Unfailing Love

"I have always been mindful of your unfailing love

and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.."  Psalm 26:3

This past week, my x-father-in-law, Arthur W. Berry (PopPop) passed away at the age of 91.  My son and I have wonderful memories of PopPop and we loved him dearly.  As we began reminiscing about PopPop, I heard my son's observation ..."he loved us even when others didn't...!"  We remembered that no matter what ~ successes or failures; right choices or wrong ~ PopPop loved and supported us.  Yes, he may have questioned why we were doing what we were doing, but he loved us.  What a precious gift and we will miss him.

In reality, that amazing love and support was only a glimpse of God's eternal and unconditional love toward us.  Try for a moment to imagine, the immense depth, width, height and length of God's love.  The God who knew us when we were created in our mother's womb; the God whose thoughts of us outnumber the grains of sand; the God who reaches us through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus.  Jesus, humbly born in a manger to bring us abundant life. 

As we celebrate Christmas remember the King of Kings, born in a manger, for you and me!  Born because of God's faithful and unending love toward us! 

"For God so loved the world,

that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,

but have eternal life."  John 3:16

Resources:

"For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does."  Psalm 33:4

"But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." Psalm 86:15

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  1John 1:8

"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.  And 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.  Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."
 

Fifty nine and counting!

Today is my 59th birthday ~ wow, I can't believe it!  And yet I feel like life is just beginning, Praise God!  I'm bursting with excitement, enthusiasm and passion for the gifts within me that God has planned and purposed in my life! 

Yet, as I ponder upon all that lies ahead, I can't help but think about my dad who died at this same age of 59.  Bertram Elwood Lord, a man I've learned to honor, admire and appreciate more and more as time has passed.  He died when I was 23, lost and angry at the world!  And though I know he is joyfully enjoying the Lord in heaven ~ I wish he could have seen me mature and find my peace and place with God; happily married; I wish he would have met his grandson and great-grandson, impacting their lives like only he could have!  Oh, my dad would have loved and enjoyed Nathaniel and Vincent!!!  He would have taught them all his handyman skills ~ done with honor, respect, Godliness and all the values that only a Navy man who lived a very hard life could.  He would have loved them with a pure and tender Godly heart! 

But as I look back at my dad's life, I know that he instilled in me all that God placed in him.  Though I didn't understand my dad's strict ways, I now understand he only wanted the best for me ~ the life he didn't have.  He protected me, as I only learned of his difficult childhood after he passed.  Testimony to the joy of the Lord, his strength.  He loved God with every ounce of his body, mind and soul.  He would do anything and everything he could for those in need.  He showed me that a man could be tough, hard-working and yet tender hearted. I thank God today for my dad!  And, I pray that as I move forward in this life, walking out all that God has planned and purposed in my life, I not only honor God, but I honor my dad for all he instilled in me.  I thank God for my dad's tender heart.

So celebrate with me!  Life is good because of Christ.  No matter what is going on around us, we are loved unconditionally by a Loving Father God through Jesus!  A God who knows every detail of our lives, both beginning and end.  And HE has plans for us ~ plans for good!

Psalm 118:24, 28-29:

This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it....
You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, I extol You.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His loving kindness is everlasting. "

 

 

God's Love and Blessings,

Michelle Lord Samples

Psalm 139:13-18
"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You. "

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  NLT

Jump in His arms...Receive His love

It is always so revitalizing/life-giving when we visit our 4 year old grand-daughter, and she gives us that unconditional welcome only a child can give.  When she first sees us, she runs toward us, calls out grampy/grammy, and then jumps up into our arms, giving us a great big hug.  You can only image what an awesome feeling that is?!  For a split second, you feel like the most important person to her and she's filling us with all of the love she has! We truly cherish those moments.

And I believe God is also waiting for us to run toward Him, jump in His arms and receive His love, as we tell Him how much we love Him too.  Oh, some of you may say that's different ~ we can't 'hug God'; or run and jump in His arms.  Or, you may say that goes against religious protocol; or  He's out there somewhere and we're here.  Not true!!   

The Word of God is filled with God's Love toward and for us!  His highest commandment is to Love ~ love God with all of your heart, mind and soul (Mark 12:30); love your neighbor as yourself.  How do we love God ~ with unbelief or unworthiness?  No, "EAGERLY PURSUE and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]" 1 Corinthians 14:1.  

And, the Bible is filled with real life examples such as the story of the Prodigal son and how the dad ran to his long lost son who chose to come back home ~ that's an example of how much Jesus loves us and wants to run and greet us, as we run to Him.
 
God loves us so much HE gave us everything we need when He sent Jesus to the cross to take our sin, our sickness/disease, and our sorrow/grief!  That may not seem real to you as you sit there lonely, anxious about decisions, etc.  But, put down your cares for a moment, and in that child like manner think about the love of God toward you!!!  He loves YOU!!!  He loves you with an everlasting love; forgiveness; a new life every day, if you need it!  He is your counselor/your wisdom, as you make a conscious choice to run toward Him ~ through prayer and reading His Words of life.  With such love, wouldn't you want to run toward it!  Wrap your arms around it; grab hold of it and never let go???  That's what God wants ~ for us to run to Him with open arms, open heart, open mind!!  Receive His unconditional love today! 

God's Love and Blessings,
Michelle Lord Samples
www.fromtheheartlifecoach.com

Resources:

Mark 12:30 "And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment."

Luke 15:18-24 "I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’  “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.  And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’  “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry." 

God's Amazing Love

We are blessed to have three grandchildren!!!  Before our grandchildren, I didn't think we could love anyone more than we already love our family!  No one could have told me beforehand how much more love could pour out of our hearts   Today, our grandson turned eight months old! Born seven weeks early, he is a testimony of God's goodness! 

And yet as I think of how much we truly/deeply love our family, that doesn't even begin to compare to how much God loves us.  Think about it for a minute.  If we, as flawed human beings can love from the depth of our hearts .... how much more the God of this universe, creator of mankind loves us!!!   

God's love never fails;

God's love never gives up on us;

God's love never runs out!

I encourage you today, to allow God's unconditional love to fill and surround you right now ~ whatever you've been through/are going through ~ know that HE loves you completely and yearns for nothing more than your love in return!

God's Love and Blessings to All,

Michelle Lord Samples

www.fromtheheartlifecoach.com

Resources:

John 3:16  "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." 

Ephesians 1:4-5 "Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure."

Psalm 103:  "...But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him.  His salvation extends to the children’s children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments..." 

God's Loving Truth ....

Whenever I face challenges, part of my prayer is asking God to reveal truth to me ~ especially that which I would prefer not seeing ~ so I can see truth and then grow/move forward In Christ.   Let's take for example, the issue of Offense...

Have you ever felt offended? And of course the answer is yes, because in Luke 17:1 it says "It is impossible but that offences will come..." (KJV)

When someone hurts us ~ in word or deed, real or perceived ~ our flesh can easily take offense and feel quite justified in how we feel, or worse yet, react/respond.   And if we're not careful, with offense can come long standing hurt, strongholds, a sense of betrayal, resentment, abandonment, and on and on the list goes.   What offense just came to your mind ~ from today, a week ago, a month ago, years ago?

But, what do we do with that offense?   

Jesus says, we are to forgive, as HE forgave us! In fact, Jesus says we are to forgive 7 x 70 times ... ouch!    When Peter asked Jesus "How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me? Is seven times enough?"   Jesus answered: Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!"  (Matthew 18:21-22 CEV)

But how do we really forgive those who have hurt us?

We forgive those who have offended us by following the example Jesus gave us.   Just envision Jesus, who was wrongly accused and hung on a cross ... What did He do?  "And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do..." Luke 23:34.  

You may say, well...that was Jesus.  Yes, it was.  But, as believers, we have His power, wisdom and strength to follow His example.  By the grace of God, we forgive, because HE forgave us!   We love, because HE first loved us! ... And then we ask and allow God to heal our wounds ~ as HE surrounds us with HIS unconditional and trustworthy Love and renews our mind with His Word.

And though we forgive, we must also assure that our hearts are pure and that our forgiveness is deep rooted, not simply intellectual. Thankfully, God knows our heart, and that is why we ask God to reveal truth.   For truth be told, even though we believe we have forgiven, something or someone may trigger the hidden, unresolved hurt from a past offense and we realize ... we really haven't forgiven! 

So, I encourage you to observe your reactions to offense ~ what comes out of your mouth/heart ~ and ask the Lord to show you, through His Word, how to let go/lay aside and truly, deeply forgive. Forgiveness is freedom for us! And, as my friend Jayne says: don't let offense rent space in your brain! Fill it instead with God's loving Words/Truth!

Resources:

I encourage you to read John Bevere's book, "The Bait of Satan - Living Free from the Deadly Trap of Offense" with it's devotional. It has a wealth of information on identifying the traps and the truth of God's Word.  

Proverbs 18:19 "A brother offended is harder to be won over than a strong city, and [their] contentions separate them like the bars of a castle."

Matthew 24:10 "And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred."

Matthew 5:44 "But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

Luke 17:4 "And even if he sins against you seven times in a day,and turns to you seven times and says I repent (I am sorry), you must forgive him(give up resentment and consider the offense as recalled and annulled)."

Matthew 26:59, 63, 67 "Now the chief priests and the whole council (the Sanhedrin) sought to get false witnesses to testify against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death; ... But Jesus kept silent... Then they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists; and some slapped Him in the face"

Proverbs 4:18-27 (Amplified) "But the path of the [uncompromisingly] just and righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day [to be prepared]. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life. Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you. Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you. Consider well the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established and ordered aright. Turn not aside to the right hand or to the left; remove your foot from evil."

Take Courage ...

Snow, snow and more snow .... anyone among you discouraged of traveling in, or shoveling snow and ice? Or maybe weary because of challenging life circumstances? Let me encourage you, as I was encouraged this morning when the Lord blessed me with a warm, brightly glowing sunrise!

"Great is the Lord and highly to be praised;

and His greatness is [so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable....

On the glorious splendor of Your majesty

and on Your wondrous works I will meditate."

Psalm 145:3,5 (Amplified)

And even though the beautiful orange glow of the sunrise, quickly turned to gray skies, with more snow and icy rain in the forecast, I could hear the Lord encourage me ... take courage ... meditate~remember His goodness. Jesus said:

"I have told you these things, so that in Me
you may have [perfect] peace and confidence.
In the world you have tribulation and
trials and distress and frustration;
but be of good cheer
[take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]!
For I have overcome the world.
[I have deprived it of power to harm you
and have conquered it for you.]"
John 16:33 (Amplified)

To "take" courage means we must take action. We must choose to receive and act. "Take courage" - receive HIS love, HIS power and HIS wisdom over and about your circumstances, receive HIS healing, HIS plans for good and not harm, and follow HIS lead/guidance. "Take courage" ~ be encouraged in your thoughts and your feelings while you meditate~remember God's Word and Promises. "Take ... courage."

"...be strong in the Lord
[be empowered through your union with Him];
draw your strength from Him
[that strength which His boundless might provides]."
Ephesians 6:10 (Amplified)

No matter what you face, whether small or large, remember how much God loves you ~ so much so that He sent His only begotten Son to the cross ~ for you! Receive HIM today ~ see His glorious sunrise in the midst of your life circumstance and TAKE COURAGE!

God's love and blessings to you and yours,
Michelle Lord Samples
From the Heart, Christian Life Coach/Mentor
http://www.fromtheheartlifecoach.com/

P.S. If you'd like to join me in a tele-conference Bible study "You ARE God's Masterpiece ~ Believe It," the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. EST, please contact me for specifics at coachmichelle@charter.net.

Resources:

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you." (The Message)

Psalm 27:13-14 "[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living! Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. (Amplified)

Psalm 31:24 "Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!" (Amplified)

Matthew 9:22 "Jesus turned around and, seeing her, He said, Take courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well. And at once the woman was restored to health." (Amplified)

Matthew 14:26 "And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified and said, It is a ghost! And they screamed out with fright. But instantly He spoke to them, saying, Take courage! I AM! Stop being afraid!" (Amplified)