Friday, April 9, 2010

GOD IS LOVE

Blessings (love, grace, peace and joy) to you! Not long ago I wrote down some thoughts while wondering why things turn out the way they do; I found a simple answer (God loves us!) smack dab in the middle of 1 John 4:16 while reading through something Max Lucado wrote (and a poem was born!). Turned out everything I read today was about LOVE so I included ALL of them in this email. And today I listened to Max Lucado talking on writing at a recent Christian Writers Guild - If you've never heard him (or even if you have) take a listen here (hear) or after you're done reading everything in this email - I think you'll enjoy it - I did! Jeff
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And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. 
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  1 John 4:16

GOD IS LOVE

God gives bountiful grace 
to those who need Him and 
trust in the finished work 
His Son has done

God gives blessed hope 
to all His children who
believe He stays with us
when we must stand alone

God gives holy comfort to heal 
the wounded who know 
faith trumps everything 
our hearts may feel

God gives perfect peace 
to those who trust Jesus 
and rest assured in the truth
His only motive is love

J E POLLOCK
APRIL 9, 2010 


This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins.

1 JOHN 4:10 ( GOD'S WORD )

Unfailing Love

by Max Lucado

"Love," Paul says, "never fails" (1 Cor. 13:8 NIV).

The verb Paul uses for the word fail is used elsewhere to describe the demise of a flower as it falls to the ground, withers, and decays. It carries the meaning of death and abolishment. God's love, says the apostle, will never fall to the ground, wither, and decay. By its nature, it is permanent. It is never abolished.

Love "will last forever" (NLT).

It "never dies" (MSG).

It "never ends" (RSV).

Love "is eternal" (TEV).

God's love "will never come to an end" (NEB).

Love never fails.

Governments will fail, but God's love will last. Crowns are temporary, but love is eternal. Your money will run out, but his love never will.

How could God have a love like this? No one has unfailing love. No person can love with perfection. You're right. No person can. But God is not a person. Unlike our love, his never fails. His love is immensely different from ours.

Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each. Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate. How they treat us will affect how we love them. The receiver regulates our love.

Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us. The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous.

Does he love us because of our goodness? Because of our kindness? Because of our great faith? No, he loves us because of his goodness, kindness, and great faith. John says it like this: "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us" (1 John 4:10 NIV).

Doesn't this thought comfort you? God's love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his. The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you. (Deut. 7:7–8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

A Love Worth GivingHe loves you when you don't feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what.

This is his sentiment: "I'll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I'll call the unloved and make them beloved" (Rom. 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise. "I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself" (Jer. 31:3 NLT).

From A Love Worth Giving


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  Precious In His Sight

Let's see others as through the eyes of Christ.

In the message "Never Forget" we saw that God's gift of Salvation through faith in Jesus is our greatest blessing - a blessing we must never forget as we tend to become discouraged.  In the beginning, "God created man in His own image" (Genesis 1:27).  Then, when sin entered the world and man became separated from God, "He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

This is the greatest love story in all history; "While we were still {lost} sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).  He died for you and me, and also for all those other lost sinners scattered around us.  Jesus Christ, "who being in very nature God" (Philippians 2:6), was born in a dirty stable; "He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" (Philippians 2:7).  He lived His life with the single purpose of dying so that ALL who believe could be eternally restored to the Father; "the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men" (Romans 5:18).

God loves us VERY much!  And He doesn't just love those who love Him in return or faithfully serve Him - He loves ALL.  We are precious!  Yes, He hates sin and will one day judge with an eternal damnation all who fail to believe; but His love - His offer of Salvation - extends to all...even to our noisy neighbor and difficult co-worker, our obnoxious family members and the disrespectful kids who wear "strange" clothes.

God's love is so much a part of who He is, and of who we ought to be, that Jesus commands us by His example: "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).  We are to love as Jesus loved; and as if this was too difficult a concept for our finite minds, we are commanded to love in terms we can all understand.

Galatians 5:14
"The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

God wants us to love others primarily because He loves them and desires His love to be expressed through us!  He encouraged this love by creating us with a natural capacity for love.  When we are hungry we feed ourself; when we are hurt we care for ourself; and when we are down, we pray to be lifted up.  These are natural expressions of self-love - the same love God desires we show to ALL.

Let's evaluate our thoughts, words, and actions in terms of their effect on others.  Are we encouraging or adding burdens?  Are we building up or tearing down?  Are we bringing others closer to Jesus or pushing them further away?  Are we as loving to others as we are to ourself?  Let's be His hands, feet, and voice of love in the world around us.  Let's begin to see others as through His eyes; and remember, we are ALL precious in His sight.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries
 
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Picture from cover of Today in the Word

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Saturday, April 3, 2010

WOUNDED FOR LIFE

This is something I meant to send out yesterday but didn't -- Hope you'll enjoy it today -- Went to the Northeaster Parade; that's the Northeast Easter Parade
with a couple of old friends this morning and tried to take some pictures with 
my cell phone but the only one worth keeping was the last one I shot of the 
giant flag being taken down after the parade. Happy Easter (He is Risen!), Jeff
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WOUNDED FOR LIFE
BY HIS PAIN WE ARE WOUNDED
BY HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED
BY HIS BLOOD WE ARE REDEEMED
AT HIS CROSS WE ARE MADE REAL

IN HIS FAITH WE ARE REBORN
IN HIS HOPE IS OUR VISION
IN HIS LOVE WE FIND THE COURAGE
TO BELIEVE HIS WAY IS OUR MISSION

AT HIS FEET IS OUR PRIVILEGE
AT HIS SIDE IS OUR JOY
AT HIS TABLE TO OUR AMAZEMENT 
WE WILL DINE FOREVERMORE

BY HIS GRACE WE ARE SAVED
IN HIS PEACE WE FACE DARK DAYS
AT HIS TOMB WE FIND OUR SAVIOR 
AROSE OUR SOVEREIGN LORD
 
WITH HIS SCARS WE ARE HEALED
IN HIS TRUTH WE ARE SET FREE
LIVE BY FAITH NOT WHAT YOU FEEL
TRUST HIS LOVE FOR YOU AND ME

JEPOLLOCK
APRIL  2010


He was wounded for our transgressions, 
He was bruised for our iniquities: the 
chastisement of our peace was upon Him; 
and with His stripes we are healed.
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Monday, March 29, 2010

BE STILL

Yesterday I found a poem written in 2003 that I ended with "Remember Evelyn" 
which happens to be a favorite pastime of mine lately.  I changed it a little bit 
and added a hymn I found, Be Still by Katharina A. von Schlegel which I thought 
went well with the reading of this poem. I had to open it in another window to 
make it play in the background, but that's easy enough to do - just click it and
enjoy!  On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 2:05 PM, J. E. Pollock <jeffree7@hotmail.com> wrote:

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

BE STILL
 
Be still my soul
Look up in faith
 
Be still my soul
Remember the Way
 
Be still my heart
 Look up to Jesus
Be still my heart
Remember His Love
 
Be still my mind
 
Look up to God
Be still my mind
Remember the Cross
 
 Be still my child
Look up to Me
Be still My child
 
Remember by faith to believe
 
Be still my spirit
 
Look up to Heaven
Be still my spirit
Remember Evelyn
 
 JEFFREYPOLLOCK 
MARCH 29, 2010
 
"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

BE STILL 



Be still my soul / Look up in faith / Be still my soul / Remember the Way 



Be still my heart / Look up to Jesus / Be still my heart / Remember His Love 



Be still my mind / Look up to God / Be still my mind / Remember the Cross 



Be still my child / Look up to Me / Be still my child / Remember you're Free 



Be still my spirit / Look up to Heaven / Be still my spirit / Remember Evelyn 



ORIGINALLY WRITTEN : April 30, 2003







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Saturday, March 27, 2010

MY ONLY HOPE

 
* HOPE *

  In the storms of life,
  Searching day and night for light;
  Finding my future is out of my hands,
  My only hope for peace is Jesus.

  In the valley of tears,
  Looking for something to calm my fears;
  Praying for relief from memories of the past,
  My only hope for contentment is Jesus.

  In the pain of missing Evelyn,
  Praying every day for more of Heaven;
  Believing this too is part of God's plan,
  My only hope for joy is Jesus.

  In the providence of my Father God,
  I hold in my heart forgiveness bought on a Cross;
  Choosing even now to surrender all that I am,
  My only hope for life is Jesus.

  Jeffrey Pollock
  MAR 27, 2010

 Jesus Knows

 "I am the one God chose and sent into the world."  John 10:36
 
  God with us.
 
  He knows hurt.  His siblings called him crazy.  He knows hunger.  He made a
 
  meal out of wheat-field grains.
 
  He knows exhaustion.  So sleepy, he dozed in a storm-tossed boat.
 
  Most of all, he knows sin.  Not his own, mind you.  But he knows yours.
 
  Every lie you've told.
 
  Person you've hurt.
 
  Promise you've broken.
 
  Every deed you've committed against God—for all sin is against
  God—Jesus knows. He knows them better than you do.  He knows
  their price.  Because he paid it.
 
  From Cure for the Common Life
  http://www.maxlucado.com/listen/

Never Alone


No one wants to be left alone.  Sure, we sometimes like to get away and spend some time by ourselves, but no one likes to be abandoned.  The fear of loneliness is one of the most powerful in human experience.  Babies cry when their mothers leave the room.  A teenager's worst nightmare is having to eat lunch alone.  Neglected children will often misbehave, because even punishment for them is better than feeling abandoned.  And, although locked away already, many prisoners still fear being thrown in isolation.  While we experience it in different ways, we all know what it is like to feel loneliness, and it is one of the most painful parts of our existence.

This feeling of abandonment is at the root of many complaints against God about the evil of the world.  Why do you put up with injustice and oppression?  Have you just left us alone?  The prophet Habakkuk called out many years ago:

"How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not save?
Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds" (Habakkuk 1:2-3).

This year some good friends of mine had their first child.  However, what should have been a time of great joy was immediately overshadowed by the news that he was born with a serious genetic illness.  Requiring a great deal of medical care, he was unable to go home and was sent to the hospital in Toronto near where I live.  I spent time visiting over a period of several months as his loving parents watched him, prayed for him, hoped for his healing.  While his dad worked long days and travelled back and forth several hours from their hometown to Toronto every week, his mom hardly ever left the hospital room, often sleeping on the end of the baby's small hospital bed.  For eight long months, they watched their little one suffer.  As he experienced one painful
 procedure after another, unable to understand the 'what' or the 'why' of his pain, his parents loved him, made tough decisions, and prayed for his life. Sadly, before his nine month birthday, his struggle ended as he died in the arms of his parents.

In the face of tragedies like this one, we want to cry out against God for not fixing things, or at least to call out and demand answers—why?  But this experience reminded me again of one of the beautiful truths of Christian faith.  Because, although he knew pain and suffering, that sweet baby, unlike any other person I've ever met, never knew what it was like to be left alone.  And the Christmas season reminds us that although we do not understand the 'what' or the 'why' of all of our pain, we are not left alone either.  Our God is like a father watching over his children, like a mother longing for their healing and bearing their pain as if it were her own.  This God does not abandon us to our fate, but has come among us, to be
 one of us, to experience the very depths of our condition.

It is costly for God to be with us in this way, just as it was costly for my friends to be so close to the pain of their child.  But when you love deeply, you want to be with the beloved, whatever the cost.  And since we live in pain, brokenness and sin, God's coming among us meant descending into the depths of that pain, brokenness and sin.  Now, like that little one, we can be assured that we are never alone, that even when we do not understand the suffering in our lives, we do not bear it by ourselves.  And even though my friends were unable to heal their child, this God promises ultimate healing and resurrection to all who will receive it.  Like the angels announced, Jesus's birth is good news of great joy for all people.

The manger and eventually the cross are the supreme reminders of God's involvement and intimacy.  When we turn to cry out in abandonment to God, we find ourselves face to face with a tortured, bloody man on a cross, in whose death we are accomplices.  Before we can even utter the words, we hear him cry them first: "My God, My God why have you forsaken me?"  While we rarely ever know the answer to this question—'why?'—the very fact that Jesus asked it is meaningful.  It was not about information.  Jesus knew more about the reasons for his suffering than most of us ever do.  Information does not take away the pain anyway.  However, if you believe that God has truly come to us in the person of Jesus Christ, then Jesus's anguished cry tells us something far important about God.  Jesus's cry tells us that even in feelings of ultimate abandonment, we are not alone.  The Christmas message—that God has come among us—is absolutely transformative.  There is no longer any place where God is not because this God has gone with us all the way.  Even in the deepest moment of abandonment, we meet the one who is called 'God With Us.'


Rachel Tulloch is a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Toronto, Canada.

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Think It Over

by Charles R. Swindoll

 

After a lengthy bout with despair, severe depression, and suicide attempts, writer and poet William Cowper (1731-1800) discovered comfort in God's providence, which led him to write "Shining out of Darkness":

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.

Can you think of instances in your own life, with the advantage of 20-20 hindsight, wherein someone or something meant evil against you, "but God meant it for good"? Thank and praise Him for it—and for His continual providence.

Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll

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ABOVE ALL - MICHAEL W. SMITH

DON'T GIVE UP ON ME - AMY GRANT

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

FOLLOW THE TRUTH

 
 
FOLLOW THE TRUTH

The voice you hear in your inner ear
Is calling loud and clear
Make the choice to obey God's voice
Step out of doubt and fear

Freedom is one step away
In the direction of His Word
Let go of all that holds you back
Follow the Truth you've heard
 
JPollock
03/23/10
 
                                                

  THE VOICE OF THE NATURE OF GOD

  When we talk about the call of God, we often forget the most important thing, namely, the nature of Him who calls. There are many things calling each of us today. Some of these calls will be answered, and others will not even be heard. The call is the expression of the nature of the One who calls, and we can only recognize the call if that same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God's nature, not ours. God providentially weaves the threads of His call through our lives, and only we can distinguish them. It is the threading of God's voice directly to us over a certain concern, and it is useless to seek another person's opinion of it. Our dealings over the call of God should be kept exclusively between ourselves and Him.
  The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.

CALLED OF GOD

  Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, "Here am I; send me."   Isaiah 6:8

   God did not address the call to Isaiah; Isaiah overheard God saying, "Who will go for us?" The call of God is not for the special few, it is for everyone. Whether or not I hear God's call depends upon the state of my ears; and what I hear depends upon my disposition. "Many are called but few are chosen," that is, few prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time, "Who will go for us?" It is not a question of God singling out a man and saying, "Now, you go."
   God did not lay a strong compulsion on Isaiah; Isaiah was in the presence of God and he overheard the call, and realized that there was nothing else for him but to say, in conscious freedom, "Here am I, send me." Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and pleadings. When our Lord called His disciples there was no irresistible compulsion from outside. The quiet passionate insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men with every power wide awake. If we let the Spirit of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something akin to what Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say, "Here am I; send me."

 MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST - by Oswald Chambers
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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

FORWARD MARCH


In all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him who loved us —Romans 8:37

 FORWARD MARCH

Through Him who loved us
We see with eyes of faith
Standing on God's promises
A victory that does not fade

Through Him who loved us
We gain a heart of contentment
Holding to our Father's Son
An expectation of Heaven 
  
Through Him who loved us 
We conquer the fears we face 
   Walking in our Savior's light
   The darkness falls away

   Through Him who loved us
   We finish this race we're in
   Moving forward finding Jesus
   Has already conquered sin

     J E POLLOCK
     MARCH 2010

In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us —Romans 8:37

March 7, 2010

The Source of Abundant Joy

Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that "in all these things we are more than conquerors." We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.

Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let's apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against— tribulation, suffering, and persecution— are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. "We are more than conquerors through Him" "in all these things"; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn't know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4 ).

The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" ( Romans 8:39 ).


--
http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php

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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Thought I'd try my mind at an acrostic and refocus my heart for a little while. LOVE, Jeff

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously
to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5

Wisdom is, and starts with, the humility to accept the fact that
you don't have all the right answers, and the courage to learn
to ask the right questions. -- Author Unknown

WISDOM

Wisdom from God is free for the asking
If you are lost with no purpose for living
Search every sage for the meaning of life
Dabble in the darkness or dance in the light
Only when you're willing to admit your doubt
Might the questions you're asking help you out

Jeffrey Pollock
March 3, 2010

Preface to the book WISDOM FOR THE WAY by Charles R. Swindoll

We have not even begun to live if we lack the wisdom God
wants to give to us, That wisdom is ours simply for the asking,
and it brings us into a whole new and exciting world! Like birth,
it will take time and it may be a painful process. But when it
comes you'll be amazed how clearly things will come into focus.
You'll begin to feel like a new creation. No wonder Jesus referred
to it as being "born again."

When we operate in the sphere of the wisdom of God, when it is
at work in our minds and in our lives, we look at life through lenses
of perception and we respond to it in calm confidence. There's a
remarkable absence of fear. We are not seized with panic. We can
either lose our jobs or we can be promoted in our work, and neither
will derail us. Why? Because we see it with God-given objectivity.
And we handle it in His wisdom.

We can dip into an unexpected valley or we can soar to the pinnacle
of prosperity, and we can cope with both extremes. His wisdom
provides us the necessary objectivity and stability. This is not some
dreamland fantasy. It is reality. It is the ability to live above the drag
of human opinion and horizontal perspective. It is what happens
within us when wisdom goes to work.

The wisdom of God gives us balance, strength, and insight. None of
these is a natural trait, each is a by-product of wisdom. We don't get
these things just because we're human beings. They must come from God.

But the more we glean God's wisdom, the more strength we gain to
live with questions and tension. He doesn't issue rules and regulations
for every moment. He provides some overall guidelines and principles,
then He allows us to make the decisions. Why? By doing this the wisdom
of God goes to work, and we begin to learn how to walk through
life---which is often full of subtle and unseen "land mines." His
wisdom provides the sixth sense we need. It matures us so that we can
press on in spite of the unanswered questions.

The good news is that such wisdom is ours to claim through an intimate
relationship with God's Son, Jesus. He is the channel through which
wisdom comes to us. In coming by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, we
are given open access to the wisdom of God. With the Son of God comes
the wisdom of God. It's all part of the package.

BY CHARLES R. SWINDOLL

Derriford, Virginia, Missouri (February 2010)


--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrostic
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