L0V3

Every time I hear a teenager throwing around the word "love" my heart sinks. You've heard it before... I love your new shoes!... I love the new Twilight movie... I love sleeping in... I love my boyfriend/girlfriend... And the list goes on.

The world has lost the original meaning of love. Our new meaning of love is associated with food, clothes, movies, music, and short-lived relationships. We tend to use a word so much that the real meaning of the word doesn't affect us like it should. I mean face it, do you really love the new Twilight movie as much as you love your parents or siblings? I certainly hope not..

True Love = God. God = Love. We can not truly know Love, show Love, or feel Love, unless we know and abide in God. It's really that simple. Know God, and you'll know Love. It might not come from a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse the way you want it to, but He will always Love you to the fullest extent.

Beloved, let us Love one another, for Love is from God;
and everyone who Loves is born of God and knows God.
The one who does not Love does not know God, for God is Love.
(1 John 4:7-8)

I think sometimes we forget that Love and God go hand in hand. When we get angry or frustrated with someone who isn't loving us up to our standards, we need to step back and really look at the situation. Are they abiding in God? Are we abiding in Him? Because if either of those aspects is missing, the love we're looking for is going to be slightly off balance.

We Love, because He first Loved us.
(1 John 4:19)

He gave the ultimate example of True Love. He set the standards, and we have the challenge of Loving those around us in the same way He loves us. We will be able to Love others, to truly Love them, if we are abiding in God and staying in a daily relationship with Him. Abiding with Him will allow us to know Him and see His Love for us. Then we can live by His example, Loving those around us. When we Love those around us - He is glorified!!!

“Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory of God. Love means doing all we can, at whatever cost to ourselves, to help people be enthralled with the glory of God. When they are, they are satisfied and God is glorified. Therefore loving people and glorifying God are one.”

Blessed

I had never heard this song until about 1/2 hour ago. One of my friends sent it to me this morning when I was waiting to find out the results of Mom's latest oncology tests... This song is incredible. Even if you don't listen to it (although it's worth listening too.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fCHSgCuh6M&feature=avmsc2 And there's no screaming. I promise ;-)), the lyrics are powerful.

I have seen the many faces of fear and of pain
I have watched the tears fall plenty from heartache and strain
So if life's journey has you weary and afraid
There's rest in the shadow of His wings

I have walked through the valleys, the mountains, and plains
I have held the hand of freedom that washes all my stains
If you feel weight of many trials and burdens from this world
There's freedom in the shelter of the Lord

And I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of His peace
And hold on to what's being held out
The healing hand of God

And I have touched the scars upon His hands to see if they were real
He has walked the road before me, he knows just how I feel
When you feel that there's not anyone, who understands your pain
Just remember all of Jesus' suffering

'Cause I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of His peace
And hold on to what's being held out

Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you
He's near to the broken and confused
By His stripes our spirit is renewed
So enter in the joy prepared for you

I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of His peace
And hold on to what's being held out

The healing hand of God
The healing hand of God
The healing hand of God

And hold on to what's being held out
(Hold on)
And hold on to what's being held out
(Hold on)
The healing hand of God, oh, oh
(The Healing Hand of God, Jeremy Camp)

This next song is one of my favorites. It popped into my head this morning when I was thinking about how God had provided something for us we had been praying for as only He can. Then when Mom called and gave me good news, it got stuck in my head again, and I've sung it through many times today.

Water You turned into wine
Open the eyes of the blind
There’s no one like You
None like You
Into the darkness You shine
Out of the ashes we rise
There’s no one like You
None like You

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

Into the darkness you shining
Out of the ashes we Rise
There’s no One like You
None like You.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
What can stand against?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who can ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
Then what can stand against?
Then what can stand against?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
(Our God is Greater, Chris Tomlin)

I read in a devotional today that when you take the name of the song"Isn't He Wonderful?" and translate it from Chinese, it actually translates "Isn't Jesus Christ Amazingly Mysterious?" Wow. It goes on to say "It's not that wonderful is a bad word. It's just that 'amazingly mysterious' said much more about the nature of the Lord -- how He isn't just wonderful, but really awe-inspiring, extraordinary and beyond our understanding."

...That He is. We will never understand the depth of His love for us.

I have one more song(if you haven't noticed the pattern yet, I like music. A lot.) that we sang a lot when I was little. One that ties all the above together.

When He rolls up His sleeves
He ain't just puttin' on the ritz
(our God is an awesome God)
There is thunder in His footsteps
And lightning in His fist
(our God is an awesome God)
Well, the Lord wasn't joking
When He kicked 'em out of Eden
It wasn't for no reason that He shed his blood
His return is very close and so you better be believing
that our God is an awesome God

Our God(our God) is an awesome God
He reigns(He reigns) from heaven above
With wisdom(with wisdom) pow'r and love
our God is an awesome God

And when the sky was starless in the void of the night
(our God is an awesome God)
He spoke into the darkness and created the light
(our God is an awesome God)
Judgment and wrath he poured out on Sodom
Mercy and grace He gave us at the cross
I hope that we have not too quickly forgotten that
our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God
(Our God is an awesome God)
(Our God is an awesome God)
(Awesome God, Michael W. Smith)

My God, He is an Awesome God!!!

סֶלָה (Selah)

"You have to play the rests... In the air."

I can't count the amount of times I've heard that statement during piano lessons. Rests are those annoying little squiggles that someone spattered relentlessly through my sheet music. I found them quite a pain to give a fair amount of recognition to. My teacher preferred me to play them "in the air." I preferred to let everything slur together.

Throughout the Psalms, and even a couple times in Habakkuk, there is a tiny word that is put in with the prayers, pleads, and praises. Selah. It is said to be a musical term. A term that means something along the lines of "pause" or "rest." No one really seems to have a firm definition of it. But God didn't just throw it in there for the heck of it. He had a purpose behind every word in the Bible.

In those "rests" and "pauses," we are given the opportunity to stop and think about what we just read. I think too many people glance over those rests. That is where we are given the chance to make it our own, thinking over what we just read and really letting it sink it. I dare to say that too few people use the selah as an opportunity to sit and think.

When you hear an orchestra or a skilled piano player, they "play" the rests. They build, and then suddenly stop. It is silent. In that silence your mind is processing what you just heard and anticipating what is to come. Sometimes it is short, for a quarter beat, or maybe it is long, for a full measure. It gives you the time to appreciate what you just heard. Or in this case, read.

I play the rests now. I enjoy building up to them and playing them dramatically. Which, when you think about it, is kind of ironic. I'm not "doing" anything but giving my fingers a slight break. The power of the rest lies in the listener's mind, making them savor what they've heard.

The beauty lies within the silence. Play the rests.

Thou art my hiding place;
Thou dost preserve me from trouble;
Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah.

(Psalms 32:7)

Perfect Love

Fear.

Fear is a strong word. I don't use it for the dislike I have for earwigs, the nervous feeling I get when I have to speak in public, or how much I hate going to the dentist. Those are all dislikes.. Things I can get over with enough ice cream and caffeine ;-).
Fear is deeper then that. It gnaws at your mind and fills everything that you do. It whispers in your ear at night, keeping you awake. It brings paralyzing dreams. To put it plainly, it sucks.
I don't think there is anyone who hasn't at one time, struggled with fear. It could be losing someone, it could be someone getting sick, or failing a test. Whatever it is, it isn't healthy. It also isn't necessary.
I've been memorizing some passages from scripture lately; I came across them about three months ago and decided I really liked the way that they constantly highlight God's love. A section of those verses...

By this, love is perfected with us,
that we may have confidence in the day of judgment;
because as He is, so also are we in this world.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear;
because fear involves punishment,
and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
(1 John 4:17-18)

Once again, God was preparing me ahead of time with something I would need now. When that feeling of fear came up and started to work it's way into my head, I had these verses in my head. The rest of this passage talks about how God and the gift of His Son is the example of perfect love, and the only reason we love, is because He first loved us. It also says that...

If we love one another,
God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
(1 John 4:12)

So I ask... If love is perfected in us, then how can we fear? I mean really fear? Fear is something that the devil uses to terrorize our mind, trying to keep us from God. If we let it, it will drive us crazy. No doubt. So, when I get fearful, I pray. The other day, I wrote out a list of what God has done recently to show me His love.. I listen to worship songs. Anything to remind me of how much He loves me. The true amount of His love is unfathomable. We will never, ever be able to comprehend how much He truly loves us. The way He orchestrates things around us, making them work. The way He paves a way for us. The way He cradles us in His hand when life gets scary... I serve a Mighty God.

He is jealous for me,
Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all