Do You "Really" Love Me?

There's an old love song imbeded in my brainwaves (from way back in my teen years). It's an inspiring tune that declares deep devotion with these words: I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.

Recalling the lyrics of this old love song these days, causes me, as one who claims to be a fully devoted lover of the Lord, to immediately ask a couple of personal and penetrating questions:

(1) Has there been any period of my life when I have loved Jesus more than I love Him presently?

(2) Will I really love my Lord more tomorrow than I do today?

I have had the sacred privilege many times to stand on the banks of the Sea of Galilee in the place that remembers where John 21 actually happened. In John 21:15-23, Jesus challenged the deep devotion of His disciple, Simon Peter. Yes, there where the waves met the shoreline, the seeking Savior asked the floundering fisherman not once, not twice, but three times a personal and penetrating question: Do you love Me? It would not be a stretch to add one word to the question Jesus asked. Do you "really" love Me?

I believe that Jesus still asks those of us who claim to be fully devoted to Him, Do you "really" love Me? Can we answer with these words? I love You more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow? Is our love for the One called Wonderful ever-increasing everyday!

O, how I "really" want to love You, my Jesus...
...more today than yesterday, and even more tomorrow!
Grateful

Unforgiveness Leads to Spiritual Death

A friend of mine with the same initials as mine, "K.W.", sent me an e-mail yesterday about the dangers of holding grudges. It inspired me to write these words:

Unforgiveness is like a plague leading to certain spiritual death. Holding onto hurtful yesterdays paralyzes our lives today and keeps us from entering hope-filled tomorrows.

Remember The Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor?
It's Recorded in Matthew 18:21-35 (NLT)

(21) Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” (22) “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
(23) “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. (24) In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. (25) He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. (26) “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ (27) Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. (28) “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. (29) “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. (30) But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. (31) “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. (32) Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. (33) Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ (34) Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. (35) “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” -- Luke 23:34 (NLT)

Lord, forgiving us caused Your physical death. We don't want unforgiveness towards others to cause our spiritual death.

Click here: YouTube - Amazing Love - You Are My King (with lyrics)

Count it all joy. (James 1:2-4)
Grateful

The Same Faithful Forecast

With our Faithful God, yesterday's forecast of faithfulness will be repeated today, again tomorrow, and for forever:

God the Father -- reigning. God the Son -- shining. God the Holy Spirit -- blowing the breath of Heaven, Hope, and Holiness into every open soul.

But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and He shines forever without change or shadow.
-- James 1:17 (TLB)

Great is His faithfulness; His loving-kindness begins afresh each day.
-- Lamentations 3:23 (TLB)

...You are near, O Lord; all Your commandments are based on truth. I have known from earliest days that Your will never changes.
-- Psalm 119:151-152 (TLB)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
-- Hebrews 13:8 (TLB)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Be Present in the Present!

Yesterday was mine but now it is God's. Tomorrow is God's but will one day be mine. Today is God's gift to me. That's why it's called "the present".

But don't just take my words for it. Hear the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 6:34 (TLB) -- So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.

Lord, help me to stay out of the two days that belong only to You -- yesterday and tomorrow. Give me a focused faith that causes me to be present in the present. Instead of worrying over yesterday and wondering about tomorrow, help me to be all about worshipping You in Spirit and in Truth today. I want to be found in your presence in the present. In Jesus' name. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

We Have This Moment... Today...

In less than 72 hours Christmas Day 2009 will have come and gone. While the unstoppable passage of time is somewhat sad to me, these words from a Bill and Gloria Gaither song do offer some measure of inspiration to my heart:

We have this moment to hold in our hands,
And to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand.
Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come.
But we have this moment... TODAY!

Let's remember...
"TODAY is a GIFT from GOD. That's why it's called THE PRESENT!"

ALL... JOY TO YOUR WORLD!
Grateful

The Passage of Time

James Taylor sings a song titled Secret of Life. One line from the old tune says: The Secret of Life is enjoying The Passage of Time.

Well, I'd agree that's at least one secret of life. But the greater secret, or mystery to me is The Passage of Time itself. It seems just days ago that my son and daughter were little children, Now, all of a sudden, our "little" son is a 22-year-old college graduate and beginning his chosen career in radio broadcasting. Our "little" daughter is 20 and already a university junior as a fashion marketer and living three-and-a-half hours from home. It's unbelievable how fast time has rushed past our family.

This morning as I had my usual quiet time on the front porch, our neighbor was playing with his little four-year-old boy on the sidewalk next door. Listening to his young son's little-boy-laughter penetrated my heart and reminded me of the mystery, yes, the mystery of The Passage of Time.

I am reminded of these words from a poem my wife and I used to incorporate in advertising when we were full-time photographers. It was an effective sales pitch that encouraged or warned parents to have their little children remembered in portraits before it was too late. Listen to these 13 words:

Whatever happened to yesterday?
It picked up our children and stole them away.

Now, rest assured, I have enjoyed The Passage of Time, but I am still confounded by it all. James Taylor's song advice may be very close to some of the the best counsel we can get about the mystery of life's brevity: Enjoy the passage of time. That is, enjoy the passage of time by being present in your present and by being up-to-date in your relationship with God and your relationships with others, especially your own family members.

Another old Gospel song by the Gaithers said it this way:
We have this moment to hold in our hands,
and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand.
Yesterday's gone and tomorrow may never come,
but we have this moment... today.

The time that remains is very short... 1 Corinthians 7:29 (NLT).

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Note: This blog entry specifically spells out in part my life's joy-description, which includes, but is not limited to, these 7 words:
Live to help others minimize future regrets.