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Posts Tagged: love

Sometimes it Doesn’t Matter That We are Walking on Water, We See the Wind and Sink

Posted October 1, 2015 | Karisa Moore

1 John 4:18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19We love, because He first loved us.â€¦

Sometimes it doesn’t matter that we are walking on water towards Jesus–we see the windÂ and sink. Fear is a constant threat in my world. My oldest son potentially had an undiagnosed metabolic disorder that may have contributed to his mental state; his brother, shows some of the same symptoms. Tuesday night he woke up screaming in pain.Â Since, I have felt fear pressing in, leaning into my thoughts, promising me more loss, more heart ache, more sorrow. Fear is the opposite of love. When IÂ fear losing my family, I am not loving them.

As fear consumesÂ love it becomes easier to lash out, let our thoughts run us, and to lose sight of God! Fear was the very first reaction to God in the garden by Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:10 And he said, â€œI heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.â€ Peter sunk while walking on water because he saw the wind and was afraid, heÂ took his eyes off Jesus. (Matthew 14:30) We forget that God loves us from head to toe. Last night my entire family was exploding at each other. The fear was becoming more concrete, andÂ love more abstract.

I don’t remember consciously crying out to God, but I must have, because in an instant the fear was gone. I don’t know how else to describe that moment. One second I was raging because I felt so helpless to fix what’s wrong for my son, and the next I wasn’t. I was overwhelmed byÂ love and peace flowing from the inside out and I was equipped to spread that peace to the rest of my family.

The circumstances haven’t changed! My son still potentially has a deadly illness and my daughter and husband most certainly do, but I am not afraid. God will find a way through these circumstances, and I will follow that path. I love the line from the movie Scorpion King,, as Jesup faces certain death he tells his brother Mathayus to “Live Well,” and his brother responds, “Die free.” God wants us to live well and die free. We cannot do that if we are afraid, we negate the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and allow fear to rule our actions. Â In Romans 8, Paul describes our bondage before Christ, as being a “slave to fear”. Perfect love casts out all fear! How do we love perfectly?

Dwell on the fact that God loves you right where you are, and that he came forÂ us while we were nailing him to the cross.Â Like Monty Python’s Black Knight we can say concerning all circumstances–including death, “Tis but a scratch!” But, unlike Monty Python, its no joke.

Nitty Gritty Love

Posted July 25, 2015 | Karisa Moore

We need

Love that sweats, pours

Out humility, serves

Like itâ€™s goinâ€™ out of style.

Love that callouses,

But isnâ€™t calloused, that

Has dirt under the nails, while everyone else

washes their hands

Of you. Love that endures the scars of loss,

Hangs on in darkness, when others hang loose

in light times.

Love that climbs into pits, pulls

us from flames and washes our wounds.

Nitty gritty love that removes royal robes to know

the dust of our humanity!

Swimming in Belief

Posted May 30, 2015 | Karisa Moore

BodyÂ bolstered by belief,

and honed by instruction

motors towards the finish line.

Joy, baptizingÂ those in your wake.

Arms outstretched to receive

the prize.

Embraced by love,

Until you wiggle free,

ready to face your expanded distance.

My Birthday Wish

Posted May 24, 2015 | Karisa Moore

Tally marks flickering in the darkness

Waiting for my wish . . .

For regrets to be extinguished and

joy to sing once more.

For sweet icing to be a delightful treat,

not a heavy poison of despair.

To surprise people with my flavor–

Strawberries snuck between living layers,

Moist with love, faith, and hope.

Giving fresh perspective to a new year

Of breathing in and out, a daily presentÂ opened faithfully.

Perfect Loves Sweeps Out Fear

Posted April 26, 2015 | Karisa Moore

Perfectly loved, unafraid because

You make yourself

comfortable in my heart.

Wallpapering my soul

with scripture,

flinging open windowsÂ andÂ locked doors

to the sunshine of your joy.

Removing stumbling

blocks

Removing doubt that clutters.

Lifting my face

to gaze into your

unblemished love.

Choosing

me.

AdoptingÂ me.

You are my mirror

Reflecting truth

I refused to see,

Showing me my heart

the way you see it, strengthening

my love to laugh again.

Love: The Hand Scarred For Me

Posted April 25, 2015 | Karisa Moore

You woke me from the terror of my nightmares,

said I was worth your time, your pain, your cross.

You didn’t shy away from my stains

From the sorrow I could not repay.

You awoke my desire

A fire for something

beyond self

beyond limit

beyond fear

you lit

path

until I

became You.

Holding out my scarred hands

Lightening another soul’s nightmare.

Love is a State of Being Not a State of Doing

Posted April 4, 2015 | Karisa Moore

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4.Â ____________is patient and kind;Â ___________ does not envy or boast;Â __________ is not arrogant 5or rude.Â __________ does not insist on its own way;Â ___________ is not irritable or resentful;^b 6Â ___________does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7___________ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8___________ never fails.

Put your name in the blank.

1 Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter and is often quoted at weddings. But, what would happen if we put our name in the place of love? After all God is love. (1 John 4:8) How would it change us if we could say that love is not something that we do, but our state of being. Our very DNA is made of love!

There seems to be a clear shift in the disciples because they experienced first hand the love of God, through Jesus Christ.Â My first experience with God, he opened my eyes toÂ his love forÂ me.Â I could now see it in creation, in those around me, in scripture, in worship.Â The reason why scripture speaks ofÂ putting on our new selves is that love changes us, how we interact with the world, how we see ourselves and others.Â When someone lovesÂ at this level it is head turning!

So much ofÂ how we love is based upon what we do, not who we are.

Do you do romantic things for your spouse?

Do you speak kind words?

Do you provide encouragement for others?

Do you serve others?

Do you give to the poor?

Do you share your faith?

Paul is challenging the believer to stop doing, and start being love! Putting my name in the place where love is causes me to stop striving and start abiding in the love of Christ. Love does not just go out it is always comingÂ in through our relationship with Jesus. Only then can we be love, rather then a to do list.

Depression, my Jericho Wall: How do I defeat my enemy?

Posted March 11, 2015 | Karisa Moore

Joshua 5:13Â When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, â€œAre you for us, or for our adversaries?â€ 14And he said, â€œNo; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.â€ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, â€œWhat does my lord say to his servant?â€ 15And the commander of the Lordâ€™s army said to Joshua, â€œTake off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.â€ And Joshua did so.

The wall! I expect it these days, so I don’t go running into it full force,but sometimes it looms so largeÂ I can’t breathe. I don’t know what caused this wall of depression, maybe starting another round of insomnia,my kids grief, or my own. It is so real I can see it and touch it. I can’t go further, and I refuse to go backwards, so what are my options?

My option is to cry out to my heavenly father! I cannot move, climb over, or go aroundÂ this wall, but he can.Â In collegeÂ I was reading about Joshua in my Navigator Bible; the caption spoke about the ruins of Jericho. The way theÂ stones areÂ positioned it is clear that theÂ walls fell outward, not inward. A mighty force pushed from the inside!

I need a mighty force knocking down the wall of depressionÂ from the inside. If we are in Christ we have a mighty warrior on the inside–the Holy Spirit!

Acts 2:1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^a as the Spirit enabled them.

Much of what has transpired since the death of my son has been through the Comforter (another name for the Holy Spirit). I thank you father for what you have done, what you are doing, and what you will do. Direct my path so that I may be a living witness to your power and strength over depression. This is my Jericho wall!Â You are a force to be reckoned with and no wall can stand against you.Â Â Maybe you have allowed this wall in my life to show others that nothing is too big for you! Not our doubts, not our fears, not our enemies, not depression–nothing can separate us from your love! Thank you for giving me your peace, that makes absolutely no sense in these circumstances. Teach me to abide in your will no matter where you lead me. Amen!

I Don’t Need Fifty Shades Of Grey: Just Give Me One-Of-A-Kind Black And White Love

Posted February 14, 2015 | Karisa Moore

IÂ haveÂ had enough shades of grey in my life, it has left me lost, confused, afraid, and depressed. Seems to me that our world keeps trying to sell us cheap grey imitations of love when what we crave is black and white love! I have only found that kind of crisp,Â clear love in one place–the arms of my heavenly father. It may have involved a cross, but that was his choice for me, and again added depth and dimension to my life thatÂ is like nothingÂ I have ever feltÂ before. Agape love is unconditional, and itÂ is something I can count on for a lifetime!Â Jesus’ love enables me to reach beyond my grief, to hold you, encourage you, and to keep writing my story no matter what. God’s love isÂ not stored in a “room” for only a select few, but is sewn into the very fabric of creation. Look around you, it isn’t hidden!

Are you craving some black and white love? Check these verses out:

1 Corinthians 13

1If I speak in the tongues^a of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^b but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Romans 8

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^k neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 1

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to
do with punishment.

Romans 5

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Jonah 2

8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.

Psalm 52

8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.

Getting Ready Completely: Putting on our spiritual wardrobe

Posted January 26, 2015 | Karisa Moore

‘You have me ready, completely.” Natalie declared, as I put her hat on her head; completing her winter assemble.

Her statement struck me as I drove them to school. Do I have my children ready completely? Do I dress them spiritually with all they need to fight the enemy? And what do I clothe them in?

…

Colossians 3:12-15 gives me some clues:
12 Put on then, as Godâ€™s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Looks like a long list, but Paul boils it down to love, which binds all of the others together in perfect harmony. You might call love our tuning fork. I realize that right now my love is out of tune with Christ because Jonathan’s death dominates my thinking, my body, and my spirit. So as I lean in to Christ’s character, my his love bring me into tune.

I completed our journey to school with prayer for the teachers, my kids, husband, and myself, and felt an ever so slight shift in my spiritual wardrobe for today. May your day dressed in the splendor of God’s love so that you are complete.

Posts Tagged: love

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