Love The Lord Your God

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."

Deut 6:4-5

Lonely, frustrated, tired?

Thoughout my life I have spent a lot of time alone mainly due to either my husband's or my careers. I am often asked if it bothers me to be alone. The answer is no. I am never alone. I have lived long enough to know that there is One who loves me more than all others. He is with me always. He is there for you always.

When we find ourselves tired and weary; lonely or frustrated, there is one we can turn to. Love the Lord your God, who loves you, with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might even when you think you don't need him. That is when you really need Him the most.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Children of God

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children."Gal 4:4-5

Children are an awesome blessing. They can be a lot of work, though. In our attempts to bring them up in the way they should be going doesn't always work the way that we planned.

We have a Father in heaven. We have been adopted as His own children; redeemed by His only begotten Son to be His children. I have often wondered what God, my Father, thought when I really did stuff that were not in His plans. Does he get as frustrated as I do when the children I care for are straying? I am sure that He is not all that pleased when we do things to our and our neighbors detriment; when we do not love as He loves us. As children of God we try to please Him even as our own children try to please us. We all fall short. We don't always do what we ought to be doing. We don't and our children don't. But, we keep on loving even as our heavenly Father loves us.

All who believe are the children of God. May He help us to follow in His Way.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Amos 3 - Straight to the Point

"It's not snowing!" That's one of the replies that I get from my husband, every now and then, as he responds to some of my queries about a plan for the day. This answer does not make sense and rather irritates me. I would much rather my questions are answered in a direct response; one that is understandable to me.

Today we read that God reveals His plan to us.
"Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
    without revealing his plan    to his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7 NIV)

However, we read some pretty strange questions from the LORD in this third chapter of Amos. They are the kind of questions that make me a little frustrated and wishing that whomever was speaking like this would just get straight to the point.

"Do two walk together
    unless they have agreed to do so?
Does a lion roar in the thicket
    when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den
    when it has caught nothing?
Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
    when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
    if it has not caught anything?
When a trumpet sounds in a city,
    do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
    has not the Lord caused it?⁽" (Amos 3:3-6)
It takes a while for the prophet, Amos, to get around to it; but, the point is that God has spoken against all of His people and there is going to be a consequence for the sins of His children.

Thanks be to God for Jesus the Christ, who, on the cross, bore our sin and the consequences of our sin for us. That is not confusing. That is straight to the point. Jesus died for us. Jesus died that we might live reconciled to God our Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God's Peace - Pr. J