Complete Hope in Jesus

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” ~Ephesians 3:19

Have you ever experienced something you couldn’t explain? When something happens that touches your heart so deeply, there are simply no words? That is what the love of Jesus is like. I cannot fathom His love, His sacrifice. He allowed Himself to be beaten, humiliated, and killed, but He did nothing to deserve it. He could have, at any time, called on the angels of Heaven to rescue Him. Or He could have simply “slipped away” as He had so many times before when people were trying to harm Him. But He didn’t. He went along with it and allowed men to abuse and degrade Him. God Himself did this! The most powerful man in existence allowed this to happen so that we could be free from sin. There are no words to explain how that makes me feel. I could write and write for days and months and years and it could not fully communicate my gratitude, my amazement, my sorrow, or my shame at the thought of what Jesus did on the cross. There never has been and never will be a greater act of love committed for me. It truly is too great to understand.

Although I can never fully understand this amazing love of Christ, I can experience it. I have experienced it. I do experience it daily. And because I have felt the love of Christ, I AM MADE COMPLETE. That statement makes me pause. I am made complete by Jesus Christ. I can experience “all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” That is the greatest gift anyone could ever give me. We spend our lives feeling incomplete. We feel like failures. We feel like we haven’t done enough, seen enough, been enough. But the Scripture tells us that is wrong! If we have experienced the love of Christ – if we understand that He died to pay for our sin and free us from it – we will be made complete! We don’t need anything else!

This place of experiencing the love of Christ is where meaninglessness turns to a search for giving God glory. I know that I have felt a sense of meaninglessness in my life many times. Sometimes it still grabs a hold of my mind and heart and tells me I’m not good enough. I haven’t done enough. I will never be enough. But this Scripture tells me just the opposite of those lies. I am full of life and power granted to me by my Creator, my Savior, my Lord! If there is a longing in my heart to do something, I will do it for Him, with Him, and through Him. I will take those feelings of failure and disappointment and turn them into a gift for my Lord.

I’ll be honest with you, I have experienced such deep feelings of meaninglessness and failure at times that it has plunged me into deep pits of depression. There are longings in my heart that have never been realized, and if I stop to think on them, it can send me spiraling down into those pits where I begin to lose hope. And without hope, you cannot survive. My pastor once said you can go 2 weeks without food, 2 days without water, and 2 minutes without air, but you can only go about 2 seconds without hope. This Scripture gives me the hope I need so desperately in those times. I HAVE experienced the love of Christ, so I AM being made complete with all the fullness of life that comes from God.

Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice. Thank you, Jesus, that you have given me the gift that no one else could. Thank you, Jesus, for loving me at my very worst – knowing every thought, every sin, every mistake, and STILL laying down your life for this sinner. I can never fully understand it, but I absolutely embrace and receive it. I am yours. I am free. I am new. I am loved by the most powerful man to ever walk this earth. His name is Jesus.

Love > Knowledge

I love to learn about the culture of biblical times. It helps so much when reading Scripture. We are so far removed from the culture of that time that we can’t fully grasp a lot of what is offered in the Bible if we don’t at least have some understanding of their culture. Sometimes I really like to blow people’s minds with things I’ve learned. These little facts and tidbits are so interesting to me that sometimes I wonder if I come off as a know-it-all as I speak of them.

When I read the second half of 1 Corinthians 8:1 in my morning devotion today, it hit me that sometimes people really don’t need to know anything about what the Bible says. They need to be hugged, fed, housed, clothed, and comforted. They need to feel the arms of Jesus surrounding them, not me telling them the significance of something someone did 2,000 years ago. There is a time for teaching people and there is a time for loving people. Honestly, the time for loving people is a lot longer than the time for teaching. No matter how much we may know – or think we know – that knowledge is no substitute for love.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the Scripture and I love learning new things about it, memorizing it, and just knowing it as well as I possibly can. It’s important and I should be telling people about it. But if my knowledge surpasses my capacity to love people in Jesus’ name, then all that stuff I know about is worthless.

St. Francis of Assisi is quoted as saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” I don’t know if he really said this, but it’s an awful good motto to follow. How will you love someone today? If all you can do is give a hug, please do it. If you can spare an hour to talk with someone who desperately needs an ear, please do that. If you can pray for someone quietly, without any recognition or praise over it, do it. Just think of all the little things you could do today without saying one wise word to anyone!

Psalm 23 from My Heart

“The lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the lord forever.” ~Psalm 23 (NLT)

We have all heard the 23rd Psalm read aloud. It is a beautiful picture of God’s love for us. Not everyone can relate to seeing God as a shepherd because sheep herding is not something we are familiar with like the people of David’s time were. As I read it this morning, I thought of a rewriting of it in my mind. Here, I’ll share it with you. This isn’t me disrespecting or changing the Word, but just trying to put modern meaning to a beautiful passage in God’s Word. So, here it is:

God is my protector and my guide; He continually makes sure that I have everything I need. He brings me rest when I need it, refreshing my soul with His goodness when I am tired or overwhelmed. When I’m weak with the worries of this life, He fills me with new strength. God always shows me the right way to go, proving to me again and again that He is so good. Even during those times when I feel consumed by darkness and despair, I know I don’t have to be afraid because God is right there with me. He keeps me safe from people and situations that would harm me and guides me along in those times when I can’t see which way I should go. God blesses and takes care of me right in front people who are watching and hoping I will fail. I know that God is going to continue loving me with His amazing love for the rest of my life because He is so very good. I know that I have Heaven to look forward to where I will be with my amazing Father for all of eternity.

Again, I just want to be clear that I am not rewriting or taking anything away from God’s Word. It is beautiful just as it is. I just wrote down what my heart heard as I read Psalm 23.

There is deeper meaning in this passage if you know anything about herding sheep. If you want to know more about it, pick up a copy of A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller. It really brings a whole new perspective for those of us unfamiliar with shepherding.

What would Jesus post?

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” ~ John 13:34-35 NLT

It’s crazy to me the amount of intense anger and hatred that is spewed out all over facebook every day by people calling themselves followers of Jesus. Sometimes I agree with the idea behind their posts, but not the way they express their viewpoint. Unfortunately, the words most often chosen to express the sentiment are so mean and cutting, any hope of a real conversation is killed by the painful blow dealt by those awful words. The blow is, of course, met with an adversarial attack. Instead of a meaningful conversation where two sides meet to seek understanding, a war is born where these new enemies lose any chance of developing a productive conversation.

Jesus didn’t say, “Here’s a suggestion for you: try to love each other like I’ve loved you.” He COMMANDED us to love each other as He loved us. How did Jesus love us? While we were still sinners – messed up, ugly, foul-mouthed, angry, bitter, hateful, murderous, thieving, selfish sinners – Jesus loved us. He didn’t put His finger in our faces and tell us how horrible we were. He didn’t tell us how righteous He was compared to us. He walked alongside us in our brokenness and held out His hand to lift us up out of that mess.

I know this starts with me. As tears well up and stream, I’m praying: Jesus, forgive me for not loving people the way You loved me. Please make me more like You. Please help me to put aside my own ideas of how people should be and let me lend a hand instead of a “righteous” opinion. Help me build others up instead of tearing them down. Help me to think more highly of others than myself. Change my mind, my attitude, and my heart, God.

Work To Do

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT

I heard recently that when you read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7,  you should put a person’s name in place of the word “love” to see if it fits to know if you’re in a loving relationship. I went to the passage later to try it out. I put my husband’s name in place and was delighted to find that it fits pretty perfectly. Then, I put my own name in and was not 100% pleased. 😟 I have some work to do. Even though it stings a little, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to work on it. How about you?

The Heartbreak of Broken Relationships

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” ~ Romans 5:8 NLT

I know plenty of people who are devastated by broken relationships. In fact, I think if I took a poll, every single adult in the world would say that they have been negatively affected by at least one broken relationship. It’s painful and scary when relationships get broken. Sometimes people suffer through depression, anxiety, or uncontrollable anger. It can be devastating and overwhelming.

Some of the most painful separation that happens in broken relationships is between parents and their children. Whatever the reason, when the parent-child relationship is damaged, it is a heart wrenching situation all around. As a parent, just thinking about losing my connection to my children is painful. Who would love and guide them as lovingly as I do? But sometimes they have to go and make their own decisions and I have to let them learn from their mistakes. As a child, the thought of not having a relationship with my parents is awfully frightening. Who would love and guide me as lovingly as they do? But sometimes we don’t agree on what is right and I have to make decisions that they may not support.

Our relationship with God has been broken. Every single one of us has pushed God away, saying in our hearts, “I know better than You. I choose ME over You, God.” We have all sinned and fractured our relationship with God. It’s hard sometimes for me to think about just how deeply I have hurt my heavenly Father with my selfishness and disobedience. I cannot fathom the pain I would feel if my own child neglected me the way that I have neglected God. The times I have disregarded Him, ignored Him, and blatantly pushed Him away are a knife in His heart, I am certain.

And yet, there He was, hanging on a cross for my sin. There He was, paying my insurmountable debt that I could NEVER pay. There He is today, arms open wide, waiting for me to run to Him. There He is, offering patience and kindness that I absolutely do not deserve.

While I stubbornly went my own way, ignoring God, Jesus died for me. While I persisted in my sin, Jesus died for me. While I pushed God away and turned my back on Him, Jesus died for me. There’s nothing better than that. My sin bought me death and eternal separation from God. I chose that. And God chose to repair that relationship because I never could. He made a way for me to be with Him, even though I’d broken that relationship with my sin.

Jesus did all the hard work. He came and lived a sinless life. He allowed Himself to be tried, beaten, and ultimately killed for crimes He did not commit. He took on God’s wrath for MY sin and was separated from the Father. And because He never sinned, He was able to not only take on the punishment of death, but He also came back to life! That’s the best part of it all: He lives!

But a question comes to mind when I think about all this. Why? Why would God send His Son to take the punishment for my sin? Why would Jesus choose to pay a fine He didn’t owe? He did it all because He is a loving Father who would do whatever it takes to repair the broken relationships between Him and His children. Even though we are selfish and we do despicable things, He loves us and wants us to be with Him. And the simplest part is for us: just say “yes” to Him. Our part is so simple. God already did the hard work.

Pray for Peace

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” ~Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ NLT


I have watched the various reactions to the Michael Brown / Darren Wilson case over the past several days. I’ve seen people on the news, on social media, and in person give all of their opinions and felt an incredible swirl of confusion over it all. Below are my thoughts after taking it all in. I hope to inspire, not to start arguments or cause upset to anyone.

I cannot pretend to understand the pain of prejudice that every person of color has faced at least a few times (and more likely many times) in their lives. No one should be judged based on the color of their skin. It breaks my heart that I have my own preconceived notions about people I don’t even know. I vow to work on removing these prejudices from myself and pray for the rest of the world to do the same.

I hope that some change may come from this tragic situation. I don’t know if the officer’s actions were based on racial prejudices or not. Either way, I support the use of non-lethal actions by police such as pepper spray and tasers. I also support the use of dashboard cameras in police cars so that we can have video evidence in situations like these.

I have policemen in my family and I truly believe that for the most part they are good people doing their jobs the best they can in the face of some very scary situations. I don’t believe they are infallible. They are people and when faced with threatening situations, they have to make difficult decisions in a split second. I can’t pretend to know how hard that is. I never want to be faced with a decision like that.

The violence in our country, especially in the inner city, has to stop. I can’t pretend to understand the causes of all the violence, but I am open to whatever it is that will change it. The violent and criminal behavior that some are calling protesting is just plain wrong. It sends a terrible message that scares people and reinforces their prejudices.

As a parent of teenagers, I cannot fathom the heartbreak of the parents who lost their child. Their pain and anger cannot be lessened by the attacks on their son’s character. Grieve with them and pray for them. Hating on their dead son will not ease their pain. Help them find a way to use this tragedy as a way to make positive change in our country. We have to stop pointing fingers and start working together.

I support peaceful protests as a right of every American. Make your concerns known. Be the change you seek in the community. Sow seeds of love through service and acts of kindness. The best way I know to end this blog is to share my favorite quotation attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. says it best: “Hate can’t drive out hate. Only love can do that.”

What Is Love?

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” ~1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4-5‬ NLT

Ah, yes, the most popular verses read at American weddings! I heard them many times before I even became a Christian. I always assumed the writer (the Apostle Paul) was writing about marriage. He wasn’t writing about romantic love. Although it does fit for romantic love, the love he was speaking of was universal love. Eros is the Greek word that refers to romantic love. The Greek word used in this case is agape. Agape is unconditional love. It’s the love that God has for us. In a grateful response to Jesus saving us from our sin, it’s the way we should live our lives as forgiven followers of Christ.

The word “Christian” means little Christ. We are supposed to be like Jesus as much as possible. That being said, if you take the word “love” in the passage and replace it with “Jesus,” I think it helps us to see even more what God wants from us.

Jesus is patient and kind. Jesus is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Jesus does not demand His own way. Jesus is not irritable, and keeps no record of being wronged.

Wouldn’t you love for people to be able to say these things using your name instead of the word love? Wouldn’t that be a really wonderful representation of Christ in a hurting world?