Psalm 33:8-9 ” Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him. For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.”

God spoke – and the world came into existence.  He spoke – and there was light.  He spoke – and the earth with everything we know was created.  It says in Psalm 148:5, “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created.”  It’s impossible for the human mind to understand the sheer power, authority, and energy when God speaks.  But we do know that when He speaks, lives are changed.  So how then can we hear Him?  God speaks through His Word, the Bible.  But when was the last time you opened His Word and allowed Him to speak to you?  For the same words He used to create the universe lie within the pages of His book, the Bible.   Allow God speak to you today…open His Word.

Psalm 89:2 ” I will declare that Your love stands firm forever, that You established Your faithfulness in heaven itself.”

It goes on to tell us in Psalm 36:5-6, “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies.  Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the great deep.”  I have the opportunity today to be “out in the middle of no where” in North Dakota.  Sitting here looking at the massive expanse of horizon, it seems like you can see forever.  But this vastness around me can in no way compare to the width and breadth of our Heavenly Father’s love for us.  For His mercy for us is indefinite, brought into existence before the very beginning of time by the God of eternity…a ever-lasting and forever God.

Romans 12:18 ” If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

We can’t force others into peaceful co-existence with us…we can only control how we react and behave around angry people.  You know the ones…people with huge chips on their shoulders…always thinking the world is out to get them.  It takes a conscious  decision of the will on our part not to take the bait  when attacked.  It takes lots of deep breaths and determination not to lower ourselves down to that level…and sometimes, it takes just walking away for a few minutes to regain our composure and pray.   “Lord, help me look past the angry hostility and see rather the hurt, the fear, the frustration.  Allow me Lord to see this person through Your eyes and how I may show Your love to them.” Amen

I John 2:10-11 ” Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.”

I love nightlights!  I’ll admit I have at least 8 spread throughout the house, casting their subtle radiance so I won’t trip and fall in the dark.  God’s truth is like a nightlight into our darkness…showing us His way so we won’t stumble.  But when we choose to not live by the light of His truth, we are easily deceived and blinded by lies that only foster hatred and distrust against our fellow-man.  When we love one another, the light of God’s truth illuminates situations, obstacles, and personalities for what they really are…exposing hurting hearts and revealing with honesty how we’re more alike than different.

II Chronicles 6:14 “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven or on earth – You who keep Your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way.”

It’s all about the relationship.  In any kind of relationship hopefully there’s give and take… communication and mutual respect…connection and co-operation.   But our relationship with the Lord is totally unique from any we have here on earth.  God’s covenant relationship with us is binding and unbreakable…bought by the blood of Jesus Christ…while we were yet sinners.  And His loving kindness and mercy towards us has nothing to do with how good we are…for it is a free gift.  So think about it…the relationship we have with our Lord is really rather lopsided, with Him giving so much more to us than we could ever give back.  This covenant of love that flows between God and us  gives us a purpose in life… and as we commit our heart, soul, and strength to Him, we are ever being  changed from the inside out.

Joshua 22:5 ” But be very careful to keep the commandment and the Law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

You can see the love of God in His covenant relationship with His people.  He wants only the very best for us and in return asks only for our obedience.  For when we pay careful attention to our obligations to this covenant…primarily in our lifestyle and relationship with Him…others will sense the difference in us and ask questions.  And those questions can lead to eternal answers.

Galatians 2:20 ” The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Jesus loves you.  He knew your name before the beginning of time.  He saw your tiny frame being formed in your mother’s womb and loved you even more.  If you had been the only person on the face of the earth…He would of still handed over His life as a sacrifice for you…that’s how precious you are to Him.   I know it’s humanly impossible to fathom the love Jesus has for us…for it’s beyond our comprehension.  But Jesus loves you with a love that will never end…never give up…never forsake.

Psalm 108:3-4 ” I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of You among the peoples. For great is Your love, higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.”

Having a really bad day?  Go outside then, take a deep breath,  and look up into the sky.  Now celebrate the fact that God’s majesty is on display just for you.  Thank Him that He sought you out in your brokenness and worked a miracle in your life.  Proclaim to Him again your trust in His son, Jesus Christ.  Gaze up into the sky and recognize… that vast expanse above you can not start to contain God’s love for you.

Joshua 1:5 ” I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

It’s happened to all of us…someone who we think is a trustworthy friend betrays us.  While it hurts and humiliates us, we can also learn from it.  We can either decide to put up an emotional wall…letting no one on the other side, and self-isolating ourselves from the world.  Or we can take the lessons we’ve learned and look to our heavenly Father to reestablish that lost trust.  It says in Deuteronomy 7:9, “…your God is God; He is the faithful God keeping His covenant of love…”  Our God is reliable.  He will never abandon or turn His back on us.  Within Him is no deception…for He is steadfast and worthy of all our trust.

II Thessalonians 2: 16-17 ” May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”

The Lord would like you to know that you are loved.  You are valued and precious in His sight.  Regardless of where you come from…how notorious your background may be, or how far you’ve walked away from Him…Jesus loves you.  You may say to yourself, “No one can love me…I’m too bad of a person.”  But you don’t know the Lord, and if you would just take a peek into His Word,  you’d see that all of Scripture is a love letter to you.  It’s written just for you,  to encourage and exhort…to strengthen and establish and allow you to become the very best person you can be.  By His wonderful grace – God’s loving kindness towards you –  there is the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation back to your Heavenly Father.  There’s no need to walk out this life alone with feelings of isolation and loneliness…Jesus loves you,  just as you are, right where you are today.