Sacrificial Love

The Arboretum at Ashville, North Carolina

I am loving "my new bible" and hoping no one informs me if it is not really a bible. This morning I read the story of the Isrealites after they entered the promised land and Joshua died. They kept falling in to sin and worshiping other gods, and the Lord sent many prophets and judges to rescue them when their sin took them into bad situations. When God picked Gideon, "he was a farmer from the weakest clan in his tribe. Like most new leaders, Gideon was uncertain if he could measure up. But God was looking for a faithful follower, not a decorated soldier."

My New Bible....so easy to read and I am learning a lot!

Bonsai Garden at the Arboretum

 The Lord rescued the Isrealites time after time. I laughed when I read about Deborah. She sent Barak to free them from Jabin, king of Canaan. He said, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go. Certainly, I will go with you, said Deborah, but because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver them into the hands of a woman."

 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:19,20

The Lord is calling me to be "a Faithful Follower" and love Him with all my heart, soul, and mind and my neighbor as myself. God demonstrated His love for me by the ultimate sacrifice - the God of the universe on a cross dying for people who don't even care about Him or take an interest in Him.

Maybe God is calling me from my self pity and self protection to be a faithful follower and love someone who does not appreciate the sacrifice I make to love them.