Our little dog, Dockers, passed away four years ago. She was seventeen years old, and we had watched her age with a sadness tinged with awe. She was nearly blind, almost deaf, and even her keen sense of smell had faded, but her love and loyalty to me and Sherry were as strong and unwavering as ever. Read the rest of this entry »
And it is, after all, a fine line we tread;we’re told we must love ourselves before anyone else will, but we too often get carried away with the concept of loving ourselves first. We try to love others by doing things for them, but, too often, we only do those things if we’re not inconvenienced, or the things we do benefit us as well. And, even then, we sometimes do things for others begrudgingly.
I wonder… how we’d feel if God loved us the way we love others? Read the rest of this entry »
The Bible often seems repetitive. Every story, every parable, every psalm seems to say the same thing, only different; God loves us unconditionally.
We will never be perfect, but we will be what God intends for us to be, and we are part of His plan. If we just love Him and receive all His wonderful spiritual gifts, we will be made into His image, and He will use us to do His will.
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:22-24
There are galaxies full of stars and unknown things so far out in space we may never see them, even with all the technology we command. Space is beyond measure and infinite, but compared to God’s love, you could put it all on the head of a pin.
We could put our heads together, comparing God’s love to things we know, and we wouldn’t be able to find even one thing we could use to measure the extent of God’s love for us… not one.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9
I’ve sung the blues and it wasn’t much fun, and I don’t intend to spend the rest of my time here on earth being sad.
We’re going to spend eternity with God, so in the meantime—while we’re in this crazy world—let’s be glad and sing happy songs.
No, sir! Goodtime Charlie does NOT have the blues!
May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. Psalm 67:4
The phrase, “It’s always darkest before the dawn,” has always fascinated me. Being an early riser, I’ve seen many sunrises, and it’s always an awesome sight that fills me with hope and causes me to be excited about what lies ahead. Read the rest of this entry »
Many times, we have difficulty following God and becoming who He intends for us to be because we think we have to do things to impress Him. I’m convinced all God wants us to do is love Him, and when we love Him it opens our hearts so He’s able to fill us with His love and we can accomplish our part of His plan.
Many of you are probably shaking your heads and saying, “It’s just not that simple”. I think it is. I believe we can be so full of love for God we won’t be able to get enough of Him. With each passing day, we will seek more, trust more, and do more for God. Not because we choose to, but because the love of God within us, given to us when we received His grace, causes us to.
Through him and for his names sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. Romans 1:5
Many of us will never have to fight in wars, but we will be challenged with the everyday battles of life. Thankfully, when we love God, put our total trust in Him, and do the best we can each day, we will be victorious. We may not win every battle, but the war is already won.
Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous.” Joshua 10:25
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Marbles In My Pocket ~ The Official Blog of Charles L. Mashburn ~ Poems, Short Stories, and random thoughts from the author of "Be Still... and know that I am God" 