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Abundant Overflowing Love

Jan26

and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. — Romans 5:5

This week the devotionals have been focused on loving God with ALL. . . I don’t know if anyone noticed the common denominator in the ability to love with all, but it is God Himself who enables us to love. I happened upon this verse and was blessed that God dropped this in my lap. It says it as I could not possibly have said it. “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us”.

Poured out. This gave me the impression of an abundant, overflowing love. Two different translations I looked up said, “the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love. (The Voice) and “we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! (The Message)

Oh the things God can accomplish through His people because of the great love He instills in us. We need to simply accept this love then give it right back to our Lord. Love is a wonderful motivator. Through God’s love and His marvelous word we can take His love and instruction and change the world. Without Him we are nothing, but with Him we are conquerors.

Seek Him by searching His word and communicating with Him in prayer continuously. Your life will never be the same. He has marvelous plans for you.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Love the Lord – Part 4

Jan24

 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,                                                                                                                                                                                     — Mark 12:30

The best way to love the Lord with all our mind is to have the mind of Christ, received via the Holy Spirit that lives within us. With the Holy Spirit’s help we can truly love Him with all we are. (1 Corinthians 2:16)

We can begin by asking the Lord to test our mind so we can be made new in the attitude of our minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Psalm 26:2; Ephesians 4:22-23) What better way to love our Lord.

We then need to set our mind on the things above like whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Our focus on these things places us in the proper attitude of worship to truly love the Lord as He deserves. (Colossians 3:2; Philippians 4:8)

So let me encourage you to set your mind on loving the Lord and be greatly blessed.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

1 Corinthians 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Psalm 26:2 Examine me, O Lord, and try me; Test my mind and my heart.

Ephesians 4:23-24 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self,created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Love the Lord – Part 3

Jan23

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,  — Mark 12:30

How do we love our Lord with all our soul? We need help because we are not able to love God on our own. Ezekiel 18:4 says, “Behold, all souls are Mine;”. Our souls belong to God. Because He is our God and our souls are His, our natural desire is to thirst and pant for Him.

He gives us the desire to cling to Him, to earnestly seek Him. As we seek Him our soul grows to love Him more and more. Seeking Him through His word it helps us to know Him and the more we know Him the more we love Him. In this we can rejoice and praise Him!!!

So seek Him earnestly through the word of God, prayer, and praise.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Ezekiel 18:4  Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

Psalm 63:1  O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 63:8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 119:75 Let my soul live that it may praise You, And let Your ordinances help me.

Love the Lord – Part 2

Jan22

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart — Mark 12:30

“with all your heart”

How? By a new heart given by God. (Ezekiel 36:26) My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart (Psalm 73:26). The Lord will circumcise your heart to love the Lord (Deuteronomy 30:6:). It is all about Him, isn’t it? God is love and He is the One who enables my heart to love Him. Mind boggling.

What can we do? Pray asking the Lord to create in me a clean heart, O God (Psalm 51:10) and search me, O God, and know my heart (Psalm 139:23). We need to set our heart to seek the Lord (2 Chronicles 12:14). We need His word — please receive instruction from His mouth and establish His words in your heart (Job 22:22).

I do my best to follow Your commands. You are the One who gives me the desire (willing heart, understanding) (Psalm 119:32).

We need a relationship with Jesus Christ so we can love the Lord our God with all our heart.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Ezekiel 36:26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Deuteronomy 30:6 Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

2 Chronicles 12:14  He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek theLord.

Job 22:22 Please receive instruction from His mouth And establish His words in your heart.

Psalm 119:32 I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.

Love the Lord

Jan21

and you shall love the Lord your God — Mark 12:30

The commandment is to love the Lord, our God. How can we possibly love God who is love? (1 John 4:8) We could not even come close to measuring up to His love. We are incapable of loving God on our own. We need the help of the Master. With salvation comes the Spirit of God living in us. The love of God living in us enables us to love Him. We can love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) And if we love Him we will keep His commandments — to love the Lord, our God.
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

1 John 4:8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:19 We love, because He first loved us.

First and Foremost Commandment

Jan20

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.  – Mark 12:30

God commands us to love Him with “all” or with our “whole” heart, soul, mind and strength. Out of 44 Bible translations, 40 use the word “all” and 4 use the word “whole”. The Message translation reads, “love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’” This translates to me to love God with my whole being, all that I am. To make loving Him my passion and using my mind and energy and soul (deep longing) to accomplish it.

Mark 12:29 says that this is the foremost commandment. It is high priority, of utmost importance. Loving God is the most important thing we can and should do in our lives. But the only way to truly love God with all we’ve got, all we are, is by having a personal relationship with Him, God, for He is love. 1 John 4:8,16.

The greatest love anyone can experience is the love of God. Loving Him we get to experience first hand an abundant, everlasting, unconditional love. He is waiting to forgive you just for the asking of His forgiveness and believing that God raised Jesus from the dead. Acknowledge that Jesus is your Savior and ask Him to be the Lord of your life. Then begin loving Him with all you’ve got.

If you prayed asking Jesus into your life, would you please tell someone? You can even leave a comment telling me. I will rejoice with you and pray for you. If you prefer your comment to be private just put in the comment not to publish it and I will not post it.

Begin today loving God completely with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

You Are Valuable

Jan19

Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. Luke 12:6-7

When I think about sparrows and how small they are and how I just take them for granted flying free, and then think about the God who made them, so BIG and Powerful, I am blown away with how He cares for them. They have no worry of food or shelter – God provides all they need. God considers them valuable and worth providing for. How much more are we valuable to Him. Yet, we fret and worry about how our needs will be provided. He cares and knows us so well that He is aware of the number of hairs on our head.  We have nothing to fear because we are valuable to God. As this Sunday we commemorate the Sanctity of Life, know that you are loved and valued by your Creator. He cares for you and desires an intimate relationship with you. Come to the One who values, cares, and loves you.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Believe And See The Glory of God

Jan18

Jesus *said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” – John 11:40

Oh the things of God I see because I believe. The miracle of life in my newborn children. How creation speaks of Him. How God can take a nothing life and make it something or how I can love someone not easily tolerable because Jesus lives in me. I see His glory in the promises of His word fulfilled in my life. I see His glory in answered prayer, in a new believer, in relationships restored. The greatest event of His glory I have seen is when He saved me from eternal condemnation. He was glorified on the cross of Calvary. When my eyes were opened to His glory there, I began to see His glory everywhere and He continues to show me glimpses of His glory in everyday life. Trust His promise today – believe and you will see the glory of God.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Confidence, Power, Ability and Sufficiency

Jan17

Such is the reliance and confidence that we have through Christ toward and with reference to God. Not that we are fit (qualified and sufficient in ability) of ourselves to form personal judgments or to claim or count anything as coming from us, but our power and ability and sufficiency are from God.                                                                                                                                      2 Corinthians 3:4-5 (Amplified Version)

It really is all about God. Through Christ we have confidence in the matters of God. It is Christ in us that enables us to fulfill God’s will. Actually it is Jesus fulfilling God’s will through us because Christ lives in us by His Holy Spirit. Do you want to be successful for God? Do you want to live an effectual Christian life? If you do it takes surrender, surrender of your will to do God’s will. To do this we must earnestly seek the Lord. We seek Him through His word, prayer and worship – not neglecting the gathering of the saints (believers) to encourage and be encouraged by one another. It will be the greatest surrender of your life. Great freedom is found in surrendering and being bound to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

Faith is the Victory

Jan16

 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.                                                                                                                          – 1 John 5:4

How is your faith? Is your faith established in the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you walking this journey of life along side the One who has overcome the world? When we place our faith in Jesus Christ we are born of God. The word of God says that if we are born of God then we are overcomers. It takes faith to overcome. Talk to Jesus today and ask Him to search your heart so you know where your faith lies. Be victorious – by faith.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon