Tag: God’s love

Love

A Love Filled Prayer for You

meghanewhite

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Have you ever received a love letter? It’s the most amazing feeling, especially if the letter was written by someone you really cared for deeply. It brings all those happy, happy feelings. You sigh. Your heart goes pitter patter, and you can’t believe that another human loves you that much. Romantic love is a wonderful experience. But those feelings don’t last. Those type of feelings will come and go. It’s just our humanity. 

Human love has limits. God’s love has no limits.

There is no love like the love of Christ. It cannot be measured. The love of Christ goes beyond our human understanding. It is deeper, wider, and greater than any human love we will ever experience. 

My pastor would hold up the Bible and tell us, “This is God’s love letter to you”. When we read our Bibles God is speaking to us. The Bible is the greatest book ever written, telling the greatest love story in all of history, God’s love for us. 

This beautiful prayer from Paul is filled with love. I love it! He penned these words to mostly Gentile Christians. 

A Prayer for the Ephesians

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family  in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, 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, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21, NIV

This entire prayer is powerful. There are a few parts that really speak to me.

For this reason I kneel before the Father. Paul starts with kneeling before the Father. This shows humility and reverence.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. Jesus strengthens us with power through His Spirit. Wow! He equips us with supernatural power to accomplish good things.

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Jesus wants to take up residence in our hearts but it takes faith. We have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to receive Him.

To grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. We cannot measure the love of Christ. It’s width, length, height, and depth has no bounds. That’s how much Jesus love us.

That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. We need to be filled up with God, not ourselves. We must make Jesus Lord in our lives. We receive God’s love to then show that love to others. 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. God’s abilities are unlimited. We are finite in our thinking, He is infinite. He is able to accomplish anything we ask of Him, and then some. And always according to His perfect will. 

Pray this awesome prayer for your loved ones. Pray this for yourself. Pray this for the body of Christ. May these powerful words go right to your heart.

Love you all,

Meghan 

 

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels 

Faith, God, Uncategorized

God Loves You

meghanewhite

frozen wave against sunlight

I will never forget the day I finally understood that God really loved me. I was 18, and always knew in my head that I was loved by God. Deep down though, I questioned that love. There was no way God loved me. It couldn’t be that simple. I was not worthy of such love. That perfect love was for the perfect people, the perfect Christians, not me.

The truth is, God’s perfect unconditional love is for all of us.

The moment I fully accepted the love my Heavenly Father had for me, I was changed. It’s a personal love, for He calls me by name. My name is written on the palms of His mighty hands.

“See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:16a, NLT)

God calls us sons and daughters. That means He is my Father.

“I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:18, NKJV)

God calls us His children.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” (1 John 3:1, NKJV) 

God loves us with an everlasting love.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.” (Jeremiah 31:3b, HCSB)

God’s love is faithful and true.

“But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth.” (Psalm 86:15, HCSB)

God’s love will not end.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.’ (Deuteronomy 7:9, NIV)

God loved us first.

“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, ESV)

God loves us so much that He gave us Jesus.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV)

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NKJV)

God rejoices over you with singing.

The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17, NKJV)

Nothing can seperate us from God’s love

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39, ESV)

Do you know how much God loves you? Maybe you’re like I was. You think it in your head, but it’s not in your heart. I pray today that changes for you. May you experience the love of God like never before. Let Him fill up your heart with the knowledge of His amazing love.

It is mind boggling to think about, and accept the love of a perfect God. Bask in it. Recieve this beautiful love from God, and praise Him for it. God loves you!

Love you all,

Meghan

 

 

Photo by Hernan Pauccara on Pexels.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faith, Uncategorized

A Treasure in the Trash Pile

meghanewhite

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“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17, NIV)

On a typical Sunday morning, I sat in church and grabbed my purse digging through the cavernous interior for a pen. As I was placing my purse back on the floor, I noticed the broken zipper, worn spots on the exterior, and a few small tears. I said in my head, “Lord, this looks really bad. I need a new purse.” And that was it. I didn’t give it another thought.  

Two days later my boys had just arrived home after one of their many outings. Dylan let me know they found some stuff at the neighbors curbside “free” pile. This house had been vacant for years and the owner was there cleaning things out, and left a sign to take the free items. If you know my boys they don’t pass up opportunities like that. They grabbed some random potential treasures and came home.

Dylan said he wanted to show me a purse he found. I thought it would be disgusting, and would need thrown out. He hands me this large, black, nice looking handbag. Still skeptical, I tell him to bring it inside to get a better look. We start to look it over and see a designer name on it, and notice it looked brand new. I still doubted this handbag was an actual treasure and say, “It must be a fake.” But no, after a serious examination from both myself and Dylan, and some online research, we realized that the fancy black handbag was indeed a genuine designer, made in Italy creation.

After a few minutes, I was reminded of my tiny little comment to the Lord just two days before. “Lord, this looks really bad. I need a new purse.” It wasn’t even a prayer. Just me sharing a moment with God. He always hears and is full of surprises. I know it’s just a purse. And I know there are bigger, more important prayers. I have so many seemingly big prayers that I am still waiting for answers on. But in this unexpected moment the Lord said, “This is from me. I hear every one of your prayers. I have answers for those burdens you’ve got. Trust me. Keep praying. Keep asking. Enjoy this blessing.”

I would never spend this kind of money on myself, especially for a handbag that costs hundreds of dollars. That’s just not me. So it took me a while to accept this gift. At first I didn’t know what to do with it. I used it a few times then put it in my closet. About a month ago I decided to sell it, even though I knew God wanted me to keep it. I thought, “I don’t need it and could use the cash.” I put the handbag on one of those designer consignment sites and it sat there for about a week. Message received. I took it off the site and have accepted this gift from the Lord.

The other day I used my fancy lady handbag to meet a friend for lunch. On the drive there the handbag was on the passenger seat. The lord spoke to me, “Why do you have a hard time accepting gifts from me?” I felt so convicted. I’m supposed to enjoy this surprise blessing, but instead I’m telling God, “I don’t need it nor do I deserve it.” How many times have I done this with God? With practical blessings, material blessings, spiritual blessings. I have rejected His perfect gifts for me, thinking, “I don’t deserve this.”

Grace is unfair, and my awesome God is all about giving me and you what we don’t deserve. I will never be good enough or worthy on my own for His perfect gifts. But the gifts won’t stop. God is not a person. He’s not human. I’m looking for fairness, and worthiness. He’s looking out for you and me, no matter what. He will pursue us and our hearts until the end. Not because we are worthy, but because of Jesus, who is so worthy!

What gift from God have you rejected?

Do you accept His love?

Do you accept His forgiveness?

Have you accepted His free gift of salvation?

Maybe you’ve thought that you are not worthy for such extravagance. Guess what? You’re right. We are not worthy, but God is. Accept these beautiful gifts from Him! He loves you with an everlasting love!

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
    I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3, NIV)

Love you all,
Meghan

 

 

Faith, God, Obedience, Uncategorized

Cast Your Cares On Him

meghanewhite

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Anxiety. Depression. Fear. Worry. I see the same issues over, and over again on social media, and all over the internet. Friends and family are struggling with these things too. I’ve had my own issues with worry over the years. I am quite good at it at times. We are all dealing with problems. As Christians we are not immune from trouble. Jesus tells us we will have trouble in this world, but to be encouraged since He has overcome the world (John 16:33). The trouble will come. I know that sounds like bad news. It is the reality of living in a fallen world. So how do we deal with the anxiety and worry about our struggles?

Psalm 55:22 “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.”

Cast in Hebrew is from the root word shalak, and it means to throw, cast, hurl, fling. This changed everything for me years ago when I understood what cast really meant. This was a new revelation for me from the Holy Spirit. I had read this verse so many times over the years. Now, it has taken on a whole new meaning. If I throw, hurl, or fling my cares on the Lord I don’t have them anymore. He’s got them. And, even better, He will take care of me and won’t let me fall. But first, I have to throw my stress and worry on Him. This is not a question, or a suggestion. This is a command.

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Cast in Greek is epiripto. It’s definition is to throw upon, cast upon. Same meaning as the Hebrew word for cast. In the New Testament, the message repeats itself. Again, this is not a question, or a suggestion. This is a command. The verse just before this tells us to humble ourselves first, and that God will lift us up in due time (1 Peter 5:6). So an important part of throwing, or casting our anxiety on the Lord is humbling ourselves. It takes humility to let go of our fears and give them to God. This act means we are trusting Him to handle our anxiety His way. This can be scary.

Do I trust God to sustain me? His word is clear that He will never let the righteous fall, yet I hold on to my cares and burdens. For me, it’s about control and letting go. I want God to answer my prayers exactly how, and when I say. I have been a Christian long enough to know that it doesn’t work this way. I have to fully surrender to His plan every day. His plan for me is for good, and He always takes care of me. Always.

This is why it is so important to be in the word of God daily. Feelings and emotions can trick us into thinking God has abandon us. That is a lie. God is perfect. He will never let the righteous fall. We have to cast our cares and anxieties on Him. In fact, He tells us to do so. Throw, hurl, toss your cares on the Lord today! Now that’s a sort of shocking image. Tossing and hurling our troubles on the Lord. Once we cast our cares on Him they are His. Wow! God loves us that much! He is unbelievably good! Praise Him!

Now, I know this can be difficult to do. I can cast my cares on Him and then moments later take them right back. There is no limit to how many times we are to cast our cares on the Lord. If we have to cast our anxiety on Him every moment because the burden is heavy and the pain is so deep, then do it. No one on this earth can care for you the way God can. He’s telling us to throw our burdens on Him. Let’s take Him at His word, and do it!

Love you all,

Meghan