LOVE

There’s something magical in that word!

“You can Give without Loving, but you cannot Love without Giving”

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with the word, L-O-V-E.  I remember that I loved my daddy so much that at times I thought my heart would pop right out of my chest.  I thought he was the handsomest man on the planted.  Am I sounding silly? Or just plain dumb? Nevertheless I adored him.  And I knew he loved me.  I would have given anything or everything to him, and still feel that way today.

As you can see up near the top, a Quote that I think is a perfect description of how I feel about the Lord.  I find that because I love Him, I have a deep desire to give to him.  Did you say what do you want to give Him?  Everything!  More!  Yes I want to give Him more of me…more of what I have….More, More, and even more…until I have given Him all that I am, all that I have, and then more.  Are you laughing?  I am really serious. And guess what?  God blessed me with a husband who is almost…yes, I said ALMOST exactly like me.  He keeps my feet on the ground and “reins me in" when I get a little crazy.

Here is one Biblical example of love….and yes, I know you already know this portion of Scripture.  I Cor. 13  I wrote this more from memory, then copying the exact text, so please don’t get upset.  “Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres … And now these three remain: faith, hope and Love.  But the greatest of these is Love.” By the way, I have not used the exact wording…but some of it in my own words…

Luke 6:38

King James Bible Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.

I love this portion of God’s Word…and I claim it often.  I know that if I’m a giver, God will provide for me.  That’s exactly what it says….Give and it SHALL be give unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and …. Hey look at this…Running over, shall men give …!  Whoa…now who can argue with that kind of promise?  No me!  And best thing is…I have experienced this…over and over again.  God can not lie.  I remember one time, Herb and I needed some big bucks…well, big for us…we needed $14,000.  And we had to have the money…we didn’t have much…but we gave it all.  Yep….we gave all we had…certainly not $14,000, but we did give every cent we had….and trusted God to provide…and He did!  And I have to tell you this….so sweet…so amazing…so much God simply answering our need.  We got a gift for exactly $14,000.  NO it’s never happened again…but we only had that kind of need once in our lifetime…but no one knew about this huge need except for Me, Herb and God….so what do you think?  Right now, our car is 14 years old and it’s starting to cost us a little here and a bit more there, but one of these days, we are going to have to buy another vehicle, not something new, but something to replace this older car and we will again have to throw out the rope of faith and trust God…and because of  depending on Him all these years, we will give what we have and believe He is going to provide.  We love Him and we know that He first loved us.  He has promised to meet our needs…I would never ask Him to provide a Volvo, or a BMW, but I do trust Him to meet our needs.  How much do you love Him?  Enough to give Him your life?  You time?  Your money, and trust Him to your finances.  Read the Bible and believe that every promise in the Book is Yours’ and Mine. Hurray!  Love Him.  And remember you can’t love without Giving.

Have a wonderful week, and Remember to Love the Lord with all your heart.