“If we want to avoid the suffering of someone leaving us, we will never experience the joy of loving. And love is stronger than fear, life stronger than death, hope stronger than despair. We have to trust that the risk of loving is always worth taking.” (Henri J.M. Nouwen)
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Since the dawn of time men and women have been searching for love. Adam and Eve loved each other and they taught their children about love. But as the population of the earth grew ever bigger, not everyone could feel the love their souls desired.
Men and women began looking for love in all the wrong places trying to feel a void that could only be filled with love. Countless songs have been written about looking for love. Mostly they are talking about the love of a man or women.
Married love is one of the greatest loves of all, but the greatest love of all love is between a person and their Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
One of the great rock songs about love was written by Mick Jones. I’ve enclosed seven lines from his song “I Want to know What Love Is.”
“I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me.”
I saw this un attributed quote on Pintrest recently, it says “Jesus died for you knowing you might not love Him back. That is love!”
If you want to know what love is then look no farther that Jesus Christ. If you read about his life and study his teachings you will know what love is, what real, eternal love is.
Mr. Jones goes on to write:
“In my life there’s been heartache and pain
I don’t know if I can face it again
Can’t stop now, I’ve traveled so far, to change this lonely life.”
No love, except the Saviors love, can really ease heart ache and pain. With Christ you can face anything. Through Christ you will never need to feel lonely again.
Troy Wagstaff
Filed under: Christian Devotionals | Tagged: adam and eve, heartache and pain, I Want To Know What Love Is, Jesus Christ, love | 1 Comment »
Christ-Like Love
This spritely Christian picture comes from 1 Corinthians 13 that talks about charity, which in this case is another word for love. This passage of scripture describes what the attributes of love are. Just as there are many kinds of love, romantic love, friendship love, love our fellowman, and love ourselves to mention a few, these attribute can and should apply in all those love relationships.
Include loving ourselves. I hope that is not a foreign thought. Remember the scripture that says “love thy neighbor as thyself”? If you don’t love yourself then you can’t love your neighbor much, if at all.
That commandment to love our neighbor as our self is a two pronged commandment. Love our self and love our neighbor. This is not a selfish thing, it’s an inspired thing. If you love yourself and recognize that you are a son or daughter of God then you would want to treat yourself better by not getting involved in anything that can harm the temple that you are.
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The primary message from the teachings of Jesus Christ is love. Jesus taught many times to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” He also taught us to love thy neighbor as thyself.
Then we come to this passage found in Matthew 10:35-37 which reads:
“For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:35-37)
At first glance this passage seems a little vigorous and not the calming message of peace that love is. But in looking more closely we see that this passage of scripture fits nicely within the theme of love. It is a message of prioritizing our love.
We learn that we should love God and His only begotten Son in the flesh more than anyone or anything. Yes indeed, we must love God more than our spouse or children. We must love God more than any feeling or thought in our mind and more than anything in this world.
This kind of love requires great faith. It is easy to love someone you can touch and hold within you arms. It’s easy to love someone you can physically laugh with and find joy with in person. But it takes great faith to love someone you haven’t seen with your mortal eyes. The scriptures teach us to “trust in The Lord with all thine heart.” If we can trust in The Lord with all our heart then we should be able to love God with all our heart and before anyone or anything else.
Love is the greatest human emotion of all. If we can exercise our faith to love our Savior and our Father in Heaven before anyone or anything then we can have faith enough for anything else.
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
If we love God first and foremost then the love we have for our spouse and children and any other worthy thing will be so much the better. That love will be more pure and Christ like.
By Troy Wagstaff © All Rights Reserved
Filed under: Christian Devotionals | Tagged: daily devotional, human emotion, love, love the Lord, trust in the lord | Leave a comment »
These are Christian themed memes or word pictures. Feel free to use these Christian memes for free. CallahanWriter retains the copyright, the memes on this blog are free to use without modification. The various text used in these Christian memes or pictures comes from the Bible, some from Christian writers (credit is given when such is the case) and some of the text is written by CallahanWriter. These are public domain use for non commercial purposes.
Living Sermon by Edgar A. Guest
Behold, I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands
Bless The Lord who bears us up.
Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the places you can. All the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as you can. John Wesley
Do what you can and pray for what you cannot do.
God gave us mouths that close and ears that don’t. That must tell us something…
Stress makes you believe everything has to happen right now…Faith reassures you that everything will happen in Gods Timing.
Footprints In the Sand
The first to forgive is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forgive is the happiest.
Forgiveness: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, you Heavenly Father will forgive you. CallahanWriter.
Please forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others their trespasses against us.
Forgiveness allows you to stop carrying the burden and pain associated with whatever hurt you.
Forgiveness is more important to the victim than it is for the victimizer.
When God speaks and a man that men will always will be right. Thomas s. Monson.
Everything happens for a reason. Oh really? Everything happens for one of two reasons…Consequences or because God wills it so.
Trusting God’s plan for your everyday life is equally as important as trusting God’s plan for your eternal life.
A Christian is someone who believes Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the light, and the only way to gain salvation.
Jesus Is My Hope
Jesus Is My Hope
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We’ve all heard the old adage that “if it’s too good to be true” then it is. However, I take issue with that aphorism, I say that if it is too good to be true it probably is, but not always.
Let’s take the following story as an example to the exception of this adage. Imagine that you have lost all your worldly possessions, you’ve lost your family and you have been living in the street for ten years. You have no income forcing you to beg for money and food, and you sleep for wherever you can find shelter. Let’s add to this sad scenario, a substance abuse problem. You have many illnesses related to exposure to the elements, poor diet and substance abuse problems. It all seems hopeless and it all seems lost! Surely, there is no hope.
You have been raised right, you know that you not supposed to steal or lie. Living on the streets has jaded you. The environment that you are forced to live in has taken away much of your humanity and your sensibilities. You find yourself committing crimes to survive and you find yourself committing crimes to sustain your substance abuse. You’re living a senseless life filled with despair and no hope.
Put yourself in that situation, assume that you do not know of the tender mercies of Christ. You’re sitting on the street corner in filthy clothes with filthy hygiene and you’re holding a sign asking for money. Someone comes up to you and talks to you while they’re putting money in your hand and they start to tell you about a person who came to earth and he paid the price for all of your sins, and of all the sins of all the people on earth. This man has felt everything that you have ever felt or that you will ever fill. This man has provided a way for you to not only get off the street and not only get into clean clothes but to get into heaven with the righteous.
Does this sound too good to be true? If you’re reading this Blog then you know where I’m going with this illustration, but really think what would be like to be in those circumstances and then you are introduced to Christ and his love and his boundless saving grace and mercy, wouldn’t that all seem just a little too good to be true? Well it’s not too good to be true. It is a fact. It is the most blessed fact or truth on the earth.
The story of Jesus Christ, and the doctrine contained in the Bible that teaches us about His Life and His teachings are true. Within the book covers of the Bible is the way to the truth and salvation, they are the pathways whereby we can receive eternal happiness.
Consider what the word eternal means? The word eternal means “without end.” So think what this means, happiness without end. To live with God and his son Jesus Christ is happiness forever, without end.
Even though we started off with the story of the homeless person that appeared to have no hope, each one of us are beggars, we all depend on the same God to give us life, we all rely on that same God to forgive us of our sins and through His grace and His mercy to live with Him throughout eternity.
We can all say that this idea is too good to be true. But it is true! So when you hear the old adage “if it’s too good to be true, it is” always keep in the back of my mind that sometimes it can be that good and still be true. When it comes to Jesus Christ, it is too good to be true but it is true. We all need to remember Jesus Christ our Savior, and our Eternal Father in Heaven love us unconditionally, they are perfectly willing to give us grace and mercy if we are willing to reach out to them.
Filed under: Christian Articles, Christian Devotionals | Tagged: eternal, God, grace, Heavenly Father, homeless, IF IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, Jesus Christ, love, mercy, redemption, repent, repentance, salvation, sins, THEN IT IS | 1 Comment »
Use theses free Christian Social Memes freely. Just refer back to this site when you do. Thanks and enjoy.
Jesus Christ The Greatest Man To Live!
Ten Commandments
Wings As Eagles
Ten Commandments
Trust Jesus Meme
Ten Commandments Meme
Virtuous Women
Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled
Christian Meme
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The prophet Jonah being swallowed by a whale and restored again to dry ground. What a story! Is it a true story or an allegory? What can we learn from this magnificent story as Christians?
If you consider an endorsement by our Savior when he referred to the sign of Jonah (referencing the three days and nights) then yes, the story of Jonah is indeed true. First of all the Old Testament talks about Jonah as a prophet in II Kings 14:25. Then in the New Testament, Matthew 12:39-41 The Savior talks about the life of the prophet Jonah. There are a few more references in the Gospels about Jonah.
That’s good enough for me.
If you are not familiar with the details of Jonah, read Jonah 1-4, a very short book in the Old Testament, but worth every verse. It is a powerful story, just one of the many that must have been a part of Jonah’s life, but the only one we know about.
The Lord command’s Jonah to go preach the gospel to Nineveh so that it wont be destroyed. Jonah refuses to do what the Lord told him to do and runs away, or at least tries to run away from the Lord toward Tarshish.
Jonah hops on a boat bound for Tarshish. Shortly after boarding Jonah goes to sleep and the tempest starts to rage. The people on the boat fear for their life. After a while Jonah confesses that The Lord is after him and tell the people to throw him over board and they will be spared. They don’t want to but eventually they throw ‘ into what seems to be a watery grave.
Jonah And The Whale
The Lord had prepared a big fish to swallow Jonah. For three days he was in the belly of a giant fish or whale. Near death, Jonah finally comes around to repenting of his rebellion. The Lord forgives him and has the fish deposit him on dry ground.
The Lord calls him to preach at Nineveh again. This time Jonah agrees to follow the direction of The Lord. Ninevah is the Capitol city of the wicked Assyrians. It is a huge city by the standards of the day. It was so big geographically that it took three days journey to pass through.
Keep in mind the Nineveh is a very wicked city (Nahum 3:1-5) and Jonah has to walk a day’s journey before he preaches the gospel to them. He preaches to them and they believe and repent. This includes their wicked King. They cover themselves in sack cloth and ashes which is a deliberate sign of repentance. The Lord forgives them.
Jonah leaves the city and climbs a hill over looking the now righteous city of Nineveh and builds himself a simple shelter to sit in while he watches to see if the Lord will destroy the newly repented city. He is very hot and dry. He see’s that The Lord spared the city as He said He would if they repented. The Lord provides a plant over night the grows to provide shade and comfort to Jonah. Jonah is grateful to the plant for its shade. The next day the Lord kills the plant and Jonah grieves for the loss of the plant.
The Lord explains to him that just as Jonah loves the plant, The Lord loves those thousands of people in Nineveh and spared them from destruction because they repented. He teaches Jonah a very important lesson. God loves all his children all over the world.
This is a fantastic story. Full of lessons one can apply to ones self for profit and learning. It teaches the principles of faith, hope, mercy of The Lord, repentance, forgiveness, God’s love for
His children and the power of one person with Gods help.
More than anything else, the virtues of Hope and Repentance stand out. When Jonah was in the belly of the whale he had faith and prayed to God for forgiveness of his sins in running away and rebelling against God. God forgave Jonah. In His mercy, God is willing to forgive those who repent. It requires faith to pray and ask for forgiveness from God. It requires faith to repent when you have been wicked all your life; Jonah was an inspired teacher. Jonah was one man in the midst of his mortal enemy but with Gods help, the power of one is the power of God.
God loved Jonah and tried to rescue Him from his sins. God loved the people of Nineveh and did not want to destroy Nineveh but God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. He gave the people a chance to repent through Jonah. Thankfully these thousands of people did repent and they were forgiven.
Strangely, Jonah still struggled and didn’t really want the people of Nineveh spared. That’s why he built a hut on top of the hill to see if they would be spared. As the days wore on Jonah was very hot with the sun beating down on him. God made a vine or plant to cover his hut and provide shade, a welcome relief from the heat of the sun. Then the Lord killed the plant and the protection from the heat was gone. The Lord provided a strong East wind and combined the elements to go against Jonah to drive the point home. Jonah mourned for the lost of the plant. The Lord explained to Jonah that as he grieved for the lost of a simple plant, God would feel bad for the loss of his people in Nineveh. The lesson was on love and that God loves all his people.
Whether the people are our enemies or criminals or otherwise bad people. God loves all His children. This was the last lesson we have record of, in which Jonah was taught a lesson. From this great story we see that God loves all His children. He doesn’t always love what they do or what the have become, He loves them and wants them back to live with Him someday. But they must change their ways, repent and live righteously.
This story is a message of hope. This story teaches us of Gods mercy and forgiveness provided we repent. This message shows us that even prophets are human and need to repent. If they being so righteous need to repent then so must we. But that is a part of that great hope we can have. It is a story of faith. It’s a great teaching tool teaching us that there are consequences to sin and unless we repent then we will reap the consequences of sin.
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It makes no sense that our caring, loving Creator would create us for failure, sadness or fear. We are destined to be creatures of success, happiness and fearless. It is our divine birthright to be successful, happy, fearless and strong. (Callahan)
Filed under: Christian Devotionals | Tagged: birthright, Caring, Creator, divine, failure, fear, fearless, happiness, happy, Inspirational Quotes, love, loving, quote, saddness, strong, success | Leave a comment »
There are many recurring themes throughout the scriptures and the gospel message. One of the biggest themes is the idea of love. We need to love God with all our heart, might, mind and strength. We need to love our neighbor as ourselves. Love the sinner not the sin and the list keeps going.
Do we love God? If you are reading this then I think the answer is yes. I know I love God. Do you love your self? That could be tricky but you need to love yourself. Do you love you neighbors? Neighbors are defined as everyone else from your spouse and kids to the person driving right next to you on the highway.
The gospel is a message of love. If you answered no to any of these questions then ask God for help in loving everyone.
Filed under: Christian Devotionals | Tagged: Jesus Christ, love, Love As I Have Loved You, love God, love thy neighbor | Leave a comment »
Troy C. Wagstaff aka CallahanWriter Blog: Topics of interest include Western Historical (1865-1899) Topics. Additionally inspirational Christian and Fibromyalgia interests. 