Just Come Back

We have all been there. There are a million reasons why we could drift away from God. Either by straight up disobedience or drifting like the waves and before we know it we are way off shore. 
No matter the reason. Once we realize what we have done we seem to be like a 2 year old that has done something we know we aren't allowed to do. We hide. We run away. We are afraid what consequences we will face. The story that Jesus told about a son that ran from His Father is a fantastic example of what God thinks about it. This son went to his father and told him he wanted his inheritance before his father died. The father gave it to him. And then his son packed his things and left. Went into the world and wasted all his money. Instead of going home to his father he attempted to take care of himself. He was even willing to eat pig feed. 

Beloved. OH how we are like that! We walk from Our Father and all His blessings. Physical, Spiritual and Emotional. And we squander ourselves and starve ourselves on the things of this earth. To ashamed to go home and face what we have done.  And then something in us says go back.
GO BACK. The son 'comes to his sense'. And starts reasoning with himself about what he will offer his father. .. a servant.

We don't go boldly. . Unworthy of blessing and forgiveness.  BUT. God.

Luke 15 11-32 (20-24 is below)

 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.  His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[a]’

 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.  And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,  for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

His Father saw Him coming. God.. Sees us turning around. Walking back. Even if we are a long way off. He comes RUNNING.   RUNNING Beloved! God runs to you. Wants you to come home. Is filled with LOVE and COMPASSION. Embraces us . Kisses us. Sings songs over us. We are the apple of His eye. Don't allow fear, bitterness, anger, sin, or satan keep you from the loving kindness of OUR GREAT GOD. Turn back. 

Is something keeping you from turning back? Let it go.

Turn to Him. His loving arms await you.  

Do you have a loved one that has turn away? Pray for them. It may not happen today or tomorrow. But it will. You are not alone many of us have had a prodigal in our lives. Make your needs known to God. Pray for them. Love them. And wait and see. He is Good! All the time. And His Love endures forever. 

Be Blessed.

Knees to the earth. Click for Worship song. :)

My prodigal. Now 21. The one on the left. I pray everyday for him. He will turn back to His God. I know he will. 

Jesus Said Love.

1 Cor 13--- If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 

 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 

 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 

 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 

 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 

 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 

 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 

 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 

 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 

 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 

 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 

 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Everything you need to know about LOVE is right here. Tells you what it is and what it is not.  Clearly what happens if you do things and don't love. 

LOVE- a spiritual gift. A gift from God.  

Without Love, which is a major attribute of God, we are NOTHING. We can not profess to Love Jesus or Love God if we do not Love others. Love is unconditional. You can not claim to love someone if there are conditions attached to it. LOVE. Isn't love unless it is given freely. 

Jesus spoke on Love often. He called it the greatest commandment (Matthew 22: 36+)

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Love God and Love Others. 

He did not say Love your fellow church member. Love your kids. Love your mom. Love your dog. He said LOVE OTHERS. ALL others. And before you say but.. that person is .. let's look at another verse that Jesus clearly said LOVE.  

(Matthew 5: 43-44)

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.  But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!"

Love my enemy? Those that persecute me? Why? Why would I do that?

Because Jesus Said LOVE.

He said this was the greatest commandment. And if we profess to be FOLLOWERS of the Lord Jesus Christ we need to do as He says. As He literally.. I mean literally.. .Commanded.  Don't let the rebel in you buck this off. 

He commanded us to Love.

 First God. Then everyone else.

Beloved. Brothers. Sisters. Friend's of Christ. Let's step up. Love fully. Love with reckless abandon. Love without fear. 

 Love. 

He gave us the faith to believe and the hope of a future and it is up to us to show others the Love of our Savior and give them the same Faith and Hope so they can in turn Go LOVE. 

Matthew 25: 45

‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

Sincere

Romans 12 :9

Love Must be sincere
Hate what is evil
Cling to what is good



This looks like a simple verse. Easy to comprehend. Maybe easy to do for a follower of the Christ. But lets break down what a certain word means.
We all know this word. It looks simple enough.

Sincere- True. Free from pretense. Genuine. Heartfelt. Wholehearted. Deep

And yet. This Latin word means a lot more than you may think.  The potters would label their clay pots with the word "Sinerus" Sincere. which means WITH OUT WAX.
It meant the pot had no hair line cracks that would be filled in with wax. They were true. Perfect.
The only way to see if this pot was true and free from cracks was to hold it up to the SUN. To the light. And look to see what cracks there may be. So you could KNOW what was true by exposing the cracks to the light.

Just as WE can be held up to the Light to see if we have cracks that are filled with falsehood. If we have a hidden agenda. Or are we true.  We all have sinned. We all have had hidden agendas. And we have all been faced with that still small voice of the Holy Spirit convicting us to be true. Without wax. To put our masks down and be our TRUE selves.  So that we may love, reject shameful deeds, underhanded methods and not trick anyone. But to TRULY LOVE.

LOVE must be Sincere.  Jesus Said LOVE.  honestly. openly.

It is very unfortunate that today we live in a time where people have no issue with 'Evil'. It is promoted in movie, books, internet and by our culture. This is NOT new to us tho. Christians were given to the lions as entertainment.  Worshiping false gods and idols was an everyday occurrence, along with every other sin that we still endure today. But God.. Says we should hate those things. Reject those things. And cling to good. HIS goodness.

Can you define the word good?  Think on it for just a moment. We have a strong intuitive knowledge of what the word GOOD means. Like it was put in us by the ultimate GOOD.

 God's Good goal for us is to make us like His Son. And how can we be like His Son?

Jesus Said... .Love.  Make it Sincere. Wholehearted.  True. Without wax.


Matthew 22: 37- 40
2 Corinthians 4:2
Galatians 5 :19


Take a moment and reflect. Ask God where you have cracks and flaws and ask him to rework His Masterpiece. .. YOU. It is you. His Beloved.  Love Sincerely Beloved.

Free and unmerited favor..bestowal of blessings

Hebrews 4:16  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

John 15



Jesus tells us that He is the true vine, and His Father the gardener. He cuts the branches that don't produce fruit and prunes other to produce more. And this has me thinking about something. My imperfection. I am being referred to here in this verse as a tree in need of pruning. (As is anyone that professes faith in Jesus Christ) I am not perfect. I have branches that have been damaged thru storms. My roots run deep and sometimes pick up murky waters of doubt. My leaves are green but the fall of my life is coming. You can find great shade under my branches with my little seedlings that grow and try to grow faster than they are able. But this tree. This vessel in all her imperfections, broken spots is bearing fruit. Why? Because of Grace. God's grace.

grace. blessing despite the fact we do not deserve.

In nature a broken tree will not grow straight. It may die quickly depending on the damage. It does not flourish. But this tree. The tree covered by God's grace grows, is full and healthy despite the broken spots. He blesses it . He tends it. He prunes it and cultivates the soil around it. He makes sure a constant flow of abundantly clean water is fed to it.

Now Mercy.

mercy. not being punished as deserved

I deserve nothing I have done nothing to earn any blessing. And that is the point. WE can't earn our ways to heaven it is freely given.
My soul is deserving of Hell. Oh yes. I am a good person. I am kind to others. I willingly help those around me. But this will not get me to the gates of Heaven!!  Because of God's merciful loving kindness I have been redeemed and can enter His gates. Which gives me a thankful heart and as a result I do as He commands. And that is to Love.

Love Each Other.

Not because you have to. Not because of duty but because of the over flowing love and mercy that Jesus has shown you.
Jesus Said LOVE!!

Beloved. Love as you have been loved. And if we all loved to the measure that we have been shown love. OH!  how we could change the world!


BLESSINGS.

How Deep is your love

God saved us by his grace when you believe. And you can't take the credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for good things we have done, so none can boast about it.  Ephesians 2:8-9


When receiving a gift you don't hurry and give someone something in return. You say thank you. You admire what someone took the time to give you and with a grateful heart you appreciate it.

BUT GOD...He gave the ultimate gift. Out of the greatest of love.

"How deep the Father's love for us.
How vast beyond all measure."

We can't wrap our minds around how much He loves us.

"That He would give his only Son.
To make this wretch His Treasure"

No greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.

"How great the pain of searing loss
the Father turns His face away"

God so Loved the world. He gave his only Son.

"As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory"


God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children to glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through His suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.

Beloved. Be Blessed. Be at peace.


Until I figure out the ins and outs of this.. you will have to forgive my lack of tech knowledge.

https://youtu.be/1vmY2ztb5xc


Eph 2:8
John 15:13
John 3:16
Heb 2:10