The Love Chronicles ~ Psalm 91:14

 

 

Psalm 91

 

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.'

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare

of the fowler

And from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not come near you.

Only with your eyes shall you look,

And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is

my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall bear you up,

Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

Because he has set his love upon Me,

therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has

known My Name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation."

 

 

This is my favorite Psalm of all time. Obviously. I posted the whole thing instead of just one verse. The idea of reading just one verse out of the other 16 seemed sacrilegious. This Psalm is such a wonderful example of cause-and-effect that the verses seem to be a package deal; you can't read one and get the full meaning without the others.

 

The first thing that really stands out to me about this Psalm is how many promises there are. The Psalmist uses the words "shall" or "will" 20 times! More times than there are verses in the entire Psalm! And he backs them up with words like "surely" for emphasis!

 

This Psalm is such a wonderful bundle of promises that one can't help but be encouraged when reading it. Our God is a God who keeps His promises. Nowhere in this Psalm does it say "maybe" or "possibly" or "might." These are concrete verbs; God is going to follow through.

 

How do we reap the blessings of God's promises? Verse 1 lays it out pretty clearly: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High..." Not feeling overly blessed lately? Where have you been dwelling? So many times in my life I've wanted to know why God seemed so far away, and I realized I wasn't pitching my tent anywhere near Him. I was off doing my own thing, living how I wanted to live, and then was fussing that God wasn't unleashing blessings on me!

 

So then what? A Christian's life will be perfect? I wish! But the difference is astounding: When evil befalls the wicked, they feel lost, alone, and helpless. They have no one to help them or bear them up. But look at the wonderful promise in Verse 15: "He shall call upon Me, and I WILL answer him; I WILL be with him in trouble; I WILL deliver him and [WILL] honor him." When trouble comes a-knockin' at our doors, the difference is that We. Are. Not. Alone.

 

Praise the Lord!

 

We don't have to face the darkness, the fear, the uncertainty, the trouble alone. If we are dwelling in Him, He should be the first One we call in times of distress. And He WILL answer! No doubt about it! No busy signal. No "I'm too busy." No voicemail. We have a hotline directly to the throne room of God, and He will come the moment we call! 

 

He might not always give us the answer we want. We might want to be delivered completely from the trouble, and He might tell us we have to walk through it, but the good news is: We. Don't. Have. To. Walk. Alone. He will be right by our side, protecting, encouraging, and carrying us when necessary. He will deliver us.

 

Deliver us from the evil one.

 

Deliver us from the pit.

 

Fellow travelers may be falling all around us. Traveling in their own strength. Dwelling in the secret place of their own accomplishments. Dwelling in their self-righteousness. Dwelling in their own strength.

 

When will we learn: we only succeed when we give up? Give up ourselves. Give up our plans. Give up our pride. And dwell in Him. Dwell in His arms. His safety. His strength. Why do we want to do things on our own when we have Someone so much bigger, stronger, and wiser to help us along the way? Dwell in the secret place of the Most High. There is no one higher or more powerful. Rest in that thought today, friend.

 

    



The Love Chronicles ~ Psalm 45:7

 

 

Psalm 45:7

"You love righteousness and hate wickedness;

Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You

With the oil of gladness more than Your companions."

 

 

I had to think about this verse for awhile. This Psalm is a wedding Psalm, read at weddings, celebrating human marriage. But it's also an analogy for the groom, King Jesus, and His bride, us, His church. At first, I wasn't sure if there was anything too applicable for everyday life - maybe this is just a nice Psalm to read on your wedding day. But, praise the Lord, He helped me see it with new eyes.

 

As a bride on our wedding day, we do feel "anointed." Anointed with love, happiness, joy, hope for the future...a bride on her wedding day is in love with all things good, lovely, righteous in the world.

 

And a bride has an extra glow about her on her wedding day - she is and should be the most beautiful woman in the room. She has been anointed "with the oil of gladness" more than her "companions."

 

The church, made up of all of us - Christians, should be the same way. We should love righteousness and hate wickedness.

 

Hate wickedness but NOT the evil-doer. Jesus is to be our example. Jesus loved the outcasts just as much as the "accepted" - tax collectors, prostitutes, divorcees, the afflicted.

 

Every time I see pictures of people from Westboro Baptist Church, I want to be sick. "God Hates You," "God Is Your Enemy," "You're Going to Hell." Of course, the nut jobs get the most media attention, creating a skewed worldview of the church.

 

How does telling someone God hates them show a desire for loving righteousness?

 

Jesus didn't picket the Samaritan woman's well. He wasn't the enemy of Zaccheus. There's nothing loving about telling someone God hates them.

 

God. Hates. Self-Righteousness. And. Hypocrisy. Just. As. Much. As. Any. Other. Sin.

 

Loving righteousness also means loving the sinner.

 

Our arms should be open in love, not raised in a fist.

 

The bride, the church, US - the church is made up of US.

 

Stop looking at the church with fingers pointed. An old pastor of mine used to say, "When you point a finger at someone else, you always have three more pointed back at yourself."

 

The church is made up of individuals, and I am one of them. You are one of them. If we want to see change in the church, we must first begin to examine and change ourselves.

 

And what will be the result?

 

"Therefore..."

 

This is a huge arrow, a bridge connecting cause and effect. We should love righteousness and hate wickedness. And what will happen then?

 

We will be anointed by God Himself with the oil of gladness.

 

Love, true, godly love, produces gladness, produces joy.

 

What kind of church are people going to want to learn more about? The one that shows them love, that accepts them just as they are, not condoning the sin yet loving the sinner, which All. Of. Us. Are?

 

Or the one angrily raising fists, yelling, judging, jeering, condemning?

 

Which produces gladness? Which produces joy?

 

We desire His joy and blessing in our lives, but in order to have this result, we must first fulfill the first part: love righteousness, hate wickedness. Not being so filled with self-righteousness we become the wickedness.

 

And before we start to point out the wickedness in others, we must first confront and deal with the wickedness in ourselves.

 

 





The Love Chronicles ~ Psalm 31:23

 

 

Psalm 31:23

 

"Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!

For the Lord preserves the faithful,

And fully repays the proud person."

 

 

I love it when God reminds me I'm His saint. For so long, for so much of my life, all I have dwelt on and focused on have been my shortcomings, my faults, my imperfections.

 

I had this idea about humility - that in order to be truly humble, I had to constantly put myself down, never accept compliments, always talk about my bad points.

 

And over the years, this evolved into self-hatred. I literally hated everything about myself: my looks, my weight, my grades, my inability to make friends (gee, I wonder why that was?), my entire life. Everything was wrong. I set ridiculously high standards for myself that absolutely no one could attain.

 

But then the negativity about my life bled over into negativity about others' lives.

 

I became critical of everyone and everything around me. I wasn't acting like a saint; I wasn't even acting like a nice person.

 

I was so focused on me trying not to focus on me, I ironically fell into the very trap I was going to such great lengths to avoid.

 

And that's what false humility is: disguised selfishness. We think it's genuine humility, but look where the focus is: me, myself, & I.

 

Bu this verse calls us saints. Not wannabes. Not keep-tryings. God looks down and sees His Son in us; we are His SAINTS.

 

Not through any good we have shown, but through the goodness and love of His Son living in us.

 

And what should our response be? What else could it be? LOVE!!!

 

LOVE for the God Who does not condemn us.

 

LOVE for the God Who doesn't love us conditionally.

 

LOVE for the God Who knew we weren't saints, yet made us saints by His Son.

 

How could our response be anything but Love?

 

Who, when they've been offered a free, underserved gift, could respond with anything less? If He loves us this much, how can we not unashamedly love Him back?

 

And as if that weren't enough, the Psalmist gives us an extra reason: "For He preserves the faithful."

 

I like that word: preserves. It makes me think of a photo - preserving the moment. Or canning fruits for the winter - preserving it for later.

 

The Lord knows we can't be faithful on our own, in our own strength. I can't be faithful for 5 minutes, let alone a lifetime. So He does the work for us; He preserves us.

 

He takes us, with Christ living inside us, and preserves us, protects us. And the funny part is: He's preserving us and protecting us because We. Can't. Do. It. Ourselves. We keep trying, but we'll never be able to do it.

 

We're hopeless without Him.

 

All that false humility, trying in our own strength? Futile. Worthless. Hopeless.

 

The verse doesn't say He preserves the perfect or the flawless or the most humble - He preserves the faithful - the ones who keep trying and failing and falling and trying some more. The ones who weep on their faces when they don't have the strength to take one more step. The ones who wear out their knees with prayer. The ones who know they're not perfect, can never be perfect, yet are OK in their imperfections.

 

Will they keep striving? Yes! Will they reach it? No!  But it's OK - "LOVE the Lord, you His saints, for HE preserves the faithful."

 

HE is doing the hard part for us! HE is doing the preserving! All we are commanded to do is LOVE! We have the easy part! A photo doesn't preserve itself. It requires an outside force to tenderly frame it or put it in a photo album. I haven't done a lot of canning in my time, but one thing I do know: those fruits & vegetables sure don't can themselves. It requires a dedicated cook, willing to stand over a hot stove for several hours doing all the work.

 

All that trying to achieve things in our own strength? Pointless! HE's got it all under control already. Why does the God of the Universe need our puny little help? It's like an ant trying to help build a skyscraper.

 

All that fear? The "what-if"s? The feeling like we simply MUST take control of at least THIS? Futile. Worthless wastes of energy. We simply must Love Him.

 

And Love our neighbors.

 

And, yes, it's OK to Love ourselves: be happy with ourselves the way He made us. That number on the scale? Not important. That set of freckles on your cheeks or birthmark on your nose? He put them there. That is your signature look, straight from the hand of God. Don't hide it or change it.

 

The Lord preserves His saints. Doesn't that relieve so much pressure? It should! Stop trying in your own strength. Stop being the ant. Simply. Love. Him. And He. Will. Preserve. You.

 



 







The Love Chronicles ~ Psalm 4:2

 

 

Psalm 4:2

"How long, O you sons of men,

Will you turn my glory to shame?

How long will you love worthlessness

And seek falsehood?"

 

It's so easy for me to read the Psalms with my finger pointed.

 

It's so hard to take something so emotionally charged as a song & put ourselves in the same mindset as the author. So what usually happens when I read a Psalm is either a complete disconnect because I can't relate or I start pointing - "Yeah, sons of men, how about that? Why you gotta be that way?"

 

But something interesting happens when I just read one verse instead of the entire Psalm: perspective.

 

"How long, O you sons of men, will you turn my glory to shame?"

 

Is this David talking to the ambiguous "wicked," or is it God speaking to us?

 

Aren't we all technically sons of men? The only thing separating us from "the wicked" is simple: grace.

 

God's grace.

 

Because, not that long ago, we were the "sons of men." And it's so easy to fall back. So couldn't this verse just as easily be God speaking to us?

 

"How long, O you sons of men, will you turn my glory to shame?"

 

How often do we do that? Take the glorious message of Christ & pollute it? We are quick to anger instead of love. We judge without the full story. We condemn. We selfishly complain when we don't get a want when so many others are without basic needs.

 

And that is To. Our. Shame.

 

We are Christ's ambassadors. We are the representatives. If we don't live what we're preaching, how can we expect others to accept Him?

 

Because isn't that the goal of all of this?

 

Leading those in darkness into this marvelous Light?

 

How can we lead when our light is so smothered by anger, envy, jealousy, strife, sarcasm, dissention, arguing, and petty-ness? We take His glory & turn it to our shame.

 

"How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood?"

 

This is exactly what we do when we are not resting in Him, when we are not pursuing His Kingdom. We are pursuing worthlessness and seeking falsehood.

 

I've taught enough English to know: These are Action. Verbs.

 

We're not simply in this state-of-being, zen-like state and then worthlessness & falsehood seek us out - We. Are. Actively. Looking. For. Them.

 

When we are not pursing the good of the Kingdom, we're still pursuing something - and that something is worthless and false if it's not for God, if it has no eternal purpose or value.

 

But we are not without hope - when we recognize this in ourselves, there is a promise in the very next verse: "The Lord will hear when I call to Him."

 

He will not leave this son (or daughter) of man.

 

As soon as I recognize my sin - He. WILL. Hear. When. I. Call. To. Him.

 

A promise.

 

And another action verb.

 

I must actively cry out to Him.

 

He will not force me. Because love that is forced is no love at all.

 

But when I cry out, when I actively seek Him & turn my back on my worthless, false pursuits, He is quick to hear and save me.

 

Praise be to Him!

 

 







The Love Chronicles ~ Deuteronomy 6:5

 

 

Deuteronomy 6:5

"You shall love the Lord your God with

all your heart, with all your soul, and

with all your strength."

 

I have to be honest: when I first saw that this was the verse for my reading today, I almost skipped it.

 

This verse has been read so many times on so many occasions for so many reasons. Every Sunday School attendee memorizes it within the first year. I wish I could say I'm one of those people who can read a verse as if it's the first time every time. But I'm not. Sometimes reading the Bible is work.

 

It's work to look at a verse you've read over and over for over 20 years and try to see something new from it. So I almost skipped it. But then the words spoken by our school's guest speaker at chapel last week popped into my head: "If you sit down to read the Bible with the honest intention of hearing from God, you'll be amazed how quickly you hear from Him."

 

So I mustered my strength and read it again for the 111th time: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."

 

I think I know why it's so easy to skip this verse: we know it's completely unattainable. We can never love someone this perfectly. So why try? Why would God put this verse in the Bible when He knows we'll never attain it this side of heaven? And that's when He stared speaking.

 

The first thing I heard?

 

This is another command  - "You shall." No maybes. No if-you-feel-like-its.

 

Because God knows: if we don't love Him, we'll love someone else. SomeTHING else. Work. Spouse. Children. Alcohol. Wallowing. Anger. Self-Pity.

 

There's a hole in our hearts, and we try to fill it with oh, so many things. If there's not room in our hearts for God, how can there be room for others? There is only room for self.

 



 

And that's when I heard the second thing:

 

How are we to love Him? Half-heartedly? When we have time? No!

 

With. Everything. We. Have.

 

"All  your heart, all your soul, all  your strength."

 

Because when your heart is full of love, then you have a heart to fill up with God's love, a heart that love the people God loves.

 

And. God. Loves. Everyone.

 

The atheists.

 

The liberals.

 

The gays.

 

The nerds.

 

The unlovable.

 

If our hearts are full of God's love, then we will be loving towards everyone.

 

Because when your soul is full of love, there's no room for love of self. Your soul becomes God's; your soul becomes for others.

 

You empathize; you feel their pain. Your soul aches and rejoices with theirs; there is no. Room. For Self.

 

Because when you love with all your strength, you're exhausted, poured out; you've given it all willingly, joyfully, sacrificially.

 

You have no strength for anything - except God and others.

 

And that's how it should be.

 



 





Love Chronicles ~ Leviticus 19:18

 

 

 

I haven't been able to get love out of my mind lately. And it's not residual Valentine's goopiness. I've just felt so burdened about how much the Bible tells us to love, and how little we do it. The world is already such an unloving place, we certainly don't need to be adding to the darkness. That may seem harsh or strange because, as Christians, aren't we the light? Yes! But how often do we live the Light? How many times do we look just like the ones we're trying to save? We can say all the right words, but if we're not living it, no one will believe us.

 

 

So, I've decided to start the Love Chronicles. The Bible talks about love 143 times, and I don't know if I've ever truly let that sink in. I'd like to say I'll post a Bible verse & my thoughts on it every day, but that's not realistic. Some days are just too busy. But I will be reading a verse on Love every day and writing my thoughts on it in my journal, and I will post these thoughts as often as possible.

 

 

Leviticus 19:18

"You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against

the children of your people, but you shall LOVE your

neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."

 

 

This is a command. Not a request. Not an "if you feel like it." Not an "except when..."

 

You. Shall. NOT.

 

Ever. Never.

 

Revenge? Not an option.

 

Holding a grudge against someone? Shouldn't even enter your mind. Find another option.

 

"But, what if..."

 

"I am the Lord."

 

That puts an end to it. No arguing possible. No way around it. No excuses. The biggest period you could ever put on the end of a sentence. "I. Am. The. Lord."

 

God knows we like wriggle room, so He left us zero room for it. "I am the Lord." "You shall not."

 

Once the fleshly options are taken away, there's really only one other place to go: Love.

 

But it's more than that.

 

It's more than just a parental "Don't argue with me." It's said in so much love.

 

"I am the LORD."

 

Don't you trust Me? Don't you believe Me? Don't you know when I give you a command it's for your own good?

 

Love. Is. The. Answer.

 

Not revenge. Not holding grudges.

 

There's MORE out there. There's BETTER out there.

 

"I am the LORD."

 

Don't take the easy path. Take the bigger road, the better road - trust Me.

 

"I AM the Lord."

 

"Don't you know that if I'm giving you this command, it's for your good? For your safety? For your growth?"

 

"LOVE your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."

 

Grudges & revenge lead to discord. Love leads to harmony.

 

Grudges lead to hurt. Love leads to healing.

 

Revenge leads to anger. Love leads to peace.

 

Grudges are me-focused. Love is neighbor-centered.

 

Believe it, Heart.

Live it, Soul.

 





A Valentine From God

 

 

The Bible mentions the topic of "forgiveness" 45 times. It talks about "love" 143 times and "joy" 55 times.

 

In a world that can be so hard & hateful & mean & spiteful & sarcastic & negative & deceitful, I would think it would be the other way around - shouldn't we be reminded to forgive those people who are so unloving and unjoyful more often than we're told to love them?

 

We've been hurt. Oh, how our hearts hurt. We yearn for love. For acceptance. And we've been wronged. Just let us pull out our lists. These lists as long as our arms and chiseled in stone on our hearts. These hurts that it will take a miracle to erase. We're broken. We're hurt. We need to forgive, but can we forgive when these wounds still burn? When these scars still feel so fresh? Surely we need to be taught how to forgive.

 

But...God. Is. Love. The very embodiment of it. You can't get more loving than Him. And He lives inside of us.

 

GOD lives inside us.

 

LOVE lives inside us.

 

If we are truly living love, then everything else takes a backseat. LOVE overshadows everything else. JOY flows from that love. Not happiness. JOY.

 

Joy. Comes. From. Love.

 

It's a direct result. Without love, you can't have joy. You may think you can. Success. Recognition. Fame. Honor. All these can make us feel "happy" for awhile.

 

But does any of it last? No - it's temporal, temporary, terrestrial. It doesn't bring long-lasting, eternal joy. Only love can do that.

 

And what about forgiveness? God knows we need it and need to give it. Could it be that if God-Love truly dwells in our hearts, truly sits on that throne in the center of our hearts, not pride, not hurt, not self, if LOVE truly dwells there, the need for forgiveness diminishes because we're so full of love & joy we don't have time or energy to count, catalog, and categorize the wrongs done to us?

 

Because sometimes isn't LOVE itself a form of forgiveness?

 

"Love keeps no record of wrongs."

 

Why do we want to keep that record? Why do we so quickly compile a list of all that negativity - all the hurt & anger & bitterness? How is that love?

 

Why would I voluntarily carry that load I've been instructed to set down? It weighs me down, hurts my back, bends my head from the weight. And as my head is bent, where am I looking?

 

Down. Earth. Temporal. My feet. Self.

 

This record of wrongs keeps me from looking up. From seeing LOVE. From giving LOVE. From living LOVE.

 

Who is on that throne then? Who is at the center of my heart then? Self. And the record of wrongs. Love is de-throned so I can focus on all the wrongs done to me. All the hurt & anger & bitterness & betrayal & everything that LOVE isn't, that GOD isn't.

 

It can't be both.

 

I can't claim Love, walk under His banner, AS His banner of Love with anything but LOVE at the center of my heart, seated on that throne.

 

God-Love Must. Take. Center.

 

When Love truly fills me, there is no room for anything else:

 

• I can speak beautifully but WITHOUT LOVE I. Am. Nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1)
• I can know all the theology but WITHOUT LOVE I. Am. Nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2)
• I can tithe but WITHOUT LOVE I. Am. Nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3)
• LOVE suffers. As. Long. As. It. Takes.
• LOVE shows/lives Kindness.
• LOVE is not envious.
• LOVE is not proud.
• LOVE is not self-seeking.
• LOVE is not rude.
• LOVE is not out for itself but OTHERS.
• LOVE doesn't have a quick temper.
• LOVE doesn't automatically jump to the worst conclusion.
• LOVE never rejoices in evil.
• LOVE is truthful.
• LOVE IS IDEALISTIC ("bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things").
• LOVE NEVER FAILS.

Love is Outward and Upward Focused.

 

There is no room for prideful, selfish self in Love.