…God-so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us… Ephesians 2:4 (Amplified)

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son… John 3:16 (Amplified)

But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us. Romans 5:8 (Amplified)

Amazed by His love in me.

…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Romans 5:5 (KJV)

And I have revealed you to them and will keep on revealing you. I will do this so that your love for me may be in them and I in them. John 17:26 (NLT)

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16 (KJV)

Amazed by His love through me.

Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others]. 1 Peter 4:8 (Amplified)

Love is patient, love is 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… love will last forever.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NLT)

…Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you… Matthew 5:44 (KJV)

I am amazed by His love for me. I am amazed by His love in me. I am amazed by His love through me. My prayer is that as others interact with me, that they too may experience His love and be amazed by His love for them.

Jesus replied… Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father… John 14:9 (Amplified)

I’d like to continue where I left off yesterday. I shared yesterday that the Holy Spirit led us to pray for our “enemies”. Today I’d like to share one thing in particular that He had us pray.

Now may the God of peace… Strengthen (complete, perfect) and make you what you ought to be and equip you with everything good that you may carry out His will; [while He Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ…Amen. Hebrews 13:20,21 (Amplified)

My husband and I have been married for 20 years. We have a very good marriage, thank You God, however, it has not been without its ‘moments’. In those moments I would go to God in prayer and instead of praying for God to change my husband in some way, I would pray for God to make me what I ought to be as a wife. I prayed this way, because the Holy Spirit led me to pray this way. This is a prayer from a place of love and not selfishness. He always leads us to pray in love. Faith works by love (Galatians 5:6).

So the other day as my friend and I prayed for this nation by praying for our “enemies” this is how we prayed. Make us what we ought to be to those who hate us.

As we continued in our prayer we prayed, Father, Make us what we ought to be to this nation. Make us what we ought to be in our own homes.

We prayed that God would make us, not just my friend and I, but us the church, the Body of Christ, what we ought to be to this world that is in need of the Savior.

Make us what we ought to be.

You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:13,14,16 (KJV)

How do you pray for such things?

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)

…the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will. Romans 8:27 (Amplified)

We sat and followed the leading of God’s Holy Spirit in our hearts. And where did He lead us? We found ourselves earnestly praying for our “enemies”. We prayed for the souls of those who don’t know Him as love and are doing everything to tear this nation apart and bring her down.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Matthew 5:44 (KJV)

…God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6 (NKJV)

It takes humility to pray for your enemies and to admit before God your own shortcomings. But if we humble ourselves and pray… He will heal our land.

Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with other people as He is with you. ~ Oswald Chambers

I begin today’s post with this quote to make it very clear that I will share what God has done with me, what He is doing in my heart. Your experience may be very different than mine. His leading in your life may take you in an entirely different direction than He has taken me.

I worked in the healing ministry of my previous church for 14 years. Many considered me to be “in the ministry”. I worked like someone in the ministry. I’m not saying that with any pride or any regret. It was a wonderful time in my life. Then God called me away from all that.

As I stepped from that season of my life into the next, many said that they were eager to see what God would do with my ministry now.

For quite some time I rested as He had instructed me to. Yet constantly watching for His next instruction for the ministry He had for me.

Weeks turned into months. Months turned into a year. Still more months went by. I finally asked God what He wanted me to do. His response, “What is in your heart to do? Follow your heart.”

I was surprised by this. Could I really trust my heart? His response to this unspoken question, “Your heart is Mine. Your heart is turned towards Me. Follow what is in your heart to do.”

I discussed with Him what was in my heart. I was surprised when I said to Him, “I don’t want to be ‘in the ministry’. I just want to love people wherever I go. Whatever that looks like.”

Loving people might look like praying for someone in need of healing. It might look like counseling a friend in the midst of a trial. It might look like eating a meal and fellowshipping with friends. It might look like fixing my husband’s favorite meal or picking up his clothes from the drycleaners. It might look like sharing Jesus with someone who doesn’t know Him.

Loving people might look like spending time in prayer, in intercession, for someone I know or maybe interceding for someone I don’t know. It can look like any act of love.

I sensed a smile cross His face as I shared my heart with Him.

I was reminded of Jesus’ ministry. Many times He appeared to just be walking along when His course was changed by the leading of compassion.

As Jesus walked through the streets of Jericho, with people all around Him, it says that He “stood still” when He heard the cry of blind Bartimaeus. He stopped. He turned and He healed this man crying out for mercy. He was led by the Spirit of God to demonstrate God’s love to this individual.

Come, follow me… and I will make you fishers of men. (Matthew 4:19, NIV)

…He leads me… (Psalm 23:2, Amplified)

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:14, Amplified)

I don’t know what the future holds for me. I do have an expectation of His continued goodness and grace in my life. Whether it looks like a ministry or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that it look like love.

I will follow where He leads and there I will love others as He has loved me. That is my ministry.

Be led. Selah.

To my parents I am a daughter. To my husband I am his wife. To some I am an intercessor. To some I am a minister of healing. To others I am a mentor. To many I am a friend. But who do I say I am? More importantly who do I think I am?

Is my identity in what I do for others? Is my identity in who I am to others? Is my identity in what I do for Him? No.

My identity is who I am to Him and who I am in Him.

My beloved is mine, and I am his… (Song of Solomon 2:16,KJV)

Who am I? I am His.

I pray over the people and situations that are on His heart. He always leads me to pray for people that are on my heart too, but at times I find myself praying for someone I never thought to pray for.

The other day a man’s name came up in my heart. I’ve never met this man. I couldn’t even bring to mind what he looks like. But I sensed God wanted someone to pray him.

He is a man who wields great influence. He is a man that opposes all that I cherish. He is a man that opposes God. He is a man that many believe is playing a great role in destroying the America, One Nation Under God, that we know and love. And God wanted me to pray for him.

I googled him. I wanted to see his face. When I saw him anger tried to rise up. Hate tried to rise up. It was fear trying to rise up. He is destroying what I love. But I looked at that man’s face and said, “I refuse to hate you. If I hate you I cannot help you and God wants to help you.”

I chose in my heart to forgive him. I chose in my heart to let God love him through me, then I prayed for him.

My prayers were not motivated by what his freedom and salvation would mean to me or to this country, but for his own sake. For God’s sake. Father God loves this man.

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. (John 3:16, Amplified)

For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. (John 3:17, Amplified)

For such [praying] is good and right, and [it is] pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior, Who wishes all men to be saved…(1 Timothy 2:3-4, Amplified)

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:44-45, KJV)

I desire therefore that in every place men should pray, without anger or quarreling or resentment or doubt [in their minds], lifting up holy hands. (1 Timothy 2:8, Amplified)

…You have loved back my life from the pit of corruption and nothingness, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back. (Isaiah 38:17, Amplified)

For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (Matthews 18:11, KJV)

Selah.

…You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood… (Revelation 5:9, NKJV)

…God is love. (1 John 4:8, KJV)

We were redeemed by His blood back to God Who is love. We were redeemed to love.

Jesus said… Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40, KJV)

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:34-35, KJV)

…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:5, KJV)

[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love… (Colossians 1:13, KJV)

He drew us back to Himself and filled us with His love. Now He asks us to demonstrate His love wherever we go. We were redeemed to love others as He has loved us. We have been redeemed to love. Selah.

…Our Father which art in heaven… (Luke 11:2, KJV)

I was thinking today about a time when some circumstances occurred in my family that led to strife and division. Some took one side. Others took another side. I was caught in the middle refusing to takes anyone’s side but God’s.

There seemed to be no common ground, no chance for coming back together. But this was my family and I wasn’t about to give them up so easily. I prayed for four and half years. Not to get God to do something He didn’t already want to do, but to make room for Him by continuing to agree with God and by refusing to agree with the devil.

What was the devil saying? He was flinging around accusations to try to divide and conquer. You see he knows that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25). And what stand is the enemy most concerned about, when a house stands in his way as he tries to steal, kill and destroy and when a house, God’s house, not just one church, not just one denomination, but God’s house, God’s family in unity takes a stand for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

…Our Father which art in heaven… (Luke 11:2, KJV)

Those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior are part of God’s family now. And we have an enemy who would like to divide and conquer. Let’s not give up our family so easily. Take a stand against the seeds of division and strife the enemy would try to sow and let’s take a stand together for Our Father’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

BEHOLD, HOW good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!… for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore (Psalm 133:1,3; KJV)

Being alone with Him. There are so many voices and so many distractions, but oh the beauty of getting away with God. The beauty of being alone with Him, sitting in His Presence and hearing His voice.

Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away… (Song of Solomon 2:13, Amplified)

Now Moses used to take [his own] tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting [of God with His own people]… And the Lord, spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Moses returned to the camp, but his minister Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the [temporary prayer] tent. (Exodus 33: 7,11; Amplified)

Being His own. There are so many things in our lives, so many people, and so many needs calling for our time and attention but remembering that first and foremost we are His. We’ve been bought with a price. He gave Himself wholly for us and to us. Oh, to respond by being wholly His.

…My beloved is mine and I am his… (Song of Solomon 2:16, Amplified)

Be with Him and be His and the rest will follow. Selah.

Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life… (Psalm 23:6, Amplified)

Because of Who He is, and Who He is to me, I expect to be pursued by only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love.

Because of Who He is, and Who He is in me, every where I go, I will leave in my wake His goodness, His mercy, and His unfailing love. They follow me.

That which I have freely received, I freely give.