Spread Love

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Dear Friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

1 John 4:7 & 11

For much of our lives, we devote to one thing...that is a loving relationship. Millions of songs have been written about it, people spend hours online trying to find it. Loving relationships are always in overwhelming demand. Some may not admit that is what they want, but if you talk to them for more than 10 minutes, they will bear their souls. Most of the time, our biggest struggle is a continuous quest to find the love that seemingly is always missing. My friend there is a solution to this.....

To know God is to know Love. This is one of the purest statements that summarizes God's feelings toward us. He created us in His Image for one reason, that was for us to experience His Love. We were placed on this earth to receive his Love, however there is a responsibility in that for us, we are to reciprocate. Our jobs as recipients of God's love is not to hold on to what we have received, it is to freely give our love to others. When we do this, we accomplish 2 things, we show people the Agape Love of our beautiful savior, but we also free ourselves up to have a deeper, more revitalizing love experience with God. When we begin to receive the Love of God, our hearts are open to receive and give, making it easy to love others and attract the very thing that we long for the most. Open your heart: Love God, Love Yourself, Love Others

Prayer: God thank you for loving me more than words can describe. You loved me first so that I can experience you. Show me how to give love to everything around me and in turn receive the love that I need. I praise you from the purest heart and Thank you now for the opportunity to experience Love through knowing you.

Got Fruit?

"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God." Colossians 1:10

In the book of Colossians Paul wrote to the people at Colosse. They were growing in the knowledge of God and recognizing more and more who they were in Christ. The book of Colossians encourages the people to grow in the Lord and as they do the fruit of God's knowledge and wisdom would become evident in their lives. They would grow in grace as a result of God's endless mercy and experience Him in their daily lives. The fruit was the evidence of their growth. It was an outward expression of what was taking place on the inside of the Colosse people and they were benefitting greatly from their blossoming relationship with God.

Just as the followers of Christ in Colosse were bearing fruit as a sign of their growth in the Knowledge of God, our Father is expecting the same from us. Do the people around you see the Fruit of Love, Compassion, Grace, Wisdom, Peace and Joy in you? As we consider the attributes of the Fruit of the Spirit, our lives should be a display to others of all that God has given to us. We are charged with the responsibility to bear fruit in every good work meaning that it should be something beneficial of others, ourselves and a reflection of the God we serve. What does the fruit of your life say about you? Can others eat from your tree? Remember fruit is evidence of the life we are leading. Allow God to speak with you about the fruit of your life, I guarantee that it can only make you reflect his light even the more.

Prayer: God, please show me the fruit of my works. Thank you for an opportunity to bear the good fruit that only you can create. I ask you to search my heart and life allowing me to evaluate the fruit I am bearing through your eyes so that it will be beneficial to everyone you have placed in my path. Thank you Lord, Amen.

Peace Beyond Compare

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:7

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

As some of you may know, I have been very quiet the past few weeks because of the passing of my Grandmother. My grandmother is the first death that my family has experienced in 23 years. While her death brought me much sadness, God granted something that me and my family needed more than anything and that was His peace. My grandmother lived a very peaceful and joyful life. She enjoyed her family, friends and sometimes strangers in a unique way through love and giving. However her death left me troubled. I prayed continually for many things during her sickness and even during her passing, I needed God's peace to carry me through the journey. As God gave us peace, he allowed me to learn a few things about it in the process.

There are a few characteristics about God's Peace that I would like to leave with you. It brings a spirit that calms the storms of life. The same way Jesus calmed the raving storm on the Sea of Galilee, God's peace brings unparrelled calm. God's peace also brings clarity. When storms cease, clear sight is on the horizon. When we allow God to give us Peace, we cease to worry or fret causing us to see a situation, person or problem for what it really is. Third and lastly, God's peace is unexplainable, Phillipians 4:7 says that God's peace transcends our understanding. When we experience God's peace, God allows our hearts to be consumed by peace and the thought of our problems is relieved. Even if the circumstances of a situation do not change, we have a peace that allows us to rise to victory. Don't spend time trying to contemplate the Peace of God simply ask for it and rest in it.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your unexplainable peace. You have promised in your word that Peace is available to me today. I petition you for peace right now. I rest in the fact that it is mine today. Amen