Scripture: Jeremiah 31:1-14
Do you find love stories irresistible? I do! A good romance includes laughter, joy, heart ache, and of course, love. If you enjoy a good romance, then grab a cup of coffee or tea and keep reading. You’re in for a treat!
This story begins in the 1940’s, a time in our history when young men from across America left the comforts of home to serve in World War II. The prospect of leaving for war must have been terrifying, but one young man named Ken Jensen found comfort in receiving letters from his hometown in western Minnesota. When letters arrived from a certain young lady named Lillian, they were especially sweet!
As Ken and Lil’s letters traveled back and forth across the miles, an intimate friendship began. That friendship grew into love and Ken and Lil were married on July 19, 1946. Their love story continued as they raised five children together. Life wasn’t always easy, but their commitment to each other and love for God helped them navigate the joys and trials of life.
During a typical wedding ceremony, most people repeat the vows, “For better or worse, in sickness and in health, ‘till death do us part.” Most of us cannot imagine the “worse” part or the “sickness” part unless it becomes reality. Ken and Lil experienced both health and sickness. However, with God’s strength, even the adversity of illness could not diminish their love.
Lil suffered from memory loss during the later years of her life. Sometimes she would remember her children and Ken when they came to visit, but eventually her memory slipped farther and farther away. Even Lil’s fading memory couldn’t weaken Ken’s love for her. In the three years that Lil was in a memory care center, Ken visited her faithfully every day except three, and that was because he was too sick to leave the house.
He loved her with his whole heart until the day she died at age 86. I had the privilege of witnessing this love story since Ken and Lil are my grandpa and grandma. As I watched my grandpa lovingly care for his wife of 65 years until the day she met Jesus, a thought entered my mind, “Oh, to be loved like that.”
My next though was, “I am loved like that!” In Jeremiah 31:3, the LORD says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” The LORD loves us in a love story for the ages! As much as I witnessed a beautiful example of love between my grandpa and grandma, my Heavenly Father loves me even more than my earthly mind can imagine.
With our limited human minds, we think we know what love is. Our heart melts as we watch a romantic movie or experience the emotions earthly love can bring. But to be loved with an everlasting love? To think that God draws us with loving-kindness? It’s beyond what our minds can fathom. Now that’s a true love story!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us with an everlasting love. Thank you for showing us what true love is by sending Your son Jesus to earth as a sacrifice for our sins. Thank you for giving us our very own love story.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
From Pagers to Siri
Scripture: 1 Chronicles 14:8-17
It’s crazy to think about how our methods of communication have changed over the years. This will probably date me a little, but when I got my first job out of college, I was given a pager. Yes, a pager! I thought I was so cool! Sometimes I’d have to go out of the office for work, and the pager made it possible for work to reach me if necessary.
My job was to help film video programs about environmental resources, so when I was paged, I was usually in the middle of a forest or wetland. As you can guess, finding a telephone to call back to work usually took awhile. However, the pager was my method of communication at that time in my life.
A few years ago I got my own cell phone – talk about moving up in the world! The direct and immediate communication the cell phone provided was amazing. When we got unlimited texting, I was amazed at how I could text people a message and usually get an instantaneous response.
Now there’s something called “Siri” on iPhone 4S. If you ask Siri something, Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back. You can ask Siri, “Where can I find a good cheeseburger,” and Siri will list off the restaurants in your area that serve cheeseburgers.
Sometimes we forget we have our own Siri already in place. It’s called prayer. Any time of the day or night, we can call on God and He will answer us. (No cell phone service required!) Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” While Siri is one of the latest and greatest wonders in modern communication, God has had and always will have the corner on the communication market!
In the Old Testament, David and God often had personal conversations. Think about that for a minute! I’m talking about personal communication with the living God! Here’s one example of their dialogue in 1 Chronicles 14:8-17:
David asked God, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”
The LORD replied, “Yes, go ahead, I will hand them over to you.”
David asked God for direction and God answered him. Now that’s better than any pager, text message, or Siri. If man-made Siri can listen and understand you, how much more can the God who created you listen and understand you when you call on Him?
Prayer: God, You created me and You know me better than any person or phone ever could. I want to keep the lines of communication open between us. I promise to go to You for advice and I believe that You will listen to me and answer my prayers. Thank you for caring about me and loving me enough to provide a way for me to talk to You.
It’s crazy to think about how our methods of communication have changed over the years. This will probably date me a little, but when I got my first job out of college, I was given a pager. Yes, a pager! I thought I was so cool! Sometimes I’d have to go out of the office for work, and the pager made it possible for work to reach me if necessary.
My job was to help film video programs about environmental resources, so when I was paged, I was usually in the middle of a forest or wetland. As you can guess, finding a telephone to call back to work usually took awhile. However, the pager was my method of communication at that time in my life.
A few years ago I got my own cell phone – talk about moving up in the world! The direct and immediate communication the cell phone provided was amazing. When we got unlimited texting, I was amazed at how I could text people a message and usually get an instantaneous response.
Now there’s something called “Siri” on iPhone 4S. If you ask Siri something, Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back. You can ask Siri, “Where can I find a good cheeseburger,” and Siri will list off the restaurants in your area that serve cheeseburgers.
Sometimes we forget we have our own Siri already in place. It’s called prayer. Any time of the day or night, we can call on God and He will answer us. (No cell phone service required!) Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” While Siri is one of the latest and greatest wonders in modern communication, God has had and always will have the corner on the communication market!
In the Old Testament, David and God often had personal conversations. Think about that for a minute! I’m talking about personal communication with the living God! Here’s one example of their dialogue in 1 Chronicles 14:8-17:
David asked God, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?”
The LORD replied, “Yes, go ahead, I will hand them over to you.”
David asked God for direction and God answered him. Now that’s better than any pager, text message, or Siri. If man-made Siri can listen and understand you, how much more can the God who created you listen and understand you when you call on Him?
Prayer: God, You created me and You know me better than any person or phone ever could. I want to keep the lines of communication open between us. I promise to go to You for advice and I believe that You will listen to me and answer my prayers. Thank you for caring about me and loving me enough to provide a way for me to talk to You.
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