Lara Love's Blog, page 259

Don’t Respond Yet

“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Cor. 7:1

I was hurriedly writing an email in response to someone who had written me when it was as though the Spirit of God seemed to figuratively raise His heavenly hand and STOP ME.

I had just received an email from the person to whom I was writing. I had been frustrated, hurt, and jealous when I had first communicated with the person....

God’s Cruise

“And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.” Psalm 72:19…………

When a beloved sister in the Lord shared with me several wonderful joyful praises, including that she and her precious husband and children at long last would get to go on a specially themed cruise they had had to cancel several times in the past because of other unexpected financial obligations, one thing stood out above all else when it came to the cruise. Her focus w...

I Saw Satan Licking His Chops

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:7-8

I was standing on a street corner one day talking to a young homeless woman who had very recently asked God to forg...

Mean Nasty People

“Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.” Mt. 5:7

What if the next time you came across a mean nasty person the Lord gave you the vision to see past the meanness and the nastiness and to see the heart inside the person? What if you saw brokenness? What if you saw hurt? And sadness? Deep grief? Loneliness? Great rejection? A background of abuse, of abandonment, of really gruelingly hard stuff? What if you saw the depths of pain in that person? What if you saw the terribly hard n...

Garbage Truck Strike

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful...

The Truth About Lying

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
But those who deal truthfully are His delight.” Proverbs 12:22

One day a homeless man told me he lied to people sometimes because he didn’t like their responses sometimes when he turned down some of the food they offered him. I told him lying was sin, and his thinking was that it was still okay to lie because of the way people responded to him. Our conversation was light, warm, and friendly, but the topic was entirely serious. He was justifying the...

Sometimes God Gives Us the Impossible

“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.” Psalm 115:1

Sometimes we assume something is not God’s will for our lives because of the seeming impossibility of it. Surely He wouldn’t lead us into an impossible situation, an impossible relationship, an impossible job, to make an impossible move, to an impossible ministry opportunity, to an impossible change, to an impossible educational program, to an impossible outcome to a situ...

Too Broken to Matter

“Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.” Mt. 8:14-15………

“and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” 2 Cor. 5:15………….

For decades, I felt too broken to matter. I had no sense of self-worth, and perhaps you think this was the worst of my troubles. It wasn’t. My troubles seemed endl...

Casting Your Burdens

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7………..

“Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22………….

I was walking relatively fast laps in the hot August air around the big park near my NYC apartment when I realized I had a burden I needed to cast on the Lord. I remembered His promise that if I cast the b...

Why Man Helped Homeless Woman

““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And...