Dear Ones,
It is another gorgeous sunny spring day and there are only small patches of snow left. Yes! I just finished making beef Stroganoff and soon Al will be home from men’s group and we will have coffee and donuts! Later we have Bible study and then a walk on the Paul Bunyan trail again. During the winter months we walk on Cypress that is always cleared but now the trail is open again! 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  As followers of the Lord, we are called to live a life of love and display a likeness to our Father who loves us most of all. It’s wonderful that His love for us does not depend on us doing it all right, or on our looks or accomplishments, but because He is Love. The night before Jesus’ death, He told His disciples, “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, love one another This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”  John 13:34-45 (The Message)
  Maybe at first glance we nod our heads and agree and don’t think that it is such a hard command, but putting it into practice often causes us stress. After all, Jesus didn’t say to love just those who are easy to love, who respond with gratitude when we serve them in some way; no, He asks us to love even our enemies and those who despitefully use us. Could be those who may politically be opposed to us or those whose lives are against the principles we hold as truth. That kind of love we can’t muster up on our own, and need His love first to be able to put that into practice.
   I’m sure you can probably think of someone right now who has tested your love for them and brought you to your knees to ask the Lord to give you His love for them. As I have shared in the past that we had a neighbor who never went to church, lived in a house that was so cluttered and full of junk that she had only a narrow path to get to the next room. But since we lived next door, we didn’t doubt that the Lord assigned her to us to love. She had only a sister who lived far away so she ended up spending holidays with us. The kids never fought to sit next to her for there was on odor about her, but we all took our turn. And God worked His love into us for her, and after praying for her daily, one night she went with us to a special meeting at church where the way of salvation was given. I think she received the Lord that night, but I can’t say her life style changed; but the Lord looks only at her heart.
  The Lord asks us to love others with His love, not to solve all their problems, but to point them to Him. We don’t get to pick and choose, but He does, and I have to say, He has never failed to also put His love into our hearts for them. We may wonder at first, but if we submit to His spirit, His love will be there.
Challenge for today: Seek to hear the Lord’s assignment of whose life He would have you touch.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy