Saturday, February 22, 2014

ELEVATION NORTH has NEWS for YOU!


LOVE.  That word has been spinning around in my head and heart all month.  And not because it is the “love month” – but because God is doing a real work in my life as He is helping me grasp more than ever before what that word really, truly means.  Isn’t it true that we usually learn better by “doing”?  We experience something more fully when we do it “hands on” – rather than just seeing or watching or listening.  Combine all of those facets, and it is still the “having to live it out” that makes it real for us.  Last weekend a scripture verse popped up in front of my eyes, and I was captured by its very essence.  How many times have I read that verse before?  I don’t know; many, many times – that’s for sure!  But it never spoke to me like it did this time.  Since then, I have also read the verse preceding it, and together, they create a powerful command by our Lord.  Not just a suggestion or a choice; these are Jesus’ words and they demand an obedient response from us.  Listen:  “A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:34-35)  First, I hear Him telling me to do something:  to love one another.  Then I hear Him explain that He has already done this – by example … and that as I have been loved by HIM, that’s how I MUST love others!  Wow, that’s a tall order, Lord!  And recently it seems as if You are throwing some tough lessons in front of me.  You know me, God.  I am usually always a lover of people – not a fighter.  But I think You are putting ME to the test.  You want to know how I will respond in these bizarre situations.  Will I be able to love … like You love me?  As I read it, You don’t give me a choice, do You, Lord?  Because if I fail this test and don’t love like You’ve commanded me to, then the last part of that scripture comes into play.  If I do not love like You do, then people will not know that I am Your disciple.  I will be missing the benchmark – the distinguishing characteristic that should set me apart as one of Your followers.  And what is that?  Simply put, it is loving others.  One another.  Each other.  Family.  Brothers and sisters in Christ.  I am beginning to catch a glimpse of how easily we could change our world – if we would just love one another.  Like Christ loves us!  Would that be difficult?  Is it hard?  Yes, of course, it is.  None of us are perfect.  We are all different, and we all like different things.  God Himself created us to be unique individuals.  Yet He created us in His likeness.  So while it may not be easy to do what He commands, He did put that capability within us.  He would not have commanded us to love others like He loves us, if it were not possible.  So, I think we have some work to do.  I know I do!  Ninety-nine percent of the time, I find it so easy to love others.  It’s that one percent remaining that just about gets me every time.  Thank God that He intervenes and pulls me up short and lovingly, but ever so firmly reminds me that I MUST get it right!  And, of course, I cannot do it alone.  But God can do it.  In me.  And through me.  If I will let Him!  This most recent struggle with getting my heart in the right place was not nearly as much about not loving – as about not understanding another’s heart.  And that can leave you in a vulnerable spot.  It can open the door for the enemy to walk in and bring on his best attempts to thwart and defeat.  And always, it is so much bigger than just me – or you!  At these points in time, we are wrestling not against flesh and blood – but against the very principalities of darkness.  (See Ephesians 6:12)  The Amplified Version explains that we are not “contending only with physical opponents”, but with “the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly sphere.”  It’s about much more than only having a struggle with loving others; it is more often doing battle with the powers of the enemy in the spiritual realm.  Because he knows if he can keep us from loving others, his victory is half won!  What does God instruct us to do?  He tells us to put on His complete armor … that we may be able to resist the devil’s schemes and to stand our ground – firmly in our place.  I believe that we will be able to stand strong … only if we are able to love each other as God commands us to!  That’s why I listened to the whisper of the Holy Spirit that night when the attack came in like a flood.  I called in the prayer warriors from all over the country – texting as many people as God brought to mind, asking simply but urgently:  “Can’t talk right now; but please pray!”  Did I have to explain anything?  No.  God knew, and that’s all that mattered.  Within moments, responses came rolling in affirmatively:  “Yes, praying!”  “Yes, I am!”  “We sure will!”  “Praying for you!”  A sense of God’s peace and victory covered me at once, and I was the first to tell the devil in no uncertain terms, “We’ve won … you’ve lost!”  We will love, no matter what!  We will cut the enemy no slack.  God’s plan to use His people is too precious to waste on buying into not loving others!  We are loved by God … and we will love others as He loves us, by His grace and His power!  Thank you, dear ones, for coming alongside us and standing in the gap – praying!  You are loved – by God … and by us!

REMEMBER . . .
“My God is changeless in His love for me,
and He will come and help me.”
~ Psalm 59:10

Serving Christ Joyfully . . .

Pastor Doug and Debbie

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