I am Convinced...By God's Love!

I really am convinced by this beautiful love that God has for us.  Who can measure it?  Who can know it fully?  Only He knows how much He loves and adores us.  When all else fails, it's His love that holds me up.  When my world comes tumbling down, His love causes me to stand.  Not because of anything I have in myself or anything I could do on my own.  Just by the Word of God and this beautiful love that changes everything.  Be convinced by His love and know that nothing can ever separate you from it...never and nothing!

I am sharing at a Mother's Day brunch about my favorite subject...God's love.   I cannot think of a better theme and I am so excited.  The Lord gave me a vision to take Romans 8:38-39 and bring it to life from a child's perspective.  God desires for us to be child-like in our faith.  So I asked my 5 and 7 year old daughters to draw the pictures for me.  Nothing in my imagination could have prepared me for the outcome.  God gave me the vision but He brought it to life through the thoughts and expressions of my daughters.  I am blessed that Grace and Bella can express in drawing God's deep and lasting love for us.  I thank God for them and the blessing that this little book has had in my life and others.  I wanted to share it with the world!  A very, very special thank you goes out to Mrs. Laura Reyes, my fellow laborer in Christ, who spent hours of her time using her God given gifts to make these pages come alive!  I love you and thank you with all of my heart! 

My prayer as you read Romans 8:38-39 and see the pictures, that you would know that God's love for you is real.  It can never be taken from you for any reason.  God's love changes people and I hope this book changes you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Give up!

 

Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  

A friend of mine once gave me a refrigerator magnet that read, “Raising Teenagers is Like Trying to Nail Jello to a Tree.”  I remember reading it and wondering what that meant.  I’m still not exactly sure what this saying means, but I am certain that in the midst of raising teenagers, I am coming into a more solid understanding of this silly saying! 

Raising teenagers is a challenge.  I remember the days when my sweet this 5 year old twin boys hung on to every word I said.  I could even tease them and they would believe me.  But something happens to teenagers on their 13^th birthday.  It seems on that very day they develop gross hearing loss and all of the words we say from that day forward are met with deaf ears.  I am reminded by my deaf teenagers that my advice and ideas are from the “old days” and not for the here and now. 

To tell the truth, as soon as the teenage years start, everything our teenagers have promised they wouldn’t do, they find themselves doing.  Everything they swore would never happen, starts happening.  Honestly, I have lost sleep over worrying.  I have worn myself out trying to control things.  I have lost hope in preaching to them.   I have lost my voice trying to persuade them.  So after some consideration, I have decided to give up!

Now I don’t mean I have given up on my teenagers.  That’s not the case.  But I have given up on myself.  I have given up trying to control them.  I have given up on trying to manipulate them to do what I want them to do.  I have given up trying to keep them for myself.  I have given them up to Jesus Christ.  I have handed them over to Him knowing He has all of the wisdom, all of the power, all of the ability to do all that He wants with my teenagers!  I feel so much peace giving up and I think you should give up too! 

This mother gave up….

Luke 7:12-15  As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.  And a large crowd from the town was with her.  When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”  Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still.  He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  The dead man sat up and began to talk and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Here is this mother who could not be more hopeless.  Her son had died.  She cries out to Jesus.  He sees her and has compassion on her.  He meets the child’s need for healing.  And He gives the child back to the mother!  Restoration at its best!  The Mother gave up and Jesus met the child’s need and then He returns him better than he was before!

This Father gave up….

Luke 9:38  A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child.  A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth.  It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him.  I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.  “O unbelieving and perverse generation,”  Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you?  Bring your son here.  Even while the boy was coming, demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion.  But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 

You see the same pattern?  The father is desperate and He calls out to the One who has the ability to meet his child’s need.  Jesus recognizes the need and responds.  After He delivers the boy from the evil spirit, Jesus hands him back to the father.  Restoration!  The Father gave up and Jesus met the child’s need and then returns him to the father completely changed!    

Even Hannah gave up…

1Samuel 1:11  And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head. 

Hannah was desperate.  She called out to the Lord and He heard her.  Before she ever laid eyes on that little baby, she had given up!  She had given him over to the Lord.  As soon as she weaned Samuel, she brought him to the temple.   Of all of the places in the world, Samuel had to stay at Eli’s house!  Eli was a horrible father.  But you see, it didn’t matter where Samuel grew up or what he was exposed to or where he went, Hannah have given up.  She had given up Samuel to the Lord and she trusted Him.  Hannah gave up and Jesus met the child’s needs and He handed him back to Hannah as one of the greatest prophets in history!

So how do we raise awesome teenagers?  What’s our answer?  We give up!  We become hopeless in ourselves.  We give them over to the Lord and He will return them healed, delivered, and changed in ways we could never have accomplished on our own.  Give up!  Hand them over.  Let us call out to the Lord and He will hear us.  He will meet our teenager’s needs in the most amazing ways!   But first, we must give up! 

Being Last

Mark 10:44  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 

 

It’s not natural to think of others first and to serve them.  In fact, I think of myself and my needs a lot more often than I think of others.  The world shows us we need to win in life.  We need to think of ourselves first.  The world says it’s best to win the race.  But the bible teaches winning the race means we come in last place.  Matthew 20:16  So the last will be first, and the first will be last. 

My nursing job is a huge blessing.  I know it’s a gift from God.  But I usually forget this fact some time during my week.  My focus turns away from the Lord and His service and on to myself.  Instead of my feet being shod with the Gospel of peace, I start to stomp my feet and make silly demands.  I ponder on my job’s shortcomings and their unfairness.  After all, why do I have to always be the one that gets floated off of the floor to other units?  Shouldn’t someone else have to do it?   And on and on it goes. 

Over the last several weeks, the Lord has taught me some very valuable lessons.  The first is, if I want to be servant of God, I must be willing to be last.  Mark 9:35  If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last.  If I want to be effective for the Lord, I must be willing to be last…the very last.  Secondly, my service to the Lord has NOTHING to do with me, but ALL do with Him.  To be successful in serving the Lord, it requires God’s grace.  It requires dying to myself.  It requires seeing life with an eternal perspective.  Matthew 6:19  Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  

 

Sadly, the last week, I stomped my feet.  I got floated off of my usual floor to the 8^th floor.  I have had some difficult days on this floor over the past several months.  Days where I left crying.  So when the charge nurse notified me I was being floated, I made my voice known.  I just didn’t want to have another day like I had last time.  I even threatened that I would go home.  But the Lord worked with me and reminded me that it’s NOT about me, and ALL about Him.  He directs my path.  I am blessed that I decided to follow Him.   

When I transferred to the 8^th floor, my first patient was a man named Joe who had a terminal disease.  He knew he was dying and he knew it wouldn’t be long.  He had made some choices in his life that cost him his health.  He started sobbing and telling me, “I just want to die.  If I am going to die, I just want to get it over with.”  He had nothing to live for.  He had nothing to look forward to. 

When he was crying, I told him the only thing I wanted him to think about today was how much Jesus thought of him and how much he loved him.  He sobbed even more.  That morning, I asked the Lord how I could serve Joe.  The Lord spoke to my heart, “Just serve him with love.”  So I did.  I brought him water.  I brought him food from the refrigerator.  I kept him informed.  I encouraged him.  I loved him.  I served him.  Never underestimate being last and serving others with the love of Jesus.  It just changes people.  By the end of the day, Joe was a new man.  The Lord had completely touched him.  He thanked me with a smile at the end of my shift for taking good care of him.  The love of God changes people.   

So with this experience, you would think the stomping of my feet would stop, right?  Well, it didn’t.  This week, staffing called me again and wanted to float me to the 8^th floor.  I protested and told them I didn’t want to go.  There was silence on the other end of the line, an awkward silence.  But the Lord caused me to remember.  Serving isn’t about me.  It’s all about Him.  It’s about being last.  So I died to myself and followed Him.      

There was this beautiful young woman lying in her bed deathly ill.  Grace had quit her job over the past couple of years because she had some many emotional and psychological problems that she couldn’t work.  She had three kids.  She was alone and unloved.  All day, I served her with the love of Jesus.  I brought her a warm towel for her forehead.  I brought her a basin when she got sick to her stomach.  I rubbed her back when she was nauseous.  I brought her medicine.  I shared with her how Jesus had changed my life and how much he loved her and wanted to change hers. 

Then she told me…the real reason for her pain and suffering.  Grace had attempted suicide when she was 15 years old right after she had had an abortion.  She had gotten pregnant and she was forced to have an abortion and kill her baby.  I just wanted to cry for her.  I could see the weight of guilt she carried around for almost 20 years.  It was a day I was very thankful to be last and serve Jesus with all my heart.  I got the privilege of telling Grace that any time she wanted to come to Jesus, He would forgive and restore her.  He would take that weight of sin off of her and remove her guilt as if it had never happened.  He could heal her body and heal her mind.  I just wanted her to know that Jesus still loved her.  Tears welled up in her eyes when I told her she could be free.  Jesus was her answer.   

Friends, it’s a beautiful thing to be last.  It’s a beautiful thing to serve Jesus with a His compassion.  It’s a joy to die to myself and serve Him.  I wonder why I don’t do it more often.  I wonder why I come back time and time again wanting to serve myself when Jesus has proved to me what it’s like to be last and a servant of all.  Friends, let’s come over that finish line last.  The world won’t understand it.  But if we are willing to be last, it’s then and only then, we will be first.   

Below is a song by Lincoln Brewster that has ministered to me in this time of growth with the Lord.  It’s called “The Power of His Name”  Below are some of the words to this song. 

Jesus Your name

Is a shelter for the hurting
and Your name
Is a refuge for the weak
Only Your name
Can redeem the undeserving
Jesus Your name
Holds everything I need

And I will live
To carry Your compassion
To love a world that's broken
To be Your hands and feet
And I will give
With the life that I've been given
And go beyond religion
To see this world be changed
By the power of Your name

***All names have been changed to protect identity.