Love Is Sacrifice

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV

Good Morning Girlfriends:

The other day one of my daughters had come to visit with my little grandson, so she could work on earings that she has been creating. I knew it was going to be a busy day for me having a one year old, who is now walking, everything I had planned was put on hold. It is not every day that "Mimi's" get to spend a day chasing a baby around, so I took advantage of the time I had to spend with him.

We played with the pots and pans, we played in the tupperware cupboard, then off to the utensil drawer we went, down the hall to the spare room to see what we could get into there. It's a good thing we have an air conditioner, because this Mimi was getting a little hot with all the running around. I thought it was time to get cooled off before one certain little person went down for a nap, so out to the little pool we went for some cool fun of splashing.

Every time I get the chance I speak over this little one, as I did when he was still in his mother's womb, the word's of God and who God says that he is. I pray these things over all of my grandchildren, because there is nothing that is more important than speaking God's word over them. Even though I am wiped out at the end of our visit, I love every moment I have to spend that most precious time with him to instill good things in his little mind, and spending precious moments for him to remember for years to come. Even though the things I had planned didn't get done that day, this is what I call "Love Is A Sacrifice."

There are three other mother's that I wanted to touch on to show their sacrificial love for their child. The first one is found in Exodus 2:1-10, what Moses' mother "Jochebed" did for her son, when she sent him down the Nile. This was a time when Pharaoh had instructed all baby boys that were born to be killed immediately, Jochebed had hid her baby boy for three months as it was, now realizing the danger she had to move quickly. Moses' mother had made a basket out of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar, so that she could place it amongst the reeds hoping that one of the Egyptians would find it and have mercy on the baby. One of Pharaoh's daughter's found the baby and raised it as her own. Moses' mother let her child go so that he could live, kind of like adoption, only Jochebed wanted her baby but knew this was one way to save him.

The other sacrifice of love is found in 1 Kings 3:16-28, where these two mother's each had given birth to a baby, and one mother's baby had died in the night and she secretly swapped the two babies so that the other mother woke up to the baby who died. Taking this situation before King Solomon to decide on what to do in this matter, King Solomon had great wisdom that was given by God Almighty, he gather the facts and made his analysis known. He told the two women that he would cut the baby in half so that each of them would half. The real mother cried out to let the other mother have the baby, because she could not bear to see any harm come to it, and with that King Solomon awarded the baby back to it's real mother, the one who could not see harm come to her little one.

The third one is "Mary," the mother of Jesus, which is the greatest sacrifice of love at every cost. Mary raised her son all up through his childhood, knowing that one day He would be the one who would sacrifice His very own life for the whole world in hopes that they should be saved. Mary could have held onto her son and pleaded with him not to go through with this horrible scene that was about to take place, she could have said "No I won't let you do this." For many years Mary knew that this day would come and it was all a part of the Father's plan to offer salvation for the world, and what thoughts must have went through Mary's mind each year and then each day as time grew closer to that event that took place in history. "Love Is A Sacrifice"

Just getting off of the phone with my other daughter that lives hundreds of miles away, she filled me in on a situation that she faces with the declining health of her father, and the decisions that she and her brother must make for the well fare for their father. She shared with me, that she finds it so hard living so far away, but she is doing the best that she can to keep on top of everything with the nurses and other support workers that are now in place. My daughter is willing to sacrifice her time by transporting her father to where she lives in order to have some quality time with him. There are many major hospitals where she lives, so his care would be at a much higher level. Even though her father and I have been divorced for many many years, I had let her know that I would do whatever I could to help in this matter in what ever way I can. This is another way that is called a "Sacrifice of Love."

Girlfriends, there are many different ways that can be a Sacrifice of Love that can be displayed in each of our lives. Taking the time to sit at the bedside of an ill grandparent, taking the time on a daily basis to pray for that loved one that is on your mind, being the kind of neighbor that shows kindness to the neighbor next door even when they don't receive it. When you know someone is hurting in a certain way, just being that kind hand to offer help in what ever manner is needed, that is us being God's hand extended. Every day I start my day off by writing these devotions, because I want to be able to share the "good news" of Jesus and what He can do for each and every one of us.

If it had not been for our "Precious Jesus" laying down His very own life for us, where would we be? There would be no redemption story, there would be no salvation, there would be no freedom from the bondage of those things that once held us. Jesus showed us the all time "Sacrifice of Love," when He sacrificed His life so that we could have ours. Girlfriends, we need Him, we need Him each and every day, every moment of our lives, for every decision that we make, for every word that we must speak, for every action that we must take, we need Him.

Today let's take a moment and think of ways that we can be used as a "Sacrifice of Love" in someone's life, it sure will make this world a better place to live, Amen?

Let's Pray,

Father God, I thank You Lord for who You truly are. You are the Lord God Almighty who is the true picture of love that was sacrificed. I thank You dear Lord that You laid down Your very own life so that we could have ours, and with that there is no greater love. Lord, I lift up that dear soul who does not know You yet, the one who has never had a true encounter with the God who laid it all down for them. Lord, I am asking that You would make Yourself real to that person today in such a way that it can only be said that it was God Almighty. Lord I pray and I believe that they will feel Your heavenly presence as they surrender their life over to You. Lord I am so excited for the transformational change that is about to take place, right now as we speak. I praise You Lord and I thank You for Your love that was sacrificed for each and every one of us in the Mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

Be blessed and pass the blessings on. Thank you for passing this message on. Share with me and others how you have been used as a sacrifice of love.