He Loves Me....He Loves Me Not?

I'll keep it simple. No matter where you are in life, no matter what you have or don't have, no matter what you do or don't do, no matter who you are or who you're not- God loves you!  In a powerful message from our pastor yesterday, I was reminded once again that nothing can separate you or myself from the Love of God. I've always wondered why marriage is one of those institutions that God holds so dearly. I ponder how when God came robed in flesh, He basically loosed us from so many OT rituals by fulfilling the Law.  However, marriage is one institution  that he continued to uphold. He even took it a step further.  In the OT, he allowed for divorce because of the hardness of man's heart.  A man could divorce his wife or put her away for some pretty silly reasons.  However, in the NT, we see that the only way He allowed for divorce was for the reason of unfaithfulness or infidelity.  He definitely tightened the reins on that one. Why is marriage such a big deal?  I've thought about this long and hard and I can only come to one conclusion.  I think that marriage is held in such high regard by God because he uses it as a model of our relationship with Him (personally and the Church's relationship with Him).  Even though we fail him and mess up so many times and give him so many reasons for Him to leave us, He never does and He never will. He promised that no matter what, He would always stick by our side.  He sees the worst in us and still loves us with tons of compassion.  When we fall at His feet crying out to him in repentance, his forgiveness is quick to meet us. What a love!   So remember when you are tripping tomorrow or when you fall short (we always will)- He still LOVES you!

A Little Goes a Long Way

Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat…" One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down…” So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. John 6:5-13

The lesson above both teaches us a valuable lesson about giving.  We learn that by giving all that we have to God, even if it is very little, He can bless it and multiply it to impact others. You may only have a few bucks to your name, but what you have, give it to God.  You may not have many talents, but what you can do, use it for God. Everyday is a gift from God and we should use it accordingly.  It's so easy to complain about what we don't have, but if we would start using what we do have, God may in turn give us all we need to be a blessing in His kingdom.   Start living every day intentionally and with purpose.  Ask yourself, how can I use this day to impact God's kingdom, even in the smallest way. What is one area of my life where I feel inadequate and like I have so little to give and how can I take what I do have in that area to give to God's kingdom?  Recently, I heard a person say that they, at times, feel like they can't do much for God because they lack a formal education.  First of all, God uses anyone who is willing regardless of having a formal education or not. We just need to use the talents we do have and let God bless the rest.  You will begin to find that God takes the little resources that we have and multiplies it for His kingdom and for His glory.