Lord, I Lift Up My Heart

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Cha-Ching!

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Are you a member of any rewards programs?  I am.  It's fun to receive bonuses and offers simply for being a good customer.  You know the ones I mean, a discount offer, something for free, and other special perks.  Who doesn't enjoy these rewards? But did you know that Jesus offers us eternal rewards that never spoil, fade, or perish?  I want in on that program!  Of course, it is not a program at all.  But there are definitely awesome rewards.  But you need patience to wait for them, and lots of faith to know that they are waiting for you, because they won't be revealed this side of heaven.   Some of the rewards we can look forward to: Loving our enemies.  Cha-ching! Forgiving those who hurt us.  Cha-ching! Obeying God no matter what. Cha-ching! Seeking Jesus daily.  Cha-ching! Trusting God more than self.  Cha-ching! Believing in God's goodness during the hard times.  Cha-ching! Knowing God.  Cha-ching! Choo...
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Believing in God's love for you

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In the age of "unfriending" and "ghosting," divisiveness and polarizing, it is more crucial than ever that we be grounded in God's personal love for us. It is very easy to fall into the trap of comparing God's love for us to people's love for us. God's love is unlike human love in every possible, imaginable way.  The love we give and receive from others is but a taste, a tiny glimpse, of God's vast love for us.  They really cannot be compared at all, if we are honest with ourselves. People can be very fickle.  People change.  People have issues of their own that they are either dealing with or in denial of.  People can be looking more to get love than to give love.  Most wait to give love until they get it from another first.  It is the rare person who gives love freely without expectation. That is exactly how God loves us.  We love because He first loved us (see I John 4:19). While the world seems to be spinning out of control, resulting in a so...
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I can't, but He can

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The number one thing I want Christians to understand is this.  There is nothing in us, in and of ourselves, that can pull off the Christian life. Now let's pause right here.   If the "Christian life" means nothing more to you than attending church and trying to be a "good person," you haven't a clue as to what it is truly about. God calls us to be holy. God calls us to love each other. God calls us to live a life worthy of Himself, His calling for us. God calls us to forgive others. God calls us to put Him first above all else (including reputation, money, and family). The question we must face is this: are we able to accomplish any of these things on our own? The answer: no way, no how, not in a billion years.  Maybe outwardly, but not from our own inner selves. So why would Jesus tell us to do what we are not able to do?  We must be able to do these things or He wouldn't have commanded them, right? We truly can only do all of these, and more, through C...
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Loving vs being loved

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Whenever I look to be loved, more than I seek to love others, I suffer.   Whenever we look to get, we lose.  Whenever we look to give, we win. When we give love that is not returned, we win. When we love those who hate and mistreat us, we win. When we love others expecting nothing in return, we win, "But that's not fair!" you say.  I'm not talking about fairness.  I'm talking about life. When we are not loved by those who are "supposed" to love us, it hurts.  Deeply. You can try to reason away why they are so hateful, but it still hurts.  Remember, people have issues. Old Testament Joseph was abandoned and left for dead by his brothers. That wasn't love.  That was hate built on a foundation of jealousy and envy. Certainly that was not how it was "supposed" to be.  Yet it happened.  But God allowed it for Joseph's ultimate good. "You intended to harm me,  but God intended  it for good  to accomplish what is now being done, ...
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