Revelation

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the knowledge and wisdom of God!
How unsearchable His judgments, His paths are beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?
Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things,
To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”
Romans 11:33-36

Repeat these verses, known as the Doxology, as couple times and think on them.
Do you feel some insight, a window that is cracked open into God’s glory?
As Paul penned the last of Romans 11:32…”so that He may have mercy of them all…”
I believe he was overtaken with yet another revelation from and about God, causing him to pen the next and last four verses.
I had read Romans 11 many times, but recently I took up the challenge extended by the leaders of Caleb Company (calebcompany.org) to memorize the entire the 36 verses.
As I memorized these verses that they were becoming embedded into the fabric of my identity.
I could feel a taste of what Paul felt.
What glory, what magnificence!
The depths of His riches of wisdom and knowledge are limitless;
We can’t even begin to know all that He is, beloved, but as we seek Him with all our hearts
He is faithful to give us a glimpse of His majesty.

Love

"We love because he first loved us." 1John 4:19
"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." - John 15:13

What do you really know about Valentines Day?
Valentine's Day is celebrated today as a romantic observance, the busiest day of the year for florists and indeed the most expensive day if you're in the market for roses!
 Few know the true story of St. Valentine and there are various acounts of his life and martyrdom. There were in fact more than one "Valentine".  One such account is that Valentine was martyred for performing marriage ceremonies for Roman soldiers who had been forbidden to marry. The emperor at the time thought soldiers who were married with families would not be so willing to put themselves in harm's way in the line of duty. Valentine believed in the sanctity of marriage, and so defied the anti-marriage edict. He was eventually caught, convicted and sentenced to a brutal death.  Before he died he sent a note to a young woman, Julia, who had been healed from blindness when Valentine prayed over her; it was signed: "from your Valentine." Valentine had counted the costs of being a follower of Jesus, his greatest love, and layed down his life.

Beloved, below are a few scriptures about real love - how God loves us-from the greatest book of love stories and love letters ever written: the Bible. May they bless you richly!

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 1Corinthianians 13:4-6

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

"Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”  

John 14:21

Failure and Success

"Many of life's failures are by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -Thomas Edison


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:13

By his own admission Thomas Edison, the "wizard of Menlo Park" had over 10,000 failures in his quest to invent various devices. In his lifetime he was credited with 1,093 inventions including the carbon telephone transmitter, motion picture machine, electric power station, and the flouroscope. He was credited with inventing the first light bulb, which he did not, however he did invent the first commercially practical incandescent light. 

Edison was not discouraged by failure; to him an unsuccessful test was considered a step towards discovery and ultimate success.  
God's Word contains the same message for us; we are encouraged repeatedly not to become "discouraged or dismayed", as we keep our eyes fixed on Yeshua and take that next step.
Beloved, if you find yourself tired,discouraged, and feel like throwing in the towel, look up and remember that "if God is for us, then who can be against us"!

One Step At A Time

Don Finto, a much revered man of God in my community, was once asked how he was able to sustain his walk with God decade after decade and not fall away. His response was simple, yet truly profound: "I keep my gaze fixed on Jesus and take one step at a time."

"And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying,“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt? -Matt.14:25-31

Peter responded to his Savior's call and did just fine as he kept his eyes on the LORD and moved forward, step by step. When his focused changed--the scriptures read that "he saw the wind" and the white-capped waves; his natural man's experiences and the circumstances of the moment told him that what he was doing was impossible. Immediately he sank (fell away) from walking with Jesus, until the Master came to his rescue and took hold of him. Yeshua's very first words to Peter were,"You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
When Yeshua beckons us to come to Him, beloved, we can step forward with assurance and the faith of a child, our gaze fixed on Him. He promises never to leave or forsake us as we sojourn with intentionality and perseverance. Step by step, moment by moment, day after day as the years go by we run, our eyes constantly on Him  as we weather tribulations and trials until we finally hear the words, "Welcome home."