Category Archives: Love

January 13th 2017 – My Ultimate Expression of Love

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“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10 )

It is one thing to say the words “I love you”, and it is quite another thing to prove your love. God did not only say that He loved us, He practically demonstrated it by sending us His only Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

While we all need an intellectual understanding of God’s love, many of us struggle to actually feel God’s love in the realm of our emotions. And if we don’t “feel” His love, we can spiral down to a place ruled by our emotions where we begin to question if He loves us at all.

It is at these times that we need to be reminded of God’s own definition of love found in 1 John 4:10… This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Father did everything that He could possibly do to prove His unwavering love towards us when He sent us Jesus.

When we struggle to believe that God loves us, we need not go any further than the cross to see the full expression of His love. When your feelings question God’s love for you, let faith rise up in your heart and thank your Father for His complete expression of love demonstrated in the work of the cross of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank You for your sacrifice of your Son Jesus, it was the ultimate expression of Your love for us. Please forgive us for the times when we have questioned your love for us. I believe that You love us and have demonstrated that love once and for all through the cross. I pray that the truth of Your love for us will be the bedrock of my faith even during the times when I don’t feel loved. In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus I pray, Amen

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life and want to quench yor unquenchable thirst. Click Here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

December 20th 2016 – Give Me Some of That Water

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“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me some of that water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to haul water.” (John 4:15)

 

The Israelites and Samaritans lived in a dry, thirsty land; in a desert. It is hard for many of us to imagine how valuable water is in such a desperate place. Yet, we live in a spiritually dry and thirsty land; we are often oblivious to the lack. I wonder how many times a day someone tells us they are thirsty. Perhaps not, “please give me some of that water,” but they put it another way. When they speak of problems with their children, troubles in their marriage, trials in their life, they are really saying, “I am thirsty.” When they are short tempered, worn out and angry, they are saying they don’t know how to quench their thirst. I also wonder how many times we don’t really understand their plea and their thirst. How many times we walk past opportunities to minister to them. Look for the thirsty and look for the dry. Hear their cries and offer them living water.

“We should be pouring out to the world what God has poured into us.”

Prayer:

Heavenly  Father, Thank You for loving me so much that You allow me to serve You. Lord, I lift this land up to You and ask You to raise up workers for the harvest. You offer the water that completely quenches our need and You offer it abundantly and freely. Open the hearts of this world to Your gift and allow me to play a part in the quenching of this thirsty world. I thank You that the results are in Your almighty hands. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click Here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

December 15th 2016 -Through the Eyes of God

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“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!” (2 Corinthians 5:16)

 

It’s always easy to find something wrong with someone else. Often it’s so easy that some people see it as a spiritual gift. I assure you, this is not one of the gifts of the Spirit. After all, people found things wrong with Jesus and He was perfect. The religious leaders were looking at Him from their own perspective rather than a heavenly one.

This change in perspective makes all the difference, especially in the church. The reality is that whenever humans get together, you are going to have some conflict, but when we look at each other in light of God’s saving grace, things change. Rather than condemn my them for their sin, I will look at them and see the forgiven Child of God who is my sibling in Christ. When someone acts wrongly toward me, I can look at them and see a sinner who has been saved by God’s grace and in turn, show that same grace.

This reminds me of the song written by Christian artist Brandon Heath called “Give Me Your Eyes.” Here are a few lyrics:

“Give me your eyes for just one second. Give me your eyes so I can see. Everything that I keep missing. Give me your love for humanity.” See link at the bottom of the page for the video

Begin today by looking at others with God’s eyes.

“We should seek to look at people, possessions and events in a new way – in the way the Lord sees them.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I am grateful that You look at me through eyes of grace and forgiveness because of Jesus. Help me to have those same eyes as I go throughout my day today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Give Me Your Eyes – Brandon Heath

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click Here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

November 29th 2016 – Tears Into Diamonds

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“I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.” (Psalms 6:6)

 

How does pain hit us? How do we respond to it? It could come from the death of a precious loved one, the hardship of having someone betray you, continuous struggles or the sin you keep falling into that you hate. Perhaps you’ve had sorrow as King David did and had a child turn against you. Many of us, no matter how tough we are, have experienced pain that brought us to tears. How does God look at you and me during our struggles and when we’re weeping before Him?

(Psalms 56:8)
“You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?”

Our loving heavenly Father takes distinct note of when we cry. When we cry, we do not keep our tears, but they are captured by the Lord. Have you ever been bothered by seeing your child struggle, getting hurt, and crying? It is even more so with our Father in heaven who sent His Son to intercede with His tears on behalf of our struggles and sins. Jesus sowed tears of sorrow for our sin so that He could give us joy by defeating our sin (Psalm 126:3).

Take heart today by knowing God has taken note of our struggle, our prayer, our tears, and most importantly our sins, and we will ultimately be eternally freed if we have entrusted our life to Him.

(Revelation 21:4)
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

“Our tears will turn to diamonds in His nail scarred hand.”

“Diamonds are just coal that did well under pressure.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for capturing my heart, my sorrows, and my tears. Thank you for paying the ultimate price for my sin so that I can be eternally delivered from the sorrow of my sin and this sin stained world. I have great hope because of You Lord. Thank you for caring for me and remembering me even when I weep. Please keep reminding me that my tears are but for a moment, and you will wipe every tear I ever had away from my face. Please give me Your power to see and walk in Your joy since I know this day is coming. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click Here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

 

November 28th 2016 – What Do You Seek

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Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” (John 1:38)

That’s the question we need to have answered in our lives isn’t it? “What do you seek?” Is it a better marriage, a promotion at work, more money to invest, more notoriety or to see your kids walking with the Lord? Are we seeking the Lord’s hand of blessing more than we are seeking the Lord Himself?

They then asked Jesus where he was staying. He told them to come and see. Where is the Lord in our lives? The Lord is saying to come and hang with Him. We ask where. The cross.

(Luke 9:23-24) Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

When we come to Jesus not for His hand of blessing but for His will to be done in our lives, and when we are willing to lay down our life for his sake, then He begins showing us things greater than we could possibly imagine. Later in this chapter, Jesus sees Nathaniel having devotions under the tree…

(John 1:50) Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

Please prioritize the Lord in your devotional life. Jesus is taking note. He then tells us “You will see greater things than these.” When we lay our life down for His sake, we find that all we ever needed was Jesus.

“You don’t know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, please help me continue to seek You because I want to know You not just what You can give me. Please forgive me when I fail in this. Give me the power of Your Spirit to set my devotion upon You and Your will for me. I thank You Lord because I can trust You’ll do even greater things with my life as I trust in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click Here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

November 16th 2016 – A True Friend Loves at All Times

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“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17)

A careful reading through the life of the Apostle Paul will yield insight concerning those who surrounded him. Today I want to focus on two of Paul’s friends, Luke and Demas.

Luke was a true and faithful friend to Paul, staying with and supporting him to the very end of his life, even through the some of the worst times Paul faced. Then, there was another friend, whose name was Demas, about whom Paul wrote positively at first, but who did not remain faithful to the end. Paul records that Demas forsook him because he “loved this present world.” (2 Timothy 4:10)

As the end of the age approaches, we also will be tested as to where our love lies; with the Father, or with the world. The apostle John writes, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)

I do not believe that Demas lost his salvation, but he did lose his capacity to sense and express the love of the Father, which damaged his testimony, his spiritual relationships, and undoubtedly cost him heavenly rewards. What kind of friend will we be to God? Will we be faithful, or will we allow the love of this world to quench our fire, and compromise our relationships?

My encouragement to you is to be faithful until the end. Don’t forget that Jesus gave a warning to end-time saints, saying, “because iniquity abounds, the love of many shall grow cold.”(Matthew 24:12)

Become a friend like Luke, and learn from the life of Demas do not allow love for the world to quench your love for God.  Don’t forget, a true friend loves…at all times!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I want to thank You for my friends and for my family. I lift them up to You Lord and ask that continue to bless them with an abundance of faith so that they will not grow cold. Help me be a true friend that loves at all times. Lord God, may we never forget that we always have a faithful friend in You. I love You and trust You Lord. I will not take my eyes off you… In Jesus’ name Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click Here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

 

 

October 4th 2016 – Share Jesus With Others

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“But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.” (1 Corinthians 14:24-25)

Think about this. Jesus is the Son of God. He was and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He has all the best gifts ever created. Angels worship Him. All Heaven obeys Him. But, He left all that and came to earth as a baby, born in a manger. When He grew into a man, what were His actions? The entire time He walked the earth His thoughts were to bless us and draw everyone to Heaven. He shared everything He had with us, to the point of death. He laid down His life for us. He died on a cross so we could be forgiven of our sins.

This is the example He set for us. He has given you and I gifts to draw others to God. Our gifts are not for ourselves, but they are to bless others. It is important we think about others as we live day to day. It’s so easy to forget and push people from God instead of toward Him. If we are followers of Jesus, we have the opportunity to draw people to God. Today, look for opportunities to draw others to Him.

“God’s gifts used in God’s way will draw people to God.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for sharing your blessings and gifts with me. Please help me today to follow Your example and use these gifts to draw people to You. Please place friends, family, and acquaintances in my path every day so I can tell them about You. Thank You for working in my life, and using me to bless others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, Don’t wait! In a flash of a second it could be too late!” Click Here to read Four Simple Steps to Jesus.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

www.scripturalseeds.org

October 29th 2016 – Shalom

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“For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” (1 Corinthians 14:33)

sha·lom
SHäˈlōm,SHə-/
exclamation
exclamation: shalom
Used as salutation by Jews at meeting or parting, meaning “peace.”

Peace. That one word is sought after by billions all over this world. Peace of mind. Peace from war. Peace in the midst of suffering. All of us long for peace; unfortunately, many people miss the source of true peace.

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

Many years before the coming of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah spoke the words above. He was proclaiming the coming Messiah who would be the Prince of Peace. The peace that He brings is true Shalom and means far more than our concept of comfort and rest. Shalom describes safety, well being, health, prosperity, peace, rest and wholeness. Shalom is what Christ came to offer. Through Christ, we can find rest from having to work for Heaven. We are made whole in our relationship with God and have security in our salvation. We also have a peace that is available to us in the middle of life’s storms as we learn to trust and walk in obedience to our King. Are you without peace? Seek the Prince of Peace in every area of your life and you will find His Shalom waiting for you in abundance.

“God is a God of Shalom or peace.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I praise You for the love You have shown me and the peace You offer me. Father, help me to seek You in everything and to trust You with every area of my life. As I do this, I pray that I would experience Your Shalom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, Don’t wait! In a flash of a second it could be too late!” Click Here to read Four Simple Steps to Jesus.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

www.scripturalseeds.org

October 26th 2016 – Love and Forgiveness

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“How fair and how pleasant you are, O love, with your delights!” (Song of Solomon 7:6)

Within the book of Song of Solomon, we encounter the dramatic love of Solomon and his bride. We also encounter their first fight. Yet, it seems that as soon as the fight begins, it ends. It does not end in simple tolerance of one another, but it ends with that renewed passion & desire. This leaves us asking, “How can other marriages move from pain to passion so quickly.” The answer is simple yet sometimes difficult to live out. It’s the two main biblical principles of forgiveness and love. When a marriage has a foundation of active forgiveness and genuine love, there may be conflict, but it won’t remain long.

So how do we bring these two elements into our marriages? Again, the answer sounds simplistic but without Christ, it is impossible. To live within these elements of love and forgiveness, we must choose to be loving and forgiving. Today, choose to forgive your spouse for anything they may do. Choose to love them despite their faults and failures. Choose to love them like Christ loves us in that while we were still sinners, He died for us. That is true love. Even in view of our weakness, Jesus chose to forgive us of everything. In light of this great love found in Christ, we too can learn to love and forgive in our relationships. When we do, we will be equipped to move quickly from pain to passion in our marriages.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Colossians 3:12-14)

Prayer:

“It is impossible to live a life of continual, active forgiveness without a relationship with Christ.”

Heavenly Father, Thank You for the precious gift of salvation. Your love and forgiveness have changed my life, and I desire to show that same kind of love and forgiveness within the relationships around me. Fill me with Your Spirit and instruct me by Your Word, so that I can live like Jesus. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, Don’t wait! In a flash of a second it could be too late!” Click Here to read Four Simple Steps to Jesus.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

www.scripturalseeds.org

October 24th 2016 – The Good Gardener

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“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:1-2)

What an amazing and loving Heavenly Father we have.  He is always at work within us to help us grow up.  Many people look at verse two and see the words “takes away” and think that God gets rid of those who do not bear fruit.  That is not what it is saying.  This verse means that God lifts up those who are having problems bearing fruit and works with them.

A wise farmer doesn’t destroy his branches, he lifts them up, cleans them, and reties them to the vine.  Our loving Father does the same thing.  He is out for our best and will keep working with us to produce much fruit.

Remember, good trees naturally bring forth good fruit. We are good trees planted in the house of the Lord. If you love God and you have accepted His free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ then God’s love is poured out on you. God is working on the inside to help you produce a great harvest that will last you throughout all eternity.

It’s important to know that it’s not what you do, but it’s letting Him do the work within you.  Too many times, we say, “I need to do this or I need to do that” before God will work in my life; it’s just being legalistic. God wants to do the good work within you and as He does and good things develop within your heart, you will see that these fruits of the Spirit will become obvious to others.

If you let God do this pruning within you, you will see that the fruits of love, joy, and peace will start growing, and you’ll look back and say, “Is this really me?” Remember, the fruits of the Spirit are not works of law but gifts of grace.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank you for always being “The Good Farmer”, Its Your pruning that produces good fruit in my life. I welcome the planting of the seeds through Your Word to grow and live in me. As I do, You will clean my heart so that the fruits of the spirit can operate big time within me.  I praise You for all that you do in my life. In Jesus’ precious name,  Amen

Is your life producing good fruit? Is there lots of dead branches that are tripping you up? If you haven’t asked God to come in and help you prune away the mess that causes you to continually stumble, please consider it today. Click Here to learn how to ask Jesus into your life.

If you are seeking prayer for you or someone else Please Click Here.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

www.scripturalseeds.org