A Love Note for You!

The message on the graphic is a summary of what God says to you and to me on the pages of His Word. 

For example:

💗In Jeremiah 31:3, God says: "I have loved you, My people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself."

💗In John 3:16 are these familiar yet astonishing words: "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

💗1 John 4:19 says, "We love each other because God loved us first." In other words, He showers upon us the kind of love He wants us to share with others. And He loves us before we even begin to love Him, before we even know that He exists! How incredibly wonderful to be loved completely and eternally by a God like that!!!! 

💗💗💗

Pass It On!

A good friend gave me a "Giving Plate" for Christmas. I'd never seen one before, but I like it. 

Apparently, I'm supposed to place a delicious cake or cookies or other treats on it and pass it on to someone else, along with instructions to enjoy the goodies and then refill the plate before passing it along to someone else.

According to the words on the plate, "With each new sharing with its

gift, the love and blessings grow." Hence, the instructions to "...fill it up and pass it on."

That "Giving Plate"  reminds me of an experience I had years ago. Each time my friend brought home-cooked dinners to my family and me during the weeks I was on strict bedrest in order to keep from going into early labor, I thanked her.

One evening, I said, "I can never repay you for your kindness!"

She smiled and said, "You don't have to repay me. Just pass it on."

Her words have lingered with me these past 40 years, and I have tried to do as she said. 

As I reflect on that, I realize that I can (and should!) pass on much more than sweet treats and homecooked meals. Nothing is more important to pass on to others than the Gospel, the Good News that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16, NKJV). 

It is the birth of God's Son that we celebrate, especially during the Christmas season. Those of us who have received God's gracious gift surely ought to tell others how they, too, can receive it. That's the BEST gift to pass on.

In My Heart

When I'd had my current Bible for about a year, I noticed that the gold leaf on the edges of the pages had begun to wear off as a result of my daily habit of leafing though the pages to locate the Scripture I wanted to read. I thought, “The gold leaf has gotten onto my hands, but has the Word gotten into my heart?”

I pray that it has. I long for the desire of my heart to be like that of the psalmist who said, "Teach me, O LORD, to follow every one of your principles. Give me understanding and I will obey your law; I will put it into practice with all my heart" (Psalm 119:33-34, New Living Translation).

I want not only to know and believe the great assurances that God loves me (for example, John 3:16), but also to understand His commands and then obey them as I live day by day.