Mariane Doktor, servant and writer

A journey in creativity and faith

Tag: love (Page 2 of 2)

The Spirit of Love

February 2, 2015 / / 0 Comments

The mud of rotten flesh seduces
Lying shadows build castles in the air
the castles are prisons
sinners are prisoners…..How is it possible for sinners to learn to love?

A slave of the law

I grew up with the commandments of love. My parents taught me the values of helping and loving other people, but in many ways, it was impossible for me to follow the commandments of love. I believed there was a God, but that was I all I knew. I didn’t love myself and it was hard for me to love other people, because I didn’t know Jesus.

When I was 17 years-old, I met Jesus and became a Christian, but for many years, I did the evil, which I didn’t want to do. “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19). I often read my Bible, but I couldn’t understand why Paul all the time said I was not allowed to sin. I mourned that it was impossible for me to stop sinning. How was I a new person and how had my old person died? (Ephesians 4) How could I live in the Spirit, and what were the fruits of the Spirit? I tried, I tried and I tried, but I failed. I tried by my own strength and thoughts to love my neighbor, and I never succeeded. Why?

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Gal 5:2-6)

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When “Love” Feels Like a Four-Letter Word

January 20, 2015 / / 0 Comments

For my series on God’s love, I’m today honored to host a guest post by Christy Pearce.  God loves EVERYONE, also the ones we may consider to be our enemies. In Matthew 5:43-44 Jesus teaches us about love. Christy shares an experience she has had with hate. 

 

Her name was Lisa.

I HATED that girl…with a passion. But she hated me first.

Even though I was only seven years old, I will never forget how much she ruined my fun when she showed up. I detested the sound of her voice.

But there was this one time we both temporarily lost our minds, and we decided to try to be friends. It lasted a couple of days, but we couldn’t hold the hatred back. It ended with her spewing ugly words my way, and me smacking her across the face. (And running away…)

There was NO way I was going to show her love; it wasn’t a thought in my mind. She was just too mean. Lisa was my enemy.
If you have ever been suffocated by the emotion of hate, then you know “loving enemies” is easier said than done. Love goes against all that is naturally in us, and we are incapable of doing it.

And that is exactly what Christ came to prove. That we CAN’T fulfill the law. At least not without His presence in our lives.

What is Impossible with Men is Possible with God 

Photo Credit: Reinhard Komanapalli, creation swap,

Anger, Lust, Adultery, Divorce, Lying, Retaliation…these are the things we humans have a natural bent toward—unless you are God come in human flesh.

Christ didn’t come down here to condemn us, because He didn’t have to.

Instead, He did what was completely impossible for us to do. He came to fulfill all of the law’s demands. He lived out the rules of God perfectly with all His mind, heart and strength.

If we don’t know that it really is impossible for us to obey God, we are missing out on the magnitude of what Christ was accomplishing on our behalf.

Even if we manage to put on a great performance outwardly, our hearts are always corrupted in some way. We need something more. More than outward conformity to law, more than what we can conjure up within ourselves. We need the One who fulfilled the law to fill our hearts.

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The love of a Father

January 16, 2015 / / 0 Comments

During a prayer I felt God’s holy love. For a moment it was as if I felt the love He feels for the whole world. The biggest love I could find inside my humanity was my mother love. Though I know God’s love is greater than a mother’s love, God is a like a Father.

You’re God’s child and He loves you very much. His love is GREATER than any human love. If Jesus would have to die for you, he would do it again. But that will not happen because it’s already done. He has already died for our sins and defeated sin, death and the devil.

As a mother loves her baby, God loves you.

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, the may forget, yet I will not forget thee.” (Is. 49,15).

The Hebrew word for mercy is “rahum” and “rehæm” means womb, the two words have the same root. Therefore God’s love really is like the love of a father and a mother. Jesus said we must come to God like children that we know we need him, and to love and trust him with all our heart. Jesus says “Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” (Luke 18:17)

God wants you to come to Him just as you are. He wants you to be honest and confine in Him and trust Him. God is a forgiving God. Because Jesus died for you, God does not judge you, but want you to come to Him. You can come to Him with everything. Nothing is too small or too big for him to handle. Nothing to be ashamed of. Remember Jesus carried the whole world on His shoulders when he Hung on the cross.

Matthew 11: 28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

God is your good shepherd Isaiah 40,11 “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”

God will lead you to the green pastures to rest at the still waters. He gives you power and leads you on the right path. Even when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you shall fear no evil, for God is with you. His rod and staff comforts you. (Psalm 23)

Zephaniah 3:17 –“ The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

God's child

A letter from me to you

November 3, 2014 / / 4 Comments
Note: this is an answer to a prompt given by the writer, James Prescott. The prompt goes: Write a letter from your older self to your younger self.

 

This is the first time I am doing this, and I don’t know if I’m doing it right, but I’ll try anyway.

Dear you

I am in a nice place now. Actually, it’s a fantastic place.

Before I arrived, I had to wait for a long time. I was tired, half-asleep, half-hopeful, half-afraid of walking on the dark road, but I didn’t give up.

I made it to a door. I asked myself: “Have I walked in the right direction? Is this the right door?” I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door was opened immediately. A strong light met my eyes. I came into the arms of a light brighter and warmer than the sun.

A tall strong man met me. “Come inside,” he said, “don’t be afraid.”

Now I lie in the soft green pastures, listening to the gentle tones of the still waters.

Grandmother tells me to say hello. We have just had dinner. We sang the prayer “All good gifts around us”. Do you remember this song?

All good gifts around us
are sent from heaven above;
then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
for all his love.

 (All good gifts around us by Jane M. Campbell)

 

I don’t know what more to tell you…Do you know that you are loved?

 From me

 

I am about to seal the envelope and give it to Gabriel when he looks at me and coughs. Then I remember. I open the envelope and add:

Do you know that you are loved? John 3:16

 From me

 

I watch Gabriel fly away with the letter to my heart in 2014. I hope I will remember just a few words of the letter when I wake up.

 

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