Terri's Wellspring

Treat one another justly.
Love your neighbors.
Be compassionate with each other.
Don’t take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor.
Don’t plot and scheme against one another-that’s evil.  Zechariah 7:10

As toddlers, we begin to learn the lessons of living with others. Parents instruct us to “be nice” and “to share”. We later learn more complex terms like “love” and “compassion”. As adults, the lessons continue as we endeavor to live with others on a micro and macro level. Yet, as a people we struggle to get it right, even though the Bible is full of guidance about how to treat one another.

Love is God’s platform for His relationship with us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”. Love is also His commandment to us in our approach to one another. Still, love, fair treatment, empathy and compassion are elusive in our society today. It must grieve God’s heart that we are so casual in how we treat one another. But each day is an opportunity to turn it around. We can adopt a higher level of commitment to love, to fairness and justice, to show compassion and to make sure the vulnerable are cared for. If we do this in love and concern for one another it will provide a salve to a hurting world.

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. John 15:12

Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.  I Corinthians 13:4-7

At times both the difficult and the unexpected arise in our lives. Uncertainty about how to respond or to make it better when reaching out to those we love escapes us. We pray, seek God’s guidance about what to do and yet we are not sure that we are making any headway. Our response in love should reflect our Heavenly Father. God is Love. Love never fails. God never fails. Continuing to show love through patience, kindness, and unending faith and hope is reflective of the commitment God has shown us. We must continue in love, we must continue trusting God, our Father who never fails.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

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 fortoday nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:35-38

God is Love!

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. I John 4:16

It’s my birthday today. I will celebrate 47 years of life today. What a blessing! Birthdays and other important milestones often means a time of reflection. It may be a time to acknowledge accomplishments and to consider dreams that have yet to come to pass. I am thankful for the many experiences that God has allowed thus far for my life. Some experiences have strengthened me or challenged me to grow and mature. And, hopefully it has allowed me to shed shortcomings. Of course, I have many things yet to experience on my journey and I am blessed and thankful for God’s love for me and the love shown to me by others.

As for the road ahead, I am asking God for clear direction, the courage to go where He is leading and to experience His Peace and Love each step of the way. I have so many people who bring joy and support to my life. I am thankful for each one, family and friends, who show their love and concern for me as we travel along this journey. I extend blessings of love, peace and joy to each of you!

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.  Jeremiah 31:3

The hustle and bustle of my day is usually full of interactions with people who come from all walks of life. Sometimes we encounter people who may be hard to understand or difficult to get along with. Our first response may be to shorten the interaction because it is uncomfortable or it may be that we just don’t want to be bothered. But as believers we are called to represent Christ and to consider what he would do in that situation. So many people are stretched in their finances, in their emotions and just stressed out. You hear it in their voices, see it in their faces and we see it on the news where people just mentally snap and do the unthinkable. I believe we are compelled to show God’s love in the midst of it all. We should be motivated to be caring and kind in our interactions with one another. The cost is usually free, it may take a little bit more time but a little kindness can go a long way toward making a difference.

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.   I John 4:16

Dear Father-

God is Love. Your love brings healing, deliverance and salvation to the world. I thank You for the blessing of Your devotion and attention to my life.  I praise You that each day Your love is wrapped around my life and dwells within me. Help me to show Your love to every person I encounter today. Let kindness and concern radiate through me.  Your love is perfect and complete for me.  Thank You for the gift of Your love.  God is Love.

Amen

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. Ephesians 3:14-20 (New Living Translation)

This is one of my favorite prayers, shared in the Bible. Paul is writing to the Ephesians with this heart-filled desire for their lives – to come to an understanding of God’s Love for us. Although His love is immeasurable – too wide, too long, too high and too deep, it is complete and has the power to transform our lives beyond our imagination. It provides strength and power for a fullness of life that comes from God. We have heard it many times that God loves us. Acknowledging this Love in this context allows us to think about how strong, powerful and complete God’s love is for each of us. We are loved beyond measure.

Trust the Lord, and do good things.

Live in the land, and practice being faithful.

Be happy with the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Entrust your ways to the Lord.

Trust him, and he will act on your behalf.   Psalm 37:4 – 5

Our God loves us so much. As a faithful Father, He sees our needs and the desires of our heart. As we put our trust in the Lord and commit our ways based on His Word, God continues to act on our behalf. He responds to our trust, our faith and our delight in His ways. What a blessing that God loves us and cares for us to meet our need and will give us plus love with the desires of our heart.

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. I John 4:9-10

On my personal checks I added a printed message that “God is Love”.  I am not sure how many people will see it but it is my small encouragement campaign to people I may never meet. We can all use a reminder from time to time of who God is and His eternal love for us.  No matter where we find ourselves on the spectrum of faith today, God loves us. It’s a love that is unconditional and everlasting.  It is patient; it is kind; and it has provided a pathway to a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for God’s love for us and the opportunity to extend it to others.