Are You Reactive or Proactive?

By Andrea Merrell

How wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

Ephesians 3:18 NIV

“I’m having a really hard time with my son,” the woman told her counselor. “He can be such a good boy at times, but when he’s acting out, I have a hard time loving him.”

I can relate to her story. When I was growing up, my grandfather was kind and gentle with me as long as my behavior was perfect—at least in his eyes. When my words and actions failed to line up with his expectations, he became harsh and critical. I always felt I had to earn my way back into his good graces—and his love.

Not so with our heavenly father. He loves us with a love that far surpasses our human comprehension. There are no conditions and nothing that can make Him love us less or more. His agape love is perfect and eternal. Nothing can diminish it or take it from us.

Is it possible for us to love others the same way? The Word for You Today says:

It’s easy to love others when they are at their best. But when they are at their worst? Not so much. But that’s the test of true love. Our love tends to be reactive, but God’s love is proactive. He loves us when we least expect it and least deserve it.

One of my former pastors used to say, “Love acts, it does not react.” That means we have a choice every single moment of every single day to act (respond) to others in the way we should instead of reacting out of pride, selfishness, anger, or frustration. That’s being proactive.

Paul tells us in Romans that “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (5:5 NIV). In other words, we have an abundant supply of God's love to give away.

Are you walking in love?

                            

 Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com and Kelly Sikkema.

Debt Free!

 

By Andrea Merrell

It is finished! John 19:30 NKJV

Early in my marriage when we were barely living paycheck to paycheck, we purchased a needed piece of furniture and struggled to make payments, longing for the day we made the final installment.

A few months later when the bill came in the mail, it was marked paid in full. Zero balance. We called customer service to find out if it was a glitch in their system, and they assured us it was not. We never found out what happened, but someone evidently paid off our debt—an amazing blessing.

Everyone longs to be debt free. Unfortunately, in today’s economy with the higher-than-ever cost of living, few can accomplish such a lofty goal.

But for the believer, the follower of Christ, there is one debt that has been paid in full. Once and for all. No struggling. No waiting for the final installment. Jesus’ death on the cross of Calvary was the final installment, full payment for our sin, paid for with His very own blood—the ultimate sacrifice.

Not only has our debt of sin been transferred to Christ’s account, He has, in exchange, transferred His very own righteousness to our account. He considers that an even exchange. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21(NLT):

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation … For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Stand tall in your righteousness, my friend. You are totally debt free.

Jesus said: It. Is. Finished.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Sacred or Secular?

 

By Andrea Merrell

For in Him we live and move and have our being.

Acts 17:28 NKJV

When questioned about an uncomfortable (and slightly suspicious) situation, the boss made it clear to his employees that his personal life had nothing to do with his work life, and neither had anything to do with his church life. They were separate entities, and that’s the way they would remain.

In essence, he was saying the sacred had nothing to do with the secular. He would continue to conduct business in the way he saw fit, live his personal life however he wanted, and put on his holy hat once a week for church.

Not a good way to live. In fact, as a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), how can we possibly separate the different parts of our life? When we think, speak, and react differently in certain situations, we create a façade and live a life of pretense.

The Bible says, For in Him we live and move and have our being. This is what it means to be in Christ. One writer says believers should never be compartmentalized into what is secular and what is sacred.

Jesus came to set us free to be our true self—the person He created us to be. As a child of God, our attitudes and behavior should not change from one situation to another. 

Walking in fellowship with the Lord is not something we do on Sunday or just when it’s convenient or popular. It’s who we are—a matter of what you see is what you get—all the time.

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.

It Came to … Pass

 

By Andrea Merrell

And in the process of time it came to pass.

Genesis 4:3 NKJV

The woman had a dream, something she knew God had placed in her heart. She prayed. She used her faith. And she waited … and waited. When she was about to give up hope, the Lord said to her, “This will come to pass.” And it did.

The phrase “it came to pass” can be found in the Bible 436 times. We read story after story where the Lord fulfilled His promises.

The word pass has many meanings, but we want to focus primarily on two. The first is to happen, to be done or said—just like the woman with the dream. When it comes to the promises of God, we should never give up hope.

The second is to come to an end.

We all face various trials of every size and shape, from petty little frustrations to life-threatening situations. The outcome, many times, depends on our attitude and how we deal with these trials. We can settle in and accept them or know that they are only for a season, be it long or short. In other words, tough times may come, but they come to pass. To go away. To come to an end.

Whatever season you’re in—waiting for something to happen or waiting for it to end—don’t lose hope. It’s been said that the only constant thing we can count on in this world is change.

So hold on. Change is coming. And in God’s kingdom, it’s always for the better, no matter what.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com and Soheb Zaidi.

Roller-Coaster Christianity

 

By Andrea Merrell

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

Galatians 5:22 NLT

 

Those who live in the South understand dealing with roller-coaster weather. It might be 85 degrees one day and 35 degrees the next. One day you’re in shorts and sandals and the next in jackets and snow boots. Southerners learn to layer because we never know what to expect from one day to the next—regardless of weather reports.

Funny how some people are the same. One day they’re sporting a bright, sunny disposition and the next they’re coming at you with hurricane-force words and attitudes. When we’re around them, we never know what to expect from one minute to the next. And layers don’t help. Maybe they should have someone issuing weather reports on their frame of mind.

As believers, we need to learn to layer—our thoughts, words, and actions with God’s Word. A good place to start is with the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22. It all begins with love. According to the Open Bible:

The Fruit of the Spirit is love, and it is manifested in joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.

·       Joy is love’s strength.

·       Peace is love’s security.

·       Long-suffering is love’s patience.

·       Gentleness is love’s conduct.

·       Goodness is love’s character.

·       Faith is love’s confidence.

·       Meekness is love’s humility.

·       Temperance is love’s victory.

Instead of riding the emotional roller coaster, let’s plant ourselves deep in the soil of God’s Word so we can produce love—God’s love—and all of its wonderful characteristics.

Photo by Jonny Gios on Unsplash