GOD pours out HIS LOVE in us!

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us"

(Romans 5:5).

       God literally pours out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us! He is amazing! He is always with us and loving us! "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us")" (Matthew 1:23). Let's look to Him in simple, child-like faith to see His unfailing love! (Hebrews 12) He is love! "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them" (1 John 4:16). God is so gracious and in love - with us, and can be in us! "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to be in us through faith. He said, "Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have told you these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for you good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:5-7; Jesus says, Counsellor here to refer to the Holy Spirit!). God can live in us, flowing through us, out to everyone! Praise Him!!!

       God has poured out His love into my life in a new fashion over the past few years through gardening! About three years ago, He really helped my family by telling us about this large plant sale near the coast. We collected many large shrubs, trees and flowering bushes over the years and began planting about a year ago. It was so delightful to set out the majority of the plants in the driveway the first time He had us start. There were so many lush and pleasant varieties, just waiting for their new homes. It took a lot of hard work, but was easy in Him. I simply prayed that the yard would look good (Mat 7:7; Mar 10:18), and that when people came by He would bring them His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control through looking at the yard! (These are all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, as recorded in Galatians 5:22-23) He did this superbly! I was amazed at how easily the design process went, as He just flowed out His inspiration, through me, into the yard, and into other's hearts. And He does this all the time! I just enjoyed this process, for gardening was a new art form to me. He showed me that we can do anything in Him, for really He is the One doing it! "I can do all things through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). And, He also taught me this recently, that He compels us to love Him first and others as ourselves, as seen in the greatest two commandments: "Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39). He does this in us through His strength and goodness! "To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" (Colossians 1:29). This 'struggling' in Him is actually resting in His energy. God does the miracles and gives the Love, all we do is rest in Him by faith! For rest in God is victory! (Matthew 12:20; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 John 5:4) He is amazing! He is always enough! Since God is infinite, He is always pouring out His love, and there is an unlimited amount of His love! We read about this in John 7:38: "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." And we read too, that, "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35). He pours out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us!

       As God was pouring out His love on me and the yard and everything, He taught me some amazing lessons! One of the first was as I was planting so many small bushes, as well as relocating many large rhododendrons and hydrangeas. God showed me how delicate and yet strong His nature is, and how His Loving Nature is. His love can calm a baby and is strong enough to overwhelm us, in a good way. His love covers us and brings us into eternal life with Him, because Jesus died on the cross and rose to life for us. By simple child-like faith in Him, we share in His life! His love is overflowing! He's so good! So when we think of God, we can always think of how gentle and yet strong He is - He is very pleased with us in Him and is there for us in Love! We can think of Him with open arms! He is smiling over us and waiting for us to dance and sing with Him; to rejoice in His overflowing love! Therefore, if we mess up, it's ok! Remember, His love is gentle enough to calm a baby. He led me to these verses to remind me of this point:

♥       "As Scripture says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame" (Romans 10:11).

♥       "As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame" (Romans 9:33).

♥       "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope" (Isaiah 42:3-4).

♥       "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope" (Matthew 12:20-21; quoting from Isaiah 42:3-4).

       May you read about His gentle love more in, 'Breakthrough 6: He lifts up our head,' written on Palm Sunday. God really emphasized to me that He is here in love! He is so kind!

       Another lesson that God taught me in the yard was on this path - a path of righteousness. There is similar rock staircase to the right that my dad had made about 15 years ago. He did a very nice job, and the stones had settled quite well. This rock path was modeled after that. I thought it would be a fun project, as well as reasonably doable! Well, it turned out to be one of the hardest projects I have ever worked on! Though, thanks to the LORD, it was accomplished! First, I excavated the steps and prayed the whole time, listening to God on where the lines and rises should be. Then, I continued to listen to where the steps should actually start. I took a couple beach rocks, from a few that were underground at the site (possibly an old riverbed?), and placed them where I felt God was leading. I was really pleased with how this part turned out and thanked Him for making it work well! I discovered that setting the stones was a bit harder! Using the 1/4 minus, a compacting material, I labored over the first few flat stones for a whole afternoon! I was very tired and thought this was not going well. I remember looking down and placing the next stone, thinking this was going to take a long time! It looked and I saw a heart! On the top of the stone, there is a small raised surface that looks like a heart! It was unmistakable! I laughed and relaxed. God was telling me that He loved me and that everything was ok! He is so gentle! Praise Him!

       I took a break for a while, and God helped me realize that it would take much to long to set the stones with this method. After trying some sand, He then put in my head, 'Why not use concrete?' That did the trick! Over the next few days, I poured quick-drying concrete and grouted out between the stones, leaving an area for dirt and ground cover in the future. The process was much quicker, yet still required very hard physical labor. But God gave me strength and grew me, actually making it fun! I enjoyed getting stronger from all the bending and pouring. At a time when I was forgetting all that God was doing on this project, and a little more tired than normal, again, I looked down and there was another heart! This time, the whole rock was in the shape of a heart. It was the middle stone, and I looked over the whole staircase, realizing that it was the step right under where the rose arch is going to be (still to be installed!). God is incredible! "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21). God had gone over the top to show that He cares and is guiding me! He loves us with an everlasting love and He pours out His love daily! After I was gladly done with the project, on the stone that is to the right of the staircase, I painted a heart in purple, which represents His royalty. He is our great, loving King, and He leads us on paths of righteousness. "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Psalm 23:1-3). Though the path may seem hard, His love pours out on us so much that He overcomes! "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand" (Psalm 16:11). God is amazing! Hallelujah!

Thank you God for your heart! As you can see His love is strong; His waters of love in the meantime have caused this painted heart to fade a bit. But He never fades, and it shows that what is in this world will pass away but He will never pass away! (1 Corinthians 7:31; Psalm 102:11-12; Lamentations 5:19; also, the middle heart is complete, it just has some dirt covering the lower edge!). Additionally, these three pictures were taken more recently, on a very sunny day. The first picture shows just how much God's love have washed over the land. It is completely saturated with His love! But, these pictures above show that too! Even though it is a very sunny day, He is washing us with His love, with His Son! He is always pouring out His love on us! His radiance is reflecting off our faces (Hebrews 1:3)! He is always with us and gives us His glorious Love! "One [seraphim] cried to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" (Isaiah 6:3). Let's not focus on the situation, but on God! (Hebrews 12) Looking to Him restores us! When we look to Him, we are healed! His love cleanses us and makes us joyful and at peace! God's continual refreshment in Him reminds me of something He wrote through Heidi Baker in 'Compelled by LOVE.' He reminded her of the passage in Habakuk 2:14, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." He often gives His people visions and words, and Heidi explained that many of the children were receiving revelation from Him, or even seeing Him! God's love is everywhere, for He is everywhere! He pours out His love into us and cares for the orphan and the widow! Seeing His love in so many, and the purity that He brings, taught Heidi to want to stay in His heart, filled with Him. He reminded her of the verse in Ezekiel 47:12, about how He is the river and to be planted in Him. "Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing." He gave her the insight that when we are yielded to Him, then He can have His kind, perfect, loving way in us, and pour that out to the nations! When He fills us with His love, He pours it out to the many! God plants us in His waters, and comforts, warms and grows us through His Son. This Ezekiel 47 river is also a lot like the river described in Psalm 1:1-3, a life-verse for me. 

♥       "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers" (Psalm 1:1-3; Also, this is prospering in God, not the world. God gives us His love and freedom and peace and He desires us to be filled with Him, flowing out to others, showing that He is beautiful and He is Love. Here is one of my new favorite quotes He led Mother Teresa to write: "God does not demand that I be successful. God demands that I be faithful. When facing God, results are not important. Faithfulness is what is important." By simple child-like faith, God flows His loves through us! He is the Life! "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Praise Him! He is faithful!). 

It is beautiful to note that the tree yields fruit, just as He led Heidi to write about yielded hearts for Him; being in His heart! I pray that His heart beats in all of us as we look to Him, seeing His beautiful face. He is pouring out His love on us! His eyes are waters of love!

       God is so compassionate! Besides teaching me and loving me through these hearts, in His heart, the main lesson God taught me came right after this path was completed. It was also after most of the plants had found their homes and everything was just right. I really appreciated walking around the yard, watching His flowers and beauty flourish. God's flowers and fruit grow so sweetly; they are produced so gently on the tree. They are miracles made over time, and yet almost in just a day! I loved being comforted by His Love, seen through creation. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse" (Romans 1:20). One of my favorite parts to see His beauty, His Nature, was looking at this path! The hardest area became the most beautiful to me! I would just stand there and look. Also, I like to visit that place and other places in my head and heart anywhere as I think of the LORD. Well, one day, God led me to this first verse, "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5). He caused me to think of a watering can, pouring out His love on us, just as an expert gardener would water their plants. God's flowing Holy Spirit waters of Love come from Him, are forever, and so overflowing! He loves us! He truly pours out His love in us and on us; He is so in love! He saturates us and give us His Life in us! "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). He really wanted me to emphasize pouring in this post! It is not a few small drops, or a little here and there. He is enlivening us and refreshing us, lavishing His love on us - all the time, almost like a little kid watering the first time. But, we can take it for sure! He gave me the idea of setting the watering can on that heart rock, and showing that He is all about His love in our hearts! I'm still amazed at how He had all of this come together, and even, this lesson! He is really pouring out His love right now! We can hope in Him! He is love! "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them" (1 John 4:16).

       God also taught me about how we always have full access to Him and His love. He recently led me to read, 'Compelled by LOVE,' which He wrote through Heidi Baker. I included my favorite selection in, 'Breakthrough 11: John 17:20-21; One with the Father!' With children coming into her home, and watching the Holy Spirit change their lives, God led her to write about how we can come into the Father's house and that everything He has is ours as well! "And he said to him, "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours" (Luke 15:31). We are welcome to everything! I would recommend purchasing, 'Compelled by LOVE' (see here for the description in the inspiration section!), and reading the whole section, but basically she describes how when they first take the children in, they are often very timid and don't think they have access to the family, even to the fridge! The children who have been there a long time understand that they are completely welcome, and as the new children hang out with them, they gradually understand as well. She shared one story about a child who wouldn't even look people in the eyes because he was so hurt. Heidi took him by the hand and said that there was a Coke in that fridge and he could help himself to it any time he liked. Also, she would tuck him in at night, and look him in the eye, and that she loved him! One day, he went and got that Coke, and he was ecstatic! He finally understood that he was welcome! He realized that he was the Father's child, and no longer an orphan! Sometimes we tend to act a lot like this with God, and think He doesn't hear us, or care, or is going to be mad when we come to Him. But, He is in love with us! He is Love! "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them" (1 John 4:16). He wants to give us everything He has, including love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control! He lavishes us in His love! And just through faith, we are his children! "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27). He is so kind and is waiting for us with an open, strong, loving heart! He is smiling over us right now! He wants us to be filled from Him; to drink from Him and eat of Him, for He alone satisfies our real thirst and real hunger! "Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them" (John 7:38), and, "Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35). Hallelujah! Truly, He is the Bread of Life! Through simple, child-like faith, He satisfies us in LOVE! He is our sustenance! "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." (John 6:54-58). We can come to Him now and enjoy Him forever! He is who we are made for! Let's let Him fill us! The Father loves all His children! (Also, see more in, 'Jesus picnics!')

       God is so in love! We can be so in love with Him! What a gift! He really does pour out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us! We can all dink from His waters and live! Hallelujah! A few more verses that God led me to about pouring out are these:

♥       "All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:15).

♥       "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it" (Malachi 3:10; Also, God says not to put Him to the test (Matthew 4:7; quoting from Deuteronomy 6:16), but here since He is asking, it is good, for it is from Him! Let's go to Him! He has so much to offer, and let's give Him what is His, including the tenth, or tithe offering! "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him" (Psalm 34:8). Hallelujah!).

       We are encouraged to pour out thanks to God and to look to Him, giving Him the glory, giving Him the love, for it is His, and it is Him! (See Hebrews 12 and 'Breakthrough 10: Our identity is in Christ! Let us fix our eyes on Him!'; 'Breakthrough 11: John 17:20-21; One with the Father!'; and 'Breakthrough 12: There is always more faith, hope and love in the LORD!') That is because when we do, everyone is blessed, for His love is overflowing! His love is meant to flow and move! He pours out His love, so there is always more than enough! Let's celebrate with Him and our neighbor, letting Him fulfill the the greatest commandments in His overflowing Love through us! "Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39). Let's enjoy His Loving Nature and let the world rejoice in Him as well, as they see His reflection in His creation, which is not just plants, but also you! For, through simple, child-like faith in Him, the Holy Spirit can live in us! Hallelujah to Jesus! He is so gentle! He is so strong! He produces fruit in a loving way. He guides us on His paths of righteousness and upholds us with His strong hands, mightily saving us! We can thankfully hope in Him! Jesus is LOVE! Jesus is LORD!!!!!!!! Hallelujah! "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5).

♥       God loves you! He is pouring out His love in you right now! Hallelujah!
       Also! God had me re-read part of this article, and re-read the verse Romans 5:5: "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5). God showed me that He was pouring out His love into our hearts! I first titled the article with, on us! But God is way better! He pours out, He is LOVE, the Holy Spirit, into us! Very often, actually, I have asked God to hug me, and He does! It is a warm and joyful feeling! I love it! He is so good! Well, He had me realize that He is always closer to us than that! He doesn't just get really close around us, through simple, child-like faith in Him, He can live in us! Wow! GOD IS AWESOME!!!!!!! HE IS LOVE!!!!!!! Hallelujah!!!!!!