Before Magellan

I'm not sure how much Hosea knew about geography, but he wrote about people from areas of the world that had not yet been discovered. He knew about this part of the world before Magellan! People would "come from the west", he wrote, and he was right. Those westerners included me.

Ponder this amazing truth: 

God spoke through Hosea more than 2700 years ago 

about the children He would have in our area of the world, 

even before the greatest minds of the time knew this land mass existed.

It's hard to wrap my mind around that. God knew we would be here from the beginning of time. 

He knew us. He knows us. He will always know us. 

No matter what choices we make, no matter how far we run or how close we stay, He knows us and He loves us. 

We serve a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His knowledge is the same, and so is His love. 

Today, take comfort in the fact that our God knows us. 

He has always known us. 

He loves us more than we can possibly imagine. He always has, and He always will. 

This is what His love looks like: He wrapped Himself in flesh and came to dwell among us. To show us the way. To pay for the sin we couldn't afford.

One day, He's coming back for us. It might be sooner than we think, so let's live ready.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth... For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace." John 1:14, 16 nasb

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made up alive together with Christ..." Ephesians 2:4-5 nasb
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In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: Highlights from Hosea, part one of two

Here's the link to the prayer guide: The Prayer List 
#Godislove #loveofGod #knownbyGod #disciple #linesfromLeanna

The Value of a Life: We are deeply loved

What is the value of a life?

My reading this morning took me to a shocking passage in Judges 19-21. 

A man had a concubine. The woman "played the harlot against him" and went to her father's house. When she didn't return after several months, the man went there to woo her home. She consented to return with him and they set out on their journey.

They stopped for the night in Gibeah. Initially, no one invited them into their home, even though the man had provisions for himself, the woman, and his animals. Finally, a man invited them to sleep at his house rather than on the town square.

During the night, the men of Gibeah demanded that the traveling man be released to them so that they could have relations with him. The homeowner refused. Finally, to stop their demands, he took the traveling man's concubine and gave her to the men.

They raped her all night long, then dumped her on the door of the homeowner, dead.

The next morning, the traveling man found her, loaded her body, and went home. He wasn't done with the crime, however. He contacted the other eleven tribes of Judah and demanded vengeance for the woman.

Israel joined together and fought against (and killed) the men of Gibeah. Tens of thousands of men died avenging the unfaithful concubine.

The story has shocked me every time I've ever read it, and it did again today. Was she worth it? 

What is the value of one life? Of one unfaithful concubine?

As I was pondering that question, the answer came to me.

Jesus is the value of one life. 

When the man with 100 sheep lost one, he left the 99 to seek for the lost one because there is great value in even one sheep.

When the woman with ten coins lost one, she searched until she found the lost one because there is great value in even one coin.

When the father with two sons lost one, he watched and waited until the son returned, then threw a giant party, because there is great value in even one son.

"I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." Luke 15:7 nasb

Every righteous man and woman is precious to God, but He loves sinners, too. So much that He gave His Son to save us. When a sinner finally repents, the joy in heaven, ever present, increases even more. 

God is so thrilled by repentance that He throws a heavenly party to celebrate.

The unfaithful concubine wasn't married to the man, yet she lived with him and was intimate with him. Some would condemn her as a sinner, but God cared about her.

God knows us by name and He cares deeply about every one of us, despite our sin and our failures. That knowledge gives me great comfort. 

Even when I fail, He loves me. Even when I stumble, He cares. 

God loves the prodigals among us. He loves the failures among us. He loves the discouraged, and the hopeless, and the depressed. He loves the frail and weak among us.

His love is not dependent upon our worthiness. His love is simply because He is love.

Take heart today in the fact that we are of great value to God. We are deeply loved. 

We matter to Him and, when we are trapped in our sin, our Heavenly Father waits with arms open wide for us to come to Him. 

Let us live, then, as those who are greatly cherished, because we are, and that love changes everything.

#valueofalife #weareloved #loveofGod #linesfromleanna

You Are Greatly Loved

Mamie the Apprentice Wonder Puppy woke up yesterday with an upset stomach. (She's improving nicely now, so no worries.) I went downstairs for coffee and (fortunately) made it back to my bedroom just before she started gagging. 

In a feat of sprinting that will likely never be repeated, I managed to put the coffee on the bedside table, grab Mamie, and get her to the bathroom in time for her to expel the contents of her roiling stomach into the toilet. Twice. 

Her little face told me all I needed to know. She felt terrible and didn't understand it. For the next hour or so, the happiest, bouncingest dog I've ever known snuggled into my lap and slept while I worked. 

It's what she always does when she feels bad or is tired and sleepy. Snuggles with her mama. She does it because she knows she's loved, and being loved is a good, good feeling.

An interesting thing happened at church last night, and it reminded me of how much I'm loved. My pastor was preaching from Daniel 10 and talking about the angel saying to Daniel, "O, man of high esteem." The angel's words meant Daniel was precious to God. 

"Imagine God saying that to you. 'Leanna, you are greatly loved,'" the pastor said. He called a few other people's names and said the same thing to them, too, but all I heard were those beautiful words.

"Leanna, you are greatly loved."

It took my breath away and the force of it astounded me. I know this truth. I've known it all my life, it seems, but coming face to face with such a profound truth again rocked me. 

We sing a song at church that says, "You're a good, good Father. It's who you are... and I'm loved by you." And I am. And we are. 

You, personally and individually, are loved by our good, good Father. 

It was His great love for us, the most contrary of creatures, that caused God to send His Son to redeem us. His great love causes God to provide for us, comfort us, include us in this amazing adventure of following Him.

We are greatly loved by God.  

You are greatly loved by God.

Put your name in this sentence. I, ______, am greatly loved by God. Now repeat that over and over again and revel in that amazing truth, because His great love changes everything. 

Snuggle in to the One who loves you most, the One who loves us most, and remember how very much we are loved, because being loved by God is a good, good feeling. 

And you are greatly loved.

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." John 15:15 nasb

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The Friday Night With Friends blog post for this week has arrived. Don't miss it.  It's so good. You'll enjoy it! Friday. 6 pm.

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Be sure to check the updated Prayer List 

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In case you missed one of the past week's posts, here are the links: We Won't Be Baptist (or Methodist) in Heaven, Friday Night With Friends: Between the Frying Pan and the Fire, Peace Only Comes When We Have Dealt With Our Sin, Starting a Prayer List, Priorities and the Goat Demons: Who has first priority in your life?, Death is Swallowed Up in Victory, and The Turning Point: A Grateful Heart.

youaregreatlyloved #loveofGod #linesfromleanna #leannahollis

How to Have a Flood of God-love

Tupelo Tornado, 2014    knowbefore.weatherbug.com

I continued my reading in Romans this morning and came to this passage, which I memorized as a young girl. 

“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Romans 5:3-5 NASB

This word, exult, is kauchaomai, and means to "glory in" or "rejoice in". This concept is so foreign to our culture that we would do well to consider it. We might say, "We rejoice because of our troubles and trials." 

Right. Who rejoices because of the trouble we face? 

Not many of us, but there is good reason to exult in trouble. Paul tells us that we are to rejoice because tribulation teaches us to endure and endurance brings about proven character. The proving of our character brings about hope. Hope, he says, never disappoints because of the love of God.

Rejoicing in our troubles begins a cascade of good into our lives that ends in the love of God flooding into our hearts.

The Tornado of 2014 brought about considerable devastation in our area. We wept over the terrible destruction, but we rejoiced, as well. Although "stuff" was lost, there was only one death. That which mattered most was preserved, and we celebrated that face. Before long,  a flood of God-love poured out through His people. 

You, like me, may find grumbling much easier than gratitude, but grumbling is not the path to blessing. 

Instead of whining and complaining about the difficulties in our lives, we are to thank God and rejoice because of what He will do through those difficulties. We can glory in them because we know He will use those trials to make us more like Him. 

Rejoicing in tribulation is not easy, but it opens up an opportunity for great blessing. 

I am speaking of the difficulties that come through no fault of our own. Those difficulties that come as a consequence of our own behavior and poor choices are also a source of rejoicing if we allow God to use them to change our behavior and refine us.

In a way, it is a great blessing to endure hard times because of the flood of God-love that is sure to follow.

I look back on every hard time, every loss I've ever faced. It was hard to give thanks in the midst of those times, but now I can see the hand of God at every juncture and the love of God carrying me through. He used the trial to make me more like Him. 

Are you going through a hard time? Take heart, dear ones, and rejoice, for when you do, you can be sure a flood of God-love is on its way. What could be better than that? Absolutely nothing.
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Thank you, God, for the hard times. Thank you for how you will bring us through, how you will change us because of them, how your love will be evident. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#loveofGod #rejoice #tribulation #JesusChrist #disciple

In case you missed the most recent posts, here are the links: The Costly Bad Attitude, Going Home, and Still a Sinner. 

The most-read post of the past week: Death is Not the End. 

The Faithful and Sensible Steward: The Adventures of Alfred the Butler, part 7

Photo courtesy of freeimages.com

"And the Lord said, 'Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.'Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Luke 12: 42-48 NASB

In case you're just joining us, we have taken a little segue for the story of Alfred the Butler. It's an allegory and it has surprised me as much as anyone. 

Alfred has been a butler for a long time. He has a great master who recently announced he was giving Alfred a new job. Instead of being a butler, he is now in charge of grain distribution. The warehouse is in such a mess that he has to clean and straighten before any distribution can begin. You might want to read the previous stories to get caught up. Alfred # 1, Alfred # 2, Alfred #3, Alfred #4, Alfred # 5 and Alfred #6.  

In yesterday's story, Alfred's Master brought much-needed supplies and worked side-by-side with Alfred. He explained that his plan in leaving Alfred alone in the midst of the mess was so that he could understand the severity of the problem and the importance of good stewardship once it was solved.

We pick up with Alfred as he and Master are heading into the bedroom to clean it. "I'll retrieve a couple of garbage bags and the broom. It's quite the mess, Sir."

"I'll get the mop and the bleach. That room needs to be sanitized. It looks like mouse heaven in there."

The two men get to work in the bedroom. First, they gather all the trash in the bedroom. Alfred is horrified at the mess the last warehouse steward has left. He slept here? Didn't his mother teach him anything? 

It's a decision point for Alfred. After all the work he's done cleaning up, and that difficult night spent sleeping on the floor, Alfred thinks he's entitled to a little hard feelings. This decision point threatens to defeat him, and nearly does, but Alfred's Master is by his side. He doesn't want to displease the Master, so he makes a good choice. He lets it go. He's not responsible for what his predecessor did, even if he does have to clean it up. Maybe there's something he doesn't know. 

He chooses not to criticize. He chooses to focus on the job ahead of him rather than on the job behind him.

"Alfred, let's move everything out of this room. We'll scrub it down before we bring the furniture back." Alfred grabs the bedside table and Master grabs the lamp. They carry it to the hallway and push it into a corner.

 Alfred goes back for the bed linens. The sheets are filthy. It looks as if they have never been washed. "What should we do with these?" he asks.

"Put them in a garbage bag and I'll take them to be washed. Hot water and detergent might make more of a difference than we expect. It's worth a try."

When the room is cleared, the two men attack the filth like whirling dervishes. They sweep, scrub, mop. They don't just mop the floor. They mop the walls and scrub the baseboards. This takes longer than the kitchen did, but the little bedroom is spotless before they're done. They wipe down every piece of furniture before they return it to the room. 

The mattress is hopeless. Mice have been gnawing on it and have made a bed in its recesses. It goes to the Master's truck to be hauled to the dump. 

"Hey, anybody here?" they hear a man's gruff voice calling.

"Sounds like the mattress is right on time," Master says. "In here," he calls and hurries to direct the delivery men. They not only have a new mattress and box springs, they have a little table and two chairs for the kitchen, too. Alfred won't have to eat sitting on the floor anymore. 

While the men set up the bed, Master hauls one of his boxes to the bedroom. He unpacks clean cream-colored cotton sheets, a chocolate brown comforter, a new pillow (still in the bag), and brown and burgundy throw pillows. There's even a deep burgundy crocheted afghan for the foot of the bed and a rug for the floor. 

Alfred chokes up again. The horrible bedroom suddenly looks like home.

Master's box is still not empty. Shower curtains, towels, bath mat. Light bulbs. He has thought of everything. 

When he can speak again, Alfred turns to the Master. "You didn't have to do all this. I would have cleaned this room and made do with what was here. I don't deserve all this."

Master puts his arm around Alfred's shoulder. "I know you didn't expect all this. I know you would've made do with what was here. It's not a question of what you deserve, Alfred. You're a good servant and I love you. You've been with my family a long time and you're like family to me. Don't you know that yet? I'm doing this because I want to do it. I love you, Alfred."

Alfred doesn't know what to say. LOVE? The Master loves me? He doesn't trust his voice so he nods. Finally, he whispers, "Thank you, Sir. I love you, too."

Alfred has just encountered a truth that will rock his world and change his life. His Master loves him and it's not because of something Alfred has done. He has chosen to love Alfred because love is what the Master does. 

"Let's get the delivery men to take a picture of us cleaning up, Alfred. I want to have something to help remember this great day. Let's get our scoops and stand in the midst of the trash."

That sounds like a whacky idea, but Alfred will do anything the Master says. The two men get their scoops and stand side-by-side as the delivery man takes their picture with the Master's phone. They both have grins that spread all the way across their face. 

When the delivery man returns his phone, the Master looks at the time. "Oh, my, Alfred. It's getting late. I'll be back tomorrow. I think you're set for today. Have a good night." They shake hands and man-hug, then the Master leaves.

Alfred walks through the warehouse, incredulous at the very surprising day. Master loves me. Master cares about me. I'm not just a face in the crowd. He provides everything I need. He glances at his watch. It's 4:30 pm. There's still time to clean the bathroom and still clean some in the warehouse. Alfred gets back to work, humming a tune the entire time. He's never known such joy

Alfred has learned something we all need to understand. Our Lord loves us and His love makes all the difference. It was His great love that took Him to the cross for us. It was His great love that conquered sin and death and the grave. It is His great love for us that makes discipleship possible. It's that great love that motivate us to obey and draws up into the depth of His love.

His love for us is a fact. Our response to that love is a choice. How will we respond to the great love of God? 

For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly suppose those who heart is completely His. 2 Chronicles 16:9 NASB

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Our Father, whose love knows no bounds, forgive us for our lack of love, our lack of faithfulness, our lack of obedience. Draw us closer to you and help us to love You as You love us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#Alfredthebutler #disciple #JesusChrist