Lara Love's Blog, page 3

Keep On Forgiving

When I shared with a beloved friend how God had led me to forgive someone who had hurt me terribly, my sweet friend pointed out a powerful – and hard – truth about forgiveness.

“You will probably need to forgive again,” she essentially said.

Sometimes people don’t just hurt us once. Sometimes they hurt us over and again.

And according to the Lord Jesus Christ we need to forgive them over and again!

What if you feel like you just cannot forgive? Or that you can forgive once or a few times but fee...

Grieving the Holy Spirit of God

No doubt there are countless ways to grieve the Holy Spirit of the Lord God almighty, and here a few the Bible makes abundantly clear as God warns us against this through the apostle Paul.

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Ephesians 4:30 NKJV

The Bible does not stop there! We are told through the apostle Paul how we should be and act inst...

Don’t Give Up Now

SPECIAL NOTE: THIS MESSAGE JUST POURED OUT OF ME COMPLETELY UNEXPECTEDLY. I AM STRONGLY LED TO PUBLISH IT WITHOUT ANY EDITING AT ALL TRUSTING THE LORD TO USE IT AS IS EXACTLY AS HE DESIRES! 

You have prayed your heart out for someone. Maybe even for a really long time. The person is in desperate need of Jesus. And of what only the Lord can do in his or her life. The person is in dire straits whether or not he or she is willing to admit it. And you have faithfully prayed and prayed and prayed. Bu...

When You Made the Wrong Decision

When you realize you made the wrong decision and went against the will of God, do not remain where you are!

Turn to God, seek His forgiveness, ask Him to tell you His will, and ask for the strength and all else you need to move forward in the right direction.

Do not allow your flesh, the world, and/or the devil to convince you that you might as well just stay wherever you are now that you made the wrong decision and landed somewhere other than where God wanted you to be doing something other tha...

When Your Enemy Hurts

When I found out my so-called enemy in this case a man in a position of authority who had treated me terribly for a lengthy period of time had not been showing up where he normally did because something was going on, the Lord showed me something stunningly powerful and beautiful.

While I confess my flesh had a fleeting thought that maybe I would not have to bear the brunt anymore of the man’s presence given we crossed paths at times, the thought was radically and automatically replaced with some...

Is Your Heart Hurting?

Is your heart hurting in any way, shape, or form for any reason or even multiple reasons? I have encouragement for you!

Even as I write this my heart is hurting beyond imagination over the recent loss of my Dad, over some of the cruelest words ever spoken to me by someone not just once but over and again, over decades of fiery battles and enormous unforgettable losses, and over the state of this world and the countless people with their backs turned to the Lord Jesus Christ headed straight for h...

When God Says No More

As a former alcoholic (sober over 30 years now by God’s grace) and a former anorectic (set free by God’s grace alone) and prone to all sorts of extremes (still prone to more and more), and tending over the years to want and long for and chase after more and more, I am blessed to have learned a powerful lesson when it comes to wanting more of absolutely whatever or whomever.

When God says no more, regardless of how much we want more or feel obligated to do more or others say we should have or do,...

Delete It

No sooner than I had typed out a good bunch of a relatively long text message to a friend than the Holy Spirit of God spoke to my heart two plain and simple and powerful words.

“Delete it,” the Holy Spirit said.

Now wait a minute. I felt strongly about what I had written.

Never mind. God had made Himself clear I needed to delete the message.

Oh, but maybe I could save it for later?

No, God had spoken.

I knew what I needed to do. I deleted it. And quite frankly felt relieved.

Relieved no doubt be...

When People Are Mean

Not long before writing this message someone said some of the most hurtful words ever spoken to me in my life with not an ounce of acknowledgement, remorse, or apology. Only a week or so later the same person lashed out with more meanness. At which point I had a decision to make.

I could follow the world’s ways and lash out with anger and vengeance and go all out trying to hurt the person in return. Or I could follow the Lord Jesus Christ’s ways and do what the Bible says.

I chose Jesus. I chose...

My Big LOVE Prayers!

Moments before writing this message I wrote this prayer to God and am strongly compelled to share it with you.

“Oh please let me have the fullness of your love let me receive it enjoy it experience it believe in it walk in it live it and pour it out on others and ever be filled with more of it dear God amen!”

I am reminded of a never-ending splendid river that never runs dry and that not only enjoys all the wonderfulness and refreshing-ness and invigorating-ness and magnificent beauty of its wat...