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Abiding in God’s Love

Abiding in God’s Love

The other morning during my quiet time as my sweet Sophie laid next to me, God gave me an experience of tasting the depth of His love. Words fail to express what I felt and learned on a deeper level, but still I speak because the awareness of abiding in God’s vast, pure, and perfect love is what He desires for all His children.

With a quiet purr, Sophie rested totally relaxed by my side. As I rubbed her ears, her eyes and body revealed a state of complete bliss. It was like I the center of her world. There was no other place she would rather be at that moment. She was at total peace. With no fears or concerns, she was fully in the present moment taking in every moment. She wasn’t concerned about her next meal, where it would come from or if it would be there. She wasn’t worried about any predators. She was in the heart of protection, provision, care and above all love. She dwells under the care of a tremendous love and I think she knows it.

As I looked at her with my love gushing over her, God spoke to me . . .

The way you look at Sophie is a taste of how I look at you. My love abounds toward you. You are special beyond your understanding. Be with me as she is with you. Abide in complete trust, delight, and comfort. As you do, you honor and glorify Me and you are in the rest and life I desire for you.

As you desire the best for Sophie, how much more I desire the best for you. Trust in my love for you. It’s always present, abounding, and unending. Our relationship isn’t about judgment or condemnation – all this was taken care of in Christ. It’s about love. It’s leading and guiding you to live as I created you, to abide in a loving relationship with Me and letting that love overflow to the lives of others.

Be aware of all the provision around you; be thankful and excited about it. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Don’t live by the past or the future so that you miss out on all the blessings that surround you. Trust and be at complete rest abiding in my care and love for you.

Always make Me your first Love, the center you blossom from, the Rock you stand upon. As she gets excited to be with you, delight in being in my presence. Be with Me in all purity and holiness. Be there just to enjoy. This is my heart’s desire. Follow me. Long to be with Me. This connection is why I made you. To delight in you and you in Me and to be one in unity of heart. John 17:21-23 Take time each day just to be with me and enjoy Me and our relationship as she does you.

Abide in the comfort my presence brings. I’m always with you. I’m your shepherd, protector, provider, healer, and deliverer. As you are her peace, I’m your peace. Trust in the shadow of my wings always. I will care for all your needs. I perfect all that concerns you. Psalm 138:8

Abide in my love. Let others abide in my love that’s in you. Let it pour out from you in sincerity and truth. Be free in giving your love. It’s a never ending stream – let it flow abundantly.

Share these thoughts with others, for I desire to be this way with all my children. Each one is unique to Me and I long for each one. Deuteronomy 30:6, 20

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Mountain Top Reflections

Mountain Top Reflections

 

We live in a hilly area of California. The other day I took a walk up to a high point in our neighborhood that overlooks the valley below. It provided a respite from the busyness of life; a place to be still and quiet in God’s presence, and to hear His voice.

As I looked over the mountains, the beauty and complexity of God’s creation amazed me. I thought, what a peaceful and revitalizing time it must have been for Jesus to escape from the multitudes to a mountain to be alone with God, to be still in His Father’s presence, to pray, to reflect. Did He just sit there and feel the gentle breeze across His skin as I am now?

As I looked over the expanse, I reflected upon God’s creation and all He has given us to enjoy, and the perfection of how everything works in harmony. But then a sharp pain pierced my soul as I thought about how many people never consider God and what He has done – how for so many years I didn’t. As my eyes fell upon the houses built into the mountainside, I thought about how people look to their own strength, provision and protection, something I’ve often done. They think they provide and protect when in a moment the God they forget could make those mountains crumble – those mountains they feel so secure upon in their houses – houses full of their precious treasures like their spouse, children, and pets.

Who are we to think we protect or provide? How quickly we could be crushed? Haven’t we learned from floods, earthquakes, fires, and hurricanes that we aren’t in control? That we are dependent on God’s mercy? What arrogance to think we are the providers, protectors, sustainers of life . . . that we are in control. How arrogant to forget our God when His beauty, complexity and order are all around us are screaming about His power, might and love. Without His mercy, we would all perish.

When Jesus was on the mountain – did He think a similar thing? Did He think about all He has done for us and all He was about to do and yet now we continue to turn our back on Him, reject Him, think we know better, don’t heed His Words, don’t spend time with Him, and don’t trust Him?

How sad it must make Him even now, when He has done so much for us, and we continue to reject His true lordship and kingdom in our lives. He has created a world that reveals His wisdom, perfection and love. Yet, we don’t exalt Him but we exalt ourselves. Even though we continue to deny Him and go our own way, He continues to preserve us. Even for those who do intimately know Him, how often we slip into thinking we are in control. We get consumed with worry, when He has done so much for us. God forgive us.

This mountain top experience was very humbling. And yet, it was full of powerful moments of praise for all that God has done, does do and will do. God’s love and patience overwhelms me.

May we daily have mountain top reflections that puts our perspective in the right place and reminds of us who we are, who our God is, and how much He loves us and pours His mercy upon us and that it is His work and not ours to be exalted.

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The Great I AM . . .

The Great I AM . . .

 

God is the Great I AM . . . everything. Exodus 3:14

The power of His name, I AM, hit me a couple of years ago and it still astounds me when I meditate on it each morning. As the source of everything that is good, God is everything we need. When we are in a relationship with Him and seeking His face and His truth then we lack nothing.

Psalm 34:10 “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.”

As God’s children, it is no longer about our strengths, abilities or resources, but about His. His truth, love, mercy, protection, provision, peace, rest, freedom, purity, beauty, comfort, wisdom, strength, and power become a part of our lives. We have access to incredible riches that the rest of the world doesn’t because we have Him and He is everything.

In Luke 5, the guys were out fishing without a bite. Jesus told them to go out and cast their nets one more time. They had been toiling day and night and caught nothing but at His word they let down the nets. They caught such a great number of fish that their nets started to break and their boat started to sink so they got another boat to help carry the multitude of fish. God’s Word has power in our lives. It accomplishes what man cannot. It does the impossible. But we have to listen, trust and act on it.

In this economy, many are pulling up empty nets. But when the Word of God penetrates our lives and we trust in His words and not the words of this world then what is impossible by the world’s means is possible for those who trust in God. His wisdom and ways defy the world’s.

God provides for every need. There isn’t an area of our lives that God doesn’t attend to. He is in the details because He loves us. The more you love someone the more you care about each little concern. He loves us beyond our comprehension thus He cares about everything. If we don’t believe He is in everything then we will limit out trust in Him and our lives will suffer for it.

God may use the world around us to test and refine us, but we lack nothing. If we trust in His Word He will provide and fill our nets in due time. But this promise is to those who seek Him. Many Christians have cultivated a relationship with the church and not God. They seek what the church offers and not God’s truth. They spend time at church, but not one-on-one in the Word cultivating an intimate relationship with God. As a result, their lives are full of hardship, suffering and lack like the world’s.

Everyone has hardship. But for God’s children it is completely different. We are always in the midst of God’s provision as He disciplines, tests and refines with the elements of this world. Tough circumstances teach us that we don’t lack and that we aren’t limited to the world. When you are in a tight situation then you see God’s deliverance that is beyond this world it is astounding. Without the trying circumstance, we can’t witness and learn about the power of His deliverance. But if we trust in worldly means then we will miss the lesson and often the blessing. We have what the world doesn’t because we have Him.

Trials come for a season. The ultimate purpose of any trial is to move us closer to God and His truth. Therefore, we aren’t meant to remain in those tough places, but move through them by growing and maturing in our relationship with God. However, if we lack a love of the truth and don’t seek its revelation in our lives then we will miss out on the abundance of His promises. We will live limited lives like the rest of the world.

God wants to show His power and glory to the world through His people. Tough times are the perfect opportunity.