What’s Love Got To Do With It?

When I was growing up I remember saying “I Love You” a lot... mostly to my mom and dad or grand parents. I would especially use this phrase when getting off the phone with relatives who lived out of state. However, when I would get off the phone with friends – it was always – “See ya” or “Catch you later!” And you NEVER said, “I love you” to a guy… unless he was your boyfriend. But as I got older I would hear many people say “I love you”… but I don’t think the meaning is the same as it was originally intended.

For some reason, lately, I’ve become very aware every time I say it and every time I hear it. In the past, I would never say, “I love you” to a girlfriend or a guy friend. I would say it often to my parents and siblings… but that was it. The other day I got done chatting with a friend and we made sure to say, “I love you” to one another… and we meant it. I’ve even said it to my guy friends and they’ve said it back… and we meant it. So it got me thinking… when did the meaning of “love” change for me?

Well, what is the definition of love? Love (according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary) means: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, i.e.: maternal love for a child. Another meaning: the object of attachment, devotion or admiration. But my favorite meaning: unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.

But who taught me what “love” really means and when did I get comfortable expressing that love. Did my parents teach me… or my siblings… or my friends? Well, I’m sure they influenced me… but truly… only One taught me the true meaning of “love”…

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ~ John 3:16 (NIV)

God demonstrated the true meaning of love… Do you get it? Do you get how much God loves you? Even while you were still sinning… Jesus – the only begotten Son of God… sent by God… willingly gave His life so that we may LIVE!

I love my family… I love my friends… and I love God – all because He first loved me.

So I am encouraging you all – my friends and family, whom I love dearly – to come out this Sunday evening (6pm) to the combined worship service at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham. Momentum 2009 will be a night of meeting with the Creator who LOVES YOU… and giving you the chance to worship Him.

I will be there praising the Heavenly Father… because He loves me and I want to shout it out loud… “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” ~ Psalm 42:8.

Momentum 2009 – Whittemore Center Arena in Durham – 6pm

Come, and worship and love the Lord with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength!

I Dreamed A Dream...

All that God has done and is doing in my life has struck me lately. Recently He’s been reminding me of the freedom I have in him and that His plans are perfect. And the word “Dream” has been popping up a lot lately.

I was sitting at work the other day and I kept seeing this clip on the news about a woman who stole the show on "Britain’s Got Talent". I had heard she shocked the judges and even brought some of them (no not Simon) to tears. So I looked it up and listened and I was moved to tears. Not by her performance per se, but by what God was speaking to my heart.

One of my favorite musicals is Les Miserables. The music has always evoked a strong reaction in me - mostly resulting in tears. Anyway, this woman who performed said she loved to sing but no one had really given her a chance before… and the way the crowd and judges reacted to her spoke volumes. Then the music started and she began to sing “I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Mis…. and you realized the impact of the whole situation. It was more than just a woman singing a song on this TV show... it was so much more.

Watch the link... and listen…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

So how did God speak to me through this? That He holds my dreams… this world does not.

Here is this woman who doesn't "look" the part of singing star... but her talent is undeniable. And when she sang the lyrics in that song – “I had a dream my life would be, So much different from this hell I'm living, So different now from what it seemed, Now life has killed, The dream I dreamed.”

WOW… did that have an impact on me. It’s like – if my dreams aren’t realized or don’t come to fruition I feel so sad… at a loss!

Really? Are my dreams the best there is? Or are God’s dreams for me better?

I heard this song for the first time just this past Sunday… it’s called “I Will Listen” by Twila Paris. And there it is again… the word “dream”…

“Could it be that He is only waiting there to see, if I will learn to love the dreams that He has dreamed for me,”

Here is what He has been speaking to me… “He holds me in His hands and what He has planned for me is far better than the dreams I’ve dreamed.”

"My heart is confident in you, O God; No wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!" ~ Psalm 108:1

His Love For You

I can't say much about this link I'm sharing with you... other than every time I watch it - God grabs a hold of my heart and I am moved to tears. How much does our God love us?

"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." ~ 1 John 4:9 (ESV)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfrbIleVf58

Under Attack

I think I am accurate in saying that there has been A LOT of spiritual attacks going on lately. I personally have been dealing with matters of the heart and my (constant) insecurities. Feelings of inadequacy and being incapable can be so debilitating… especially in my job.

One thing God reminded me of (through a good friend) was my definition of “Success”. My success is not in what I can do… I can’t do anything apart from God. Think about that… I can’t do anything… nothing… nada… zero… zilch!

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” ~ John 15:5

I can’t tell you how this has inspired and encouraged me. Everything I do… I am able to do because He equipped me. Of course – it has taken me a little while to get here… to understand… and to actually get it!

Now the enemy wants me to fail… he wants me to forget and he has an arsenal of weapons that he can use against me, including the aforementioned “insecurities”. But God has provided us with weapons (Ephesians 6: 14-17) to fight these attacks.

Praise God for all that I have and will go through! He has carried me through, even when I was unaware!

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, "Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." ~ Hebrews 10:36-38 ESV

Hebrews 10:39 in the New Living Translation says: "But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved".

Read that again... "turn away from God... to their own destruction..." WOW! Let that sink in! Our own destruction.

Run... don't walk... RUN to our Lord when you are under attack! Turn to God and know that in this storm He will persevere... and He will grow you and me!!!