WHEN YOU REALLY LOVE THE LORD

“Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38 New King James Version) If you have ever sang, “I Really Love the Lord,” or “I Love the Lord, He Heard my Cry,” or you have expressed you love for God in some other form or fashion, and even if you...

THE FIRST T-SHIRT

“I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”(John 13:34-35 NASB) Wednesday morning, I left the house to go to just one store, but ended up going to three, and stopped by the church.  From the time I left home, I was...

PRISCILLA’S PROOF

“By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.” (John 13:35 The Amplified Bible) Priscilla, a 64-old woman with years of prior teaching at the secondary level, applied for a job at local charter school.  After taking an early retirement, she got tired of sitting around the house, and decided she would answer an advertisement...

WHERE REAL GIVING REALLY STARTS

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJV) It’s Sunday morning and I know you are heading to church shortly.  Maybe you are already seated on your favorite pew, and you are looking at the meditation before your service starts, since you showed up early.  So, even though it...

HE TOLD ME TO GIVE YOU THIS LOVE NOTE

“But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place…the One who got you started…: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name.  You’re mine.  When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.  When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.  When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—Because I am God,...

THE TWO CUPS

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12 NASB) The saying embossed on two coffee cups looked outright selfish to me.  The multi-color words on the cups read, “More Self Love.”  These two cups, sitting uninterrupted on the store shelve, were perfect for the décor where I pictured...

THE TINTS OF LOVE

The great writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, in an essay on love, referred to the “tints” of love.  While Emerson is a great writer, he is not the source for this morning inspiration.  Our insight, our source is from someone greater, none other than Elohim, the Creator, the One by whom all the writings we rightfully call Scripture are inspired.  So, I will not give you an Emerson moment this...

THAT OLD THREE-RING BINDER

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37 NIV) Do you remember when the upper elementary students and high school students carried those three-ring binder, often with blue, felt covers?  We had colorful dividers for each subject, and we started the semester with our minds set on keeping them neat and...

LIKE HANDLING A CARTON OF EGGS

“If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere.  So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.  Love never gives up.  Love cares more for others than for self.  Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.  Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head,...

THE TOUCH OF LOVE

“Touch is a powerful way to express love. A simple touch can reach deep into the soul of man. God is love and love is an expression of the touch of Jesus.” (Unknown Writer) A few days ago I woke up around 2:00 a.m.  That was too early for me on that day; wanted to get up around 4:00 a.m.  I turn to my right to see if my wife was still in the bed.  She was, but was not moving,...