LOVE CAME DOWN AT CHRISTMAS

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.  (Christina Rossetti)

Love is a gift God gives to us in infinite measure so that our hearts can enjoy an endless supply. Let's tap into it. Let's lavish it on others. Let's fill our words and define our actions with it, and as we do, our hearts will reap God's abundance. Love will always find its purest expression through words and deeds -- as our heavenly Father exemplified through His gift of Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NIV) He loved us completely and expressed it openly. Let's openly share the gift of His Son with others. 

-- Author Unknown

#5747

OVERFLOWING BLESSINGS

“My cup overflows with blessings.”  (Psalm 23:5 NLT)

Is an overflowing cup full? Absolutely. The wine reaches the rim and then tumbles over the edge. The goblet is not large enough to contain the quantity. According to David, our hearts are not big enough to contain the blessings that God wants to give. He pours and pours until they literally flow over the edge and down the table. You’ll like the paragraph penned a century ago by F. B. Meyer [in “The Shepherd Psalm”]:

“Whatever the blessing is in our cup, it is sure to run over. With Him the calf is always the fatted calf; the robe is always the best robe; the joy is unspeakable; the peace passes understanding… There is no grudging in God’s benevolence; He does not measure out His goodness as an apothecary counts his drops…, slowly and exactly, drop by drop. God’s way is always characterized by multitudinous and overflowing bounty.”

The last thing we need to worry about is not having enough. Our cup overflows with blessings. 

-- Max Lucado in “Traveling Light: The Promise of Psalm 23” 

#5311

THE PARABLE OF THREE BREADS

During a beautiful spring day, a young woman decided to eat her lunch in the park. On the nearest bench sat an old beggar who clutched an empty paper bag. His clothes were unkempt and he looked as if he had not eaten in days. So, the young woman sat next to him and offered him half of her sandwich.

With this act of kindness the beggar was transformed into a clean-shaven, well-dressed man. The empty bag he once held was now filled with three loaves of bread. “I am no beggar, but an angel, here to reward your act of kindness with a gift,” he said. “I have three loaves of bread and you may have one. But choose wisely. A bite from one will give you unlimited success, to eat from another is key to never-ending wealth, and a taste from the third will ensure undying love.”

The young woman thought for a moment. With success, she would always have a good job, but with wealth she would never have to worry about money or a career. Then she thought about her parents, grandparents, and friends, and how much they meant to her. “I will take the bread of love,” the young woman answered.

The angel handed the young woman the bread. After she took a bite of it, he handed her the remaining loaves and said, “You have chosen wisely. The bread of love bestows endless wealth and countless success upon those who possess it. Go in the peace of Christ and share your gifts with the world.” 

-- Author Unknown 

#5032

MEASURED GRACE

“[God] gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”  (James 4:6 NLT) 

[God] supplies perfectly measured grace to meet [our needs]. For daily needs there is daily grace; for sudden needs, sudden grace; for overwhelming need, overwhelming grace. God's grace is given wonderfully, but not wastefully; freely but not foolishly; bountifully but not blindly.

-- John Blanchard in “Truth for Life: A Devotional Commentary on the Epistle of James”

#5031

WIDE - LONG - HIGH - DEEP

"Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." (Ephesians 3:17-20 NLT)

God's love is total, says Paul. It reaches every corner of our experience. It is wide -- it covers the breadth of our own experience, and it reaches out to the whole world. It is long -- it continues the length of our lives. It is high -- it rises to the heights of our celebration and elation. It is deep -- it reaches to the depths of discouragement, despair, and even death. When you feel shut out or isolated, remember that you can never be lost to God's love.

-- from the Life Application Study Bible

#4835

GOD’S LOVE AND TRUTH

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”  (Matthew 22:36-40 NRSV)

The "sweet spot" of spiritual power comes when God's love and God's truth are delivered in concert stereo.  Many congregations and believers are known for either their command of God's truth through Scripture or their abundant love of all creation.  It is time for more followers of Christ to consider them both an inseparable commodity.

At a monastery, a monk challenged us with this thought; "The great commandment is not two commands, but one.  They are inseparable."

God's pure love is unable to flow abundantly through a person who has not been filled up by it.  I am not saying you cannot love another, or that you cannot act in loving ways.  The unconditional love we need and seek is sourced at the wellspring of God.  To give it, you must first drink it in from the Source; there is no other way.  You cannot be a delivery vehicle of God's truth if you are not a recipient of God's unconditional and abundant love.

-- Larry Malone in “UM Men's Magazine”, Spring 2004


#4777