In our activity-addicted world, many proudly wear busyness as a badge. While feeling good we’re being productive, it can also become all too easy to go through the day so busy that we’re oblivious to those around us with needs. Jesus warned us of this in a parable in Luke 10:25-37. After quoting the great commandment from the law, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself,” a lawyer, wanting to justify himself, asked Jesus, “And who is my…
Why did God make flowers? I think to simply bless us—because He loves us. On Valentine’s Day we celebrate love with roses, the flower of love. Have you ever looked at a rose? I mean really looked? The perfection of the petals, its delicate folds, the colors, the fragrance—all reveal the awesomeness of our Creator. Yet when you pick up a rose, you must be careful. The stem has thorns! Perhaps roses portray human love—beautiful, wondrous—yet imperfect. Love can hurt, pricking us with disappointment and heartache. But God’s love is like a rose without thorns. He demonstrated His greatest love…
Do you sometimes feel that you fall short in living the Christian life? If we’re honest, I think many of us would say yes. We may put self before service; perhaps we deny Him by the words we speak, the way we live. We may be easily distracted, love only when it’s convenient, and at times willfully disobey God’s word. Yet Jesus has an amazing way of restoring us back to Him when we fail. He doesn’t ask us to try harder. He doesn’t demean, degrade, or disgrace us. Rather, He simply asks that we consider our love for Him….