesn’t cooperate. More love for when service at a restaurant takes longer than expected. More love for the tour company that cancels our outing. More love for our travel partners. More love for ourselves.

More love! There’s never such a thing as too much love. Before you embark on your next adventure, pray for abounding love.