Tag Archives: love

Truth: Day 8—I Can Trust God

What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned, that I will do.

Isaiah 46:11

He will do what He says He will do. Always.

No broken promises, no empty words.

There is none truer than Him.

Not soft. Not weak. True.

He doesn’t leave. Doesn’t give up. Never takes His love away.

He holds nothing over me. Fully forgives.

No shadows, no darkness. Only light.

I had learned to never trust. To keep my distance. My wall was rather high. But little by little He took away the bricks and loved me. One promise at a time He was faithful to me. Not hurried. No impatience. Just steady presence, steady love.

And it healed me. Delivered me. Changed me. Rescued me.

So I declare truth and it helps me live truth.

No matter what comes. No matter what it looks like or feels like. No matter how much I want to run.

I can trust God.

Declaration & Praise: Day 12

“Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before Him.” – Ephesians 1:3-4

“We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!” – Ephesians 2:3-5

Today I declare that He is the One who blesses me. He is the One who chose me. He is the One who makes me holy and blameless.

I will not look to myself or to others for what can only come from God.

I was dead and now I live. I was under wrath, now I am under grace – because there is a great love that exists in God for me.

In the same way, my brothers and sisters in Christ were dead, and now they live. They were under wrath, but are now under grace. There is a great love that exists in God for them.

Today, I will remember that I am not alone in the grace in which I stand. I am not alone in being chosen, holy, blameless, and loved by God.

I will choose to see myself and others in the Body of Christ from the perspective of truth.

Declaration & Praise: Day 3

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” – Ephesians 1:1
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” – 1 John 3:1

I abound in grace, am lavished with love, and have been given every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. You are able to do far more abundantly than all that I ask of You. You have supply for my every need, more than enough strength for my weakness, and peace for my troubled heart.

You give hope when I feel hopeless, and courage when I feel afraid. When the way in front of me looks dark, You give Your Word to light up my steps. And when I was utterly lost, You gave Your Son for my salvation. You are the giver of every good thing.

You give me the power to walk where You have called me, and boldness to keep walking it out even in the face of opposition. You have equipped me for every battle, and every victory comes from You.

You are an open handed God, and Your every promise is yes and amen.

Today, I will refuse to believe that You withhold from me, or that You are anything but generously good to me. I will refuse to allow fear and anxiety over my future rule my heart today, for You have given me my days, and will provide for each one.

Today, I will live an open handed life. I will not cling to what is mine, but will give out from the abundance I have been given. I will not withhold love, mercy, or time. I will not invest in myself more than I invest in others. I will be a lavish giver of all You have given to me.

You are a good, good Father, and I will seek to ever praise You with the way that I live my life.

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 37

“And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of fragrant oil and stood behind Him at His feet, weeping, and began to wash His feet with her tears. She wiped His feet with the hair of her head, kissing them and anointing them with the fragrant oil…

…When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner…

…Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Luke 7:37-38, 47

Lord, You are so worthy of every last drop of us, every bit of our worship, all of our adoration.

I pray that, with full abandon, disregarding reputation and audience, I will love You with all that I am. I pray that nothing will be too costly to pour out for You and that I will gladly let the world watch my devotion to You. I pray that mine will never be a hidden love, and that I will never hold back because of who is listening and watching. I pray that I will always be willing to push past shame, push past what others think, to make my way to the feet of my Savior and love Him much.

Father, may the Church become abandoned to You. I pray that You will draw us back to this kind of love, to be a people that weep over You. A people pouring out all they have over You, because You are worthy of everything. Worthy of nothing held back.

Open our eyes again, Lord, to the truth that we have been forgiven much. May our sins never be disregarded, seen as little that we have been forgiven. Oh Lord, remind us again and again that we are the woman with the alabaster jar, sinners forgiven much.

May we love You like that, Lord. Emptied of pride, emptied of self. Risking scorn and disapproval. Our grateful hearts on full display as we pour ourselves out on You.

May we love much.

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 36

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Romans 12:9-10

Father, teach us to love well. Teach us to love true. Help us to stop feigning love, and run to You, our one true source of love, to teach us true love. I pray that our own kind of love will diminish, as Your love fills us and begins to overflow from us. I pray that every motive of our heart will be love for You and love for others.

I pray that we will not say we love You, but refuse to hate sin. I pray that from a place of love, we will speak truth, and from a place of love we will give grace, without offering compromise.

I pray that our love for one another would not stop with our words, but would be demonstrated in our actions. Lord, bring forth devotion in Your children, a devotion to You and to one another. I pray that we will begin to lift our brothers and sisters in Christ above ourselves. I pray for a self-sacrificing love to being to fill the hearts of Your people, a love that compels us to lay down our own interests and our own comfort for the sake of the Body of Christ. Fill us with a love that propels us to leave our comfort zone, to leave what brings us security and go to the uttermost for those You call us to serve.

I pray that we will stop re-enacting Your foot washing, and start doing our own by serving one another from a place of sincere love. I pray that the sound of grumbling and complaining will stop in the camp of God’s people, and that we will embrace our call to love and serve one another with joy.

I pray that we would not jockey for position or status, but that we would desire to see others lifted higher than ourselves, because we love. I pray we would step back and urge others forward, because we love. I pray we would give the most and the best away to others, because we love. I pray that we will fight for our brothers and sisters and not against them, because we love. I pray that we will always make room and make time, because we love.

And in the Name of Jesus, I pray You will do all of this, in me. Amen.

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 30

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…”

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”

Matthew 5:10; 2 Timothy 3:12; Matthew 5:44

Father, I pray for the persecuted Christians around the world, and I ask that Your presence would be so near to them, so tangible to them. I pray they will be strengthened in mind, body, and spirit by the Holy Spirit as they endure. I pray that You will encourage their hearts and be their continual comfort. I pray they will have the courage to speak truth, to preach the gospel, and to love those who are persecuting them. I pray that they will see the salvation of their persecutors! I pray that in the midst of persecution, Your Church will increase and be strengthened.

I pray for us, those who are not currently enduring serious persecution. Urge our hearts to pray for our brothers and sisters in the persecuted Church, Lord. Open our eyes to see them, and open our mouths to cry out on their behalf.

Father, I pray for an increased desire in Your people to live godly lives, even if it brings persecution. I pray that our souls will not yield to fear, will not yield to culture, will not yield to opinion, but will yield only to You. I pray we will steadfastly walk in Your ways, speak Your truth, and long for Your return. Strengthen us, and give us courage to walk contrary to the world around us, and to endure any persecution that comes from it. I pray that we will take the gospel You have entrusted to us into every place You send us, regardless of where that is. I pray that the gospel will go forth in increasing measure in the earth, especially in the western world. I pray for an increase in our witness here in the United States. May we see an increase in the sharing of the gospel in our neighborhoods, our grocery stores, our schools, and our workplaces. May we be willing to cross man made boundaries with Your life saving truth. I pray You will give us Your eyes to see the lost around us, and Your heart to see them saved. I pray, Father, that Your people will sense the urgency of the hour, and respond to Your Spirit.

I pray that You will teach us to pray for our enemies. May we be found praying for those who hurt us, reject us, and threaten us. Fill our hearts with Your love that we might actually, truly, love those who come against us. And in the days to come, in our hour of persecution, I pray that the Church in the west will rise up to be Your witnesses, not our own.

Prepare us, God, I pray. Prepare us to endure to the end. Prepare us to overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of our testimony. Prepare us to love not our lives, even unto death.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

Revelation 12:11

Increase our longing for You, Jesus. Increase our desire to walk as You walked, to partake of Your suffering, as well as Your joy. Let the pull of this earth lose its strength over us, as the pull of heaven draws us to fix our eyes on You. May we, for the joy set before us, take up our own cross and follow You.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

always

1 corinth 13 7

Always. Big word.

Love always protects. It doesn’t have bad days that make the hearts of those around us fair game to our anger, self-pity or our need to be first.

Love always trusts. When everything shakes. When everything hurts. When nothing and no one can be trusted. Love trusts the goodness and the sovereignty of God. Always.

Love always hopes. It doesn’t wring its’ hands in anxiety, it waits with expectation that God will be good no matter how hopeless things look.

Love always perseveres. It doesn’t walk away when things get hard. It keeps on keeping on because it knows it will be worth every struggle, every tear, every bit of dying to self it had to do.

Love never fails. It doesn’t fall away, back off or back down. Love holds its’ position at all times. Love never fails to be love.

But here it is. We will not know this kind of love as long as we are the center of our lives. While it’s about us, we will not experience an always kind of love. We will have to fight and scratch and beg to get something that doesn’t even come close. And we will settle for close enough. We will settle for love that protects on good days, trusts until it feels insecure, hopes until things look hopeless and will not stick around for the hard parts. Love that fails to always be love.

We will not only settle for receiving that kind of love, but giving that kind of love.

If we want to know this always love that changes everything, changes us, changes the atmosphere, changes lives…Jesus must come first. Our lives will have to be about Him always. After the worship service and sermon are long over. When no one else is watching. When we feel like everything is under our control, going well, coming together. When we are criticized. When the money runs out. In sickness and in health.

Jesus can’t just be our everything when our everything else is going wrong.

When what we do, speak, live, is for Jesus, we will know His always love and it will overflow from us into a world that has settled for so much less. They may never know the dying we had to do to always love them. They won’t know how hard we had to wrestle our flesh to the ground while asking God to make us like Him. That’s ok. They’ll know what God wants them to know.

There is an always Love pursuing them, and they don’t have to settle for less.