We had friends who walked through international adoption. They felt God calling them to adopt a little boy from Thailand. There were so many hurdles to overcome in that process but every step of the way they kept going because they were certain that God was calling them to go and get this precious little one half a world away.

A few days before they were supposed to leave to receive their little boy, our US government shut down. Their final documents were on a desk somewhere in Washington, DC with no one to call about finding them. My friend called me sobbing that they weren’t going to be able to go get him. We had prayed with them all these months for this little one and we weren’t giving up! I suggested that she call our state senator at the time, William Roth, and she did. Somehow, some way, those adoption papers were located and expedited to them just hours before they were to board the plane.

1 Corinthians 13:7-8 (TPT) is the final layer of this love chapter passage. The revelation of real love is this: “Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up. Love never stops loving.” Our friends worked so hard to get there. Invested so much of their heart before they ever walked into the place where they would meet their little one for the first time. They already loved him but he wasn’t so sure about them. In his less than two years he had had a rough time and he resisted them. When I think of love that never stops loving I remember this story and I’m reminded that we have all resisted God’s love in our lives at some point. We’ve pushed back, rejected and even run away from Him. Even though we are faithless and unlovable, God is faithful. He IS love and LOVE never stops loving.

“Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others.”  That is The Passion Translation of 1 Corinthians 13:7a.

When I look back over my life I can see that God put caretakers around me every step of my journey. Each of those special people believed that God had given me a gift and a dream to share the hope of Jesus through music ministry. They shepherded me and covered me in prayer. They reminded me of His promises and when I was in uncertain situations God used their faithful covering to shelter my dreams in times when it was cold and quiet or hot and fiery. Chaos was no match for LOVE and the safety of knowing that I am loved by the Savior of the world.

If we ask God to entrust us with His love for others we can be caretakers of His beloved children. When we love well – we too can help shelter and strengthen others to walk in their gifts and talents. Is there someone near you that God has helped you to see? Sometimes we are able to believe the best in someone until they can see it for themselves and perhaps we are able to believe the best in someone when no one else does. Love never stops believing the best for others and living in the love of God is where we are safe.

1 Corinthians 13: 5-6 (TPT) “Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong.”

Ouch. There is so much in these two verses that we could probably camp here for a week – or more! Today what jumped off the page at me were these five words – love is not easily irritated. Face it, sometimes we wake up and its as if we’re climbing out of bed on the wrong side. Things just feel ‘off’. Maybe we didn’t sleep well. Maybe we’re stressed about a situation that hasn’t been worked out yet or we are struggling with anxiety or depression…or both. Whatever it is we find ourselves – easily irritated.

The bottom line, Love is not easily irritated. God IS Love and aren’t we grateful that HE is not easily irritated with us!! We are called to bear, or carry, His image to the world. A world that IS often irritating. To show God’s kind of love to those around us we cannot be irritated by what they say and do. Perhaps paying more attention to the love of God in our own lives and less on the irritants of those around us would help. Here’s what I know, Philippians tells us we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us. So when you find yourself facing irritation, or feeling irritated, remember that He will help you to love like Jesus.

Have you ever played a role in a play? Or maybe you were invited to a character party and you had to show up ‘in character’? Just putting on a costume isn’t enough. It takes time and practice to get into character. Face it, you’ve been playing the ‘real’ you for a while now. Just like I’ve been playing the ‘real’ me. Taking on the character of another begins with studying the character traits, motives and actions of the one we’re emulating. We might not always get it right. The more we practice the more we begin to take on the identity of the other.

When we make a decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He invites us to become like Him. It doesn’t just happen though. We study His Word. We learn His nature and characteristics. Though we fail sometimes we keep leaning into who Jesus is and how He is making us more like Him each day.

Jesus gave us an in-depth character study in the Bible. Many even call it “The Love Chapter”. To become more like Jesus we do have a guide to follow. 1 Corinthians 13:4 (TPT) reveals it. “Love is large and incredibly patient.  Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance.”

Does that sound at all like us? We must choose daily to become more like Christ. Taking on His nature is beyond our own capabilities; however, His Holy Spirit living IN us makes all the difference. With His help we can … and we must. His love in us is how the world will know we belong to Him.

They packed us into the end section of the bleachers when I was in my high school marching band. I played marimba in the percussion section and our team was LOUD! We had several people that played cymbals. They added emphasis to the music but hearing those giant brass plates crash into each other over and over could give somebody a serious headache.

Can you imagine if we walked around holding up two 20-inch brass cymbals crashing them together over and over?!! In our workspace, at the dinner table, at our next get-together with friends, or at our next worship service at church. Talk about clearing out a room! No one wants to be around all that noisy clanging for very long. It’s interesting to me that what is often referred to as the love chapter in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, starts out with the admonition that no matter how eloquently we speak or how many languages we know and use, even if we spoke like the angels… without love at the heart of our communication… we are only making noise.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (TPT) tells us, “If I were to speak with eloquence in earth’s many languages, and in the heavenly tongues of angels,  yet I didn’t express myself with love, my words would be reduced to the hollow sound of nothing more than a clanging cymbal.” We can ask God to help us love well especially when we speak to each other. May our language reflect the love of our Savior today!

In my Bible, Psalm 68 is entitled “A Song of Triumph”. Thirty-five amazing verses of victory and celebration. I especially love verse 34 that reads “Give it up for God, for He alone has all the strength and power!” YES! He deserves a standing ovation every day of our lives. God is always at work on our behalf. Meanwhile, every day we encounter opportunities, challenges, even hardships.

So nestled in Psalm 68 I found this beautiful promise in verse 19 that we must never forget. “What a glorious God! He gives us salvation over and over, then daily He carries our burdens!” Our glorious God saves us over and over – and then – He carries what is weighing us down – every single day! Thank You Lord!

Today there will be many things that we encounter. Some may be good and some… maybe not so good. Regardless of how big or small they are our great God is bigger. Nothing comes to us that hasn’t passed through God’s hands. In fact, if we’ll let Him, He will carry them for us!

The Hebrew word “Selah” follows this verse. In The Passion Translation it reads… “Pause in His presence“. That is really good direction. Selah.

Loneliness is an enigma. It is totally possible to be alone and not feel lonely. Likewise, you could be surrounded by many people and yet feel all alone. I used to work for a pastor who wanted to make sure that everyone in our church was connected by at least two ‘touches’ he would call them. One ‘touch’ was the worship service. Everyone would be connected by our weekend services. Since our church was a growing and fairly large church the second ‘touch’ was crucial in making sure each person was seen and heard. It could be a small group meeting, worship team, youth group meeting, church sports team or garden cell group. That second smaller group connection was often the place that personal ministry took place.

It’s important to find a community of people who are committed to knowing you and who give you the opportunity to know them. Because loneliness is destructive. It can make us heartsick. It can cause us to imagine untruths as real. We might not give enough attention to the feeling of loneliness. I believe God sees it and knows the depth of its impact can be as devastating as being orphaned or losing a spouse. Psalm 68:5 (TPT) puts all three together in one verse. King David said, “To the fatherless He is a father. To the widow He is a champion friend. The lonely He makes part of a family.”

Who’s your family? It might not be by geneology. Your “family” might be those precious people that God has connected you with in your neighborhood or your church small group. One thing is for sure, if your heart is feeling lonely, ask God to open the door for you to find your family. Pray David’s Psalm 68:5 in your prayer as you do. Thank Him for answering your heart’s cry and then watch what God does. He is always faithful to His Word.

I saw the craziest message appear on my phone the other day. It read, “Living Room has not been responding for a while. Your home may not behave as expected.” What in the world?!! We don’t have a home “hub”. Our lights, our thermostat and our doors ALL work the old-fashioned way. By hand! But apparently when I set up a Google smart device a few years ago and named it ‘living room’ my phone stored it in the HOME icon.

A message that my home may not behave as I expect it to made me chuckle. As if my home has life in it. Alerting me of something that had been connected to it has not been responding for a while. Interesting. That an app on my phone could be more intuitive than me. Totally possible. What if we had a sensor that alerted us to our disconnection. Sometimes it’s subtle at first. We miss our quiet time with God. We don’t pay attention as closely to the ones around us and maybe even begin to distance ourselves from others. We wander off. Maybe not physically; but, mentally, emotionally we can begin to shut down.

As Believers, we DO have a sensor! The Holy Spirit! He notices every temperature change. Every shift away from being connected. If we will keep our heart open to hear His quiet, or sometimes not so subtle, message of warning, we’ll know that we need to make an adjustment. John 16:13 (NLT) says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” He will not only alert us to what is going on but He will give us wisdom in what is to come. One thing is for sure. If we don’t stay connected to Him, WE may not behave as expected! If you haven’t already … be sure to plug in today! The Holy Spirit IS our heart’s ‘home hub’!

I have a dear friend that I’ve known for more than 30 years. I still remember the very first time I came to her home for dinner. As she welcomed my husband, Ken, and me into their home she said, “If you want to see me – come anytime. If you want to see my house – make an appointment!” We laughed and I loved that immediately the ice was broken and we became fast and now longtime friends.

There’s something about opening your home to others that feels … revealing. In a way, it is! Home is where the “real you” lives. We can let our guard down. There’s something about sharing a meal that opens our hearts a little more to the ones we gather around our table.

Jesus knew this. How often we read of Him going to someone’s home for a meal. One of my favorite times is in Luke 19 when Jesus was walking through Jericho and saw a man. IN A TREE! Zacchaeus had a lot of money. He was also in charge of tax collectors who were not very well-liked… and, he was short! To top it all off, he was curious. So he climbed up a tree to get a bird’s eye view of this Jesus coming through town. Jesus got to the tree, looked up, and called out. “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” (vs 5)

While the people didn’t approve of Jesus going to eat with Zach, and that’s a whole other story for another time; Jesus’ presence, His attention to Zacchaeus, opened his heart to the heart of Jesus. The man confessed to the Lord and offered to make things right with those he had cheated. Luke 19:9 (NIV) tells us, “Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house.”

The table is set. We are invited to come as we are. Sit in the presence of our Lord and Savior. He’s got an incredible meal prepared for us today!

When I was growing up we lived outside of town, in a wooded area, and we loved it when Dad would set up targets in the yard to practice shooting. We mostly practiced with his .22 rifle but every so often he’d get the 12 gauge shotgun out and wow! That one had quite a kick! Dad would stand or kneel behind us, help us lift the rifle and guide our vision thru the sights to focus on the target. It’s harder than you think not to be distracted, or to blink and take your eye off the prize as you squeeze the trigger. There are any number of things that can catch your attention and cause you to miss the mark. I appreciated that time with my Dad. He was teaching us a skill, how to respect the process and we loved that it was something we could do together with our Dad.

I read this passage the other day and for some reason those memories came rushing back to me. Colossians 3:1 -2 (NLT) says, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” Set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Then the Apostle Paul say…think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. It’s so easy to get distracted by our daily activities, our nagging worries, our critical situations. But we have been given NEW LIFE in Christ! We are headed to heaven WITH Him in the presence of Almighty God! While it might feel abstract at times – heaven is a true reality!

Set your sights on the realities of heaven. Visualize Christ sitting beside our Father God…and rejoice that some day we’ll get to go there too. Oh what a glorious day that will be…and that’s hitting the target!