An Epic Love » A journey of discovering what love truly is…

Feb 14 2012

Happy Valentines Day…

VALENTINE

I am always curious about holidays… why we celebrate them… where did they first originate…

Valentines day was first observed as Saint Valentines Day honoring early Christian martyrs. Numerous of the martyrs were actually named Valentine, which means worthy, strong, powerful.

Around the 15th century it evolved to the Valentines Day we now know… expressing our love to one another.

What I find to be interesting is that so many of these holidays we observe have Christian roots, but we have some how taken them from their true original intent and made it about ourselves and a reason to spend money.

Today, “Valentines Day”, was originally observed as a day honoring Christian martyrs… And for me, my mind is brought to the greatest Christian martyr of all. The one who not only suffered persecution and death, but did it for you and I.

My heart is so very heavy today… to think about all the people out there that are living apart from their Lord & Savior. The One who loved them with everything He had… and still does.

My prayer is that if you do not know Jesus to be your Lord & Savior… that you would come to know Him today, in this day of love. To know that He came so that you and I may be saved from our sins and have everlasting life. He poured out His love for us on the cross…

I was reading a book a few weeks ago and it was talking about how we cannot understand the gift of forgiveness until we understand the sacrifice that was made.

Jesus was beat… he was nailed to a cross to die. This most of us understand, but He did something so much more… He took the wrath of God. He took the punishment that we deserve for the sins we commit. But why?? Why did we deserve such a gift? Because of LOVE. For God so LOVED the world… He loves us. He loves you, and I.

Will you accept His love? Will you accept the gift that He gives… forgiveness? The Bible says “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

I pray that this Valentines day would be a turning point in someone’s life… to know what real true love is.

If you have any questions or would like to talk more about this please contact me, I would be more than willing to speak with you. epiclve@gmail.com

My love to all,

Rachel

by Rachel

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tracie @ {tsj} photography - February 23, 2012 - 3:00 pm

beautiful post … and i love the image!!

Feb 13 2012

Love is not Rude…

loveisnotrude

In the book of Malachi, Jesus is said to be “like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.”

Refining is a process of purification… a process in which impurities are removed.

A silversmith holds the silver in a fire until all impurities have burned away.

Jesus does the same thing with us, we are put into the fire… tested… to learn lessons and burn impurities away.

The word rude is defined as rough, unfinished, and lacking refinement.

When we are rude to one another, we demonstrate that we are unrefined. We show others just how many impurities we have.

When we choose to use unkind words in the heat of a moment, we are demonstrating that we are not slow to anger… that we are not abounding in love.

When we choose to spend money that we don’t have on something we don’t need, we are demonstrating that we lack self control.

Love is not rude, because it has no impurity. Love encompasses all that is pure.

The Bible tells us that God IS Love. If we live in love, we live in Him… and so He is in us. (1John 4:16)

My prayer is that God would refine us, burn all impurities from our hearts. So that we may live in love, live in Him, and He may live in us.

My love to all,

Rachel

by Rachel

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Feb 08 2012

Love does not Boast… It is not Proud

lovedoesnotboastitisnotproud

Pride. The word just sends me on a rabbit trail of thoughts. SO much has been said… But I feel as if it is best to remember the only true words that matter. The Bible.

We see in Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus tells us what the greatest commandment is… “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.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

We are to love the Lord our God… and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Everything we embody is to be LOVE. THIS is why we are here. LOVE.

THIS is why I am doing this study. I believe so many have no idea what it truly means to love. Love is not about SELF. It is about God… and out of reverence for Him … it is about others.

Love does not boast… it is not proud… because boasting and being prideful does not show our Love for God or others. It shows love for SELF. Yes we are loved… He sent His one and only Son to die on a cross for you and I. Because of this there can be true joy in our hearts and we can walk in the light knowing we have been washed clean. But this life is not a one person show… this life is not about us.

Pride is the opposite of humility. This segment of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 we are studying is saying… Love does not boast, it is not proud. Love is humble.

1 Peter 5:6 “‘Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

We humble ourselves… under God’s mighty hand. We submit ourselves to His will for our lives, loving and serving Him and others.

We can either choose to do what we’ve always done… serving ourselves and make a great earthly home, or we can choose to serve God, and by doing so serve others and work on building the kingdom of heaven where we will spend eternity.

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I pray our hearts and minds can be focused on eternity… on humbling ourselves and loving one another.

My love to all,

Rachel

by Rachel

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bethany cox - February 9, 2012 - 8:56 pm

I pray our hearts and minds can be focused on eternity… on humbling ourselves and loving one another.- Amen sister!

Abi - February 9, 2012 - 8:36 pm

I have the word love tattooed on my inner wrist. I hear you.

Ashley Tingley - February 9, 2012 - 7:04 pm

Such a great reminder, I needed this today! Thanks for sharing your heart & being so real!

Richelle Dante - February 9, 2012 - 7:02 pm

Such a great reminder. Thank you!

Candice - February 9, 2012 - 6:07 pm

Beautiful! I love your authenticity!

Feb 02 2012

Love does not Envy…

The definition of envy is a resentful awareness of an advantage that someone else enjoys and a desire to possess that same thing.

Thinking of that definition, the very first thing that comes to mind is discontent. We become unhappy with what we have already been blessed with… a blindness to all we have to be thankful for.

In respects to the words “Love does not envy” … I’ve thought about the word love and who it is directed to… who are we not loving when we are envious?? At first… my mind is drawn to God. We overlook what He has already handed us… looking for more… seeking something “better.” When what is right in front of us is more than enough to sustain our hearts and minds.

Hebrews 13:5 tells us to “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”" He is always here with us, providing for us. The problem; however, lies in 0ur idea of what we need and that it doesn’t always line up with His, but “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

The other half of this equation where there is a lack of love is at a point which a desire/want takes us to envy. When we come to have a resentful heart towards someone because of what they have acquired. We take our eyes off God and put them on the things of this world. And when we do that, we take our heart off loving that person.

In a society that is so focused on having and doing, it is so easy to fall into the trap of envy. But I pray that we all could have hearts of contentment… remembering that there are so many out there who have not. There are many out there who don’t have the most precious gift of all… Christ.

My prayer is that we all stay focused, envying not of what others have… but walking boldly sharing love because of what we do have.

My love to all,

Rachel

by Rachel

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Jan 11 2012

Love is Kind…

I find it amazing how you can think you know a word and somewhat understand what it means… that is until you REALLY study it and then it brings you to a whole new understanding. For me when I think of kindness… I have always just related it with being really nice and thinking of others before yourself.

It has been overwhelmingly convicting to study kindness… as I don’t feel as if I practice it as often as I should… especially with those I love the most.

The majority of what I have uncovered about kindness is that it is about forgiveness…

Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Colossians 3:12-14 “Therefore as God’s chosen people holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and FORGIVE whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Forgive as the Lord forgave you… just take a moment and process that. He forgives everyone… He forgives all.

I remember doing a study a while back called “One Month to Live.” There were many testimonies of forgiveness, but there was one in particular that I will never ever forget. There was a woman who’s son was murdered… I don’t remember all the details, but what I do remember is that she went to the hearing for the man who had killed her son… to tell him that she forgave him… and share the love of Christ. I was and still am blown away by this woman’s ability to forgive.

But you know, this sounds familiar… God forgave those who crucified His Son… Jesus Himself forgave those who killed Him. What an example of forgiveness displayed. Doesn’t it seem fickle that we can’t even forgive someone’s harsh words against us? I am reminded of that child hood saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.”

Can you imagine the love revolution that could begin if we began to exercise the true meaning of love??

I pray that our hearts would be forever changed… that we could be a people SO affected by God’s love that the overflow from our hearts would touch others.

If this speaks to your heart, and you need to forgive someone… Go do it, don’t wait. They might just need your love today.

My love to all,

Rachel

by Rachel

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Kathy Prescott - January 13, 2012 - 5:26 am

Not only are there others that I need to forgive, I need to forgive myself for some things I have done in my past. Thank you Rachel for opening my eyes to such an important issue for me and many others. I love you.

Rachel @ The Lazy Christian - January 12, 2012 - 2:53 pm

Forgiveness is something I’ve always struggled with. I have a whole host of childhood wrongs that need to be forgiven, but I get so caught up in wondering if the other party feels sorry that I forget that it’s really not about them—it’s about responding to God and the forgiveness he’s given me. Maybe I’ll get the hang of it one of these days.