How To Reciprocate

Love makes us take action. We are motivated to work harder by love. We wake up every morning and see the our loved one next to us. We see our children eating breakfast and we are motivated to provide for them. 

This mystery is easy to solve. We love because we are first loved. People who don't love have been lied to and manipulated into believing there is no love and that no one indeed loves them. 

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

How do you love God more? Let Him love you more first!
How do you give more to God? Let Him give more to you!

Jesus was pretty blatant when he said, "I came not to be served but to serve." And Paul later wrote, "at just the right time, Jesus died for the ungodly." He died for those who are seemingly far away. Yet many do not know that love is actually for them. It's sad.

Don't fall into the trap of believing that God will only love you if you can do something for Him. He loved your before you could do anything for yourself. The only reason He wants your love is to see that you are getting His love. 

Dreams Are Complicated

It is amazing how detailed our dreams can be while we sleep. Sometimes I will be dreaming and in my dream I am trying to accomplish something. I can feel frustration in my dream that I can not produce the actions that I am seeking to do. It's so weird because it is my dream! It is in my head and yet whatever I seek to do cannot be done.

You know what I am talking about. You have experienced the first person dream where you just can't seem to reach the top of those stairs. It is frustrating!

Along side of that, we have dreams that have perfectly detailed events and faces. We remember them vividly because they are clear in our minds. There are so many details in them and they often reflect portions of what we perceive to be reality. 

What bothers me is that the dreams of our sleep reflect the dreams and intent of our hearts. They reflect them in the sense that their structures are the same. We have things we want to accomplish but no matter what we try, we cannot. Then there are the dreams that we see as big picture, but in reality, they require a lot of details and step by step processes that we cannot see or don't even realize exist. 

To break it down: 

• We get stuck when we continue to fail even though we know what we want/need to do.
• We get stuck when we know what we want/need to accomplish but don't know the steps. 

I know that these are very basic ideas but there is a reason we know them. They are true. 

There is a reason why Jesus is painted as "The Good Shepherd". Like sheep, we have all gone astray. This means we have gone astray in everyday possible. A shepherd guides his sheep to to where they need to go. Basic stuff... I know.

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."

Proverbs 13:3

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:5

And finally,

"But we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:16

Living in frustration will slowly kill your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness.  Frustration is an enemy to all of these things and is not included in anything that God gives to you. (Proverbs 10:22)

It's time to realize the power of your heart. It has the ability to believe that Jesus is your savior and source of grace. This promises eternal life. What a responsibility for your heart to have! If it can do that, what else can it do? Nothing in life is as important!

The dreams in your heart can be accomplished by letting wisdom invade it. Be confident in what Jesus can do for you.