Love Is A Verb

                                      The blog themes for this month are: February and Love. We hope you enjoy these posts!

By Melissa Cox

Love is a verb

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?     James 2: 14-16 NIV

I remember a story a pastor told about God repeatedly calling him to approach a homeless man begging in front of our local Walmart. Even though he didn’t want to, the pastor brought the beggar lunch and just as he suspected, the homeless man asked the pastor for something more.  Pray for me.

So the pastor took his dirty hands in his and prayed for him in the median, cars passing on both sides. We expect that kind of faith and obedience from a pastor, but what happened next humbled the pastor and me.

When the pastor finished, instead of letting go of his hands, the homeless man began to pray for the pastor.  

I cried when I heard this story because I realized that my faith and my actions were empty.  Lord, how many opportunities to pray for someone have I allowed to pass by me? How many times has someone shared their suffering and needs with me and I have I uttered “I’ll pray for you” but walked away forgetting my pledge and their need almost immediately?  How many times have my words been as empty as my promise? 

I heard this story two years ago and it changed me. Whenever someone asks me for prayer, I immediately pray over them. No matter where we are. I have prayed for friends, co-workers, and total strangers inside Walmart, doctor’s offices, school buildings, parking lots, public bathrooms, and hospitals. Sometimes, I just hug them and whisper a quick prayer.  Sometimes, I begin praying for them even before they finish the sentence. 

It’s awkward sometimes, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I act.

Words are not enough. It’s time for our faith to express itself in love and not just with empty words.  Love is a verb.  It’s a call to action. 

Melissa Cox is a Georgia native and has lived in Wilmington for almost 10 years. She’s a wife and the mother of 3 kids, 2 dogs, and one cat. She dreams of being a famous inspirational speaker, who writes life changing books and lives in a tropical paradise. She currently serves as Chaplain of the Wilmington Word Weavers group.

Hearts Pumpin'

The blog themes for this month are: February and Love. We hope you enjoy these posts!

Written by: Sondra Dron

Love perseveres. I Corinthians 13:7

People stink. They’re aggravating and exasperating. I know the scriptures say to love, but Jesus must have meant “Love, but keep a safe distance.”

That’s where my attitude was circling that morning. Did I mention that I’m a preschool teacher assistant in a Christian school? Don’t get concerned. God knows how to handle preschool teachers. That day He used four year old Madison.

Madison and I are a lot alike. We love to sing songs and worship. We love Jesus, but people? Um, we sometimes have trouble there.

That morning Madison said some unkind words on the playground and the teacher brought her in for a classroom time out.

                                                                               Photo courtesy: Luis Argerich from Buenos Aires

 “I don’t have time for this,” I muttered. I was busy with end-of -day responsibilities: filling backpacks, cleaning tables, and sweeping floors. Parents come at 12:30, ready or not.

After Madison sat for a few minutes, I knelt beside her.

“Madison,” I said, “remember the last time you were unkind to your friends? We prayed that God would help you. No one can be good without God. While you are in time out, talk to Him.”

I hurried to get the lunch tables set for the hungry afterschool crowd. I expected Madison to sit silently, but instead she clapped her small hands together and said aloud, “God, keep my heart pumpin’. I have lots of love and I need to give it to everybody.”

                                “So sweet,” I thought.

That still small voice said, “You could pray that prayer today too.” I stopped. I exhaled slowly. I clapped my hands together and repeated her words. “God, keep my heart pumpin'. I have lots of love and I need to give it to everybody.” My irritation subsided. Those exasperating people looked different to me. Maybe I could love again, without the distance.

“Love perseveres.” Simple statement. Tough assignment. The Father knows we can only do it with His help, one instance at a time, one person at a time.

I’ve made Madison’s prayer my own. You can too. Pause now and ask God to help you persevere in love. Only He can keep our hearts pumping out the love this world desperately needs.

Sondra Dron loves teaching, learning and laughing. That’s why she has taught Sunday School forever.  She believes that kids are God’s best teachers and His richest source of laughter. She recently retired from a Christian school and is now seeking publication of an early chapter book. Her current project is a devotional for boys. She's a Virginia native who moved to Wilmington 34 years ago (which makes her "a local.") She's an an active member of Word Weavers and lives with her husband David.

Loving the Lost

The blog themes for this month are: February and Love. We hope you enjoy these posts!

                                                         

Written by: Erika Rizkallah

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

As a former wedding planner, the words in this verse aren't new to me. In fact, in almost every wedding I've done, these words were embraced as an ideal for marriage. You may or may not know that this scripture has nothing to do with marriage. But it doesn't seem to make a difference to most people. Regardless of how we use the scripture, it remains a timeless truth. 

                                   Love IS patient.

                                          Love IS kind.

Our focus is usually placed on those two words, because after all, we need patience and kindness when we're trying to love one another. 

I'm the mother of two teenage girls and one tween boy - who thinks he's 20. Amidst the trials and suffering of raising teenagers in this world, I hang (sometimes by my fingertips) on the strength of these encouraging words. 

                                      Especially the part about not being easily angered.   

If you've spent any time around this hormonally challenged people group, you know that envy, boasting, rudeness, self-seeking and score keeping is part of the game. Even the spiritually strong can get swept up in it and carried away. So far, one of my children has been carried away. 

She gave up on God years ago and lives in a world of her own truth. I've never been so challenged in my faith and trust in God as I am now. I use the baptism pictures in this frame to remind me daily of his love and truth. But then...

        I have to trust Him to bring my daughter back in His way and His timing. 

             I have to model the grace of the Lord Jesus in the way I handle His lost sheep. 

                    I have to remember that once, I too, was lost and walking in darkness. 

Loving in this way also reminds me that as I love my children equally, ultimately I'm loving myself. I'm loving my "younger self" - that girl who once so desperately sought love and truth and was found by a perfect Savior at the perfect time.

Sovereign Lord: As your children, help us remember what it feels like to be found by you. Let your joy and grace permeate every bit of our being as we seek to live with others in love. Amen.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...             1 Cor 13:7-8