Loving Knee-Deep

1 Peter 4:8
"Above all, love each other deeply,
because love covers over a multitude of sins."

You know, I've read this passage a gazillion times, but the last few times it has come to my attention, the word "deeply" has popped out like a goblin in the night. It could just say, "Above all, love each other, because love covers...." But there's that word: deeply.

I must confess, now that I've discovered this, it has changed my perspective on the word "love." I can't believe how many times a day I shower shallow love in my conversations (not that it's wrong, just that I notice it now).

"Oh, no worries...you know I luv ya, chica."
"I love, Love, LOVE your hair like that."
"Email ya more later. Love, LaLee."

And I mean those words. I do. In my knee-deep sort of way. God has shown me that the only way I can love deeply like he tells me to is if He loves through me.

This is the way God loves:

"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

may have power, together with all the saints,

to grasp how wide and long and high and deep 

is the love of Christ,

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-

that you may be filled to the measure 

of all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:17b-19

When He loves through me by the power of the Holy Spirit, it knows no bounds. It is unconditional. It fills others up. When I love knee-deeply by the power of my own knowledge, well...it's difficult to love the unloveable. I want it to be comfortable and easy.

Anyway, I'm thankful for His continued reminders to me that I can be "rooted and established in love"--the fully under-water kind--and that I have His powerful love to tap in to, if I am willing and get myself out of the way.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me so deeply. And may I love like you today, Father. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Big Deal, Down the Road

I was watching my eight-year-old daughter as we were driving down the freeway one day. Her eyes were busily occupied with all the scenes around her. It took me back to the memory of looking out the car window myself as a kid. Even though I lived in rural Illinois, the world seemed so big when I was looking out the window. Every car, every person, even the corn fields…BIG!

Now when I’m driving, I see lots of cars with little people in them holding hazy objects up to their ears. I used to study the expressions on the faces of people as they would pull up next to me….now I see a shadow out of the corner of my eye. I used to notice big buildings and distinctive landmarks. Now I’m lucky if I notice a speed limit sign or a curb (my SUV needs an alignment, go figure). Weird how I’ve just grown used to my surroundings.

The same is true of my view of God as a kid. He was larger than anyone I could ever imagine. He was somewhere way up high with really humongous ears and eyes. He was pulling the clouds with a string, and He was keeping all the events of the whole world in motion. “He’s got the whole world in His hands…..” was a regular melody inside my head. He was a great big God…..the BIGGEST!!!!

I still believe God is big, but sometimes I allow Him to be too common. I pass Him by as if He were another building or a blurry person in the car next to me. I get used to my surroundings, my way of life, my bubble.

When did this perspective change? And why? I don’t remember….the windows of my mind are blurry on the subject. I think maybe, though, on my journey to have a more personal relationship with Him, instead of Him becoming familiar in an awe-filled way, sometimes I’ve allowed Him to be familiar in a take-for-granted way. Yuck, hate to admit this stuff.

I don’t want to be a kid again. I don’t want to see God as the grand Puppeteer. However, I sincerely pray that my Best Friend, The Savior of my heart and the Lover of my soul would never become just another face to me. I pray that I can love Him as much as He loves me; all the while, remembering that NO ONE can love with that huge kind of love.

HE is my omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent OMNI-Friend. He’s a big deal to me.

"This new plan I'm making with Israel 

isn't going to be written on paper, 

isn't going to be chiseled in stone; 

This time I'm writing out the plan in them, 

carving it on the lining of their hearts. 

I'll be their God, 

they'll be my people. 

They won't go to school to learn about me, 

or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons. 

They'll all get to know me firsthand, 

the little and the big, the small and the great. 

They'll get to know me by being kindly forgiven, 

with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean."

Hebrews 8:10-12, The Message

What's Love Got To Do With It?

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth 

so that you have sincere love for your brothers, 

love one another deeply from the heart.”

1 Peter 1:22

"I LOVE that blouse!" "Ooooo, I love your hair!" "Didn’t you just love that movie?"

Tell me, what’s love got to do with it anyway? I love (not really) the way we’ve taken the one of the most powerful words of all and made it ordinary. Kind of ironic, isn’t it? Check out just a FEW of hundreds of verses about love as mentioned in Scripture:

Jeremiah 33:11- “His love endures forever.”

Lamentations 3:22- “Because of His great love, we are not consumed.”

John 15:12- “Love each other as I have loved you.”

1 John 3:16- “This is how we know what love is: 

Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 

And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

This sure puts “loving” a movie or a hairdo in context for me. What was really enlightening to me as I looked over some Scriptures on the topic is that many of them speak of “great love” or “deep love” or “how much” He loved us. Can we even truly grasp this concept?

The specific verse God laid on my heart one morning is the 1st Peter verse at the top. Before that day, it had never donned on me that we can have sincere love for one another without loving each other deeply. My mind is pooling over the great number of people that I claim to love. The list is long. 

But I wonder:

Can I honestly say that all of these people are someone I would die for as the verse in 1 John describes? And not just in the physical sense. What I envision when I picture dying for a "loved" one is really just dying to myself. Do I put their genuine needs before my own? Do I lay down my pride, my selfishness, my will to do things my own way? (Bear in mind, I am talking about healthy relationships, not codependent ones...this is a whole 'nother subject).

I can only love others on the deepest level when Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, loves through me. It all comes down to my life being surrendered to Him, growing in Him, knowing Him and loving Him first. Isn’t it amazing that every spiritual discipline comes back to our relationship with Him? It compels me to call on Him right now.

When we hit our knees to the floor today, can we all go together in unity, asking the Lord to show us the vast number of ways He has loved us deeply? His salvation will come to mind, of course. What else? How has He loved us in a way no one else has loved us before? How has He loved us when others have hurt us or let us down? How has His love changed our love for others? How can we love more deeply, whether in word or in deed? Is there someone specifically that He wants us to love more sacrificially?

What’s love got to do with it? Nothing, if we try to love in the flesh. Everything, if it has to do with Him loving through us. Let’s take root in His rich soil of perfect love this day, praying for one another to do the same.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 

may have power, together with all the saints, 

to grasp how wide and long and high and DEEP is the love of Christ 

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—

that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Now to HIM who is able to do immeasurably more 

than all we ask or imagine, according to His power 

that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church 

and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,

Forever and ever! AMEN.

Ephesians 3:17b-21

In the Key of HE,

WHOOPS! Howza 'bout Them Zingers?

***I sent this out to my edevo recipients this week and got an overwhelming response. Apparently, the Lord struck a chord with HIs message. That led me to post it here. If you are interested in having the Lovinthearts.com E-devo sent directly to your inbox, click HERE.

Now! About them Zingers...

Wow, have the zingers been flyin’ like bullets lately. From politics to celebrities to movie scripts, and (come to a screeching halt)—in my own home.

zinger definition from yourdictionary.com:
zinger (ziŋ′ər) noun
SLANG a clever, witty remark or rejoinder
a sharp, caustic, usually critical remark

The thing about zingers is that they almost always start out as funny. They’re so quick that they land smack in the forehead of those listening, causing spontaneous laughter, eyerolls, or even a boomerang zinger right back. But when the smile wrinkles fade, that’s when the words sink in. And often they leave a mark. Whoops. Howza ‘bout them zingers now?

Zingers are nothing new. They’ve been around forever, but they still catch me off guard when they rip around and about my house. Sometimes I’m the one dishin’ em out. Sometimes I catch ‘em mid-air before anyone else hears them. Often they’re zigging and zagging in the name of “just joking” or “just playing” when I’m not even in the room.

This isn’t just the situation in my home, is it? It’s in yours too, many of you have shared with me. It’s in our churches. Our extended families. Our schools. Even in our computers via way of email and status updates (how do they get in there?) We practically need an ear traffic controller just to keep them zingers from crashing during landing. (oh, come on, that was funny).

The Bible gives us the opposite way to live:

1 Peter 3:8-11 (NIV)
“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, ‘Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.”

Or in The Message:
“Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing. Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, here’s what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what He’s asked.”

These Scriptures sounds perfect to me—like music to my ears. Then reality hits, and it seems almost impossible to tame the wild beast named ‘Tongue’. His speech has become a way of life, you see. So, once again, it all comes down to Holy-Spirit filled living.

Luke 6:45 says “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks.”

Because the cynical and sarcastic way of speaking permeates our society, it has seeped into our minds and hearts. Then out of the overflow of our hearts, our mouths spill out the same garbage. I guarantee you, no matter where you are, (unless you are kept away from all aspects of life today), if you pay attention, you’ll begin to notice “them zingers.” Notice in that sit-com, news show or movie—the next political rally, that water cooler conversation at work, even at the festive social event—you’ll see the arrows flying. We can’t get away from it completely, but we have the Lord and His Word to turn to for help.

Ask the Lord to make you aware of hurtful words and capture them in mid-air if possible. To be a “zinger-extinguisher,” if you will (my husband says I'm a "zinger zapper!") 2nd Corinthians 10:5 tells us how: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Notice the verse from 1st Peter above is active. It doesn’t say, “Correct everybody and put everyone in their place.” It says to repay with blessing. Turn the conversation to good if at all possible. Ignore it, throwing out a compliment or praise instead. Or if you can’t find something nice to say, maybe the most peaceable thing you could do is change the subject. I’ve had someone do that before in my presence, and it really ministered to me. It corrected me and showed me an example of grace and humility, not to mention courage.

If the situation continues to happen personally speaking, like in your family or with your close friend for example, then it may be time for a side conversation, especially if the person is another Christian. Pray first, then let the Lord speak His words of correction through you.

The evil in this world is a reality, my friends, even the kind that people don’t realize they’re spreading. But the blessing can begin with each one of us, one word at a time, building or tearing down in the process. I say, let it begin with Christ in me.

Dear Lord, Your divine power has given us everything we need for life and Godliness. You have called us to a life filled with goodness, peace and blessing. WE have access to that power through the Holy Spirit living in us. Forgive us, Lord, for using our words to get a laugh at someone else’s expense or for using them carelessly and thoughtlessly. Help us to use our mouths for building up and for Godly humor, leading us to speak the very words You would use if you were in our shoes. We trust You and choose to follow You, no matter what. In Your name we pray, Amen.

In the Key of HE,

At The Well/Marriage

Chelsey at Joyfully Living for His Glory is hosting this week, and she's asking us to discuss what it means to "stand for your marriage." PLEASE if you have the time, go over to her place to see what she has to say, as well as others. I guarantee you will receive a more extensive study on the subject, especially with the tough questions, than what I have to offer today.

I'm fully occupied with family priorities right now that I don't have time to blog an original on this subject. I was just going to bow out, and I shared my disappointment with the Lord. Then, just an hour or so later, as I was reading some emails from a Yahoo group of my friends, one of them typed that she had never fallen asleep in church before. THAT reminded me of a devo on marriage that I sent out to my edevo subscribers awhile back. I don't believe in coincidence, so I'm going to post that devo. While these words are not written from my "pen" this very day, they are still the cry of my heart's desire and conviction, so they may as well be. I hope the Lord of yesterday, today and forever uses these words to minister to someone who is led to read them.

All Settled?
Try to remember a time when you were so comfortable that you drifted off into a half-sleep. This happened to me often in church as a kid. It was the one place where I felt so at ease and warm inside that sometimes I would almost fall asleep. If it hadn’t been for the fear that people would judge me for dozing off all the way, I most certainly would have! It was a horrible feeling being in the middle of awake and asleep, though,… especially when the pipe organ chimed at the end of the service, and I would get a jolted tingle from head to toe as I tried to look awake to all those around me.

God has been so good to sound the pipe organ as I’ve needed it throughout my life—not just the ones in church, but also those in my spiritual life. Recently, the Lord chimed into my head the desire to ponder my role as a wife. I have a good marriage, but is it all it could be? I wonder if I’ve become content with patterns or attitudes that I shouldn’t be? In many ways, I contribute a great deal. In other ways, I’ve become too comfortable and nodded off. Have you who are married reflected upon this lately?

We all know the cliché about “settling down and getting married.” Well, what happens if you settle down to get married and then somewhere down the road, you just settle?!? Let me explain. I’ve recorded some of the things I’ve either said to myself or have heard others in marriage say over the past year or so (bear in mind these are usually from people who have been married for 10 or more years):

“I want us to be closer, but it’s just so much work!”
“We don’t have anything in common anymore.”
“He says I’ve ‘let myself go.’”
“We stopped trying to pray or read the Bible together, because we end up arguing.”
“I pray for him, but nothing ever changes.”
“I’m so tired of hearing him complain about his work. Can’t he just be happy?”
“I can’t ever do anything right in his eyes, so I’ve just quit trying.”
“He has his TV in the den and I have mine in the bedroom….that way, we both watch what we want to watch.”
“He wants more of me than I have to give. I’m tired after being with the kids all day.”
“I like working because I get praise there. That’s more than I can say for home.”
“He can just forget about having sex more than once a week. That’s enough as it is.”

Ok, I’m stopping, just in case you’re getting uncomfortable. I could probably fill up an entire page with comments just like these. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not talking about major problems in marriage, just the normal everyday stuff. Unfortunately, if you settle in the small areas every single day, the potential is greater for large issues later.

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.” (John 10:10b, NIV)

My paraphrase for this subject:
“He gave us marriage that we could have one life together, and have it to the full.”

I want to experience His fullness and abundance in my marriage, as much as it is up to me, don’t you? That means we need to pray and then respond as He leads us…He will do the rest. For me, that may mean watching a motorcycle race on TV instead of Law and Order (or working on my blog--ouch). It may mean caring enough about my husband to truly listen to him, even if I’m I’ve used up all my energy for the day. It may mean getting out of my stretchy shorts before he comes home so that I can look beautiful for him. For you, it might mean returning gentle words instead of harsh ones…or maybe trading Nagatha’s hat in for Carissa’s! ☺ Have you thought about the things that matter to your spouse lately? Do you pray for him daily? No matter the issues, we all could use this piece of advice from Philippians 2:1-5 to help us stay awake in our relationships:

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, 
if any comfort from His love,
if any fellowship with the Spirit,
if any tenderness and compassion,
then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Each of you should look not only to your own interests,
but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:”

Somehow these verses are easier live out with our friends or co-workers or people at church, but God desires our marriages to honor Him, “shining like stars in the universe as we hold out the Word of life.” (Philippians 2:15, 16a)

So, dear married friends, as much as it is up to us, let’s pray together that the Lord would settle us on the firm foundation of His plan for our part in a God-honoring union—not for the norm in this “crooked and depraved generation.” Stay in the Word and pray Pray PRAY, and it will guide you how to live and love less selfishly, more deeply, less casually and more fully…may we never settle for less!

In the Key of HE,

Dueling Duo

Dee at My Heart's Dee-light is hosting Fiction Fridays today, so hop on over there for more great fiction.

Dueling Duo

Jan jerked the slippery strap of her purse back onto her shoulder for the umpteenth time. She could feel her frustration rising with each strained step.

“I SO do not need this today,” she grumbled. “Stupid school. This’d better be important.”

She flipped her overgrown bangs from her face as she approached her son’s fifth grade classroom. Opening the door, her purse slid down to her wrist yet again. She grumbled and then looked up to see that Mrs. Kern was not alone.

“Helen?” Jan grimaced at the sight of her mother-in-law sitting in front of Mrs. Kern’s desk. Just add to my nightmare.

Helen smirked, looking at her watch. “Yes, Jan, at least one of us was here on time.”

“Well, some of us have a full-time-job,” Jan snipped.

“I had a job, too, remember? It was called Full-Time Mom.”

Mrs. Kern cleared her throat. “Hello, Mrs. Jacobs. The other Mrs. Jacobs and I have already become acquainted.”

Reaching out to shake Mrs. Kern’s hand, Jan was suddenly aware of the pitiful scene her son’s teacher had just witnessed. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Kern. I’m sorry, Helen. I’ve just had a tough day.”

“And I’m sorry, too. That was disrespectful of us to carry on in front of you, Lois.”

Did she just call Mrs. Kern “Lois”? Talk about disrespectful.

“It’s okay.” Mrs. Kern forced a semi-smile on her face and continued. “The reason I called you both in here today is to discuss Justin with you.”

Helen gasped. “Justin’s not in trouble, is he?”

“No,” Mrs. Kern reassured her. “He’s a good kid. But—um—he’s been rather—sad lately.”

“Sad? What on earth makes you think he’s sad?” Helen squawked.

“Helen, just let her talk, for goodness’ sake.”

Mrs. Kern squirmed in her chair. “Well, he hasn’t been participating much, and he’s been doodling and daydreaming during the time that he’s supposed to be learning.”

“You called us here about some doodling and daydreaming?” Jan complained.

“Well,” Helen chastised, “some people would call that a problem.”

Jan deliberately ignored Helen’s remarks. “So, Mrs. Kern, if you don’t mind my asking, why did you choose to involve Justin’s grandmother with this?”

“She obviously doesn’t think his mother will take care of it on her own,” Helen mumbled, tucking her chin in her neck.

Clearing her throat a second time, Mrs. Kern brought out some papers from her top desk drawer. “I want you to see the poem Justin wrote for English class. Since both of you are subjects of the content, I thought it wise to invite both of you to come in and read it. But before I show it to you, I’d like to tell you one more thing: After class on the same day he turned in the poem, Justin asked if he could have it back. Now I had already read it, but he didn’t know that. I thought maybe he was embarrassed and wanted to re-write it. However, when he returned it to me, he had added the last stanza. That last stanza is the reason I asked you here today. Please take your time reading it and discussing what Justin felt compelled to share. Thank you for coming.”

At that, Mrs. Kern handed them a copy of the poem and made a deliberate exit, shutting the door behind her.

Unsettling silence hung over them as they each read Justin’s poem.

Dueling Voices
by Justin H. Jacobs

Mom tucks me in and reads me a story.
Grandma gives me hugs and tells me not to worry.
Mom sings me songs and helps me with my math.
Grandma tells me jokes and always makes me laugh.

But I’m sick of them both just acting like kids!
Don’t they know what it’s like when they blow their lids?
I wonder why they can’t just try to get along.
The Bible says that their attitudes are wrong.

As my teacher, can you please give them both a detention?
Then—maybe then—it will get their attention.
“Gramma, love my mom. She’s your son’s loving wife.”
“Mom, respect Gramma. She’s lived a long, wise life.”

They looked up at each other, stunned.

Helen’s face was as white as a blank sheet of paper. Jan shifted awkwardly in her seat, pinching the temple of her throbbing forehead. The sound of the school bell shattered their silence.

“Well, well, well,” Helen declared, “I do believe that Mrs. Kern has given us an after-school detention.”

“Yes, Helen—And Justin’s definitely managed to get our attention.”



In the Key of HE,

At the Well Monday/Raising Godly Boys--Yikes!

Lori at I'll Take it Lord, all You Have to Give is the hostess of "At the Well" this week.



I have to tell you, the topic of raising Godly boys has thrown me a bit of a loop. Lori threw out some INcredUlous questions on the subject, however, which are the following:

1.What advice would I give to women to raise Godly boys?

2.If you are raising boys, what areas concern you most?

3.If you don't have or haven't raised boys, what is your concern for boys in today's culture?

Okay, so nobody gets to bow out of this one...she's covered all the bases. So go on over to her place and sign the Mr. Linky, then give us your thoughts on the subject. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, but you know, we're all in this together, and our answers to the questions just might help each other out a bit. If you don't have time to blog about it, just leave your thoughts right here...NEED to hear from you on this one.

So back to why this has thrown me for a loop. A loop-d-loop actually. My firstborn--my baby boy--my Little Sweetness (my name for him in the womb)--is now a thirteen-year-old giant. I'm not kidding you, I was JUST holding him, reading the I'll Love You Forever book to him while rocking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth...NOW I've fallen off my rocker because he came up behind it and pushed me out of it by force of his pinky.

I've been through so much with him the last year...learned a lot...been humbled quite a bit (both of us). And he would be completely humiliated if I publicized to the whole world why and how and what. So I won't. All I can say is that I pray a TON. More than I ever have before. The struggles that a teenage boy has to go through majorly blows me away. Their thought life is so complicated, so foreign to me.

My opinions shared today are those based on being the mom of a new teenager. The way you parent your toddler will be different from the way you raise your son who is growing up in his pre-teen to teenage years. If you're not there yet, hold on to your hat, because fast forward is already in motion.

After praying about this post, the best advice I can give you at my stage of parenting is to pray. Pray that he owns his faith--not you. Pray that when you turn your head, he knows where to turn when temptation strikes. Pray that you will have wisdom to know what freedoms to give and not to give. Pray that you will know how far to let him go before you become Mama Buttinsky. Pray that HE will have wisdom in situations where Mama Buttinsky is not around. Pray, pray pray. And when things seem okay, like he is Godly and rooted and "better behaved" than other boys his age, pray some more. Maybe even more at that moment.

Communicate. Don't ridicule. Don't exasperate. Don't humiliate. Communicate. What are his likes? His dislikes? What in the world does he think about this and that and the other? Be amazed and thrilled at the differences in reasoning and logic, listening more than lecturing.

Learn. Learn from what you learn from your communication with him. Learn from others who have gone before you. Learn from God's Word. Learn from good books. Never stop learning. Learning as you listen.

Stop saying "never." The stuff you said you would "never let your son do." Don't be afraid to pray about that, reevaluate that and be open before God about what is best for the way your son is wired. Make sure you have consulted the One who knows your baby boy better than you do. Be open-minded as you pray, communicate, listen and learn.

Let the ponytail down every now and then. Remember, our boys get to a point where they want adventure, they want action...they want to be busy all the time. Keep reminding them that it's good to be still, and it's great to chillax, but don't forget to be a little crazy with them sometimes too. This is my achilles heel in parenting. I would rather teach him how to behave and journal and pray (which are essentials) than to let him teach me how to have an adventure and do something out of my comfort zone. But nothing brings us closer than when I do some stuff his way every now and then. That leads me back to more prayer...and listening and learning...

Anyway, rambling. Quite honestly, I have never had to exercise more faith than I have to at this stage in my son's life. I know more is to come, but right now, I'm consumed with what I have in front of me: and that is a very very tall, fuzzy-upper lipped, deep-voiced (with a touch of croak), testosterone-filled boy. One who loves Jesus, who wants to live for God, who sets an example for other boys...but is struggling with what it means to do all of the above with genuine faith--not the kind his parents pressure him into, but the kind he desires passionately with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

Which leads me back to prayer...

Puttin' Up My Dukes

Okay, so I know peace and putting up your dukes don’t normally go together, but hear me out. I went to a mini-conference sponsored by the Rethink group back in January. It was called Orange Tour 2008. I cannot remember the last time I left a place feeling so motivated.

The weird thing is that one of the messages still sticks with me on a daily basis. Reggie Joyner put it boldly and simply: “Fight for your relationships.” He went on to talk about what that meant, and I’ve been trying to sort through it ever since.

This is Biblical. I tend to think of having peace in relationships as though it were a passive thing. Yes, it is right to turn the other cheek. Yes, it is wise to keep silent when provoked. Yes, I am blessed if I actively pursue peace. Sometimes these are a struggle in and of themselves. But does that mean that I settle for ho-hum, tolerable relationships? Based on Reggie’s comments, and based on Scripture, I think not.

I pondered this passage from Nehemiah 4: 12-15 (NIV)
Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us." Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

If I settle for less than God’s best, I leave my relationships exposed to attacks from the enemy. God had given Nehemiah great wisdom, and he passed it on. When the people got tired and didn’t want to fight for the cause anymore, he posted them by their families. That’ll wake up the warriors really quickly, won’t it?

It’s kind of the same deal with me. I settle for what I have because it is too exhausting to fight for the ideal. I don’t get the fire back in me until I'm in danger of attack or worse—attacked already.

But here’s the answer: The battle belongs to the Lord, so it is to Him I must turn to have the ideal in my relationships. It starts on my knees. After I’ve prayed, it's time for me to act on it. I'm not going to settle. I'm going to put up my spiritual dukes, fighting with the resources He has given me, living God-strong in the relationships with which God has entrusted me.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (The Message)
A Fight to the Finish
And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and He wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

© Copyright 2008 Laura L. Shaw
http://www.lovinthearts.com

For more information on the Orange Conference, click on this link: http://www.theorangeconference.com

In Only Knee-Deep

1 Peter 4:8
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

You know, I've read this passage a gazillion times, but the last few times it has come to my attention, the word "deeply" has popped out like a goblin in the night. It could just say, "Above all, love each other, because love covers...." But there's that word: deeply.

I must confess, now that I've discovered this, it has changed my perspective on the word "love."

"Oh, no worries...you know I luv ya, chica."
"I love, Love, LOVE your hair like that."
"Email ya more later. Love, Laura."

And I mean those words. I do. In my knee-deep sort of way. God has shown me that the only way I can love deeply like he tells me to is if He loves through me.

This is the way God loves:
"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."Ephesians 3:17b-19

When He loves through me by the power of the Holy Spirit, it knows no bounds. It is unconditional. It fills others up. When I love knee-deeply by the power of my own knowledge, well...it's difficult to love the unloveable. I want it to be comfortable and easy.

Anyway, I'm thankful for His continued reminders to me that I can be "rooted and established in love"--the fully under-water kind--and that I have His powerful love to tap in to, if I am willing and get myself out of the way.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me so deeply. And may I love like you today, Father. In Jesus' name, Amen.