loving others
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Prayer: A Language of Love
I find, the more I pray for someone, the more I love them. Prayer is undoubtedly a language of love. Perhaps that is why we are called to pray for our enemies. This challenged me today… Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes… “In prayer we go to our enemies, to stand at their side. We are with them,…
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God’s Light Within Us
“Although we carry the light of Christ within us, many of us fail to recognize the exciting spiritual impact we have on others. We become distracted by the little things in life, unaware of how God’s light within us challenges the darkness around us. Much of the time, we are focused only on those things…
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Those Who Mean The Most To Us
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us…
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What Is Perfect Love?
If we are more self-conscious than ever, with the ones we “love”, that is not love… but fear. Our ‘love’ is unmasked as a battle in manipulation and power – one person using another to make them feel good, even in a pecking order, or to simply chase away loneliness. True love is… safe,… forgiving……
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People and Sunsets
“If man really is fashioned, more than anything else, in the image of God, then clearly it follows that there is nothing on earth so near to God as a human being. The conclusion is inescapable, that to be in the presence of even the meanest, lowest, most repulsive specimen of humanity of the world…
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Are You Dull?
One becomes dull and apathetic when life is consumed with self comfort and entertainment. Step out. Reach out. Volunteering and service warms the heart and grows the person. Put others first without expecting anything in return. Surprise is awaiting…
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We Can’t Force a Person to Grow
Yesterday I meditated on some Henri Nouwen and came away with this… Just as we cannot force a plant to grow but can take away the weeds and stones which prevent its development, so we cannot force anyone to grow, but we can offer the space for such a change can take place. We can…
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Helping the Hurting
I’m realizing as we head home from a week vacation… My list of those who are ill, hurting, dying or who are walking loved ones through terminal illness seems to be growing. I’m reminded of when Jesus wept over Lazarus. When I get home and out of this can of (loving and adorable) sardines, first…
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In Your Quest for Self-Gratification, Do You Neglect Others?
In your quest for self-gratification, do you neglect others? “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” (Luke 10:27 The Message) And if you don’t love yourself, ask God to show you how He sees you. Understanding His great…
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Are Monsters Beyond Forgiving?
“If we say that monsters [people who do terrible evil] are beyond forgiving, we give them a power they should never have…they are given the power to keep their evil alive in the hearts of those who suffered most. We give them power to condemn their victims to live forever with the hurting memory of…
Following and Trusting : Encountering God Out of the Box 