Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful
      or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way.
      It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
      It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices
      whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up,
      never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures
      through every circumstance.
                     1 Corinthians 13:4-7
 
The words from 1 Corinthians above are probably the first I studied as a baby Christian after a sermon I heard. I remember cutting them out of the Sunday bulletin and putting them on my mirror.  I was challenged and somehow sensed their power.  What affect do they have on you as you read them today?

Now put them together with 1 John 4:16,17. “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.  So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.”

 Thankfully, as followers of Jesus we are new creations in Christ.  We live in Christ and his Spirit lives in us.  Colossians 3:3 says we are hidden with Christ in the Father.  As we live this way, cooperating and collaborating with Jesus, we become more and more like him.  Since God is love, we probably get a description of Jesus’ character in Paul’s definition of love.  1 Corinthians 13:4-7, then, may be used as a guide for us in becoming more like Jesus.

Dear friends, be richly blessed as you prepare your hearts for Easter this year.  You might join me in meditating on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and asking the Holy Spirit to teach you to love like Jesus. May he be glorified in whatever you do in love. Let’s rejoice in our new life in Christ!

Mary Sumner ~March 11, 2025

      “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.
       When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love,
       just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
       I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy.
      Yes, your joy will overflow!”    John 15:9-11

Perhaps like you, I ask God for a verse and a word to lean into in the coming year.  The word I kept hearing was “joy”.  Recently, it was confirmed in the words of Jesus above in John 15:9-11.  Can it be true that God really wants us to be filled to overflowing with his joy?

Have you, like me, been sensing a command to stop striving for God’s love but to trust him and just rest in him, expecting him to be all he says he is and to do all he has promised to do?  In the verses above Jesus gives all who would believe in him the motivation for trusting him and believing what he says.  Love.  The Father loves Jesus, and Jesus tells us he loves us, in the same way the Father has loved him, unconditionally, completely and eternally.  God Almighty, the holy Creator God, the three in One, the One in three, has chosen us and has committed to love us, to love YOU forever. 

Are you letting yourself hear this?  What would prevent you from believing this truth? Why not, right now, start the year by simply believing you are worthy to be loved in God’s eyes.  The Father has proven you are worthy by sending Jesus to die in your place.  Believing this enables us to willingly obey Jesus, our Lord, in every way.

Believe the truth. This is the commandment that Jesus wants us to obey as we start the year.  Jesus died to give us security in our value and new identity in Christ.  When we believe we are loved, through and through, we can rest in our relationship with the Father.  When we rest, secure we are loved, no matter what befalls us, we are able to receive Jesus’ overflowing joy.  Our Lord will have accomplished the purpose for which he was sent.  What greater reason for him, and for us, to celebrate every day with JOY?!

Dear friends, be blessed to rest secure in your belovedness.  As you receive more and more of God’s love, may you yearn to love him, who is supremely worthy, with all your hearts, minds and strength and increasingly overflow with contagious joy in the coming year.  Amen.

Mary Sumner ~ January 10 , 2025

     Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
     Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,
     the Son of the living God.”  Matthew 16:15,16

In a culture in which today we hear more about shopping and Santa Claus than we do about Jesus, it easy to get caught up and forget who the season is really about.  We may need to stop and hear Jesus ask us, as he asked his dear disciple Peter, “But who do you say that I am?”

Have you done that recently? We may hesitate because of the number of “correct” answers we might find, listing his names and describing his many characteristics.  But notice the question is personal and focused on the present.  Who do YOU, not the Bible, scholars, or respected teachers say that Jesus is, but you.  Who is Jesus to you right now, not in some past encounter, or some promised event.  In this moment.

Why is that important? As your Savior, he died to rescue you, not because he had to, but because he loves you.  Perhaps today you need to remember that he loves you.  Believing Jesus is our Rescuer, gives us assurance that he will continue to rescue us from fear and anxiety.

So, why do you need Jesus today? If you are sick, he is your healer.  If you are struggling against darkness, he is the Light of world who overcame darkness.  He is your defender, teacher and friend, who you can talk through the decisions you need to make today.  Is guilt chasing after you?  Confess your sin to your High Priest Messiah, and receive the forgiveness and cleansing available in his sacrifice on the Cross. (1 Jn.1:9)

Maybe in this season where families come together, you are feeling all alone, with no one who cares.  The Lord knows you intimately.  And Jesus promises to never leave you nor abandon you.  Feeling helpless?  The Lord promises to go with you… into that meeting, or operating room.  He is the One who has all authority in Heaven and on earth.  The God who rules is for you, not against you.  That is who is with you today. 

Isaiah called him, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is passionately committed to you. (Isa.9:6,7) So, tell that liar fear to go, and remember who Jesus promises to be for you today.

Dear friends, may you overflow with gratitude and joy as you remember that the baby in the manger, whose birth you celebrate this week, came in love so that you could overcome all the darkness in your life by his truth and light.  Amen.

Mary Sumner ~ December 23, 2024