We're All The Same

We are all the same in God's eyes.  Beloved prodigal children.  Wanted wanderers.  Sinners in need of redemption.  He loves all of us.  Deeply.  Freely.  Completely.

He died for all people.  The people you love.  And the ones you don't like very much.  He died for the ones who make you smile when you think of them.  And the ones who make you cringe.  He died for ALL of us.  Every single one. Because He loves each of us just that much.

(Yes.  Even that person you're thinking of right now.)

You can find me connecting at these Blog Hops and Link Ups

While We Were Still Sinners

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"

 ~ Romans 5:8

"While we were still sinners" 

Not once we confessed and repented.

Not once we got our act together.

Or once we stopped sinning.

"While we were still sinners"

His love made a path.  Opened a door. Created the way to His heart - full of love and grace.

Not waiting on us.  

But, waiting for us. 

You can find me connecting at these Blog Hops and Link Ups

My Love Dare: Day 20

“While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” ~ Romans 5:6

Day 20: Love is Jesus Christ

We are all imperfect people.

We all sin.

We all make mistakes

We all fail sometimes.

We all have flaws.

Despite all of our short comings and disobedience – God still love us!

Jesus proved God’s love for us on the cross.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ~ Romans 5:8

We don’t have to work for God’s love. We don’t have to earn it. We can’t. It’s a gift freely given to us. All we have to do is accept it.

Once we begin to understand the love God has for us; we can begin to share that love.

To love our spouse even when they may not act lovable. To see past the flaws and imperfections and still love. To give them the grace and blessings of that love. To share with them the True Love we have found in Christ.

TODAY’S DARE: DARE TO TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD. DARE TO TRUST JESUS CHRIST FOR SALVATION. DARE TO PRAY, “LORD JESUS, I’M A SINNER. BUT YOU HAVE SHOWN YOUR LOVE COR ME BY DYING TO FORGIVE MY SINS, AND YOU HAVE PROVEN YOUR POWER TO SAVE ME FROM DEATH BY YOUR RESURRECTION. LORD, CHANGE MY HEART, AND SAVE ME BY YOUR GRACE.”

I opened my heart to God’s grace and love some time ago. But I still sometimes need to remind myself of exactly how much God loves me. And how that love was shown through Christ. And to ask him to continue to change my heart and lead me in His will.

“In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them.” ~ Isaiah 63:9

My Love Dare: Day 10

God deomonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ~ Romans 5:8

Day 10: Love is unconditional
Why do you love your spouse? Could you make a list of reasons? I could. I’ve even written a blog post about it.  41 Reasons

What if one day your spouse stopped being every one of those things? Would you still love him?

Love isn’t (and shouldn’t be) determined by the one being loved, but by the one choosing to do the loving.

This kind of love is “Agape”. Unconditional love. Selfless love. Agape love is the kind we speak of in marriage vows: “for better or for worse”. This is “True Love”

This is the type of love God has for us. He doesn’t love us because we are loveable, but because He is loving. We don’t have to earn His love. He has made the choice to love us all on His own..

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 8:38-39

This is the type of love that makes a marriage strong and lasting. Not love that gives up when it doesn’t like something, but love that loves even when everything isn’t perfect.


TODAY’S DARE: DO SOMETHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY TODAY FOR YOUR SPOUSE – SOMETHING THAT PROVES (TO YOU AND TO THEM) THAT YOUR LOVE IS BASED ON YOUR CHOICE AND NOTHING ELSE. WASH HER CAR. CLEAN THE KITCHEN. BUY HIS FAVORITE DESSERT. FOLD THE LAUNDRY. DEMONSTRATE LOVE TO THEM FOR THE SHEER JOY OF BEING THEIR PARTNER IN MARRIAGE.

I had great plans percolating in my head.  I was going to make a banana pudding for The Man of the House.  Unfortunately, I didn't seriously think about it until too late in the day and I had neither pudding, nor vanilla wafers, nor whipped cream. Oops!  Ok... quick plan change. I decided to give him a nice, relaxing foot rub while we watched a little evening television. Which I did. 

What I Deserve

Ever thought about how you really deserve something?  Maybe you've worked hard for it.  Maybe you've been having a rough time.  Maybe you've accomplished some big goal you set for yourself. 

Ever found yourself saying some form of this prayer - "God, please do this for me.  I deserve it because..."?

But do we really want God to give us what we deserve?

Oh, the nice things... sure.  But what about all the punishment for the sins against Him?  Everything that was heaped onto Jesus at the time of His crucifixion and death? That's what we really "deserve".  But instead, He took everything we deserve onto Himself so that we could receive the gifts: 

Grace, Love, Eternal life

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ~ Romans 5:8



Reading the Labels

Labels.  I keep reading about labels.  Labels we put on other people.  Labels we put on ourselves.

First it was Lysa TerKeurst's new book Unglued reminding me that labels can "imprison us in categories that are hard to escape".   This morning it was Upward Not Inward talking about the self inflicted labels and how "they are hard to ignore because deep down you know they are true, at least partially".  Even my recent post  Measuring Up deals indirectly with labels - comparing those we place on someone else with those we've put to ourselves and feeling as if we come up short.

Don't kid yourself.  That old childhood chant about sticks and stones breaking bones, it's wrong.  Words can hurt.  They can leave marks that last days, years, or even a lifetime.

Worthless.

That's the very worst of the worst.  It's the one we most often place on ourselves.  Because, in the end, that's where so many of the other labels are headed.

When we tell ourselves:

I'm stupid.

I'm ugly.

I'm a mess.

I'm a push over.

I'm disorganized.

I'm a bad mother.

I'm always late.

I'm a hypocrite.

I'm lonely.

I'm an addict.

I'm a nerd.

I'm no good at (fill in the blank)

.. at some point those thoughts are likely to arrive at "worthless". 

Even though God tells us over and over again in His word how valuable we are! As Lysa says in Unglued: "Those labels start out as little threads of self-dissatisfaction but ultimately weave together into a straitjacket of self-condemnation."

Even though God tells us over and over again in His word how valuable we are!  Scripture tells us that we are His workmanship, his masterpieces.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~ Ephesians 2:10

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well ~ Psalm 139:14

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ~ Luke 12: 6-7

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us ~ Romans 5:8

Did you catch that? 

Wonderfully made.  With a purpose.  Loved.  Full of worth!

Now, how do you like those labels?