In Need Of... A Love that's stronger than life.

I was reading Romans and this verse caught my attention.... Romans 8:38-39 - "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (KJV)"

Those are some powerful and potent things: life, death, power, angels..... But think.... the Love of God is bigger than any of those things! God will still be here and loving me through all my life, and death is no match for His awesome Love. They can't stop Him.

That passage reminds me of a psalm........
Psalm 139:7-11-
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

I'd suggest reading that whole chapter.... It's amazing the things that God has done and the way He Loves us... It's hard to remember all the things He's done..... That chapter only enumerates a few..... But just look around yourself at all you have and seeeeee that God Loves you! Even when some things aren't going right.... Even when you can't afford to buy groceries for a month.... God provides, He won't stop loving you. No powers, not life, not death can keep Him from loving you.

No matter what i do, or where i go, like the psalm says, He won't leave me. He won't stop loving me............
Nothing can separate me from God and His great love.... not even ME.

In Need Of... Brilliance.

Brilliance:
1. The state or quality of being brilliant, as:
a. Extreme brightness.
b. Exceptional clarity and agility of intellect or invention.
2. Splendor; magnificence.
3. Music. Sharpness and clarity of tone.

(Yeah.. i love definitions, especially when it's a word everyone knows ;o)

Think of something u think is brilliant.... A diamond? A river when the sun hits it just right?..... U tell me :o)

When i think of something brilliant, i think of stars :o)

Have you ever looked outside in the middle of the night? Or when the sun is setting, or rising? Some of those stars are seriously brilliant! And really twinkly! I feel sorry for people who live in the city and never get to see them!

In Revelation 22:16, Jesus calls Himself "the Bright and Morning Star." Jesus says in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

And we know that as Christians, we are called to be like Christ. We are called to be lights, too

Matthew 5:14-16 says You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

I Thessalonians 5:5 - You are all sons of light...

Ephesians 5:8 - For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light...

While Jesus is within me, I am supposed to shine like Him. I am supposed to emit the same light He did and still does.

It's like that song by DC Talk (a little old/outdated, but you probly know of it) "I wanna be in the light as You are in the light/ I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens..."

Or... a little older.....

I John 1:5-7 - This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

That's enough to make a person brilliant :o)