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Always…

Posted on by Shawn

Excerpt of Lovin’ Me by Jonathan McReynoldsLove

I’m nowhere close to a perfect man,
And it takes a supernatural love to even understand
That beyond the walls, behind the mask and confident smile,
Was a broken man trying to grow up and make life worthwhile
And I know there were times that you probably shouldn’t
But I thank you for always lovin’ me
And I know anyone else, they probably wouldn’t but I thank you for always lovin’ me
Now I know there were days I looked at myself
I felt like less of a person compared to everyone else…But when I look in the mirror and don’t like what I see, Oh I just thank you for always lovin’ me
And I know I get bad, but you wait patiently
I just thank you for always lovin’ me
You just keep lovin’ me…and you don’t let go, you just keep lovin’ me
Though I know I don’t have everything that it takes, you keep lovin’ me
And regardless of every mistake that I make you keep lovin’ me
Oh Lord, I just thank you for always lovin’ me

This song is a powerful reminder that no matter what your past was like, regardless of what other people have said or done to hurt you, regardless of how hard you may have been on yourself, God has always and will continue to love you. It’s His love that gives me the power to overcome insecurity. His love gave me a fresh start after every mistake I made, big or small…His love empowers me to keep going every time I feel the pressure to just give up. His love gives me confidence when I feel unsure. His love reminds me that I’m not alone when I feel lonely. And I know that whether I have a little or a whole lot, I’ll always have everything I’ll ever need because He loves me. Thank you, God for always loving me.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 AMP

It’s Deeper Than That…

Posted on by Shawn

Matthew 9:2-8 (NKJV)

Tip of the Iceberg

Many times, we ask God to fix our surface-level issues, but God knows that those issues are just the tip of the iceberg…

2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” 3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house. 8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled[a] and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

This story is interesting to me because many times, we bring our petitions to God looking for Him to heal something very specific. This misguided expectation is exactly what leads to our disappointment and frustration with God. Many times, we become confused and are convinced that God isn’t listening to us. We even begin to doubt His mere existence because we set our sights on the wrong part of the issue. What I love about the Lord is that He always sees the big picture. He always sees what we cannot see. The onlookers of the miracle in this story missed it when Jesus said to the man, “your sins are forgiven.” Instead of rejoicing, the people challenged Him because they expected Him to address the man’s physical illness, which caused him to be unable to walk. But the Lord chose to address the man’s sin, which led to his paralysis in the first place. Read More

Do Yourself A Favor…

Posted on by Shawn

ForgiveThis October, I attended a women’s conference at my church and one of the sessions dealt with forgiveness and God’s grace. During that session, we talked about how God desires to forgive us and give us a fresh start once we confess. The discussion then moved on to how we should extend that same grace to others. Then, the leader walked over to a folding chair and sat it down in front of the podium. “Think about the person or persons who have offended you and place them in this chair,” she said. “After you have thought about it for a moment, I want you to forgive them. Say it and forgive them with your whole heart.”

As I sat in my seat processing the task given to me, I suddenly had a problem. Images of all the possible candidates for that seat flashed through my mind one by one. Former schoolmates from the days when I was bullied, previous employers, family members, past love interests…but no one seemed to click for me. “I’ve already forgiven them,” I thought. Suddenly, it became very clear who really needed to take that seat.That person was ME.  Read More