Love me Tender

The Lord is…  A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 103

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20103&version=NIV;NLT

 

How much does the Lord love you?

 

This past week my grandson lost his first tooth. He wiggled it right out of his mouth as Nonna, (the name my wife is called by the grandkids), was bringing him to our house for dinner. He could barely contain his excitement. In fact, he hardly ate anything because he couldn’t wait to tell his parents.

 

When we got him home, his Mom had scarcely opened the door when he shouted, “I lost my tooth Mommy”! Without missing a beat, and with just as much excitement, she shouted, “That is so great Buddy”, and wrapped her arms around him. It was a tender moment of a Mom loving her son.

 

In this Psalm, David wrote about all the things the sovereign Lord had done for him personally, as well as for Israel as a nation. But the main focus of the psalm is the eternal love of the Lord. It gives context and meaning to all that He does.

 

¹⁷ But Lord, your endless love stretches
from one eternity to the other,
unbroken and unrelenting toward those who fear you
and those who bow face down in awe before you.
Your faithfulness to keep every gracious promise you’ve made
passes from parents, to children, to grandchildren, and beyond.     TPT

 

Because my grandson is five years old, and because this was his first tooth to come out, he thought the tooth fairy should leave him a $5 bill. Of course, the tooth isn’t worth $5; but the tender love that his mother showed him was priceless. The Lord loves us in the same way.

 

¹³ The same way a loving father feels toward his children—
that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us,
your beloved children, who live in awe of you.             TPT

 

Let us respond to the tender love of our Heavenly Father in the same way that David began and ended this psalm.

 

¹ Let all that I am praise the Lord;
    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.               NLT

 

 

 

 

 

Two-A-Days

Romans 12:1-3

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012%3A1-3&version=NIV;AMP

  

Traditionally, this is the time of summer when two-a-day football practices begin.

As the name implies, two-a-days are where players participate in two practices every day… for two weeks… in the heat of August.

 

It’s a time that separates the men from the boys. It’s a time when you run to the point of exhaustion… and then get sick. It’s a time when you have muscles ache that you didn’t even know you had. It’s a time to prove yourself.

 

The purpose of these grueling practices is to get into shape physically. But it is also to get into shape mentally. In effect, it is the coaches saying to you, “You’ve had all summer to do whatever you wanted to do, and now you’re mine”!

 

By spending more time with the players, the coaches can establish the culture of the team. They stress sacrifice, discipline, and commitment. It’s an emphasis on team over individual. In some ways, that’s what Paul was calling the Roman believers to do also; a fully committed sacrificial life.

 

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.

 

Then, like the coaches demanding a radical change from the summer, Paul calls for the Romans to a life of change; a transformed life.

 

² And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].          AMP

 

Two-a-days are a physical, mental and emotional boot camp to prepare players for a season of football games. As Christians, we need “two-a-days” that prepare us spiritually, emotionally and mentally for life. These two-a-days come through worshiping the Living God by offering your bodies as a living sacrifice with all your heart, soul, mind and strength in everything you do and say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some other verses that you may fine helpful.

 

 

Mark 12:30-31 New International Version (NIV)

 

³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

 

Romans 6:13 New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

 

2 Corinthians 3:18 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

(The word used for transformed in this verse, is the same Greek word that is used when Jesus is transfigured.)

 

1 Peter 2:4-5 New International Version (NIV)

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You a Chicken or a Pig?

John 15:18-25

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015%3A18-25&version=NIV;ESV

 

Question: In a bacon and egg breakfast, what's the difference between the chicken and the pig?

Answer: The chicken is involved, but the pig is COMMITTED!

 

On January 8, 1956, Jim Elliot and four other missionaries, were killed by members of the Auca Indians in Ecuador. They had landed their plane to make friendly contact with the tribe.

 

On April 20, 1999, Rachel Scott was the first student to be shot and killed in the Columbine High School massacre. One of the shooters asked her if she still believed in God. When Rachel answered him that she did, he killed her.

 

Although very different circumstances, these six people died because of their faith in Christ. They were fully committed! There have been many other Christian martyrs during the past two thousand years. In fact, according to an April 14, 2017 Fox News report, as many as 90,000 Christians each year are martyred.

 

Jesus spoke the following words to his disciples as he prepared them for what was to come. He seems to be saying, get ready to be martyred for following me.

 

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.     ESV

 

Jesus spoke these words to his disciples at a specific moment in time and in history. What do they mean to us today? Should we expect to be martyred? And if we’re not, does that mean we’re not following Christ? I don’t believe so.

 

For sure, Rachel Scott did not anticipate that on that day she would lose her life because she said that she believed in God. She was being obedient to Christ. That is what we are called to do regardless of whether it means going to the jungles of Ecuador, the hallways of your high school or the office at your job.

 

So, the question is: Are you a chicken or are you a pig? Are you fully committed to follow Christ or just involved?

 

 

 

Talk is Cheap

1 John 3:16-20

 

When my daughter was about 10 years old, we were riding in the car when a song came on the radio. She asked me in her sweet, innocent 10 year old voice, “What are they singing about Daddy”. I listened for a minute, and simply replied, “Love”.

 

Isn’t that always the answer? But how do you define love? In the media, it is normally defined as romantic. In advertising, it is defined as something you desire. In politics… well never mind. But truth be known, everybody seems to have their own definition of love.

 

Adding to the confusion is how we use the word. “I love this pizza”. “I love my car”. “I love that perfume”. “I love the Buckeyes”. “I love my church”. Love has as many different applications as there are… objects to love.

 

According to the Urban dictionary, the saying “talk is cheap” is defined as: “a phrase used to indicate an individual’s inclination to verbalize opinions, stances, or other traits and subsequent reluctance to act upon said traits”. Talk is cheap. Everybody has a different opinion of what love is.

 

John, who was known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, had this to say about how to define love.

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for others! GNT

¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.                  NIV

 

Not surprisingly though, talk was not cheap for Jesus, and he set the bar high.

 

¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command.     John 15 NIV

 

How do you measure up to Jesus’ standard? Thankfully, we have a gracious Lord who paid the price so that even with our worst failure, we are still forgiven and loved. And because of his love, we can show it to others, not just by our words, but by our actions.

 

 

 

(If God has spoken to you, or touched your heart through this devotional, please feel free to share it with others.)

 

Here are some more images that fit today's blog.

 

 

 

 

 

You Can't Be Justs a Little Bit Pregnant

Psalm 116:12-19

 

 

In 2001, Kevin Kline starred in a movie called, “Life as a House”. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he decides to focus on repairing his relationships with his ex-wife and disenfranchised teenage son. He does so by recruiting them to help him rebuild his dilapidated house which sits in the middle of an upscale neighborhood. In the end, he admits that he always thought of his life as a house.

 

What are you building with your life?

 

Ray Boltz is a contemporary Christian musician. One of his songs is titled, “Thank you for Giving to the Lord”. It’s about a dream of two people visiting Heaven where person after person came up to them saying, “Thank you” for investing your life into mine. The things that this person had done were small, seemingly insignificant details of life that made a huge impact on them for eternity.

 

Who are you investing your life into?

 

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, is quoted as follows: “God has given you unique abilities, talents and gifts. At Saddleback Church, we say they represent a person’s SHARE – Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences. This bundle of talents is the thing God has given you that makes you who you are and sets you apart from other people.”          

 

How are you using your SHARE to build the kingdom?

 

The psalmist asks us this question: “What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?”  The answer is simple – all of you, everything that you have and are. He wants you to be fully committed. It’s like a woman who is pregnant. She’s not just a little bit pregnant, she is fully pregnant. She is fully committed to the child within her. It’s all or nothing.

 

In the same way, the Lord, our Father, is fully committed to us as His children. Even to the point of sacrificing His one and only son so that we might be reconciled to Him. By doing this, He has blessed us so that we might be a blessing to others.