MARVELOUS LOVE .... and more, Enjoy!

Marvelous Love

by Bill Bright 

On a cold Christmas Eve in 1952, when Korea was in the throes of civil war, one young woman struggled along a village street, obviously soon to deliver a child. She pleaded with passersby,

"Help me! Please. My baby."

No one paid any attention to her.

A middle-aged couple walked by. The wife pushed away the young mother and sneered, "Where's the father? Where's your American man now?"

The couple laughed and went on. The young woman almost doubled up from a contraction as she watched them go. "Please . . ." she begged. She had heard of a missionary living nearby who might help her. Hurriedly, she began walking to that village. If only he would help her baby. Shivering and in pain, she struggled over the frozen countryside. But the night was so cold. Snow began to fall. Realizing that the time was near to deliver her baby, she took shelter under a bridge. There, alone, her baby was born on Christmas Eve. Worried about her newborn son, she took off her own clothes, wrapped them around the baby and held him close in the warm circle of her arms.

The next day, the missionary braved the new snow to deliver Christmas packages. As he walked along, he heard the cry of a baby. He followed the sound to a bridge. Under it, he found a young mother frozen to death, still clutching her crying new born son. The missionary tenderly lifted the baby out of her arms. When the baby was 10 years old, his now adoptive father told him the story of his mother's death on Christmas Eve. The young boy cried, realizing the sacrifice his mother had made for him. The next morning, the missionary rose early to find the boy's bed empty. Seeing a fresh set of small footprints in the snow outside, he bundled up warmly in a winter coat and followed the trail. It led back to the bridge where the young mother had died.

As the missionary approached the bridge, he stopped, stunned. Kneeling in the snow was his son, naked and shivering uncontrollably. His clothes lay beside him in a small pile. Moving closer, he heard the boy say through chattering teeth: 

"Mother, were you this cold for me?"

That story reminds me of another mother and Son who sacrificed so much. One winter night, Jesus left his home, His glory and the warmth of heaven to be born in a stable to an unwelcome world. Just before He was born, Mary, His mother, was not welcome in any of the cozy inns in Bethlehem. Instead, she delivered her baby in the darkness of a cold stable. Th e Creator of the Universe, the Perfect Judge who could destroy the world with a single word, was willing to endure this inauspicious beginning for you and me. That is unconditional love!

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We who have experienced God's unconditional love are commanded to share that love with others. John writes in 1 John 4:11,

"Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other" (New

Living Translation).

God wants us to express His supernatural love to others. We become examples of God's love to the world as we love our neighbors through the enabling of His Holy Spirit.

My prayer for you is the same as Paul's prayer for the believers in Ephesians 3:17,18:

"May your roots go down deep in to the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is" (NLT ) .

You may confess, "I don't have that kind of love to share with anyone." To experience God's supernatural love, claim it by faith. We have the potential to love anyone God puts in our path. One of the greatest lessons I have learned in my Christian life is "how to love by faith."

When we by faith invite God's unconditional love to flow through us, we will discover a rekindled love that is alive and well. That is true for an "unlovable" spouse, boss, employee, or anyone.

Nothing breaks the hardened ground of unforgiveness and bitterness like sincere acts and words of love. Sometimes you and I, by faith, must take the first step of restoration. A positive response may not be immediate, but keep on loving and reaching out. There is no power on earth stronger than God's supernatural love.

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Praying for you and yours tonight and nightly that God will bless each of you spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, financially and with His perfect, unconditional love, grace, guidance, forgiveness, mercies and a special blessing that only He knows you need. Prayers for the sick and those that are hurting, and grieving.. God bless and comfort and grant inner peace please. Be with my sister please and help her to be able to eat and be as healthy as possible, for as long as possible please and thank You. Praying for everyone going back to a new week at work, for safety, happiness, and close teamwork. Praying for everyone looking for a job, that there will be abundant jobs. Thankful for our family and closeness and love we all share. Giving HIM our love, thanks, praise, honor and glory for all things in Jesus holy name, amen.

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He Grew the Tree

by Barbara Mandrell

 

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He molded and built a small lonely hill
That he knew would be called calvary.
Then he made the seed that would grow to be
Thorns that would make his son bleed.
Then he made a green stem
Gave it leaves and then gave it sunshine and rain and
Sheltered it with moss.
He grew the tree he knew would be
Used to make the old rugged cross.
With tears in his eyes god looked down through time
Saw him spat upon rejected and mocked.

Still he knew the tree he knew would be
Used to make the old rugged cross.
Chorus

Nothing took his life with love he gave it.
He was crucified on a tree that he created.
With great love for man
God gave with his plan.
He grew the tree so that we might go free.
(ending)
Still he grew the tree he knew would be
Used to make the old rugged cross. 
---Lyrics submitted by Sandi Edwards Godfrey.