Tag: Bible

What Can Be More Simple? God Is Love

God is love. One hundred percent pure love. Unconditional love. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can be more simple.

“God is love…” John 4:16

There is not one speck of anything else in God. It is all love. And because we were made in His image and likeness, we are expected to be 100% love. But of course, we are not. Not because we can’t but because we don’t want to be. It’s easier to think bad thoughts and even hate. It’s harder to love.

There is a reason why LOVE is one of the fundamental Real Secrets to Life. Because God is love. It’s so simple but the one thing we love to do is complicate life. And boy do we complicate it!

Want to uncomplicate your life and feel better all around? Then, think LOVE! Start with a smile. Look at every person you see as God. Because God is in them. He created you and I. We are all linked in God. And we should all be linked by love.

Just imagine for a minute what the world would be like if we walked in LOVE?

Have a great week and think LOVE!

Forgive to Get Forgiveness

This is one of the easiest concepts to understand. If you want God to forgive you, you need to forgive. Anyone. Everyone. You can’t be a forgiveness “hypocrite” if you expect God to forgive you for anything. And you can’t be selective in who you forgive.

Jesus said it clearly, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

I’ll say it again, if you want forgiveness then you have to forgive. It’s that simple.

Nothing more to write about this. You can’t complicate it. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Jesus died for all sins, past, present, and future. For my sins and your sins. But we only realize the forgiveness when we ask for it and return the forgiveness to others. And it can’t be sham forgiveness. It has to be in your heart and in your actions.

Think about this today. And have a SUPER day in the process!

Why Can’t We Just Be Nice?

Read the Bible and it’s all too clear that God commands us to LOVE. (LOVE is a Real Secret to Life) God sent His only Son to die for us because He loves us. Jesus left us with His one command to LOVE. Clearly, we are supposed to LOVE. So, why can’t we just start by being nice?

You don’t have to go very far to see “being nice” is a scare commodity these days. There is so much animosity in the air that it crowds out niceness. No wonder so many bad things are happening in this world these day!

So, my goal every day is to just try to be nicer. Smile at strangers. Wish them a good day. Lend a helping hand to someone in need. Don’t talk about others. Pray for them. Forgive. Then, smile again. It’s not difficult. It really is not.

Anything in life starts with one person at a time. Imagine what the world would be like if we all were just a little bit nicer? So, I’m going to do my part. I’ll really try. I may slip up but will try again. I hope you join me in trying!

Have an AWESOME week ahead being nice!

One Christian Requirement

LOVE. That’s it. If you walk in LOVE you follow the walk of Jesus Christ. You are a Christian. Pretty simple, right? Conversely, if you don’t walk in LOVE you are not a Christian. You are simply something else.

Jesus commanded us to do one simple thing. LOVE. So, if we walk in LOVE, as Jesus did, we are a follower. A “Christ”ian. If we don’t, we aren’t. Again, pretty simple.

There are a lot of self-professed “Christians” in this world that clearly don’t walk in LOVE. So, they may think they are “Christian” but are anything but true Christian. Again, Jesus commanded us to do one simple thing. LOVE. If we LOVE we are followers. If we don’t, we are not.

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” john 15:12 

There is no mistaking that. LOVE. And just to be clear, Jesus is talking about loving all as He loves each one of us. LOVE if you are a true Christian.

Have an EXCEPTIONAL day walking in LOVE!

Darkness Overtaking the Light

Boy, it sure feels like it. I mean, when I look out into the world all I see is darkness overtaking the light. I’m not just talking about the war in Ukraine or the latest one in the Middle East, but the darkness is all around. Heard from someone this morning about an ex-husband to a grammar school teacher who entered the school and shot himself in front of students. My friend’s daughter just cries at night and won’t go to school. Darkness. It’s creeping over the world.

It’s times like these that I need to read and meditate on the beginning of the Gospel according to John:

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:5)

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” That’s what I keep on saying to myself as it sure looks like the darkness is extinguishing the light. I realize in the process that the “light” is Jesus in the world and the Spirit He left us with in the world. Times may look bleak but the “light” will always win out in the end.

We have the “light” of Jesus in each of us. If we want the light to overcome the darkness we need to let our lights shine. That involves doing the right things in following Jesus, not being Christians in cheap words but followers in real actions. We need to smile, help, pick others up, serve, love, and everything in between. We simply need to let our lights shine.

Don’t let the darkness overcome us. Do your part today in letting your light shine!

How Little Has Changed in the Middle East!

War has been a thing in the Middle East since the dawn of time, or at least since the time of Abraham. Read the Bible and it’s one conflict after another. The Holy Land has always been a war zone, is today, and I think will be tomorrow. That’s because God’s call for LOVE goes unheard.

Right now God is looking down at current events and yet another war killing thousands of His innocent children. He is just shaking His head. God has given us a message to LOVE, and even let His Son be sacrificed for LOVE. Jesus commanded us to do one thing and that is LOVE. But we ignore every word. We hate.

What can you and I do with war now going on (again) in the Middle East, not to mention the war in Ukraine? We can love. LISTEN for and to God who is practically screaming, if not really screaming, for us to LOVE. It’s not hard. Just start with a smile, forgive as you want God to forgive you, and think about the other person before yourself. Think God. Think Jesus. Think Spirit. Call for help. They are there.

The world is a powder keg because we can’t LOVE. It’s easier to hate and be mad. But the path to eternal life is LOVE but as a collective people we are taking another path, and the end won’t be pretty.

Change starts with each one of us, person by person. So, you and I can start a chain if we can just LOVE. Like life itself, God meant this to be be very simple. We are the ones who complicate it.

Spread a little LOVE this week. The world certainly needs it!

I Am What I Am by the Grace of God

Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 15:10 that by the grace of God he is what he is. And by the grace of God we are all what we are. Regardless of our situation, God threw away the mold when He made you, me, and every other person to have lived. We are all special and unique children of God.

I do the wrong thing all the time. I mess up. But I stop getting down on myself, pick myself up, and don’t make the same mistake again. At least I try not to make the same mistake again. I tell myself that God made me, and I am what I am by His grace.

I know I am nothing without God. Anything I do right I attribute to His grace. God made me and hardwired me with Him. He sent His Son to save me and His Spirit to empower me. How can I go wrong with all that help?

Don’t get down on yourself. And don’t ever let yourself feel inferior to anyone. God created you, saved you, and is empowering you. By His grace you are who you are. Special. Unique. One of a kind.

Have an amazing week being who God created you to be!

What is God?

Love. Pure and simple, God is love. John said it best so suggest you read 1 John 4:7-12. God is love and everything that comes from God is love.

If God were anything but pure and unconditional love then we would be in big trouble. At the very least, He would not have sacrificed His Only Son to clear out all sins past, present, and future.

It’s hard to think about a God that is pure refined love. The ultimate expression of love. But that is what God is. It’s hard to believe because we live in a world so filled with strife and downright hatred.

There is only one way to get closer to God and that’s to love. Not just love people close to you but love everyone, regardless of who they are. Love, love, and love. There is only one path to God.

So, the next time you want to say something bad, do something bad, lash out, or do anything but love, think again if you want to really feel love in your life. Love is just like an electric current. It’s not static but flows. Love can’t exist as a static feeling. It has to flow.

Let your love flow this week. LOVE is truly a Secret to Life. So have a great week and let it flow!

History Repeating Itself (Again!)

There’s a reason there is a Bible. It’s God’s handbook on life to us. How many times has God saved us only to have us turn our backs on Him? A LOT!!! We (humankind, His children) constantly give in into ourselves (sin) rather than God. Our bodies and this limited time on earth are more important than our souls and an eternity of bliss.

Look at the Israelites. God practically placed them in the Promised Land, a place flowing with milk and honey. But they were too afraid to enter so God said, fine, roam the desert for 40 years on a journey to the Promised Land that should have taken 11 days. And only two of the original Israelites made it to the Promised Land. Even Moses didn’t make it!

Idols of gold are simply money today. We forget about worshiping God but instead worship wealth and everything material. No wonder we are wandering this earth of disease, war, starvation, and everything else wrong today.

Sorry to be Debbie downer but we are lost in our own desert. It’s time to wake up to God and follow His lead. He sent His Son to show us the way. This isn’t rocket science.

There’s a fork in the road for us. One way is a dead-in way that leads to death and worse. The other way is to God, fulfillment while on this earth and eternal bill after. You pick!

Have a OUTSTANDING day focused on what’s truly important!

Don’t Beat Yourself Up!

I screw up all the time. Trust me. No matter what I know to do right I manage to do the opposite. I identify with Paul who wrote, “ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7:15) That’s life. Let’s face it—none of us is perfect. But I’ve learned that you can’t beat yourself up. You need to pick yourself back up, get back in the game of life, and move forward.

Life is not a straight path. It’s filled with twists and turns and, sometimes, wrong ways. We backtrack at times. But when you make a mistake, you do your best to correct it, ask God for forgiveness, and move forward.

God knows every little, tiny screw-up we have made and will make. He knows all the little stuff as well as the big stuff. So, there is no hiding from God. Either what we have done or if we are truly sorry for our mistakes (sins). God is here. God is everywhere.

If we confess the screw-ups we are forgiven. That’s because Jesus came and died to wipe all sin away. Past, present, and future. But you need to understand that and ask for true forgiveness. That’s how it works.

Beating yourself up achieves nothing. In fact, it gives into Satan and the other evil spirits who feed off of our mistakes. They love it when you and I beat ourselves up. It drags us down, not up. So, the last thing you want to do is beat yourself up.

Have a BLESSED week ahead. Keep your head up, stay in the game, and move forward!