LAVISH LOVE! Wouldn’t all of us love to be lavished with love … real love?! In a fallen world where all too often we experience judgment and criticism, sarcasm and put-downs – wouldn’t it be great to receive a whole lot of love and affirmation and kindness from others? Is it too much to ask for? Is it too much to hope for? If in the past we’ve expected it, we’ve been disappointed. If we assumed the love from others would measure up, we’ve found it lacking. For after all, others are human. Just like we are. When it comes to loving like we should, we all fail from time to time. We want to love genuinely and lavishly – but we let a lot of things hold us back. All kinds of issues in our own lives that have not ever been dealt with properly keep us from loving without restraint, from loving unconditionally, and of course, from loving lavishly. There’s only one place to turn for the kind of lavish love that we all desire and long for. Yes, you know it. Only God can love us fully like we need to be loved. And what an incredible love that is!!! If you’ve experienced it personally, then you know what it’s like to be loved lavishly! That word means “extravagantly” … “abundantly” … “more than you could have wished for” … ! Being loved that way means that we’ll be loved in a way that’s far above the norm. By today’s standards, you get what someone else thinks you have coming – and nothing more. But you see, God’s love looks at us and pats us on the back. When everyone else sees something lacking, something less than perfect ~ God sees us as His creation and He sees us at our fullest potential, and if need be, He can love us to that attainment. We just need to believe how very much He loves us!!! If we cannot understand all that He has said in His Word about His love … then surely, just “seeing” that He put His life where His mouth was – and gave it all, His very last breath, in fact, His LIFE … for US; you’d think we’d get that! And getting that … should shoot some spiritual adrenaline into our very souls, allowing us to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and say, “God, if You love me THAT much – and You believe in me THAT much, then I definitely need to follow suit and believe in every iota of potential that You put within me when You breathed life into ME! What a love Yours is! There is none like it!” When others lavish love on us, it costs them something precious, too. They put their heart and soul into planning how they will show their undying love to us. It costs them their time. It costs them their money. Or their creativity and talents. Lavish love often comes in the form of an unexpected favor or surprise. Sometimes it’s boxed and gift-wrapped. Other times it’s tucked inside an envelope. Once in awhile, it comes in the form of an e-mail. And the gift of time comes wrapped in a million different ways, but is one of the most precious and valuable gifts we can choose to lavish on another human being – be it family, friend, or acquaintance. Even a stranger! I believe that God would have us follow His example and love the world around us lavishly. Open your eyes wider than ever before to see those that may not seem to have it all together … they just very well might be the ones that need your lavish love the most! We sure didn’t have it all together before Jesus came to wash us clean and show us the incredible future He was planning for us! But He looked beyond that, and came to us anyway. And still sometimes – we don’t have it all together! Most days bring to us amazing, lavish love … either by God’s hand directly, or through people like you that He uses to accomplish His purposes. And what great joy comes by reversing the role and becoming the “giver” instead of the recipient. Just seeing the difference that lavish love can make in someone’s life is one of the most rewarding things ever! When you lavish love on someone else … they blossom! They become more fruitful. They respond to lavish love just like a flowering plant responds to sunshine and warmth and rain. They bloom all the more. And soon their increased awareness of how special they are to God and to you – causes them to be empowered to reach out to others with lavish love. And so the circle ever widens to include more and more people who are in such great need of this lavish love. Where did it start? Well, it started in the Father’s heart, it was given out by Jesus on the Cross, and it gets passed forward through the Holy Spirit. To him … to her … to them … and on and on and on! Scripture tells us, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.” I John 3:1 (NIV) Verse 18 goes on to say, “My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality.” (The Message Bible) So dear ones, receive God’s lavish love today … and in turn, lavish your God-given love to others around you and even to others afar off!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- WE CONSIDER IT SUCH A HIGH PRIVILEGE to gather together in God’s House and lift our hearts and voices in worship to our God! Pastor Doug preached the final message from the book of Jude, ending on a call to persevere as believers in this world today.
- OUR CHURCH FAMILY CELEBRATES LOTS OF BIRTHDAYS this month of November, and this week we join in extending special birthday wishes to: Mary on the 21st; Tina on the 23rd; Connie on the 24th; Christian on the 25th; and Sierra on the 27th! May each of you experience God’s blessings in full measure all year long!
- OUR VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Pastor Doug’s and Debbie’s friends, Steve and Cindy, from northern Minnesota, who sowed a $10 seed into this ministry several weeks ago! We felt impressed to share that seed with a different church family from time to time and allow them to “grow” that seed. Our thanks to those of you who helped with that challenge – and we want to report that the $10 increased into $80 for the ministry and outreach of Elevation North – which we would not have had without their love gift! May God bless you, Steve and Cindy!! You truly blessed us and encouraged us! A “SPECIAL THANK YOU” to our monthly supporters, as well! How grateful we are!!
- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST: 10:00 A.M. – WORSHIP & PRAISE & SPECIAL THANKSGIVING SERVICE as we focus on God’s goodness and our gratitude to Him! Come and be an active participant in worship & thanksgiving!
- 11:15 A.M. – SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES – These are opportunity sessions for getting to know God’s Word better, for sharing your questions and thoughts, and for fellowship in the Word – geared to all ages!
- 5:30 P.M. – THANKSGIVING LOVE FEAST & FELLOWSHIP W/COMMUNION for our church family and friends! We are so excited about this special event – an evening you won’t want to miss!
- THIS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH: NO BIBLE STUDY this week … enjoy the evening at home as you prepare for family and friends on Thanksgiving Day!
- THIS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH: A BLESSED THANKSGIVING to everyone from Pastor Doug & Debbie! We are SO thankful to God for each of you; may you be blessed with an incredible day of enjoyment and rest!
- A CHRISTMAS MINISTRY/CELEBRATION LISTING for the month of December is available for you to take home so you’ll have an easy-to-view reminder! All events/dates/times will be included in our next blog update!
- PRAYER OPPORTUNITIES . . .
- OFTEN OUR NEEDS can overwhelm us when they are many and they are big … but nothing overwhelms our God! Let’s uphold Henry, Tina, Julia’s brother, Roger & Cindy, Kay and several unspoken requests! Let’s trust God for breakthrough and provision for a “home” to house Elevation North! Lift up our missionaries & evangelists in prayer daily and trust God for a harvest of souls here in America and around the world!
- REMEMBER . . . “Proclaim thankfulness to God each day … for all that you DO have!”
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie Jones
