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In this world we are like Jesus…. (devo reflection)

1 John 4:17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 

When I think of my actions, words, behaviors of the past 24 hours, holding up “In this world we are like Jesus” as my litmus test, I must honestly admit that I’m not doing so well. While there were bright moments of love and kindness, there were lots of grumpy, frustrated, annoyed, petty moments, too. Jesus, Help me.

1 John 4:18a There is no fear in love…. 

It takes a lot of energy to love prickly people. Their defensive armor is thick and my energy is very low at present. And as I read 1 John 4:18a today, the thought struck me that perhaps my low energy and frustration lead me to fear–that I will keep trying to love anyway and will keep getting rebuffed, that in trying to love like Jesus, *I* will be rejected as He was. And at this time of the year, I crave kindness and acceptance from the world more than I’d like to admit. Jesus, Help me.

1 John 4:18b …But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment…. 

Lord, Some days my weak, earthly humanity keeps smacking me in the face. I want to be like You in this world. But I also want kindness and acceptance. Help me to love others confidently, without fear. Help me to cling to You always. You love me fiercely and completely. I am Yours. Help me to live that precious truth. Amen.

1 John 4:18c …The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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Love like Jesus…. (devo reflection)

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

The distance between verse 19 and verse 20 is jarring to me, though I suppose it shouldn’t be. We love because God loved us–warts and all–first. But we can’t claim to love God if we can’t even love the folks around us.

1 John 4:20a Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar…. 

So, ok, I can hand-select the folks I want to love, right? Nope. Jesus on the cross comes to mind, praying with His last breath, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” That prayer at that moment took so much love. Loving like Jesus isn’t about hand-selecting who is worthy of love.

1 John 4:20b …For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 

Lord, Your command to love is simple but not always easy. You call us to love like You do–fiercely, completely, wholeheartedly. Help me to love all those whom I encounter today, especially those whom I don’t really like. Help me to love like Jesus–past temporary feelings and with eternal purpose. Amen.

1 John 4:21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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Love is the answer…. (devo reflection)

1 John 4:15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 

Lord, Sometimes things feel so incredibly difficult–What’s the right thing to do? What’s the right thing to say? How do I love like Jesus in this fallen world? You tell us again and again that love is the answer–Love one another. Love as Jesus loved. Love God, love others. Forgive me that I’m so slow learning this lesson.

1 John 4:16a And so we know and rely on the love God has for us….

Lord, Once this lesson to love sinks in, then I start equivocating: You don’t really mean everybody, right? Not the person who hurt me, surely. Not the person who is mean or cruel or vindictive. Not the terribly unlovable person. Surely You don’t mean those folks, too. You call me to love. Help me to love like Jesus–fully, unconditionally, past faults and mistakes and missteps. Help me to love others the way You love me–fiercely and completely, even when I don’t deserve it.

1 John 4:16b …God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 

Lord, My worth, my value is in You alone. Even on my bad days, You see my worth. Help me to see others the way that You see me. Help me to love others the way that You love me. Help me to know and rely on the love You have for me and to share that love with all I encounter. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

1 John 4:17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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Loving like Jesus…. (devo reflection)

1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 

What does it mean to love one another as Jesus loves us? Just thinking of His love for His disciples, that means guiding, instructing, forgiving, shielding, encouraging, not getting stuck in frustration, helping them see what they are capable of–even if they are hesitant or resistant. That’s a really high bar.

1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

Sometimes loving one another just means being present, reminding others that Jesus is with them, loves them, even when life doesn’t make any sense. Sometimes it means giving others space or time to process and breathe when what you really want is connection.

1 John 4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 

Lord, There are so many ways to show love for one another. Help me today to seek to show Your love to every person I meet. We all just want to feel loved, seen, accepted, Lord. Help me to be Your hands and feet and heart. Help me to love as You love. Amen.

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

Have a blessed day.

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The good things in our lives…. (devo reflection)

Psalm 118:23 This is from the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

I had lunch with a dear friend yesterday, and we were talking about how easy it is to overlook all the good things in our lives because the things that worry us loom so large. We joked that if either of us figured out how to stay present in the now and appreciate the little things, we should let the other know. That conversation is what brought me to these verses today.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I don’t believe Jesus was aiming for toxic positivity here, but I think He was reminding us that He IS with us always, that He DOES shower us with blessings daily, even on the hard days, that He understands “the anguish of [our] soul,” that His joy can be our strength if we allow.

Psalm 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul.

Lord, Help us to learn how to be present in each moment, how to see the beauty of Your world, the joy of all the little things that let us know You are here, You know us, see us, love us, even in our pain and doubt. Help us to rejoice and be glad in this day, this moment because You are with us. Amen.

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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No matter what this mess looks like from my angle…. (devo reflection)

Romans 15:13a May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace… 

I’m struggling with the fact that people whom I love and care about are struggling. I want to help, want to fix it, and I can’t, which makes me frustrated, makes me feel helpless. But God says He will never leave me nor forsake me, so I know He’s with me now, too.

Romans 15:13b …as you trust in him… 

Romans 15:13 reminds me that joy and peace come from the God of hope. The goal is not the *I* can fix it, not the *He* can fix it according to my idea of what it *should* be. The goal is to remember that God is sovereign and in control, and no matter what this mess looks like from my angle, God’s got it. He’s already made a way. He is victorious, and we are victorious through Him. Trusting in Him (and you know how I struggle with trust) means trusting that even though I can see no way of the situation being ok, God’s got it. That trust in Him, in His power and love, sovereignty and compassion, will allow me to overflow with His hope.

Romans 15:13c …so that you may overflow with hope… 

Precious Savior, I want to overflow with Your hope. I want to be surrounded by Your joy and peace. The only way to do that is to surrender to You, to trust–fully trust–in You. I do, Lord. I trust You. But I feel like I should be *doing* as well as trusting. And that way leads to misery, I know. Help me to trust in You. Help those I love and care about who are struggling to trust in You, too. Help us, Lord. Please. Amen.

Romans 15:13d …by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Have a blessed day.

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Love one another…. (devo reflection)

John 13:31-32 When [Judas] was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

These verses occur shortly before the crucifixion. Judas has just left to betray Jesus. Jesus knows His time on earth is short. He wants to be sure that His disciples are ready, that they are prepared for life without Him, for the work He has for them to do.

John 13:33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

Jesus knows these are some of His last earthly words to His disciples. And I find it fascinating and telling that twice, in verse 34 and 35, He reminds them that they are to love one another. And not only that, they are to love as He has loved them–past faults and failures that haven’t even happened yet, through silly fights and serious issues, through mistakes and missteps. We are to love others as He loves us. That all-encompassing love is the way others will know that we are His.

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 

Lord, I want the world to know that I am Yours. I also want to love others well as You command, as You love me. People can be so unlovable sometimes. I know because I can be, too. Help me to love as you love, especially when it’s difficult. Help me to shine your light. Always. Amen.

John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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The struggle…. (devo reflection)

Jeremiah 17:5 This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

Lord, The picture you create here is so clear, so vivid. Those who trust in man, in themselves, are “cursed,” doomed to wander in “the wastelands,” “parched,” dried up, abandoned. No part of that picture is appealing, and yet, even though I *know,* I KNOW You are with me always, You are working all things for my good and Your glory, even though I know these truths, I struggle to trust, I struggle with doubt and fear.

Jeremiah 17:6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

Lord, I do trust You, I DO, and yet I am so consumed by doubt and fear at times. We have dealt with this very issue again and again and again, You and I. My inner critic wants to beat myself up for my inability to “Let go and let God,” but I know that’s not helpful. You are my refuge and strength, Lord, my ever present help in times of trouble. My head understands this, as does my heart, but still I am afraid.

Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.

Lord, I know “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). I want Your peace so desperately. And I know *I* am the one who has to fully surrender this fear so that I can take up Your mantle of peace. Help me, Jesus. Help me. Amen.

Jeremiah 17:8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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This promise of presence…. (devo reflection)

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

My pastor says often that the worst thing is never the last thing. How can he be so sure? Because God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. Why? Because God is with us. No matter how bad, how chaotic things are, God is with us. Always.

Psalm 46:2a Therefore we will not fear… 

But Psalm 46 goes deeper than that. This promise of presence isn’t just for when the answer is no or when something doesn’t go our way. We do not need to fear even though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the sea, even though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake. We don’t ever need to fear because God is with us. Always. Especially when the world feels like it is falling apart.

Psalm 46:2b …though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

Lord, If I could just put unwavering trust in You, the constant worry and doubt that eat at me would be no more. Forgive me that I have such a hard time trusting. Thank You for the progress I’ve made.  Keep working with me, on me, as I learn to trust You always. No matter what happens in this life, Lord, I know You’ve got me. I KNOW it. I believe. Help my unbelief. Amen.

Psalm 46:3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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My refuge and strength…. (devo reflection)

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1 brings to mind Jesus’s words in Matthew 28:20, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Jesus is our refuge, our strength, our ever-present help in trouble because He is with us. Always. We learn that truth in religious education, but it doesn’t really become rock-solid faith until that’s all we have left to hold on to.

Psalm 46:2a Therefore we will not fear… 

Here’s my big issue: When I ask for help, I have a really clear idea of what that help should look like. I’m a planner. I have lots of ideas about how things should be. But God’s thoughts are not my thoughts. His ways are far beyond anything I can imagine (Isaiah 55:8). So while I’m freaking out because things are not as they should be, Jesus, my refuge and strength, my ever-present help in trouble is working all things for my good and His glory (Romans 8:28).

Psalm 46:2b …though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

Lord, There are so many things in this world that I don’t understand. But You don’t ask me to understand. You ask me to trust You. Help me to trust that You are with me always, even to the end of the age. Help me to trust that You are my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Help me to trust that the worst thing isn’t the last thing and that Your ways are far beyond anything I could imagine. Help me to trust You. Always. Amen.

Psalm 46:3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Have a blessed day. I love you.