God Loves You

God loves you.  How much of an impact do those three words have on you personally?  You’ve no doubt heard that statement numerous times in your life but do the words, God loves you, reach deep into your soul or do they merely pass by barely grazing your heart? 

Bear in mind, this is no simple declaration.  If you begin to dig into this declaration of love, you will find the beautiful depth of pure love behind it.  However, in order to see this beauty you must first be willing to accept it as true.

God loves you.  The One who made the birds and put a song in their heart loves you. The One who stretched out the sky and sprinkled it with stars loves you.  The One who filled the oceans and caused the rhythm of crashing waves loves you.  He made fireflies to light up at night, sunrises to welcome a new day, mountains majestic to behold, and vast deserts of untouched beauty. He has made and filled the earth and sky with awesome wonders and it’s all for you.  God designed it out of love - for you.

God gave you the gift of creation because He loves you.  But He certainly didn’t stop there.  God’s selfless love compelled Him to save the very one He loves at all cost. Evil entered God’s creation and, to this very day, evil has attempted to destroy all that God loves, namely us.

We have been held hostage by evil and the only way out, the price for our ransom and freedom, was God’s life for ours.  He never hesitated.  With love in His eyes, He looked at us; He looked at evil and He. Never. Hesitated.

He laid down His life in exchange for ours.  He was pierced through, crushed, slaughtered, and He poured out His soul (Isaiah 53:5,7,12).  Because God loves, we walk away free.

This is only a small unveiling of the depth behind the words, God loves you.  Spend time yourself meditating on these three words, asking God to reveal more of what He means by them.  Carry them throughout your day letting them fill your heart and mind.

I will say it again, God loves you.

Dina Pugh

Our One True Love

 I love a good love story.  One of my favorite movies is Pride and Prejudice. It is one of those movies that I can watch over and over.  I recently discovered another movie that I love.  It’s called, Far From the Madding Crowd.  I am not a bit embarrassed to say that I’ve already watched it several times and plan on watching it again.  

I was wondering to myself what exactly is it about this particular movie that draws me to watch it?  I think because, to me at least, it speaks of our intrinsic bend toward

self-reliance and God’s ever-patient love for us.

 

In a nutshell, the storyline in Far From the Madding Crowd tells of a young woman with no family who is very independent.  A young man falls in love with her and asks her to marry him.  She declines his offer of love and chooses instead to remain independent.  Circumstances keep them together under a working relationship and over the course of a few years, we watch as the young woman needs the young man but still refuses to relinquish her independence.  

Despite her foolish ways, the young man watches over her and patiently waits for her.  It is not until the end of the movie when the young man finally decides to give her what her stubborn heart clings to and leaves her that the young woman realizes what her life would be like without him.

 

Do we not do the same with God?  In one breath we say, “No Lord, I can do this myself.”  And in the next breath, “Lord, help me! I need You!”  Then there are those who never accept the love that God offers.  Believing self-independence is far better than being completely dependent on the One who made them.  

The Lord is patient and long suffering with all of us, believers and non-believers alike, but He will not wait forever.  There will come a day when, like the young man in the movie, God will allow the non-believer the desire to cling to self instead of Him.

If you are a person who is living independent of God, stop where you are, turn back, and give your heart to your One True Love.

The Lord is not slow about keeping His promise as some people think. He is waiting for you. The Lord does not want any person to be punished forever. He wants all people to be sorry for their sins and turn from them.

2 Peter 3:9

Dina Pugh

Jesus Is The Ultimate Gift

Christmastime has come to a close and we have ushered in a new year. But instead of looking ahead just yet, I want to look back for a moment on what took place a mere handful of days ago.  Christmas.  The time of year most of the world, whether they are a believer or not, celebrates the birth of Jesus whether they realize that or not.

Christmas is a time spent with family and friends, giving gifts to those we love.  You may or may not have received a gift from a loved one this past Christmas but I guarantee every single person on this planet whether past, present or future has already been given the Ultimate Gift; Jesus.  God gave Him over 2,000 years ago.

You won’t find Him on sale in any store, and you won’t find Him wrapped up in a pretty bow lying under your Christmas tree.  Instead, you’ll find that He was wrapped in humanity, and nailed to a cross on Calvary’s hill.  

He has been placed at the door of your heart, waiting to be opened and received.  Sadly, not everyone opens his or her heart to receive this Ultimate Gift.  Rather, they let the Gift go untouched and they choose instead to open their hearts to empty boxes.  But empty boxes are exactly that.  Empty.  Devoid of life.

So I encourage you today; if you have never opened the Ultimate Gift that has been given to you, open it!  Choose Life.  Choose Jesus.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and whom it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”  -John 4:10

Dina Pugh

Back to Basics

The other day I was praying for a friend.  She is going through a difficult time right now and asked if I would pray for her.  As I sought the Lord on her behalf, I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to turn to Matthew chapter 7 verses 7-11: 

“Ask, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” After I had finished sharing this with her, I stayed on that page in Matthew and lingered a while longer.

 

The beginning of Matthew chapter 7 starts off with the admonition for us not to judge others.  At the end of Matthew chapter 6 we are instructed not to worry.  A light went off in my brain as to how beautifully basic God’s word is sometimes. The depths of its wisdom are inexhaustible, yet at the same time, riches can be found at first glance.

Here in Matthew where I lingered is a wonderful example of this very thing. Do Not Worry, Do Not Judge, and Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking.  How extraordinarily basic yet profound!  Don’t worry about your life.  Your life is in God’s hands.  Worry does you no good whatsoever.  It harms your body mentally and physically, so refuse to engage in it.

Don’t judge or criticize other people.  Who do you think you are?  Get off your Holier-Than-Thou throne and be humble.  Pass on to others the grace and kindness that God so graciously gives you.  And finally, whatever you need, ask God.  Do you need wisdom? Discernment? Restored health? Provision? Encouragement?  Let God know the burdens of your heart.  He will care for each one of them and answer your request in such a way as is best for you.

 

Believe me, I write these things not only for those of you who would read this, but to myself as well. I probably need this more than anybody!

All in all, in the end maybe sometimes all we need is to simply get back to basics.

Dina Pugh

Desensitized

We live in a world chockfull of news headlines that are marked with violence, tragedy and suffering.  We have become so accustomed to this type of daily happenings, both here and abroad, that unfortunately it ends up creating an affect called, Desensitization.

Now, I’m not a psychologist, nor do I play one on TV, but simply put; Desensitization is a diminished emotional response.  Sadly, I think it’s safe to say, for a lot of us this is what’s happening when we watch the news.

However, I want to point out an even more tragic finding of Desensitization.  Let me ask this: What about the Word of God?  If you have been a Christian for a length of time, does God’s Word still move you?  Does it stir up feelings of awe and wonder or has it become something more along the lines of dry and flat?

Take for example one of the most well known Bible verses.  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  

Now be honest with yourself.  When you read that, does it strike a chord in your heart or has it become so familiar you’ve become a bit desensitized to it? I confess, I have found myself glossing over that verse instead of stopping and taking time to meditate on the incredible statement that it is!

If you are a parent, you would most likely give up your life in order to save the life of your child.  But would you be willing to give up the life of your child in order to save the life of someone who, frankly, could care less for you let alone your beloved child?  Who in fact may never even accept the incredible sacrifice you made? God did.

We will never in our lifetime be able to plumb the depths of God’s love or His Word. However, that does not mean that we should settle for what we think we already know.  Fan the flame of your heart for the beauty of God’s Word!

Oh, the depth of riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

Romans 11:33

Dina Pugh