Lara Love's Blog, page 131

Hiding from God

I was walking down the beach one day with paralyzed ministry dog Miss Mercy in her wheelchair feeling terribly sad regarding several things when it dawned on me not for the first time in recent days that I felt I couldn’t “look upward” where the Lord God almighty sits in heaven. The Lord had revealed to me a day or so earlier part of the reason, but now He revealed more.

I was “hiding” from God and keeping a distance from Him despite my usual daily prayer, Bible reading, and praising Him because...

Go & Do

When Jesus showed a man through the well-known so-called Good Samaritan story that loving our neighbors is about showing love, mercy, compassion, care, sacrifice, generosity, and kindness to others, and that loving the Lord and loving our neighbors are fundamental to having everlasting life with the Lord, He spoke three vitally important words that can be easily missed as I did for years if we’re not careful.

“Go and do,” Jesus told the man.

Friend, Jesus wasn’t merely telling this man a story. ...

Ready & Willing

When the Lord sent the apostle Peter to talk to Cornelius and his relatives and close friends about the Lord so they would receive the promise of everlasting life with the Lord, Cornelius responded to the arrival of Peter with words that bear a powerful message for all of us.

“Immediately therefore I [Cornelius] sent to thee [Peter]; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.” Acts 10:33

Corneli...

Are You #1?

Someone who doesn’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ emphatically told me one day, “I am number one!” She was declaring to me why she believed she needed to act a certain way and not take into consideration some other people. I knew not to argue because she had already staunchly pronounced in other conversations that she would never place her faith in the Lord. I knew I couldn’t change her heart. The Lord would have to do it. My job would be to pray and love her and entrust her to the Lord. But ...

He Opened His Mouth!

Now this verse just below may look like nothing more than a description of the apostle Peter beginning to preach, and you may be led when you read it in the Bible to do nothing more than keep reading on. But please don’t miss what I missed for years reading it.

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” Acts 10:34-35

What did I miss? Note the language...

God’s Intervention

One day a sweet sister in the Lord shared with me she was involved in an intervention concerning someone in need. I never heard the details nor did I need to know anything about the situation, but the word “intervention” brought to mind this. For years, I heard people use the word “intervention” regarding a human-orchestrated and human-implemented plan to gather a bunch of people and “intervene” in someone’s life to get that person to stop drinking, using drugs, committing adultery, etc. While i...

The 9th Hour

Please read the following verses and see if you find what the Holy Spirit brought to light in my heart one day. I had read this story over and again for years before the Lord illuminated a powerful truth herein.

“And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Jopp...

Rejoice & Be Glad!

Rejoice and be glad? Yes, rejoice and be glad! Well, what if you don’t feel like rejoicing and being glad today? What if I’m not in the mood for rejoicing and being glad today? What if life isn’t going our way on this particular day? We’re supposed to rejoice and be glad anyway? Read what the psalmist says:

“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalms 118:24

Please pay attention to the word “WILL”. He writes, “we will rejoice and be glad in it.” In what? ...

Is It Your Responsibility?

You are only responsible for what God gives you. May seem obvious, but some of us myself very much included have a tendency to take on responsibilities the Lord has NOT given us. This is wrong, and this needs to change. For we are to turn from our sins, believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, believe in His death and resurrection, turn to God and His ways, and love and OBEY Him. Taking on responsibilities the Lord does not assign us is disobedience not obedience! When we are tempted to take on what He ...

The Big Wait Word

Wait isn’t a big word, is it? It’s only four letters after all. But oh, for some of us, it is a really, really big word. For some of us, it’s really hard to wait due to our impatience, worry, excitement, zeal, our feeling like we need to figure everything out and do it NOW, to those of us who pridefully believe we know what’s best and feel we must rush ahead, to those of us uncomfortable or unhappy where we currently are, etc. We’re not all so great when it comes to waiting, are we? But friend, ...