Can I ask you a simple question today? How many of you want to live your life in a continual place of victory and overcoming? I think it’s safe to say that we all do! But maybe you’re like me and you find yourself going round and round the mountain, trying to be strong and fight hard, mustering up the strength and energy to live with victory, only to find yourself frustrated, giving into temptation, or losing the battle. I hate it when that happens! But I have great news – things can be different this time if we’ll get a hold of this awesome revelation.

I Corinthians 15:57 – “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 2:14 (MSG) – “God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings the knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.”

Romans.8:37 – “Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

You see – the only way we can live our lives as overcoming, triumphant, victorious, conquerors – is in Christ, through Christ, by Him who loved us! We’re always going to have tough times in life, but the source of our victory is not found in our own strength or power – it is in JESUS! Are you getting the picture? We don’t experience victory by fighting – instead we enjoy it by faith in Him!

I John 5:4 – “And this is the victory that overcomes the world – our faith”

As we abide in, yield to, surrender to, and obey CHRIST; and allow Him to live His life through us, we live in victory. Perpetually! We have to get that picture into our heads, and plastered on our hearts. A picture of ourselves walking around happy, full of life, overcoming, victorious – like in a parade – because JESUS is leading our parade called life! We don’t have to try to rev up, or charge up our spiritual batteries, because we have the ‘power plant’, the Ruler of the Universe, GOD ALMIGHTY, living on the inside of us, that can be continually activated by putting our faith in Him! I hope you’re on board with me – because I’m ready to let Him live Big in me!

I have one thought I’d like to effectively communicate this week, but I find myself completely lacking the ability. And that is just how much God loves you! When I looked in the Bible concordance under the word “love”, I found so many scriptures that it would take you all day to read them.

The truth is, God wants you to comprehend that you are truly the thrill of His heart… the reason He died … the love of His life! Perhaps one scripture says it best in I John 3:1- “Behold how great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God…” The word lavish means to expend or give in great amounts or without limit. God stops at nothing to overwhelm us with his love. I remember as a teenager feeling so down about myself. It seemed I couldn’t break free from a particular bad habit/ sin I was struggling with. That’s when God Interrupted my pity party with an abundance of His love that I simply couldn’t deny. What a life altering revelation it was when I finally accepted the truth that: because I was His daughter, God was going to pursue me with His love….until ‘I got it’!! When you think about what the implications of being loved ‘that’ much are – it should absolutely blow your minds.

Also, because we are God’s kids, His sons and daughters, it means we have Him watching over us 24/7 – at all times (just like we do with our kids) No matter what happens, God knows about it & He is taking care of every concern and detail. Because of His great love for us, we never have to worry again! He’s got the whole world in His hands!

If you’re feeling alone, you can be assured it simply isn’t true. God is always there – He’s everywhere – and He will never stop chasing after you with His love! In fact, there is nowhere you can go that His love won’t find you! Wherever you are, His unconditional and everlasting love will track you down. I pray you will be more & more aware of His presence until you question no more!

And when you find yourself in seemingly impossible situations, remember, you have a Father in Heaven, who perfectly put the stars into place, & holds all things together with His love. Nothing is impossible for Him! If God, our Father is for us, then because we’re His kids, nothing and nobody can be against us! We have the full favor and love of God Almighty – our precious Heavenly Father whose banner over us is love!

Hebrews 10:14-15(MSG) – “It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, He did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process.”

You know what? We’re all so imperfect!! At least I am!! Just ask my family, no please don’t! I’ll tell you myself. The other day someone asked me if we should dismiss an individual from serving here at the church, who they heard was cussing. I said, “Well, if we’re going to dismiss them from serving, then me, pastor Rob, and practically our whole staff needs to submit our resignations. We don’t mean to cuss or sin, but sometimes we all find ourselves giving into the flesh.

The problem with humanity is …. we’re human! And that means we’re imperfect! We do all make mistakes and sin! That’s why we can all be so very grateful that the PERFECT Lamb of God came and made a once and for all PERFECT sacrifice for all of our IMPERFECTIONS! His sacrifice was PERFECT for our sin, sickness, sorrow and stress!

When Jesus died on the cross, God tore the VEIL, so that we could enter into a perfect RELATIONSHIP with Him and come boldly to Him in our time of need! I’m not sure what mistakes you’ve made along life’s journey or if you’re facing a health, relational, or financial issue. Regardless, please know that because of Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, there is forgiveness of sins, restoration for brokenness, healing for your body, and blessings in store for you, beyond what you can possibly imagine. He did everything that needed to be done. Today I pray you will receive these precious gifts He purchased for you.

Perfect for Imperfect!

Loved to Love, p laura

I’ve got incredible news!!! Jesus is Alive! Can you imagine the party they’re having in Heaven!?! The Resurrection of our Lord and Savior has to be the most celebrated season of the year! Because Jesus died and rose again – because He’s Alive – we can have an unbroken, intimate love relationship with Him and truly live the most victorious and abundant life possible! And then when it’s all over here – we get to go to Heaven and be with Him forever! That’s truly as good as it gets!

In Philippians 3:10 (AMP), it says, – “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power out flowing from His resurrection [[b] which it exerts over believers.]

That is honestly our hope and certainty – that we may know HIM and the power of HIS Resurrection!

Being connected with Jesus in an open, loved filled relationship is what continually keeps us satisfied and filled up in life! Absolutely nothing compares to Him!

AND… When we embrace the power of His Resurrection, it is simply life altering! Becoming aware of God’s Spirit living on the inside of us – the same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead -gives us the strength and ability to overcome every sin and bad habit; and walk in peace, joy and victory in the middle of every battle we face in life! Each day is filled with its own set of challenges. However, when we begin to comprehend the vastness of His power living in and through our lives, we can overcome any obstacle that comes our way, and experience the wonderful life He designed for us.

Let’s celebrate our risen Savior every single day of the year and completely bask in the timeless wonder of the grace He so beautifully displayed over two thousands years ago.

Song of Solomon 2: 8-10 (NLT) – “Ah, I hear my lover coming! He is leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My lover is like a swift gazelle or a young stag. Look, there he is behind the wall, looking through the window, peering into the room. My lover said to me, “Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!”

I love Song of Solomon! It’s almost embarrassing because of the pure intimacy communicated between these two lovers. But it reminds me of when I was a new believer. I was so excited to soak up all the love I could from the lover of my soul, so I read these verses over & over – picturing God pursuing me. I believe these images have helped to shape my understanding of God’s relentless love for me my whole life long.

At times, these verses kind of remind me of the love that my husband, Rob and I experience! Sometimes I just picture him bounding over the hills to pursue me with his love! Even after 25 years of marriage. Sweet!!

Of course we know this ‘Song’ is the ultimate illustration of the love that God has for us – His beloved! His bride! God is relentlessly pursuing us with His incredible love!

I remember just after our son Caleb relocated to Heaven, I had all kinds of emotions and questions about God’s love for me. Then a dear friend sent me these verses and once again, like all those years ago, I read them over and over again, to remind myself that regardless of what I am going through, God is pursuing me with his never ending love!

Maybe you are questioning God’s love for you because of a tragedy, a difficult circumstance, or some sort of failure or sin in your life. Let me assure you that there is no place internally or externally where you can hide from God’s love… and as long as you live, He will PURSUE you and encourage you to come away with Him your whole life long! And He does so because He wants to love and heal and free you… bringing hope, strength, and wholeness to your life!

This week leading up to Easter Sunday, I want you to embrace just how much He loves you – so much that He is continually pursuing you with His amazing grace and love each and every day!

Psalm 62:1-2 “Truly my soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

How many of you would like to live a life where no matter what happened, you were never shaken?! I’m just saying! We all would! But unfortunately,we get shaken all the time. Sometimes it’s from the big, cataclysmic things that happen in our lives and sometimes it’s from small things. Like the other day I was trying to get all my emails placed into folders for safe keeping, when all of a sudden the whole computer crashed and I lost all my work. Ugh! I was shaking and shaken. It’s just silly technology but I was not a happy camper.

On the other hand, I was talking to an amazing girl in our church who is dealing with a big battle. She has battled cancer a few times over the past several years. She was cancer free for a period of time, but now it’s back again. I asked her how she was holding up – and with a face as peace filled as you have ever seen, she said something to the effect of, “I am trusting and RESTING IN GOD! He’s healed me before and He can heal me again!” Wow! What a beautiful example of what true rest looks like.

Can I tell you something? There is nothing this world has to offer that can really give you the true rest or lasting peace you need when you’re in the midst of a battle! “Truly our souls find REST in God Alone!” And when your soul finds rest in Him alone, you WILL never be shaken!!! That’s a pretty cool proposition. So let me encourage you to take time each and every day to rest in God alone!

Lamentations 3:20-24 (NLT) – “I will never forget this awful time as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still DARE TO HOPE when I remember this: the faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself the Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him.”

Do you know what I’ve discovered? Everybody is either going through or has gone through trouble or loss of some sort in their lives… and when you do – it is very personal, painful and extremely difficult. It can even feel HOPELESS. But we do not ever have to feel hopeless. In fact, that’s what I love about these verses… Jeremiah is just being honest and saying, “I hate this difficult time I’m going through; HOWEVER, I STILL DARE TO HOPE… I absoulety love that - ’I STILL DARE TO HOPE’!!!

I wonder if you are still daring to hope? But not just hope in anything – HOPE in the everlasting, FAITHFUL LOVE of God!!! God’s love and tender mercies that never end, never fail and are fresh for each day!

I don’t know about you, but I am totally dependent on His faithful mercy and love to meet me each new morning! Otherwise I’m a mess. AND…sometimes, like Jeremiah, you just gotta say it out loud to yourself! So, come on everybody, let’s say this together: ‘GOD, I STILL DARE TO HOPE IN YOUR FAITHFUL LOVE TODAY’

Philippians 1:6 (AMP)-”And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”

Do you ever get frustrated with the weirdness and sin of other people? You watch them make poor choices and think to yourself, “Why do they do that, what is wrong with them?” I do, just being real and confessing it to you! But what’s worse, is when I look at my own weirdness and sin, my own frail humanity.

A few weeks ago I was an emotional mess around Caleb’s birthday. I think we were all feeling the tension and at one particular moment during the day, I lost my temper and said some things I shouldn’t have said! Things I really didn’t mean. I’m such a sinner! I just hate it when I do that! Because then I have to repent and ask people to forgive me, plus I feel bad about myself as a person – ugh! Yuk! I get so discouraged and it makes me want to give up on the idea that I’ll ever really become more like Jesus!

But listen to what Paul says in this verse, “I am convinced…” We need to be CONVINCED – be SURE of this very thing… that He who BEGAN a good work in you and me WILL COMPLETE the good work He started! Don’t give up!! He’s just not finished with us yet. So, we need to be patient with each other and with ourselves. Let’s never give up, because God NEVER gives up on us!!

Romans 8:15(NLT) – “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, “Abba, Father.”

The expression ‘Abba Father’ is the most intimate, endearing terminology there is in scripture to describe the relationship a child can have with his father. We don’t even have an English word for it; but the closest thing would be the expressions, “papa, daddy.” Several times in scripture, when Jesus was referring to his Father he would say, ‘Abba Father’- daddy, papa…demonstrating the closeness they had.

There’s a story in the New Testament that I think depicts this well. Do you remember when Jesus had risen from the dead, but the disciples were out fishing and Jesus came to the shore to see them? It says that when Peter saw Jesus he jumped in the water and swam as fast as he could to get to him. The Bible doesn’t really tell us what happens next. However, I can imagine the scene… I’m certain Peter did not get out of the water, slow down, dry himself off and then suddenly act all dignified and stuff and say, ” Mr. Christ, Sir Jesus, How’s the good Lord doing today?” No! I’m sure he ran and hugged him sopping wet! Lifted him off the ground, spun him around, as he jumped up and down, hootin’ and hollerin’ – something like…. “It’s you Jesus! I can’t believe it! I love you! I love you! I love you!!”

That’s the kind of intimacy Jesus wants with us! Completely full on, out right expressive, honest, and just crazy head over heels in love with him! Daddy! Pappa!

Let’s not hold back. Let’s get intimate with our Abba Father, our daddy; and let Him love on us and be passionate about our expression of love back to Him!

Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV) – “The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying,“Destroy him!”

I just love this verse and find it so reassuring, so comforting, so wonderful! Because in this life we have so many battles and struggles. There’s just a lot of craziness everywhere! Oftentimes it seems that adversity is staring us in the face on a regular basis! In fact, I was talking to someone the other day that was saying, “What else could possibly go wrong? We’re facing attacks from the enemy in every way. Financial problems, family problems, work related problems, and physical health problems. ”

The apostle Paul said it this way, “We have struggles from the outside, and struggles from the inside…” You know, we were at a conference this past week and just about every speaker brought up the fact that we have an enemy after us. An adversary. And it’s true. His job is always to kill, steal and destroy our lives. But the good news is: the ETERNAL God is our refuge, and underneath us are HIS everlasting arms. HE will drive out our enemy before us, saying, “Destroy him!”

I know our problems are real and we have to deal with them in this real world; but this week, let me remind you – you have the King of the Universe on your side, and He invites you to take refuge in the shelter of HIS everlasting arms. And while you do that, HE will fight off the enemy for you!! Let’s rest assured in that truth!