Do You Love Me More than These?
Father, there is a full week ahead and I willingly acknowledge my dependence upon You on getting me through it. Only with Your strength, wisdom, and love coursing through me can I have the greatest impact on the world around me. Amen.
Lord, in the middle of the night a song came to mind and then again when I awoke this morning. It is entitled, “Lovest Thou Me More than These.” It is a beautiful song but more important is the fact that it is based on words You spoke to Peter after Your resurrection.
Of course, prior to Your crucifixion, Peter denied You three times. You knew it would happen but even though You have forewarned him and he proclaimed his dedication, he still fell and fell hard. He did exactly what he said he would never do.
After Your resurrection, even with all his interaction with You, he was still a broken man. John 21:15-17 (<<click to read the passage) tells of Your conversation with him in which he reaffirmed his love for You. He accepts Your forgiveness and with the Holy Spirit’s infilling shortly afterward he becomes a foundational stone – a rock (Peter means rock) – upon which Your Church is built.
The song title and proceeding verses address Your question to Peter, and inevitably to us, “do you love me more than these?”
As I read the lyrics to the song, Lord, may my testimony be “I love Thee more than this old world could offer, all sinful follies I deny for Thee, my life, my all, I pledge Thee. I love thee Lord, more than these.”
Lovest Thou Me (More Than These?) (<<click here to listen to it)
Lovest thou me, lovest thou me, more than these?
Modern times have brought us many blessings
People live in wealth and luxury
But the Master asks this question
Lovest thou me, lovest thou me, more than these?
I love Thee more than this old world could offer
All sinful follies I deny for Thee
My love, my life, my all, I pledge Thee
I love thee, Lord, I love thee Lord, more than these
More than these
CHORUS
Lovest thou me, more than these my child?
What will, will your answer be?
Oh, precious Lord, I love Thee more than all of these
More than fame
More than wealth
More than the world
More than fame
More than wealth
More than the world
Words and Music by William J. Gaither
May 1st, 2017, Mon, 6:38 am
Extraordinary!
What a wonderful day yesterday was, Father! Some time at Kohl’s, and the rest of the day with my sweetie doing yard work – beautiful day and company! I am truly blessed!
1 Peter 1:3 (<<click here to see the Scripture)
Lord, my thoughts are drawn to the last few words of the verse, “Now we live with great expectation…” In the Father’s great mercy we can now be made right (be born again) in our relationship with You. Because You conquered sin and death we can live victoriously for You! So regardless of where this journey of life takes us, we can be conquerors as well.
But the question I must ask myself is, “Do I live my life with ‘great expectation’”? Life can become pretty routine. I get up and do my thing, get ready and go to work, come home, work on whatever for a couple of hours, go to bed and then start it all over again the next day. Some days are more exciting than others but many are pretty much the same old, same old.
Now if that was all there was then monotone would sure be an applicable word…that is not all that there is. Lord, when we factor You into our lives, it changes everything! You take the ordinary and make it extraordinary! We are no longer globs of primordial goo that somehow managed to crawl out onto dry land. We are beings of purpose, placed here with great thought and love – and sacrifice, too! – for a reason. When we embrace our relationship with You – life has meaning. Our mundane now has motive.
Because of You, Lord, “Now we can live with great expectation!” As I live my life for You, Your will is fulfilled in and through me. With You at the helm, I can go places and do things I never thought possible! I can be a conqueror over things that would have taken me down!
Lord, take my ordinary and make it extraordinary, fill me with Your presence. Use me as You will. Amen.
Oct 16th, 2016, Sun, 6:34 am
TAG NOT TO BE REMOVED
Father, Almighty God of all that is, I will never cease to be in awe of Your attention towards me. I see myself as one amongst billions! But You see me…as me and You interact with me because You love me. I am important to You. Thank You, Father, for Your love and personal attention.
In one of my excursions down the hall last night a thought occurred to me, Lord. It related to the kind of relationship that we have. My thought was about the infamous “TAG NOT TO BE REMOVED” tag on mattresses. OK, it like 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning and odd things can pop up in your mind! But hear me out.
When we come into existence we get a “TAG NOT TO BE REMOVED” tag. Now we can cut off a mattress tag (it’s really there to keep the manufacturer in line) but the tag on us is that we belong to You, our Creator. We are a one-of-a-kind being. We are created to fulfill a unique niche that no one else can. We are special.
But where we and the mattress differ is that our tag can’t be removed. We may not like the tag. We may deny that we were created. We may flat out deny the existence of our Creator…but our tag cannot be removed. We are who we are.
No matter how much we rebel. No matter how far we run. No matter how much disdain, apathy or hatred we may have for our Creator…He still loves us. We cannot sever the “tag” that binds us to You. And no matter how far we wander, we are never too far gone to return home – to the One who loves us.
Depending on where you stand Psalm 139:1-18 can be extremely comforting or, I suppose, infuriating. Take a moment and click on it to read it.
Lord, I for one am comforted by the words of David,
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! v.18
Amen!
Apr 12th, 2017, Wed, 6:38 am
Levels of “Badness”?
Father, beyond any shadow of a doubt I know I am cherished and loved. But I also realize that I have done nothing to earn that from You. You first loved me before I even knew to love You back. My sin separated me from You but because of the sacrifice of Your only beloved Son and because I accept Your forgiveness, I can come into Your presence and I can live a life of victory over sin and death! Praise Your holy Name!
James 2:10-11 (<<click to read the passage)
Why is it, Lord, that we have this bad habit of labeling sins, putting them on levels of “badness”? We have this tendency to think, “My sins are not as bad as your sins!” Sin is sin. And as this passage proclaims, if you’ve broken one law it’s the same as breaking them all. There are not degrees of wickedness.
Jesus, You even said this while you lived amongst us. Matthew 5:21-22 tells us, “You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment. But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment.” Later in verses 27 and 28, You equate looking at someone with lust with adultery. If we break one law we’ve broken them all.
Now we’re not to just throw up our hands and give up. Through You, we can be victorious! But, as I said earlier, we have got to stop comparing ourselves to others. Someone else’s sin, no matter how heinous, is in no way worse than mine. Sin is sin. There is no such thing as little sins and big sins. Hating others because they are really bad sinners makes us guilty of sin as well (hate as an expression of our anger = murder).
Lord Jesus, help me to deal with my sin. Help me not to condemn others but, instead, to pray for them that they may turn to you as well.
Aug 24th, 2016, Wed, 7:18 am
I Know the Plans
Oh, my goodness, what a week it has been! Monday – School Bus in-service training early, my third funeral in as many weeks that afternoon, continued School Bus pre-service training that evening from 6:00-9:15, Tuesday – worked at Kohl’s from 7:00 and supposed to go until 3:00 but ended up at the dentist, then School Bus pre-service training from 6:00-8:45, Wednesday – worked at Kohl’s from 6:00 and supposed to work until 2:30 but ended up with a root canal(!), then School Bus pre-service training from 6:00-8:45, Thursday – worked on my sermon all day with a run to a local School Bus compound for some practice with then finished up my School Bus pre-service training from 6:00-9:15 (I passed my test, too!), Friday – worked at Kohl’s from 7:00-3:00 then had to get my truck in the shop with an air conditioner that had stopped working in temperatures reaching towards 90° just about every day for the past week(!), to the hospital to encourage a dear friend and her family, then up until after midnight finishing up bulletins and PowerPoint for worship on Sunday. And you may have wondered why only Monday’s blog was a fresh one!
Am I tired? Oh, yes! But was it worth it? Definitely! Two more things were checked off my list to eventually be a certified School Bus driver in the state of Ohio for Olentangy Local Schools (I have quite a bit more training to go through and a big pre-trip and driving test the middle of November – prayers appreciated!), my tooth is no longer killing me thanks to a perceptive dentist and talented endodontologist, I have a job that meets my needs on multiple levels and a management team that is patient and understanding when I have issues, I have a reliable dealership that I can trust to take care of my vehicle and most importantly, I serve a Savior who enabled me to get through the entirety of it in the midst of all the craziness. AND…still, He used me to touch people as only He can do.
I don’t enjoy officiating at funerals nor do I look forward to comforting those who know a funeral is but a few breaths into their future. But in the midst of it all God is there – comforting us, caring for us, holding us, weeping with us. And He is my Father, and I so much want to be like Him. I comfort, I care, I hold, I weep. Because my Father loves, I love, too.
I stumble. I fall – quite often flat on my face. I am far from perfect but I know that I am also much more than useless. God has a plan for my life as He does for you.
11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord… Jeremiah 29:11-14
Amen.
Sept 23rd, 2018, Sun, 7:49 pm