Unordinary Love

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7

Often we forget that the word love is not only a noun, it is also verb. Love is not just a feeling, it is also an action. I hear on a regular basis I just don’t love them anymore. I also I hear I love them but there is never any action to back that up. This verse encourages us to love one another and to remember that love comes from God. God is love. He is our ultimate example. We are to show love not just when we feel like it but all the time. We are supposed to show love to all we meet, not just those we choose. We are even supposed to love when we are being unloved. We speak love with our words and the way we say them. We show love with our actions. We love when we are ministering to someone in a crisis. We show love when we smile and speak kindly to the stressed waitress who has just completely messed up our order. We live in a world where love is sometimes out of the ordinary. Let’s love those we meet so they can see God.

Lucinda Gibson, Woman’s Missionary Union. Lucinda has a blog, visit it here.

Thread is NABWU’s 2012 Assembly. You can register for the event here.

Love One Another

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7

Webster reads – Love – noun – an intense feeling of deep affection.

Babies fill parents with intense feelings of love . . . how awesome is the love for a new baby? The love we have for this newborn is easy. Bt the person who murdered his brother is not as easy to love. These are extreme examples of love, but God’s love conforms to each of these. It is impossible for us to love on our own. It is through God’s grace that we are able to love as God loves and that is only possible because God lives in us. When we accept God as Savior, God moves in and changes our heart and soul to be in line with his. How this miracle actually happens cannot be explained, but thank goodness it does. Dear Lord Jesus help me to love one another, for love comes from you. Thank you. Amen.

Karen Bieber-Guillory,Louisiana, Women’s Ministry, North American Baptist Conference

Let us . . .

Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3

Are you longing for answers . . . for silver linings . . . for certainty? Hosea implores us to know . . . to press on and know that our God is sure to appear . . . that our God is bound to give an answer. Hosea declares that God is as consistent as the morning sun . . . as close as the spring rain. God is near. Let us know . . . let us press on to know. . . Amen. 

Betty Freeman, Rockingham, NC. Betty likes to bake for the local Alateen group. Galatians 3:28 is her favorite verse.

 

now

Let’s do our best to know the Lord. His coming is as certain as the morning sun; he will refresh us like rain renewing the earth in the springtime. Hosea 6:3 CEV

Joel Osteen has a book called, Live Your Best Life Now. I love the title of that book because of that very last word, now. Now is all we have. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not promised to any of us, in fact, not even the next hour is a guarantee. I want to live my best life, and I want to live it right now. 

I realize that without knowing the Lord I can’t live my best life at anytime. Knowing the Lord means I study His word daily. It means I pray and listen to God speak to me. It means I give my money and time to help others. I may not know the reasons that so many things go against my plans, but God does. Sometimes I feel like I’ve been broken into tiny little pieces. The best of super glues can’t even put me back together again. However, as God helps me to pick up one piece of my life at a time, He shows up and little by little the pieces are all together again. Sure there are cracks, but that’s because I was broken. Each time I am broken, I lose a bit of myself. I “die”. Through all my brokenness the Spirit of Christ can live in me. Through the cracks His Spirit can change me from the inside out. I trust Him and I praise Him through all of life’s ups and downs, even when I am completely crumbling into a million little pieces. Being broken helps us to renew our commitment to Christ. It keeps us hoping for God to show up. And when He does, it keeps us refreshed like rain on a renewing earth. 

No matter what happens, I want to live my best life and live it now! I know God will never leave me or forsake me even in my loneliest moments, my biggest trials, and my worst fears. I know He will show up and when He does, I’ll be as refreshed like rain renewing the earth. I will be refreshed to live my best life now. 

Rhonda Robbins-Reeves is the editor for both the Preschool and Children’s Resource Teams at Woman’s Missionary Union.

Summer and Winter Rain

Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3

The duty of the Israelites was to portray to the world that they were a people whose laws and holy oracles were of the one whose kingdom never ends. Through Hosea God has shown us that hearts prepared and ready opens the door for God’s mercy and grace. Just as spring rain refreshes the earth and winter rain sustains the trees, God has promised stability and fruitfulness if we are fully surrendered. 

Our mandate is to be caring, sharing and a saving outreach to the dying. Has my love for God been evident to those who do not know him? Or have I absorbed the same values dominating the secular world today? I thank God for God’s care and concern for me and for revealing his desire to give life. 

Loretta Mohabir, Women’s Missionary Union, Guyana

Thread is NABWU’s 2012 Assembly. You can register for the event here.

Shine

Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea 6:3

I often say to my children, “I do not expect you to be perfect, I expect you to do your best.” The words of Hosea from the CEV say, “Let’s do our best to know the Lord.” God does not expect us to be perfect, no, God expects us as the children of God to do our best. How do we do our best to know the Lord? We know God through the Word and through prayer. It is in this way that we come to know the nature of God and it is through prayer, that we communicate with God seeking and asking God to be present in our lives through Jesus Christ and to make that presence known to others, through the Fruits of the Spirit. We know that the Lord is coming again and it is as certain as Hosea says, “as the morning sun.” We know that the sun will come up every morning whether it will shine is another thing, but the dawning of the day will happen. When we know the Son, each morning is new and it is through the Son, that we are renewed just as the earth is renewed in the springtime. As a Christian, a pastor, a wife, a mother, I will never be perfect but will always strive to do my best and to spend time with the Lord in the Word and through prayer and to share my faith with others. Let us all, as women of God, strive to do our best in knowing the Lord God and in sharing that knowledge with others.

Rev. Gail Whalen-Dunn, New Minas Nova Scotia, Canada, Atlantic Baptist Women

The thread bracelets in this post’s picture can be purchased here.

Thread, NABWU’s 2012 Assembly

Thread (NABWU’s 2012 Assembly) is a gathering of resources, advocacy, prayer, friendship, initiative and stories for women of faith sponsored by the North American Baptist Women’s Union. 

The 2012 NABWU Assembly will take place in Nashville, TN on October 3 – 6. The theme comes from the Exodus 39:3  and it symbolizes a coming together of individual stories and lives that when combined, form a tapestry of voice and action.

You can register for the event here: http://www.arrowheadregistration.org/info.php?s=84&sess=PHPSESSID

Hope Alive

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in God, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

A year ago I was diagnosed with depression, something I had never experienced before. It was hardest at night. The insomnia meant I would lie in bed awake all night with just my thoughts. 

What got me through those nights was Jesus. I would sing – my favourite song spoke of Jesus being my shelter and my tower of refuge and strength. And I would pray. I did this because it brought me hope. Hope that I would find a way out of the depression.

When we abide in God’s word and stay centred around the Gospel we can endure in this world. The hope that we have in Jesus Christ, both in his healing power and our salvation brings us the confidence, joy, and peace we need in our lives. The power of the Holy Spirit is alive in us. We must remember each day to keep our hope alive in Him.

Shannon Scott, Canadian Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec

Pieces of Hope

Have you ever listened to the evening news and wondered, “Where is the hope?” Earthquakes, floods, drought. Turf wars, child exploitation, murder/suicide. Such devastation has the potential to fill us with despair. In Romans 15:13 we find a word of encouragement to all who follow Christ. We are vessels of hope. God has always been and remains the source of hope in a world which, at times, can seem to be increasingly hopeless. But God is present even in the most desperate of situations and where God is, you will find God’s hope. This verse reminds us that God fills us with joy and peace as we journey in faith and trust. By the power of the Holy Spirit, hope is poured into us until it overflows. When hope captures our attention, we are infused by God’s power to go and discover that same hope in other places, even in the darkest ones. Then we experience deeper intimacy with God. May we be filled with hope, not despair, because the One who is the Creator of all is also the source of hope for all.  

Lisa Lohnes, UBWMU/Atlantic Baptist Women

now

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in God, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Now. Right now may our God fill you and me and the person on your left and the person on my right with joy and peace as we believe in who God is within and without. May we abound in hope . . . with hope . . . for hope . . . by hope . . . to hope. Because the Spirit of God is with us . . . loves us . . . is wildly cheering us on. Now. Right now.  Amen.

Evelyn Storey lives on Marco Island in Florida. If the wind is right, her internet works. She is a collector of words and a minister of presence. She will be at Thread, the NABWU Assembly in Nashville, TN, October 3 – 6, 2012.