CHRISTMAS: The Greatest True Story Ever Told

There's a story being told across the whole world.  Will you examine this true story and see what kind of gift God is wanting to give you?

EXAMINE THE STORY

The Baby in the manger was sent to give us Hope.  Enter Christmas knowing that Jesus was on a mission to bring us back.  He came to this Earth for one mission- to die on the cross, held by three nails, absorbing every sin in our lives and erasing every punishment we deserve.  Jesus did this out of love, bringing oneness between us and God.

ENCOUNTER THE GOD OF THE STORY

We were made for God's love.  Your Creator dreamt you up and designed you with special care.  Somewhere along the way we left God.  He didn't leave us.  We took the life He gave us and did as we pleased.  We are lost.  There is a God-sized vacuum in your life that only He can fill.  God sent His son, Jesus, to this Earth as a "Christmas" gift for you.  He wrapped Him up and gave Him to you so you no longer need to live life alone and without true love.  This gift God has given you is divorce-proof.  It is death-proof.  It is full of love and grace.  God is giving it... will you receive it?  The gift of Jesus Christ will bring back oneness- it will give you a new life with Him- eternally.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!
May you find true love and hope this holiday season.

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"Father's Love Letter"

"Father's Love Letter is a compilation of bible verses from both the Old & New Testaments that are presented in the form of a love letter from God to the world. What began as a simple sermon illustration is now an international best seller, translated into over 40 languages and seen by millions of people around the world. Father's Love Letter is a rich expression of the love of God, a moving and memorable video for all ages."

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"Signed, Sealed and Delivered I'm Yours"

In 1970, this song hit #3 on the charts. Stevie Wonder sang, “Signed, Sealed and Delivered I’m yours.”

The Bible says, Well, we are signed, sealed and delivered by the Holy Spirit.

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory."  Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)

If it’s true- that we abide in Him and His Spirit in us, then, when it says that the fruit of the Spirit is Love... Growing within us should be a harvest. A harvest that holds an endless resource of love.

If you were to measure the fruits of your love, what would it look like?

Would you be holding a brown lunch bag with only 4-5 love fruits to give out on a day to day basis?

You have to ration your very limited supply for love in the morning, because your kid is screaming. One for lunch time because your co-worker is driving you crazy. Two in the evening, one for your spouse and one for the dog.

Or do you carry a splintery, wooden crate with 20-30 love fruits to give out each day? You have enough for your family, you even have enough to share at work, but as you get to things at church and serving God, your supply starts to deplete quickly. You get burned-out. Your attitude becomes negative. People start to really get on your nerves. All because you ran out of love for the day.

Are you that special someone who always seems to have an endless supply of love? Do you know someone like this?  It’s like a big dump truck full of love fruits. The truck backs up, unloads and love is scattered everywhere. Wherever you look there’s love -- Ready for the taking. Wherever you go, there’s this sign that follows you, Saying, “Need love? Come on over, I’ve got plenty to hand out!”

The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love others deeply- the power to forgive them often- the power to give abundantly to everyone we come in contact with. If God is love, and God’s spirit is within us- then we should never run out of the resource. If we do, then we need to see where the assembly line has stopped. We need to find where the connection was cut off. Because it’s not God holding back his love- it’s us.


"Love, like the human heart, needs to be exercised often in order to grow stronger." ~ HLJ

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All posts are the sole property of the Heart Like Jesus blog. You must obtain permission to use any of the information on this blog.

How Much Do You Love Me?

Whenever my wife asks our 3 year old son, "Do you love me?" His response is, "Yes!"

My wife will say, "How much do you love me?"

In the mind of a 3 year old who doesn't understand how to measure the width and depth of his love (or maybe he does), will often answer by saying, "Three thousand worlds!"

"How much do you love me - three thousand worlds!" Boy, I don't need to tell you how that makes mommy feel! Her face lights up and she gets the biggest smile on her face every time. The warmth and the love she feels makes all the craziness- all the chaos of life worth while.

I believe when you ask God, "Do you love me?" He will always say, "YES!"

"How much do you love me, God?"

"More than anything in the entire Galaxy!"

I John 4:7-11 (NIV)
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

God chose it. Jesus died for it. We need to share it!

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Sharing God's Love to Your Neighbors

When we moved into our new neighborhood about 9 months ago, there was this old(er) guy across the street that seemed very grumpy... okay, he looked down-right mean. Money was tight, so every evening I would load up the Camry with boxes and misc. junk(which fills up quickly), drive 40-45 minutes and start unloading. I did this every night, sometimes several times a night.

When I would show up to our new home, this older guy would stare at me with his intense eyes. I would say, "Hello." He would briefly respond and then either walk away or turn back to what he was doing. I kept thinking to myself, "Sheesh, this guy is nosey and he doesn't seem very friendly." Well, about a week of unloading our stuff, the neighbor guy starts walking over to me with a frown on his face and with his big, intense eyes staring at me.

I was thinking, "Oh boy, is there going to be some kind of confrontation? What is this guy going to say to me? What am I going to say to him?"

Grumpy guy, with a loud, gruff voice, "Hey, you seem like you have a big family."
I replied, "Yes, we have three kids."
Grumpy guy, "Well, how many trash cans do you have?"
I awkwardly responded, "Just this one trash can, here."
Grumpy guy answers back, "That's not enough- that will fill up too fast. I have two trash cans you can have."
I was stumped and uncomfortable, but I pushed my words out, "Thank you very much. Are you sure?"
Not so grumpy guy, "Yeah, I don't use them."
Grateful, I said, "Thanks again! We will put them to good use!"

There's a life lesson to be learned here. Of course the old primary school statement, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." The greater lesson is this: Don't judge others so easily. We don't know what battles they've been through in life. We don't know what kind of crappy day they may have had. We don't know their past and the hurt they've gone through.

As I have invested time in this hard-faced, German friend- I've found out that he's been through two messy divorces. For many years, he works very hard with his hands as a carpenter to have very little to show for it.

Here's an update about my grumpy friend. He has given us garden tools, we have swapped home-cooked meals, we've had great conversations standing outside in our lawns. I've asked him about his beliefs and invited him to church.

Sharing God with people sometimes takes time; it took me about 6 months. Putting my guard down and finding time to talk to him has allowed me to get to know more about him and his life... this has opened up deeper conversations.

"Even in your lawn, you can find the cross." ~ HLJ

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All posts are the sole property of the Heart Like Jesus blog. You must obtain permission to use any of the information on this blog.