Romans 8:38
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Isaiah 43:3,4
For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  I give Egypt for your ransom and Cush and Seba in your stead.  Since you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you.

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing.
 
The Lord our God is so in love with us that before we were created, He had a plan for us.  While we were yet sinners, He was so in love with us that He, the Holy Spirit and the Son of God had a plan to redeem us from our own foolishness.  His
love is poured out like anointing oil over Aaron when he was consecrated to service.
 
His love letter to us is 66 books long. It tells of love poured out on a rebellious people who never got it.  It tells of the love given to those who chose to believe Him.  It tells of a place so beautiful that it can not be described.  A place in which we will spend an eternity. 
 
His love is displayed in a sunrise, a sunset, a baby's smile.  His love surrounds us in the air we breath and the sweet aroma of flowers.  His love is in the music in our hearts and the songs on our lips.  His love is poured out when tears fall and
hearts break or when joy is so intense we can hardly bear it.
 
How does He love us?  We can't begin to comprehend the depth or height of His love, but we can rejoice in it and share it with others.

Acts 1:1-19
 
Remember the song from a long time ago, 'I fought the law and the law won'?  I am showing my age.    When I read about Paul and how he fought against the Lord, I remembered that song.  We fight against the Lord's ways but He wins eventually. 
   
Newton, who wrote 'Amazing Grace'' spent a lifetime running from the Lord and eventually became an ambassador for the Lord.  After being raised by a godly woman of faith, Newton lost her in death.  He joined the English Navy and fought the authorities.  He fought against everything that she, his mother, had taught him.
   
The Lord, through a mighty storm at sea, brought this rebellious man to his knees in repentance and salvation. Fighting against the Lord of the harvest showed Newton just
how much God loved him and how far the Lord was willing to go to bring him, Newton, to redemption and eternal forgiveness.     

After being the captain of a slave ship for many years, Newton became an advocate for outlawing slavery in England.  Newton was the inspiration of a man named Wilberforce.  This man introduced the legislation to the English parliament.  It was enacted after the death of Newton but his influence was the driving force behind the new law.
   
When the Lord has a job for us to do, we often are reluctant to follow His leading.  Our resistance can sometimes help us to grow into who He wants us to be.  When we learn to
trust Him with our lives, we stand in awe at how He works in and through us.  Learning to trust and obey can be a rough road to travel, but the rewards are far beyond what we ever imagined.
  
Not everyone will make a great and notable difference but the Lord rewards obedience far more than sacrifice and obedience can change the world for Christ's sake.

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
 
We are the Lord's gardeners.  We break up fallow ground, water, weed, cultivate and harvest as led by the Lord.  We watch for blight, bugs and weeds that will harm His people. 

He sometimes must prune His people and we are called to comfort and nurture the wounded warriors.  We are to help them pick up the pieces of their armor and help them to secure it back in place.  When their armor gets too heavy for them to carry, the Lord guides us to carry it for them by keeping them covered in prayer, being a good listener without spouting spiritual platitudes and just being available.
 
When we are obedient to His will, we will see His mighty hand at work.  His Name will be lifted up and all the nations of the world will see.  The nations that hate us as the children of the Most High God will bow down at His Name and confess His authority and majesty. 
 
Those small seeds of faith that we plant in our every
day lives will spring forth and grow into towering cedars like those that were chosen to build the temple of the Lord.
Don't despise the tiny efforts or think that the small
deeds we do will go unnoticed.  These are noticed and honored by the Lord.  These tiny efforts will far outshine the great and monumental but rare efforts that bring immediate praise and then are soon forgotten.
 
We are God's gardeners.  We plant seeds of righteousness
and praise.  He, the Lord, rejoices over the harvest and honors His workers.  He is the Lord of the harvest and we, His workers, will share in His joy.
 
Father, we come to you, seeking wisdom to plant, nurture and harvest those who You desire to come into Your kingdom.  Guide us in the way You want us to lead others.  Give us a spirit of mercy and grace to follow where You lead and grow where You plant us.

A planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.
 
The Lord has a plan for us that He made before time began.  He gifted us with the  abilities needed to serve Him.  Our part in the plan is to be available when and where He has
chosen to plant us.