"We love because he first loved us.".
With the recent "holiday" of Valentine's Day, this topic has been on my mind. For some its a day of romance and new possibilities with that special someone and for others it can be a day that reminds them that the special person they long for is still missing. Still for others it may be a time to reflect on what was or what is yet to come. There are even a few of you out there that simply say, HEY its a greeting card holiday and nothing more. I've seen all the posts on Facebook, speaking of love and the lack there of as well as heartache and loneliness. Whatever the feeling for the day, the good news... it's Valentine's Day every day when you walk in the love of Christ.
I recently heard the story of how Valentine's Day all got started but I must say that I strongly disagree. Our purpose for existing was born out of love, the first Valentine's Day. Then skip ahead to a manger in a little town where a baby was born. There the son of God, given as a gift to the world, was born again as love. Love was around before the world was created, before there was a star in the sky... there was love, agape love. A love that has no bounds, no strings and is completely unconditional and cannot be lost. How wonderful is it to know that we are never without love?
When I got married we had my Aunt read from 1 Corinthians 13. This is often referred to as the "love" chapter, it is a beautifully written chapter but the entire Bible is a book dripping with love from the Father. We have our Bibles because of how much He loves us. He didn't have to give us an instructional book, he didn't have to remind us of the history that brought us to the present day but He did. He keeps giving and giving and giving all because He loves us. David Crowder sings a song that I absolutely love, "How He Loves". Please listen to the words in this video, reflect on them and worship in His presence. Our God just wants us to be in love with Him, to be part of the greatest love story ever written. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWgeUrD4MHI
Do you know how greatly you are loved today? Oh How He Loves Us.
Blessings,
Heather
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Timing, Revelation 3:3
"Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you."
Some may find this scripture a bit different and some may even find it a bit frightening in the sense that none of us know the appointed time of our life when we will experience our final breath on this earth or the moment that Christ will return to gather His children home for eternity.
There is more to timing than just the life and death moments. We are given 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in each of those hours and 60 seconds in each of those minutes. When I begin to think about all the moments, the minutes, hours given me each day I stop to think about how I am spending those hours. Am I completely absorbed into the things I want to do or am I doing as the Holy Spirit guides and directs me? I've been learning a lot lately that sometimes I need to take some of those moments of time and pause and listen to the voice of my Father as to where I go next, who I share with next or when I simply need to be still and know that it's not my time to do anything at all, it's His time. I find for me personally the pausing and letting God take the lead is often my hardest in my journey. Why? Maybe because I forget who the keeper of all moments is temporarily and that I can do nothing without the strength afforded to me from Him.
My going ahead of the Father or lagging too far behind often causes issues not only for me but for the one that I feel I need to save. How many times have any of us recognized that if I had been just a few moments ahead, I would have been in that accident. Or maybe if I had not chosen to be patient and let another car turn ahead of me that the course of his/her life or my own would have been altered. There are many movies out that love to talk about time travel and spin a very interesting story but all of them point out how the slightest change they make in that time period alters history. As I type this, history is being written. This doesn't mean that any history book will contain the name Heather Christoff, it simply means that each of us has a part to play in the moment and when that moment is gone, its history. We cannot go back and change those moments, but we do have the opportunity to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit to be about His business in the future until the time comes that He calls us home.
When I leave this earth, the one thing that I hope to leave behind is a message of love and a legacy that I was someone who heeded the call of the Lord in my life and knew how to move forward when told, lag behind when necessary and sometimes I simply stood still because it wasn't my moment to take.
So what about you? Are you listening carefully to the Holy Spirit's voice inside of you? Are you going forward boldy, confidently when instructed? Are you sometimes taking a moment to be silent, to be still, when God is reminding you that all things are on His time? Each moment belongs to our Father. Christ knew while on this earth that He had only a certain amount of time to be about His Father's business. He could have chosen to do things His own way in the flesh, but instead He waited and listened to the Holy Spirit that was in Him and look how He changed History.
Blessings,
Heather
Some may find this scripture a bit different and some may even find it a bit frightening in the sense that none of us know the appointed time of our life when we will experience our final breath on this earth or the moment that Christ will return to gather His children home for eternity.
There is more to timing than just the life and death moments. We are given 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in each of those hours and 60 seconds in each of those minutes. When I begin to think about all the moments, the minutes, hours given me each day I stop to think about how I am spending those hours. Am I completely absorbed into the things I want to do or am I doing as the Holy Spirit guides and directs me? I've been learning a lot lately that sometimes I need to take some of those moments of time and pause and listen to the voice of my Father as to where I go next, who I share with next or when I simply need to be still and know that it's not my time to do anything at all, it's His time. I find for me personally the pausing and letting God take the lead is often my hardest in my journey. Why? Maybe because I forget who the keeper of all moments is temporarily and that I can do nothing without the strength afforded to me from Him.
My going ahead of the Father or lagging too far behind often causes issues not only for me but for the one that I feel I need to save. How many times have any of us recognized that if I had been just a few moments ahead, I would have been in that accident. Or maybe if I had not chosen to be patient and let another car turn ahead of me that the course of his/her life or my own would have been altered. There are many movies out that love to talk about time travel and spin a very interesting story but all of them point out how the slightest change they make in that time period alters history. As I type this, history is being written. This doesn't mean that any history book will contain the name Heather Christoff, it simply means that each of us has a part to play in the moment and when that moment is gone, its history. We cannot go back and change those moments, but we do have the opportunity to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit to be about His business in the future until the time comes that He calls us home.
When I leave this earth, the one thing that I hope to leave behind is a message of love and a legacy that I was someone who heeded the call of the Lord in my life and knew how to move forward when told, lag behind when necessary and sometimes I simply stood still because it wasn't my moment to take.
So what about you? Are you listening carefully to the Holy Spirit's voice inside of you? Are you going forward boldy, confidently when instructed? Are you sometimes taking a moment to be silent, to be still, when God is reminding you that all things are on His time? Each moment belongs to our Father. Christ knew while on this earth that He had only a certain amount of time to be about His Father's business. He could have chosen to do things His own way in the flesh, but instead He waited and listened to the Holy Spirit that was in Him and look how He changed History.
Blessings,
Heather
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