Good Morning
Stand with me and lift up your bible and repeat after me.
This is my Bible.
I am what it says I am.
I can do what it says I can do.
I am going to learn how to be what it says I can be.
Today I will learn more of the word of God.
The indestructible, never ending, living word Of God.
I will never be the same.
I will never be the same.
In Jesus Name
Open your bibles to Luke chapter 10 and say, “Amen” when you are there.
Luke 10:27 So, He answered and said, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and ‘your neighbor as yourself.'?”
Today I would like to share with you a little more about God’s love to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.
What is loving your neighbor as yourself?
Love actually is strength. The more love we give and enjoy, the stronger we are. With all that is going on in our world, it is great to hear and see positives in our lives isn’t it?
I saw a great video the other day. An older white woman was trying to walk up a series of about 25 steps in downtown Chicago here in the United States. It was at a busy traffic area along a street and all of the sudden a vehicle stops and puts the flashers on and a young black man gets out and runs over to help the lady up the steps by carrying her bag and her portable walker while she leaned on him as they went up the steps. You could see her say, “Thank You” when they got to the top. She blew him a kiss as he walked down the steps and then he stopped. He ran back up and kissed her on the cheek and then went on his way.
He was showing the strength of God’s love, wasn’t he?
Strength + Love
The strength of a man or woman isn't seen in the width of their shoulders.
It's seen in the width of the arms that circle you.
The strength of a man or woman isn't in the deep tone of their voice.
It's in the gentle words He whispers through them.
The strength of a man or woman isn't how many friends they have on Facebook.
It's how good a buddy and friend they are with their kids.
The strength of a woman or man isn't in how respected they are at work.
It's in how respected they are at home.
The strength of a person isn't in the clothes they wear or the car they drive. It's in Jesus’s Heart ... that lies within their chest.
The strength of a person isn't how many they have loved.
It's in how they can be true to one who loves them back.
The strength of a woman or man isn't in the achievements they have accomplished.
It's in the burdens they can carry in day to day life.
God's love for you and I is unimaginable. It is way bigger than we think.
How much love does He have for you and I?
I heard this on the satellite radio in my car the other day. It was explained like this.
God’s love for us is like trying to put all the water in the world in a tea cup.
That is impossible to imagine.
It’s also unimaginable how great His love is, but it is also impossible without His love to imagine the recipe He has for us for life.
What is your recipe?
I have told this story several times before.
If you ever watched the, “Three Stooges” which was an old comedy series on TV featuring three silly brothers. When watched it you probably realize how silly it was.
What I found out over the years was that each show had a real message and one particular show I will always remember.
The three brothers posed as chefs to get a job at a rich man’s home and they had to cook a meal for that man and his guests. It was a turkey dinner and if you know about turkey dinners, there has to be stuffing put in the turkey as part of the meal. Curly was the one who was elected to stuff the turkey and he had a recipe.
It said get a bowl, which he did.
The first part was two eggs separated. He got the eggs and put one in each hand and reached as far as he could to separate his hands from each other and then dropped them in the bowl.
The next part was a can of peas which he put in the bowl unopened.
It then said to get a loaf of bread and put it in the bowl mashing it with the peas and eggs, so he beat it up with both hands and then put it in the bowl.
He was then to get a pinch of salt. He poured salt in the palm of his hand and pinched some between his fingers and then dumped the rest in the bowl.
It then said put a cup of water in the mixture and stir. He got a tea cup and filled it with water and poured the water and the cup in the bowl and stirred.
He then stuffed everything that was in the bowl into the turkey.
We are not like Curly but sometimes we don’t follow the recipe that God gives us for life.
Amen?
Are we loving ourselves and others or are we so busy with life that we are missing out on a few important parts?
Try and be different.
Turn with me to Matthew 5:14 and say, “Amen” when you are there.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Adrian Rodgers was a great man that was called by the Lord to share the Word and pastor a large church. I met a long time ago at a pastor’s conference in Florida and he shared a message about light. It was a great message and actually has helped me over the years to maintain my attitude in life.
It shared about light and how it overpowers anything. He mentioned that light is a powerful thing.
The Lord our God when He created the world said, “Let there be light and there became light.”
Adrian pointed out that even in the darkest moments, even if it seems extremely far away, when light appears it over powers the darkness. I was on a mission trip in Namibia years ago and I stayed in a hut to try and get some rest and thought that when the sun went down it was dark. But as I laid there in a hut with no windows and a door that had a bottom that was in the dirt, I thought this is dark.
As I laid there, I saw something in the top corner. It was a small little dot of light and as I looked at it, I realized how much the light was covering the inside of the hut as it came through the pinhole. It was a comfort, just like in the message that Adrian had shared, the light always shines through.
God is the light and controls the light. He just gives us choices in our lives to seek the light from Him or not.
If we remember what we first read in out Bible in Genesis chapter 1, verse 3, “God said, let there be light and there was light,”
If you read the rest of Genesis chapter 1 you see how important that was.
It was not after the firmament which God called heaven,
It was before.
It was not after land.
It was right with its measure of importance.
In Genesis 16 He created two more lights and separated them into day light and moonlight also with the stars.
Just like He created you. He did so for the opportunity to live life with you hopefully every day.
Remember we were created in His image which makes things pretty interesting to look forward to when we leave here on this earth and get to be with Him.
As we go through our lives, we have good days and bad ones and realize that the light may get dark or light.
What I have learned over the years is that when it gets dark it probably is time for me to concentrate more on my relationship with God.
We all tend to get so busy in life with our day to day that we forget about what goes with our relationship with the Great I Am. The light of Him.
It gets to be so busy in our life that when we work on our recipe for life we do things so fast without praying or thinking that we throw the can of peas right in the mix without opening up the can.
Do you know what is in the can that God gives us? Light.
Not just to see.
But to see the true recipe for life.
Sharing and enjoying God’s love in all we do.
The beauty of the world He created even when we are having a tough time.
Singing songs of praise and spending time in prayer.
Being a light in the dark world we are living in today, tomorrow, and for as long as we are alive here on His earth.
What is the recipe for enjoying and sharing God’s love in our lives and in the lives of those we are loving and praying for?
It is a very simple recipe.
One part, you.
One part, light.
One part, God.
One part, Jesus.
And the last part which is, the Holy Spirit
It is a great recipe.
Be the light in the dark world we are living in by letting each of the parts of this recipe for life be with you with every breath you take.
Amen?
Let us go to Him in prayer....
