GO AND BAKE A CAKE!

One of love's true tests: CAN YOU LOVE THE UNLOVEABLE....the one that has been mean to you, hurt you, used you, played you for a fool, stole from you, irritates you and everyone else?

Jesus says: Matt 5:44 and 46 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;....For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?"

I heard a story about two couples that lived next door to one another. They had been best friends for years. One day, friend one's husband said he wanted a divorce because he had been having an affair with friend two, next door. Can you imagine the hurt, the shame, the betrayal?

Would you believe: he divorced friend one and married friend two and moved in NEXT DOOR. What humiliation! Who could believe such a thing! Friend one was eaten up with hurt, shame, betrayal, humiliation.....UNFORGIVENESS. How could her BEST FRIEND do this to her and her children? This ate at friend one's heart day and night until bitterness set in.

Friend one finally began to cry out to God for relief of the bitterness. He told her she had to forgive and love again. " How could she possibly do that," she asked Him. He said, "You know it's her birthday next week. I want you to bake her a cake like you used to every year." "WHAT? Are you kidding me? Don't you know what she did...?!?"

Of course, God knew what she did. He still loved her and He knew the only way friend one could be free was to forgive and love again. Out of plain and simple, grit your teeth obedience.....she baked her "best friend" a cake. She baked it with bitterness, iced it with bitterness and forced herself to take it to her house, dreading every step she took, wondering what she would say.

She knocked on the door, her "best friend" answered......and her tears started to flow as she handed her the beautiful hand crafted birthday cake......and her bitterness was suddenly replaced by love. Why? Because she cried out to God, He told her the remedy and she OBEYED.

She could love again....she was FREE! This story is not made up. It is completely true and was told to me by the pastor of the woman this happened to, over 20 years ago.

Has someone "done you wrong" and you don't love them anymore? Is your heart hard and closed to loving others because of past hurts and betrayals? The person most miserable in this situation....is you. Forgive and love again.....love the unloveable....like Jesus does.

GO AND BAKE A CAKE!

WHAT STRENGTH ARE YOU DEPENDING ON?

Ps 33:16-19 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the EYES of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

That entire Psalm is just FULL of truth for us to draw from. But, for now, I will try to concentrate on this one section. Let's just set the paramaters for truth here. When the scripture is talking about God's eye on us.....it means that not only is HE watching us, but we have His favor. How do we have His favor? Reading just above this, it is evidenced by who or what we put our trust in.

Who do we rely on and cling to (trust)? What we can do....or what God can do? The Word clearly speaks here that no king (NO ONE......NOT EVEN YOU) can be saved by his strength. NOTHING (not your horses, cars, boats, guns, money, etc.) you have can give you true deliverance.

The answer lies where our hope resides. Our hope and trust must be in the Lord alone....then his EYES will be upon us (His favor) to deliver us from all kinds of calamities. Put your trust, your hope, all of yourself relying fully on...... His UNFAILING LOVE.