Matthew 5:39: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40: And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
41: And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42: Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43: Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46: For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47: And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
*************************************************************************************** In the child's letter to God it asks how God can love us all the time, when she can't love her family all the time. Don't we all suffer from this? People hope for, and sometimes expect perfection or at least complete trustworthiness, from family and friends. We are saddened when they don't hold up to those expectations. I remember the times I thought my parents were perfection and how bad I must have hurt them for them to be angry with me. The child above in her young life already knows that she can be hurt and can get angry. That is why I chose the scripture above.
My daughter sent me an e-mail with several of these letters to God and then I got another e-mail:
One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't anymore. No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, or say "I love you."

So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage ... and old cars .. and children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.

Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what. Life is important, like people we know who are special. And so, we keep them close!

I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'! Then I sent it to the people I think of in the same way. Who are "keepers" in your life? Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them?

I was thinking... I could die today, tomorrow or
next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said.


Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do.

And just in case GOD calls me home ......
I LOVE YA!!!
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Not only do we need to tell our friends that we love and accept them but others as well. I am guilty of not paying attention to people or hoping someone won't stop by and bother me. I am not in LOVE with some of my acquaintances (who I sometimes call friends) so how am I supposed to Love the guy that stole from me, or the lady in the store that could use my help to reach something (and I think I am too busy)? Jesus spelled it out for us in Matthew. If you read the whole chapter, you will see. The nicest thing is He came here and DID everything He is asking us to do, but He did one more thing that we didn't have to do. We Look at the cross and that is our image of His suffering for us. Its not. He bore the sins of ALL the Earth for ALL TIME! Can you imagine the pain you have experienced in your lifetime and that which is to come? He already suffered that pain for you 1st. Can you imagine all the sins committed in your life? He has suffered the effects of those too. To me that is almost too much to wrap my head around (I was no angel) so He had to suffer a lot at my expense. Can we go a step further and imagine that He has taken on all the sins of your parents and siblings...every single thing they ever did wrong to anyone? He not only took on the pain of our sins ( That don't seem too bad) but the sins of the murderer & thief (The lowliest, craziest, nastiest you can imagine). He felt the pain they caused and the pain they suffered too.He did that and even more at Gethsemane It hurt Him so bad that He asked God if it was possible to quit. ( IT WASN'T) It made Him shiver with pain and sweat blood. I have been in pain when no medicine seemed to take the pain away. I couldn't stand it for long before I was at the Dr. or hospital looking for help.
Its important to make sure we are taking care of all our relationships, fix the broken ones and heal from the pain. Jesus did. He forgave me for all the things I did to Him and others. Now I have to be sure I can ask to be forgiven for the hurts I caused others and forgive those that hurt me. I have taken some big steps here and pray I can continue with His help.
How about you, is there someone that loving seems out of the question? Can you see a reason to try to change that? I hope so...Jesus Did.

El Roi sees your past misery, your present pain, your uncertain future. He is so watchful that He knows when the smallest sparrow perishes (Matt. 10:29-31). And He is the God who sees and cares for you today. —Marvin Williams