Bob's Blog

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 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. I have heard and read these verses many times.  Most of the messages I have heard preached about them have centered on how we need to treat one another.  And, I certainly don't want to minimize that focus.   If only we behaved this way in all of our relationships.  I haven't!  A few days ago, I saw this passage in a different light.  It occurred to me that this is exactly how God loves us, always and perfectly.  God = Love!   He is patient.  He is kind. He is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  He does not demand his own way.  He is not irritable, and keeps no record of being wronged.  He

In the dark and quiet of my study early one morning this week, I started praying and thanking God for who He is and what He has been in my life.  I found myself asking Him to help me better relate to Him.  I had no trouble seeing Him as a friend, leader, Lord, etc.  I did have hesitation when my thoughts got more intimate than that!  I tried to imagine myself seeing Him as "Abba Father" and crawling into His lap for safety, etc. This made me uncomfortable.   Then, I noticed our cat stomping around in the entryway.  In spite of the fact that he can be stealthy and quiet, sometimes he thunders around the house like a draft horse.  Suspecting he wanted attention, I called him over.  He came to me.  I picked him up and placed him in my lap.  As I started to pet him, he buried his head in the crook of my arm.  It was then that I saw what God had done. I love it when God "speaks" to me.  I especially love it when He is so creative about it.   How can I live mo

Psalms 119:1-8 Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths. You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands. As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me! Over the past months, I believe God has been working on my heart.  Just a cursory look through my journal would show that work has focused on the truth of His love for me.  So many books, movies, podcasts have focused on that need in my life.  The changes have been gradual, but significant.  As I have stated before, both in my journal and in other forums, if we really knew how much God loves us, it would change everything.

Psalms 23 A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Most everyone I know has heard or even memorized the verses above.  The trouble with being so familiar with something is that it breeds, well...familiarity.  Which in turn, can breed apathy.  I wonder how apathetic we have become to the message, when we have heard the verses repeated over and over since our childhood. This morn

Many times, when I post a blog entry, I include a photo.  This entry will not include a photo! A few days back, I wrote a blog entry about a new practice I have implemented, every morning if I can, of reading through some notes and scriptures to remind me of who He is and who I am in Him.  Over the years of my life, I have tried at various times to practice "morning devotions."  I was never very successful.  After only a few weeks, sometimes only a few days, of setting my alarm to get up early to read my Bible and some book of daily devotions like "My Utmost for His Highest", I would start hitting the snooze button.  But, I have realized that I have been thinking of "morning devotions" all wrong. Firstly, even the term sounds more religious than imperative.  I looked at these times as something that would be nice to do, maybe even gain me some points with God.  But, I did not see them for what I now understand them to be.   In one of the Lord o

Saw a movie a few weeks back, called Remember Sunday, that told the story of a man who had lost his ability to retain short term memory.  When he awoke in the morning, he had no memory of the day before.  Nor, any day for that matter since suffering a brain aneurysm.   His sister had created a folder that was just above his alarm clock that was labeled, "Read Me Every Morning!"  It contained the story of what had happened to him and helped him reorient himself to who he was and what he should be doing.  It was absolutely necessary to reintroduce those things into his memory to frame the rest of the day.   This morning, I realized I needed to do the same thing.  I have short term memory loss when it comes to remembering who I am in God, what I need to focus on and what kind of man I should be.  It will serve to frame my day.