Belonging

Good Morning!
 I woke up this morning @ 4:00 am. I am so not a morning person! After tossing and turning for about 45 minutes, I finally decided to get up and go spend sometime with my Heavenly father. I may be tired today, but I feel so refreshed!
So pour a cup of freshly ground coffee and pull up a chair and lets chat a bit before we head out to start our days.. shall we?

I was thinking this morning how everyone yearns to belong. To belong to a family or a team or a group of friends.
Remember the old TV show Cheers? How when Norm came into the bar, everyone yelled NORM! He belonged. They might have been a group of mis-fits, but Norm belonged. I remember we used to call different places our " Cheers" we all wanted to walk in to a place where everyone knew our name.

I believe we have that desire to belong comes from our yearning to be a part of the Family of God. We want and need that fellowship with Him.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1)

God will lavish you with His love, if you will only let him. I can't count many times I have felt Lavished with love from any human in my life, but when i think about all God has done for me, I realize, God has truly lavished His love on me. After all, He gave His only son Jesus, to die for my sins that I  would have life everlasting. now that is some kind of great love!

A friend once told me she stopped going to church when the ladies in her Sunday School class tried to explain to her that she should put God first, before even her children.  While I understand my friends feelings,  I get what they were trying to tell her, though they may not have communicated it well. Jesus gave his life for us, shouldn't we put him foremost in our lives? We can best love our children and family members by putting God first in our lives. the rest all works out to His plan.

But I digress............

Finally, brethren, farewell. Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11, RSV)

The Greek word "adelphoi" the word translated in the New Testament to mean " brethren" actually means "siblings" brothers and sisters of a common parent.

I find it sad that so many are seeking what God gives so freely. Love, Salvation, Belonging.
Don't you? God can heal the broken heart, He can fill the empty spaces in our souls, and all we have to do is ask him. I am so glad we are a family and I belong!

Dear Father, thank you for loving me so lavishly. Help me to feel your love in my day to day walk. Please help me to be able to see farther than my own little life so I can feel your awesome presence. Please help others to see your love through me
Thank you,  Amen