Tag: Love

Flourishing Plants

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Journal Entry // March 27, 2021

They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.

Psalm 92:13 ESV

I think I am identifying with these plant analogies because I have been working in our garden the last couple of weeks. The more I really think on this picture the more I am amazed at the glorious truth of the gospel working in my life. I am sitting at my table looking out the window over my recently planted garden and there are a few thoughts that spring into mind.

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Week 07, 2022

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Week seven of Cultivate Delight, where we are actively planning our spiritual endeavors this coming week with the goal of a consistent time spent engaging our hearts with Christ in his word, in prayer, in reflection, and in music. Below are some starting points for reflection, and I hope you find them helpful. The goal is to not just rush through these and then get on with your day. Take your time and reflect throughout the week on these items.

This week we are focusing on obedience to God by reflecting on the Great Commandment to love God and love people!

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Tough Love

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Journal Entry // January 9, 2022

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Matthew 5:43-44 ESV

Yet again Jesus brings his counter-cultural teaching to expose the self-centeredness of worldly wisdom and our sinful nature. We believe that since we are a modern society with advanced technology that we have everything figured out. But this statement from Jesus cuts just as deep and precise as it did 2,000 years ago. Do I love my enemies? Do I pray for those that persecute me? That sounds almost repugnant to my ears. Why in the world would I ever love my enemies and pray for them? It’s quite the opposite in fact. Like Jonah refusing to preach to the Ninevites, I want my enemies to taste the full wrath of God. It’s this heart attitude that Jesus speaks his gentle command of love and prayer for my enemies.

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Fatherly Love

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Journal Entry // December 4, 2021

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:1 ESV

There is a lot going on in this short verse. I am always amazed at the depth of the word of God. I can read this verse every year during my reading and get the overall point and have it impact me. Then I can come to it this morning and dig deeper into it and get even more. I’m sure if I actually got into commentaries and the customs of the time to see more context, there would be more still. This morning though, I am interested in the “kind of love” the Father has given.

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