5 Verses to Pray When You Need to be Sure of God’s Love

2 / 14 / 192 / 15 / 19

The cards, flowers, chocolate, and “I love yous” have all been shared.

And yet, I wonder how many of us are left longing because someone left us wanting … failing to fill us up the way we expected, hoped or believed we needed.

God's love is more than enough when life is hard and people let you down. Here are 5 verses to pray when you need to be sure of God's love. #GodisLove #GodLovesYou #Prayer #Bible #Faith

I keep thinking about Jenny Lind’s song in The Greatest Showman…

All the shine of a thousand spotlights
All the stars we steal from the night sky
Will never be enough
Never be enough
Towers of gold are still too little
These hands could hold the world but it’ll
Never be enough … for me.

And my heart keeps thinking…

Maybe it’s not supposed to be.

Maybe there really is nothing that can fill up that hole in our hearts and maybe it has less to do with them and more to do with us.

If you’re like me … you take that “never enough” feeling and blame yourself. You feel unworthy. You wonder what you should have done differently. You dwell on every little flaw and fault and desperately want someone to make it better.

But the expectation isn’t fair, really!

Because no one … NO ONE … can fill the hole in our hearts that God created for Himself.

God’s perfect love is the only thing that can satisfy us … His is the only love that truly is ENOUGH!

And yet, even though I know that is true with every bit of my being, I still have times when I’m a little too introspective and needy … times when I find myself lacking because I’ve questioned how God could love a total mess like me.

You too?

Today, I’m asking God to help me seek Him first when I need the assurance of love. I’m asking Him to fill me to overflowing with His perfect unfailing love.

5 Verses to Pray When You Need to be Sure of God’s Love

God is love. God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him.This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 John 4:8b–10

Father, You are love … REAL LOVE! And you showed us just how You love by sacrificing everything for us … for me.

The truth is Father, I don’t feel very lovable most of the time. I know I’m a mess. I fail You and the people I love every day. Those who love me … let me down and I feel unlovable.

But then You remind me that Your love is not determined by how I feel or what I do, Your love is an amazing and undeserved gift. You give me everything I need today and promise me that I will spend eternity in Your presence. Your grace, mercy, and love overwhelm me. Thank you! Amen.

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.
2 Thessalonians 2:16–17

Father, Jesus said … He must return to You so that You would send the Holy Spirit. The One who comforts me and gives me hope. The One who strengthens me and guides me with Your truth. The One who gifts me with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” The One who makes possible any good thing I say and do.

I can’t imagine living even one day without Your Spirit’s help. Thank you for loving me so much that I don’t have to figure this life out on my own. Thank you for a love that will never leave me or forsake me. Amen.

May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:18–19

Father, please help me keep my eyes on You … even when life is hard. When people and circumstances have disappointed me. Please help me run to You quickly, when I need Your forgiveness because I’ve messed things up again!

Your love is deep and high and long and wide. It is beyond my power to understand even when I keep my heart and mind focused and seek You first. When I don’t … oh Father, it’s ugly.

I need You! Forgive me. Help me. And grant me the fullness of life and power that only Your love can give. Amen.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38–39

Father, how I need to carry these words in my heart constantly.

Nothing can separate me from Your love! NOTHING!

You were separated from Jesus as He suffered on the cross for me so I would never have to experience the misery of being separated from You.

Your love sustains and strengthens me. When the enemy taunts me with fear and worry, help me remember that You are with me and You are greater than anything this world can throw at me.

Nothing can separate me from Your love! Nothing!

Thank you! Thank you! Amen.

Each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me and through each night I sing His songs praying to God who gives me life.
Psalm 42:8

Every day, Father, You faithfully pour Your perfect love over me. Nothing in this life compares to Your love. And yet, You have graced us with relationships that give us a taste, however imperfect, of the spectacular beauty found in this gift You call love! Thank you!

May I live each day telling others about Your love. May I be blessed to show them Your love, and although I know I do so imperfectly … please, speak over them the truth of who You are and how much You love them.

And Father, may I spend every day for the rest of my life singing songs of praise and thanking You for who You are … for You are LOVE!

In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

You can be sure God loves you!

Your heart may be bursting with the love of family and friends today.

Or…

You may be hurting and longing because love has let you down.

Whatever your heart feels…

You can be sure of God’s love!

He died for you! He lives for you! Nothing can separate you from His love … not today – not ever! His love fills the heavens and earth. And through His love He is giving you all you need to live each day.

Now that’s a truth to hold on to! AMEN?!

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Why You Need to Celebrate and Remember God is Good

1 / 14 / 191 / 14 / 19

The other night, Rev and I celebrated the 50th anniversary of our first date.

And we spent the evening like we’ve spent so many other evenings…

Sharing memories.

We talked about that first date and the early days of getting to know each other and falling in love. We remembered our early years of marriage. We described apartments, homes, and the love of amazing friends. We looked back at the adventure of raising a family.

And the common thread through every relived decade was God’s amazing grace.

Life is full of highs and low, moments of grief and moments of joy … failures and victories.

And God lovingly made His presence known through it all.

The following morning, all I could think about was the way God had allowed us to build an altar of remembrance. No, not a physical altar … but an altar none-the-less.

How to use anniversaries and special occasions to remember that God is good, stop to be thankful for all He's done and surrender the future in faith. #Remember #Faith #GodisLove #Hope #CountingMyBlessings

Why You Need to Celebrate and Remember God is Good

In the Old Testament, God commanded two kinds of altars.

1. Altar of Sacrifice – Where God’s people brought an offering as a sacrifice to receive God’s forgiveness and peace.

“Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to purify yourself and the people. Then present the offerings of the people to purify them, making them right with the Lord, just as he has commanded.”
Leviticus 9:7

2. Altar of Remembrance – Where God’s people offered worship and praise for God’s deliverance, protection, provision, and guidance.

Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord, your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and He kept it dry until you were all across, just as He did at the Red Sea when He dried it up until we had all crossed over. ²He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”
Joshua 4:21–24

In the New Testament, because Jesus the Lamb of God, the perfect Sacrifice, was offered for our sins, you and I can be forgiven and have peace with God without bringing an animal sacrifice to church.

Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world.
John 1:29

But the New Testament also has something to say about the sacrifice God does want from us…

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Ephesians 5:2

And…

Let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to His name.
Hebrews 13:15

I’ve realized there are two offerings God wants you and me to lay at the altar of remembrance…

1. An Offering of Praise
2. An Offering of Surrender

I want to make my life an offering of praise and thanksgiving. I want to stop and celebrate the specifics of God’s amazing grace in my life.

And I want to rejoice over every undeserved happiness and praise Him for providing all we need through every pain and heartache.

Yesterday morning I read…

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
    and He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
    out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
    and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Psalm 40:1–3

Yes, that!

I have known the pit of despair … God heard my cry and lifted me up and gave me a new song to sing.

A song of remembrance! A song of praise!

And by His grace, an offering of surrender!

It’s kind of funny … I spent much of my life holding a little of myself back from God because I was afraid.

Afraid there were things that could happen that would destroy me … things I would just not be able to endure.

Yeah, it was plain and simple lack of faith.

Although God patiently gave me countless opportunities to surrender myself completely … I couldn’t get past all the “what ifs” that flooded my mind.

Which is why an important part of remembering for me … is knowing God allowed my pit of despair to show me His love and faithfulness. And to give me a new song to sing or in my case, a post to write.

I love this verse and the way it so clearly reminds me of the offering of surrender God wants…

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.
Romans 12:1 (MSG)

I’m so thankful Paul wrote, “God helping you,” because I know there is no way I can surrender every part of my life without His help.

But with His help … I can take every moment – sleeping, eating, working, walking around; yes, everything and I can entrust it to God.

An altar of remembrance to celebrate His faithfulness. And an altar of surrender to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as I love myself. (Luke 10:27)

With His help, I can be thankful for the past and hopeful for the future!

You and I talk a lot about being thankful in November and December but now it’s January and we’ve started our diets, picked up our fitness routines, and gone back to work.

Remembering to be thankful gets lost in the mundane dailiness of things we don’t really want to do.

So, I’d like to invite you to do two simple things to help you…

Set aside a basket or jar with a notepad nearby (a notebook will work too) and have your family write down daily blessings.
Keep a list of anniversaries and use those days to remember God’s goodness!

Some of the anniversaries we keep are…

The day we met.
Our first date.
The day we got engaged.
Our wedding day.
Our children’s birthdays.
Baptism birthdays
The day we moved into our home.
Birthdays of family members or friends.
The day God spared Rev’s life.

You could also remember…

Graduations
Gotcha Days
Special Awards
Healings
And anything else that helps you remember God’s grace.

I’ll be honest, I get lost in the dailiness of life, too. But when I stop and remember the countless ways God has shown me His goodness and grace—I can’t help but celebrate, praise, and with His help … surrender.

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Day 39 – God, Please Help Me Live for Your Glory Every Day

12 / 30 / 18

What motivates you?

Why do you get up and do what you do each day?

Paul wrote:

Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

I don’t know about you, but I fall short of that goal every single day.

So today, I’m praying and asking…

God, Please Help Me Live for Your Glory Every Day

Father, It’s so easy to get distracted by things that sparkle. I can so easily find myself motivated by profits and possessions, status and recognition, and countless other things that have little lasting value.

I am so very sorry. Please forgive me.

And by the power of Your Spirit … help me live for Your glory not my own.

Because You created me for Your glory. (based on Isaiah 43:7)

Because everything in heaven and on earth belong to You. (based on Romans 11:36)

Because of Your overwhelming love and faithfulness. (based on Psalm 115:1, 1 John 4:19)

Because You have fulfilled all of Your promises through Jesus. (based on 2 Corinthians 1:20)

Because You alone are worthy. (based on Revelation 4:11)

Jesus said…

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

And…

If you love Me, obey my commandments. (John 14:15)

And Father, Jesus said that all Your commands can be summed up in one word – LOVE!

Love for You. Love for others. Love for the “least of these.”

Please help me love.

Please help me live for Your glory.

So, in the ways…

I love my family.
I do my job.
I greet strangers.
I help those in need.
I budget my money.
I use my gifts and abilities.
I eat.
I exercise.
I manage my time.
I worship.
I talk.
I listen.
I rest.

May I do it all for Your glory. I want people to see You in me. I pray that people will want to know You because they see You in me.

Your creation lives for Your glory by doing what You created it to do.

The sun by lighting the sky.
The moon by reflecting the sun.
Trees, flowers, and animals … all glorify You by doing what You created them to do.

By Your grace, I will too…

May the constant prayer of my heart always be, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 115:1)

Because … Your unfailing love is better than life itself. (Psalm 63:3)

I will praise You.

I will live for your glory!

And with Your Spirit’s help, I will trust Your will for me.

I will be motivated by love … by Your love.

In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

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How to Conquer Fear and Trust God’s Will One Day at a Time

7 / 10 / 1711 / 3 / 17

Do you have anything in your life you’d do differently if you could get a do-over?

I think everyone has lots of little things and maybe even a few big things they think . . . if only I had or if only I hadn’t.

Yeah, me too.

Of all the dos and don’ts, I have one big thing I would change if I could go back and start over.

One thing I wish I’d learned years ago. It’s where my faith would crash into life and my faith fell short. And unfortunately, I was a slow learner . . . it took a list of hard life lessons for me to finally get it.

What is my one thing?

Simply this…

Fear is a horrible waste of the precious gift of time.

Allowing “what ifs” to volley back and forth through my mind robbed me of joy, contentment, happiness, and peace.

So, if I could make one change (have one do-over) it would be to…

Enjoy life more by trusting God’s will for me, and rejecting “what if” fear.

Here are just a few examples:

What if they don’t like me?
What if I fail?
What if I can’t have children?
What if something happens to my husband, my child, my parent?
What if I get sick?
What if my love gets sick?
What if my child fails?
What if I’m rejected?
What if, what if, what if..?

Maybe that thing you fear is on my list. Maybe it’s not.

Now before I go any further, I want to remind you that fear is normal. In fact, it’s an important tool God gave us to caution and protect us.

But…

When fear dominates and fear of tomorrow lessens today’s joy or keeps you and me from truly living our God-given calling, then it’s time for a closer look and a faith check.

I looked for a list of the most common things people are afraid of and found…

The Unknown
Pain
Illness
Loneliness
Embarrassment
Rejection
Failure
Death

I guess my list was pretty typical.

Typical or not, this is important…

Most of the things I feared never happened. A few of the things I feared did.

But…

My fear didn’t influence or change the events of my life! All it changed was the way I lived.

Because I missed being all in.

I failed to be fully engaged and didn’t celebrate and enjoy the present because I was afraid of what might or might not happen tomorrow.

You see, what I know now that I wish I’d believed long ago is…

Fear doubts God’s love.

Whatever God allows, good or bad . . . Everything He allows or withholds comes from His immeasurable love.

He is love. Love is His character and He cannot deny or betray His character.

True, bad things happen. But God has used even the bad things, sometimes more so than the good things to bless my life, grow my faith and draw me closer. I can look back now at the worst events and experiences and praise God for the way He used them for my good and His glory.

With God’s counsel and help, you and I can conquer fear.

The following verses are more than just words . . . they are truth.

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4:16

But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? Psalm 56:3–4

There is no fear in love. Perfect love puts fear out of our hearts. People have fear when they are afraid of being punished. The man who is afraid does not have perfect love. We love Him because He loved us first. 1 John 4:18–19

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:38

Here are a few quotes that inspire me, too.

“The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith. Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.” ~Max Lucado

“It is good to remind ourselves that the will of God comes from the heart of God and that we need not be afraid.” ~Warren Wiersbe

“The fear of man strangles us, because we can never please everybody; but the fear of the Lord frees us, because it challenges us to live and serve for an audience of One.” ~ Paul Chappell

“Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming who God intends for you to be. You must move against it with the weapons of faith and [God’s] love.” ~ Rick Warren

I memorize verses and quotes so I have them quickly available when fear tries to take over and ruin my day.

Verses remind me that…

You and I can know with confidence—God is with us in every circumstance.

Whatever He allows, problem or persecution, stress or worrisome thought . . . He is present strengthening, guiding, helping, and holding us in the palm of His hands.

When you and I conquer fear and trust God’s goodness and love we have all we need to live courageously.

Sure, in this world we have troubles and if we had to face them on our own we’d have plenty of reasons to be afraid. But we have the truth of God’s Word and the presence of His Spirit to give us strength and the blessing of His unfailing love to give us courage.

Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go.” Joshua 1:9

God’s love has the power replace fear with faith-filled courage.

Where God’s love is, there is no fear. God’s perfect love takes away fear. 1 John 4:18

So yes, the one thing I’d do over . . . I would faithfully know and trust God’s love that gives the power to conquer fear!

Because even when you and I don’t understand our circumstances, we can be completely confident that God’s plans and purposes are based on love.

With God’s help, you and I can refuse to waste the gift of right now by asking God to hold us close, remind us of His unfailing love, and give us all we need to conquer fear.

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