abandoned to Christ.

The love that we’re all looking for, can only be found in the Person of Jesus Christ (John 15:13). Regardless of your religious affiliations or spiritual inclinations, the Creator God, made every human being in His image, and put the desire to love and be loved into every heart. That’s why we all seek it so desperately and some are left utterly despondent when they can’t find it. Everyone needs and wants the forever, unconditional, faithful, and exclusive love that only seeks the benefit of the object of its love, with no thought to how it will effect the giver. This is agape love; the love of God. This exclusive love that everyone desires is known solely by Christians, because we know God —who is love (1 John 4:8). It’s only logical to conclude that if God Himself is the very definition of love, then without Him, love is left undefined, therefore unattainable. While we may have some warm feelings, affections, passions and attachments to one another, none of these wil...

My wonderful and wise husband posted this on our family's Facebook ministry page yesterday and I was so encouraged by it, I wanted to share what it with all of you. Read. Listen. Be blessed. "Commit your way to the LORD, trust in him, and he will act" ~Psalm 37:5 This verse stands in stark contrast to a popular phrase in the church today, "Let go and let God". We usually hear this phrase related to a difficult trial we may be going through, even our struggle to die to ourselves, our sinful desires. Just stop worrying about it and let God take care of everything...so the thinking goes. In his book, The Discipline of Grace, Jerry Bridges writes, "There's no question that we are responsible to pursue holiness with all the intensity the word pursue implies. Every moral imperative in the Bible addresses itself to our responsibility to discipline ourselves unto godliness. We aren't just to 'turn it all over to the Lord' ...

Yesterday we got to closely examine the first two verses of Romans 12:9-13. This amazing passage is filled with so much of God's goodness, trying to discuss it in one article is like trying to drink out of a fire hydrant—though you're thirst will be quenched, much of the rich nourishment will be wasted. Since a meal is best enjoyed when it can be savored, not when it's being shoved down your throat, we'll continue to take our time and cover only verse 11 today. "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." ~Romans 12:9-13 (ESV) Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit [or Spirit], serve the Lord.  I love how God uses two totally opposi...