Love

  Most people think of love as something that it isn't. Something that can be touched; something tangible. But love is a verb. For all of you people who absolutely hate grammar, I'll break it down for you. A verb is an action word. And that doesn't mean that you're supposed to do love, you're supposed to be love.
  I know all of you know the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Lately, during my Bible reading, I've been reading over these stories that so deeply portray these fruits.
  The first one, love, reminds me, of course, of Jesus. He loves us so much that He left paradise, left the one perfect place in the world, so that He could save us. I'm not sure many of us would leave a perfect world to help people, especially people who hate us.
  He lived his whole life ridiculed by children his age, mocked by the religious leaders when he grew. And when he was 33 years old, hundreds of people, people he gave up paradise for, demanded his death. And not just any death, but the agonizing death of a criminal. I'm not sure if any of you have felt much pain, but I'm sure you've all cried at some point when you've gotten hurt. At this point in his life, Jesus, though still God, wasn't immune to human emotion or feeling. He felt everything you feel. The thought of nails going through his hands made him cry and beg for mercy from his Father.
  But Jesus didn't just die a criminal's death. He deserved it. Now, before you get all offended and think, "Hold up, Jesus was perfect!", I'm not being disrespectful. Not in the least. Jesus took our sin. Took it away from us. We became spotless, covered in a clean white robe of forgiveness. The blackness of our depraved state was put on Jesus. Jesus not only took on all the sins of the world, he became those sins, as if he had committed them.
  When God looked at us, he saw nothing but black, dirty rags; completely worthless, and undeserving. But Jesus changed that. He took away the rags, and put them on himself, and gave us angel robes. When Jesus was dying on the cross, his Father could not even look at him, he was so vile.
  Many of us take for granted just how much Jesus gave, sacrificed, and loved. Have you ever taken the blame for something somebody else did? When Jesus died on the cross, he did just that. He stood before his Father and took the blame for our mess-ups, our failures.
  And still we shouted, "Crucify him!"
  And still, he said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
  And still we don't give him the time we should, we don't give him the honor we should, we don't him the glory, or the praise we should. All he wants is your heart; your complete submission to him. It's a small return for all he has done for us.

Security

Security

  Ever heard of it? It's what everyone wants. That's why you see so many unhappy single people, and so many worried couples. They're worried that their boyfriend/girlfriend won't stay with them.
 
Our society inundates us with this image of what's "cool" and "acceptable", and if we can't measure up to those standards, we feel ashamed. Think about this question:

What makes you feel secure?

Is it being popular, dressing nicely, having a boyfriend, being better than your friend, making others feel small to make you feel bigger, faking, building a facade? Many people build walls around their lives and refuse to let others in. People are afraid of rejection, of being an outcast, or a loser. So they do one of two things, they become self-deprecating, or the person will make others feel as if that person is more important. Both of these actions have pride at the very heart of their reasoning.

Pride is an abomination to the Lord, because it makes people do all sorts of nasty things, but if we don't feel secure, we will do whatever it takes to have that feeling. Many girls only feel worthy when they are "dating" or when they are "popular", surrounded by people who absolutely worship them.

Ever since the beginning of time, women have wanted to feel safe and secure. Eve ate that fruit, because Satan had caused her to question her Maker's will for her life, and it made her a little insecure. She felt she could take hold of the situation if she defied Him, but of course that ended poorly.

There are so many examples of insecure women in the Bible, but one of my favorites is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Sure, she was insecure, she was scared, heck, she was terrified! Here's a 13-16 year old girl, unmarried, who finds herself pregnant, which in her day was grounds for stoning. (If you can't imagine what it's like to get stoned, think of a rock hitting your head and every other part of your body until you die..... not pretty, is it?) Mary knew all of this when the angel came to her and told her she would give birth to a son, she knew that people would whisper about her.

I know you girls don't like people talking about you behind your back, or whispering about you when you walk by. But this was Mary's life for months. She was a social outcast, and even though she was scared, and knew she could die, she put herself at the mercy of her Lord. She might not have felt secure at every moment, but He provided for her needs.

The Lord will always provide!!! I often wonder why so many people have a difficult time entrusting themselves to the Lord, when all He wants is what's best for us. Be secure in the Lord, and don't be afraid of what others think of you, because at the end of the day, His opinion is all that matters.