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I LOVE YOU… I REALLY DO

Hey friends, how are you doing today? How was your weekend? Did you do anything for you, to refresh your mind, body and soul? Someone once said we need to love ourselves and although most of us have no problem in that area, there are a few people who do not even like themselves. I have found that most people who do not know their worth are also those who do not value others.  Of course, the same can be said about those of us who value ourselves way too highly. Phil 2 3 copyFinding that perfect balance (oh, that dreaded word) of love for ourselves and love for others is quite elusive without Christ after all God is love. People’s thoughts about us will matter too much or too little, if Christ isn’t Lord of our lives.  The world advices us to love and seek the betterment of ourselves usually at the cost of relationships with people. That’s not God’s way.  With the Lord’s help, we are able to love ourselves and love others; it does not have to be one or the other.Eph 4 32 I will realize my value because I am made in the image of the Almighty God (Genesis 1:26). I am valuable simply because I was created in the image of God. My value, my worth has nothing to do with my family, society or possessions. My value; my identity does not depend on my knowledge, my intelligence, my skills, or lack of it.  My worth is not based on anything intrinsic nor extrinsic. My value is stemmed from the fact that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the Hand of the Creator God (Psalm 139:14). PS 139 16Without that knowledge and belief, my worth will be found in the wrong things in life, like clothes and shoes or our kids or even in what others think about me or even what I think about myself.  From my very existence, the Lord God found me valuable. WOW!  Can you imagine that?  Before the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the All-Powerful God found me to be someone of worth. I Jn 4 10I did not become someone of value because I accepted Christ as my my Savior. God sent His Son to be the Propitiation for my sin because He gave His Creation worth and value. (John 3:16). Without Christ, I am no better than anyone else.  Jesus Christ became our Salvation not to make us valuable, but because we are already valuable; we are created in His image. We are all people of worth to a Loving, Caring Savior. He died for you and wants to prepare a place for you. You are special, not because of anything you did or did not do, but because the Lord, God of the Universe made you in His image.  You are special, do you know that? Do you believe that?  How are you living out that belief?Rom 5 8Our relationship with others determines many of our beliefs.  There was a time when I use to say, I don’t like people much.  I have found that most people are untrustworthy, and many do not keep their word.  I have found that many times, people do not live up to my expectations of them.  Is that true for you too?  BUT GOD LOVES PEOPLE!!! And because He loves them, then so must I.rom 715I have also found that I am like most people; I just desire that my reason; my excuse be found more worthy.  I have to remind myself constantly when people disappoint me, that sin is against God and I am just like them; no better, save for Christ alone.  As a matter of fact, I too disappoint people and my God constantly.  I should be different because Christ is my Savior; I need to raise the bar for me, I know better.  In order to love others, who are created in the image of the almighty God; those He gave value to, at their conception, I need to see them through His eyes.  I guess I need to remember that there is a heaven and a hell.  I guess I need to remember that by my actions, I tell them that God is love or maybe I tell them God isn’t love. I Jn 4 10Well… how was your weekend? Did you demonstrate God’s love to anyone?

closing1brenda

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43 responses to “I LOVE YOU… I REALLY DO”

      • I’m good!! I got really behind on reading my favorite bloggers blogs (you’re one of them😉)…I started getting some new followers so I followed them back and honestly my email inbox began to flood so I had to change some things around on my notifications…I have yours set so that I receive immediate emails after each of your posts but many others I had to change to weekly…so many people post beautiful God inspiring thoughts but I just can’t read them all so I had to organize so now I’m catching up on my fav bloggers❤️

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      • I can see how you’d get overwhelmed, you have so many following, reading, and responding! I’m on a much smaller level and I get overwhelmed..I took about a half hour last night and went through all of those that I’m following and the ones I truly benefit from I have it set up to immediately receive an email when they post new content…everyone else I’ll receive one email weekly and I’m assuming it emails out that persons most popular post of the week or their latest one 🙂

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  2. Brenda, I’m never disappointed when I stop by! I always take something away. “My value is stemmed from the fact that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the Hand of the Creator God (Psalm 139:14).” This resonated with me because it took me SO LONG to learn this. I didn’t realize my value until 2018. All those years before, I thought it was caught up in where I worked, what I did for a living, where I lived, how much money I made. When I meet people now, I don’t ask where they work or what they do. In fact, I used to know what all my friends did for a living when I had a large circle. Now I’ve condensed it as I realized my worth, and I don’t know what most of the few I am close to do! I don’t want to promote the idea that their worth or my belief in them is caught up in what they do or anything else physical.

    Once again, a wonderfully written article that touched my heart! ~Shell

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    • amen! I think, as a society, we fail ourselves and others, especially kids, when we make anything, but who they really are, their identity. Thank God we serve the God Who cares enough to change our thinking May the Lord bless you 🙂

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  3. I struggle with perfectionism. In the past few years I’ve started to realize how much this mindset interferes with my relationship with the Lord. God values me because I am His creation, not because of how I do things or don’t do things. This is freeing. It frees me to love myself in the way I should and to love others in the way I should. Thanks for bringing this out again.

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  4. This is both convicting and comforting to me. I have had a very rough time spiritually and emotionally. I recently have felt like I was about to reach the breaking point, but then God showed me posts and words of encouragement like yours, and assured me that He doesn’t hate me because He allowed me to experience some trials, but that He is using them to show me His love and His presence and grace in my life. That understanding and your blog post have helped encourage me not to give up the fight.

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  6. I love my little sister in Jesus 🙂 I appreciate your blog and ministry.
    It is not always easy to love others, so I need God’s help to do at times. When it is difficult, I try to remember how God loved me unconditionally.

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  7. Thank you for sharing God’s love with us, and for demonstrating it to us very clearly. Beautiful! I feel blessed.
    I had to tilt my screen carefully to see a couple of those family pictures behind your verses. Lovely.

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  11. I agree on many fronts but I am going to be the protagonist here and say what I said in my sermon last Sunday. I stood before a congregation of wonderful people and said,

    “When people say, Rev. Radford, I love you, my inner and unspoken response is often, ‘Really? When did you do that? I know specifically when Jesus did it, and I know what He did, but I do wonder when this proclaimer loved or loves me, and what specifically did they do.’ And how can I lead them into understanding how easy it is to say it, but more challenging to do it when it is needed?”

    Frankly, some of the proclaimers, at least, in my personal experience, has done everything but be loving.

    Of course, we are still responsible to maintain our love for one another. In fact, I believe that one of the greatest acts of love has to be forgiveness. God bless.

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    • 😁😁 I honestly like that comment. I have found that most people do not understand love and that goes for most Christians too. Which is somewhat disappointing, because we have been called to love others as Christ loves us. Most times we choose to love on our terms. Everything we have been called to do, we have been given the ability to, by God. We can love others unconditionally, but it takes walking consciously and continuously with the Lord

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      • Hopefully, when I get time, I will expand on the reasons I was thinking this way. A company recently unfairly inconvenienced me and the frontline person on the telephone said, “I apologize for that, etc., etc.”. So, customer service people are trained to say, “I’m sorry”, and that apology is suppose to settle the inconvenience issue, but it does not settle if company’s and\or individuals continue to unfairly treat people and patch it with an apology. Evidence of true contrition is change. In other words, “repentance.”. Getting back to the love and forgiveness link, it is easier to say thing than to actually do it. That represents my half-hearted attempt at expanding on the message. Bring me back to when people say Rev Radford we love you, I want to say, “My Lord! Help. LOL! Just want to do my part in taking deeper in to God and His will for us, and certainly dont want to come off as judgemental because that is not in my heart.

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  12. My weekend was okay, just getting over the flu. I’m actually going to be displaying a little love to some “new” bloggers this upcoming Thursday…your points mentioned in your post is sort of what I wrote about – it’s all about love and giving back. When I seen your title I was like, Okay – confirmation. When it comes to people I used to want to feed some with a long handled spoon, but if we really have the love of Christ on the inside and are supposed to display his amazing “LOVE” then we have to show them love as well, even if we don’t want too because God judges our hearts in which is driven by our motives. Love your posts Sis and your amazing Love for God.

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  14. Agree outside of God I have no trust for other people! Praise God he gives me the heart to continually pray to see others with His heart! And then He fills me up with compassion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts beloved!

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  15. Learning to love more is something that has been drawing my attention more and more lately. To strive to love in my actions because God commanded us to, and knowing that my flesh is more antagonistic to that reality than we realize at times.

    Good stuff.

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  16. Yes! ‘But God loves people’ sums up why we need to love and forgive ❤ Love God, Love yourself and love people. I believe it has to go in that order. Thanks for sharing. I love you too.

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