This is What it is to Be Loved

Why is God a jealous God? I was thinking about this today. Why does He demand such devotion? I have come to the conclusion that it is because He demands it of Himself as well.
He says, “Love Me with all your heart because I love you with all of Mine.”
Think about it with me for a second. God desires all of you; He wants you to treasure nothing as much as you do Him because that's what He does with you. Every piece of Him is yours and nothing, absolutely nothing is of more value than your soul.
In fact His love was so undistracted that He willingly paid the very expensive price for your heart-His only Son. The greatest sacrifice a father will ever have to make He made for you and me.
So when God commands us to “Have no other gods before Him” (Exodus 20:3) it is not only because He alone is God but also because He lets nothing come between Himself and you. He does not command what He is not willing to also do Himself.
It completely changes things when Christianity stops being just a religion and instead begins to be viewed as a relationship. To break laws is one thing to break God's heart something totally different. It becomes more personal to say the least.
I think it is hard for us to accept God’s love because to truly accept it is to be radically changed. His love strips us of our phony clothing, knocks down our carefully stacked brick walls and crashes through our barricaded door. We dislike being vulnerable, baring our souls like that-it’s uncomfortable. We’d rather pretend He doesn’t exist or study all the theologically correct answers than actually think about a relationship with Him. It’s easier that way. I know it is for me.
However, in order to understand God’s love we really have to give up all our false ideas of love. This world is full of ideas but there is so little actual truth. We have to realize that God’s love is in a completely different category than any other love we have heard about or known. It is true that God’s love is like a Father and is like a groom but even these are not identical representations. God’s love is different, there is nothing quite like it in the entire world. We can only draw stick figures of the love of God because until we are wise (and we are all foolish in our own ways) we can’t understand it. Like David said, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” (Psalm 139:6)
Our primary thought should be to simply enjoy His love: To know that He gives us permission to be happy, to play and bask in His endless, measureless love.
When we let ourselves love God and be loved by Him, everything else falls into place. Love as small as the word is truly is the core, the foundation of everything. It comes first. If you leave out this four letter word your entire Christian world falls apart.
So love with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and know that God loves you with all His heart, with all His soul, with all His mind and with all His strength. All of Him is yours, so let all of you be His.

Fly Without Wings

Your teaching me to fly without wings,

Sing without words or even a melody.

Dance when You’ve silenced the music.

You’ve taught me that you can live after you’ve died

and that dying daily is the sweetest way to live.

There in the darkness of where I was,

You took me step by step,

out of the night and into the glorious light.

You opened up to me hidden truths

and taught me to thirst for You.

I know now that before I never was really flying,

that before I never was singing, dancing or living.

With you impossibilities become certainties,

the unknown becomes the well traveled,

the frighting becomes the beautiful,

and the dark becomes the morning.

You surprised me. I never would have guessed

Your plan if you had not repeatedly whispered it in my ear,

proclaimed it off the mountains

and echoed it through out every inch of my heart.

I was content to stay where I was,

thinking I was happy

But You, knowing what a sunrise looked like,

knowing what heart felt song sounded like

and lilacs in a spring garden smelled like,

knew I could not stay in prison while there was such things to be enjoyed.

So you became headstrong in the best sort of way.

You made up your mind to save me and I could

do nothing but submit.

Angry at first and then ultimately, completely happy.

Thank you for doing what no one else dared,

for making me see, turning my head so I could take in

life as it should be, life with you, there is no other way

of living. I know this now and I am sorry that I ever told you differently.

All Things New

Strike up the band, throw open the windows,
Clap your hand, in that fresh wind blows!
Let down your hair, cause gone is the care
That once said, “You’ll never fly!”
Old things are forgotten,
you’re a brand new creation.
God has so much prepared for you!
So learn this by heart, “Jesus is making ALL things new.”

- By: Elizabeth

A Gentle Wind

A gentle winds first comes, a soothing lullaby
to caress my weary cheek as I in slumber lie.
It tells me not to be afraid, that I can freely rest
For God is my Father and He knows what is best.

A stronger winds now blows, it knocks me to my knees.
All the earth trembles, it shakes the strongest trees.
It reminds me that God loves me, though chastened I may be.
It can only work for good if I endure patiently

I’ve learned to love these winds; they teach me to bare my cross
Uncovering my sins and purging away the dross.
I could not do without them and this my Savior knows,
So He Himself continues the soft, reproachful blows.