God is Love

God is Love

A little while back, I was driving down the road listening to the radio. Someone came on and started talking about what I wanted to write about today. What they said really spoke to me, so I filed it in the back of my mind under ‘Remember for later’ and it stayed there for a little while, until today at church. We have been in a series about Marriage and the struggles in Marriage, but today Pastor Aaron weighted heavily on Love, and it brought the snippet on the radio right back to the surface.

We get in the mindset of God is our judge, which He is, the Bible is clear on that. But so often, and I know I am guilty of it, we take that to mean that God is judgmental. We see God as the punisher, the Almighty man in the clouds watching our every move, ready to strike us down when we make a mistake. In fact, sometimes we even see God as putting stumbling blocks in our path! We forget to stop and ask ourselves, what is the Character of God? We get caught up in this Judge and forget this Savior.

What is God’s Character? How does God act? I was reminded today of 1 John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is LOVE.” Those are great words. God is love, awesome, great…but what is Love? I mean I know what love is, but what IS it? What does this mean God is?   There are some famous verses in the book of 1 Corinthians that talk about love. It goes step by step through what love is; what if we replaced the word love with God. I mean after all if God IS Love, then God is these things.

First Corinthians 13:4-8

(God) is patient,

(God) is kind.

(He) does not envy,

Or boast,

(He) is not proud.

(He) does not dishonor others,

(He) is not self-seeking,

(He) is not easily angered,

(He) keeps no records of wrongs.

(God) does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.

(He) always protects,

Always trusts,

Always hopes,

Always perseveres.

God Never Fails… 

Our wrongs are not something God just laughs off, but remember God’s Character, remember his love.

~David

Relax, Gods Got This

                So today I am straying from the typical subject of history. This is more of a collection of thoughts that I've been having. If this is ok with all of you then read on, if not, close the page angrily and pretend that this blog post never happened.

Relax, God's Got This...

I was out for a walk the other day listening to NEEDTOBREATHE; whenever I listen to them I tend to have ideas of adventure and freedom, though this is beside the point.  I got struck by the amazing world God has created around us. As I looked at the lake, with fountains shooting up, and the massive apartment buildings around the lake that wouldn't even compare to the beautiful skyscrapers in major cities, I realized God created these wonderful things through us. Then I noticed the mother duck herding her little yellow baby puffy balls. I looked up and was taken aback by the thousands of twinkling stars in the sky. 

“What is the purpose of life?”  The question just popped into my head. A quick Christian answer rolled off my tongue like a well-trained dog sits on request. “To glorify God!” And this answer is so true! We are created to glorify this greater being, this Creator of great galaxies and tiny puff ball ducklings, but it’s so easy for us to just say that. How many times am I guilty of slipping into this 9-5 mentality, am I right? We wake up to go to work, and spend the day praying for the weekend where we spend the money we made, just in time to go back to work on Monday! Then another question popped into my head; one I am sure you’ve had before, “Is there more to life then this?” I pondered this for a little while.  This is the conclusion I came up with. We aren’t created to go through life going through the motions! This world that God created is for our enjoyment and pleasure. Does this mean quit your job and go have fun? Definitely not, but when is the last time you took a quiet stroll at night just to enjoy the peaceful stars God created.  Or maybe go and do something just to put a smile on a complete strangers face?

I wondered how can we make peoples days just a little brighter, how can we show the joy we have found in Christ. Recently, I found out they had pianos in downtown Jacksonville; every so often before work I like to sit down, play and just watch peoples days get a little brighter. What’s your talent? How can you give just to brighten up someone’s day? Guys, look at all the amazing blessing God has given us! Breathe in, God gave you that. Close your eyes and enjoy the warmth of the sun.  Watch the birds fly.

I just wanted to type this short note just to share with you all the reminder God gave me. Even though life is hard, life is stressful, stop and enjoy the blessings of the world around you. Ask yourself, what can I do for a stranger; not to get anything, but because it was first given to me!

~David