"Let love be genuine."

“Let love be genuine.” –Romans 12:9

The love of our God is genuine.

gen·u·ine: sincerely or honestly felt or experienced—(a deep and genuine love)

Synonyms: honest, real, true, right, natural, simple, sincere, unpretending

The love of our God is unlike any form of love we’ll ever be able to experience through man. In the core of its genuineness, the love of our God is unchanging, unconditional, unwavering, unending, unpretending, unshakable, undefiled, pure, holy, and real.

“When God looks at you He does not see your sin. He has not one condemning thought toward you (Romans 8:1). But that’s not all. You have a new heart.”

—John Eldredge

Even in our yucky, sinful nature God chooses to look past every ounce of our sin and circumstances and sees us as righteous and holy. Genuine love requires concentration and effort. It demands our all. God did just that. Our God gave His absolute all, and all for us. Our God offered His most treasured and most precious possession, His Son—all because He loves us. God didn’t offer up His Son for us to just hang out with at the local coffee shop. Our God offered His Son up for a cause more valuable than we will ever realize—for the sake of our lives, our hearts—our salvation. For our salvation to become valid in Christ, a much greater cost was to be pursued and paid—death. Our God chose to offer His Son up to death—to a brutal and malicious scheme of assault—all because He loves us that much. If this doesn’t show how genuine and real the love of our God is then I don’t know what does.

The past few days God has been speaking over and over to my spirit Romans 12:9, “Let love be genuine.” To sit back and think about how genuine the love of our God is and then compare it to how I love—talk about feeling undeserving and unworthy alongside feeling like I’ve cheated those around me in the “love department.” How many times do we really sit back and think about how genuine our love is? Love goes way beyond feelings, emotions and 8 simple letters (I love you). Love is forgiveness at it’s finest. Love is looking past what the world sees and into the heart of the individual. Love is taking the time to actually sit down and carry on a conversation with the person that the world considers to be “unlovable” and “untouchable.”

Genuine love is allowing yourself to be stripped naked and beaten and scorned by man. It’s allowing your flesh to be ripped to shreds to the point that your body becomes unrecognizable due to the shredded flesh and blood gushing forth. It’s allowing man to compress your head with a thorn-enveloped crown. It’s allowing man to impel your hands and feet with nails much larger than normal into a wooden cross. Genuine love is allowing yourself to take upon the sin of every man in its entirety. Genuine love is REAL. Genuine love is DEEP. Think about that for a minute—our God sent His Son to become DEATH—all so that we may receive salvation.

I don’t know about you, but when I sit and think about what true, genuine love is I definitely don’t feel like I measure up or that I’ll ever be able to, all on top of feeling unworthy. Yet in the midst of my feelings of unworthiness and not feeling as though I’ll ever measure up, my God reassures me that I can love genuinely. Jesus genuinely loved through a bloody and gruesome death on a cross, ultimately taking on the entirety of the sin of this world, and in that becoming completely vulnerable before the world and allowing the very core of His heart to be exposed—a genuine love. Although it may seem much greater than we could ever imagine and pretty much impossible, we can in fact love genuinely just as our God did and still does.

Before we can ever learn to genuinely love those around us, we must first learn to genuinely love our God. For us to be able to genuinely love our God we must be able to receive His love without hesitation. How do we get to that point of receiving His love and in return loving Him genuinely? It all begins with us daily dying to our flesh and allowing ourselves to become completely vulnerable before our God. Through death to our flesh we have to get to the point to where we not only can become vulnerable before our God, but also to where we can stand before Him completely naked, without cover, as an open book. In that moment of becoming completely vulnerable and naked before our God we begin to see through the eyes of our King, and no longer gaze upon our sin and circumstances, but instead we gaze upon the face of our God. It’s then that we can receive His love without hesitation and in return love Him genuinely, and through our genuine love for our God we learn how to genuinely love those around us.

As we daily die to our flesh and allow the very core of our heart to be exposed and to become one with our God, our spirits rise up within us, and enter into a union with Christ, unlike no other and allow us to love more genuinely than we ever thought we were capable of. We can’t get to this point overnight, although I wish it were like that. This is a daily process, one in which grows over time and becomes deeper as days pass. As we daily die to our flesh and allow the core of our heart to be exposed, and as our spirits join in union with Christ we slowly begin to learn how to love genuinely just as our God does. Now granted, we will never be perfect or measure up to our God, but we can strive daily to be as close to our God and as in as perfect of a union with Christ as we can be.

I pray that our God would begin even now to stir up a longing and a yearning within you—a desire to genuinely love our God and those all around you. I pray that you would no longer gaze upon sin and circumstances, but instead that you would grab the hand of our God and gaze upon His face. I pray that you would allow yourself to become completely vulnerable and completely naked before our God, all while fully exposing the very core of your heart as your spirit enters into a union with Christ. I pray that you would begin a lifelong journey of not only learning how to genuinely love our God, but a journey of genuinely loving those around you.

HisLoveIsGenuine.

Until then.

Here in His arms my soul rests.

It’s in His love that my heart is calmed.

In His presence I know they are found, safe and sound.

His love abounds, reassuring of His peace.

Reassuring of His strength, a strength unlike any other.

For now I sit.

I sit with a longing, a stirring.

A desire to see their faces.

A desire to feel their embraces.

A yearning remains.

A yearning to pray.

To pray with them.

To reach a realm of the heavenlies, a realm unknown to men.

A longing lingers.

A longing to leave.

To leave the ways of mediocrity.

To leave the ropes of entanglement.

To leave the ways of ordinary.

To leave the ways of easy and safe.

A longing to run.

To run into the ways of love, a love unhindered.

To run into hope, a hope rooted in Him.

To run into different and free.

To run into complicated and dangerous.

To run knowing He’s carrying me through.

This moment I shall soon see.

This moment I shall soon know.

For now I wait.

For now I seek.

For now I long.

For now I call out, calling out to my King.

He knows my heart and its desires.

Its desire to run.

Its desire to be there.

Mexico and no where else.

He knows.

And longs.

Just as I do.

A season is brewing.

A season of adventure.

A season of unhindered abandonment to Him.

A season of love, a love so pure.

A season of growing.

For soon I shall see their faces.

I shall feel their embraces.

For soon I shall be reunited.

Until that moment.

Until that day.

Until then, I sit and I wait.

Longing&Yearning.

a glimpse of my heart...

I just had to share this precious face with all of you... I honestly cannot find the words to describe how much I miss my sweet Solomé. I long for the moment I get to see him again (only 10 more days!) I cannot wait to love on him and kiss his sweet little face!

This is very much a random blog post... and quite out of the ordinary in comparison to my other posts. I just couldn't not share this sweet picture with all of you. I would love for each of you to join me in keeping Solomé and his family in your prayers as they daily trek through life.

I long to see my precious Solomé and can't wait to share new photos and new stories with all of you when I return!

I LoveThis Kid.

His love.

I've finally found a chance to sit and write... these moments don't come around too often, so I want to pour out as much as I can in this moment. Continuing on from the previous post... I continue to sit and ponder as I go back and think about all that has taken place over the past several weeks. I sit here and I think about all that God has allowed my family to experience during this time and all that He has done in and through us as individuals and as a family to advance His kingdom... really and truly it's humbling. Why me? Why our family? I have racked my brain day in and day out trying to figure out why in the world He would use us. Yet again, just as I said in my previous post, my answer is all of 2 words, His love. He looked deep within our family and saw the desires of our heart, individually and as a family. He saw our love for those broken and without a home...our love for those walking in the will of God, but need a home to walk into. He saw those desires and He allowed them to be fulfilled. In less than 2 months of moving to Birmingham we went from a family of 5 to a family of 7... Gareth and Seth lived with us for 4 months... a month ago Sarah moved in... and today, Lauren moved in... Have any of these opportunities/experiences been anything like we thought they would be?! Absolutely not... yes, they've been hard at times yet they've also been far greater than we ever could've imagined! Some days are exciting and wonderful, while others are harder than ever and make me want to yank my hair out, but at the end of the day I know that we, as a family, are smack dab in the middle of His will, and there's no where else I'd rather be. In the midst of every "hair-yankin'-out" moment the love of my King has never failed to become greater than ever in that exact moment. It truly is because of His love that my family and I are able to be used in the way that we have over the past several weeks and even months. As I sit and ponder all that has taken place I still am unable to fully wrap my mind around it all. God is definitely stretching me and preparing me for the days to come. The past several weeks have definitely been super hard at times, and it’s in those moments that I begin to see Him and what He’s doing in a whole new way, an even more real and beautiful way. My family and I are an extremely close family. With that said, having to ‘share’ my mom and dad has been extremely hard at times, but seeing what God has done in and through them as parents, not only to us as their own children, but to Gareth, Seth, and Sarah as well, has been beyond amazing! In the past several weeks I have seen my parents dig deep within them and their amazing Godly spirits and pour forth some of the most amazing parenting skills ever… and yet again, it’s all because of His love. Because of His love they are able to pour into us along with Gareth, Seth, Sarah, and now Lauren with pure, beautiful love.

Taking a slight turn, and focusing on 2 weeks ago in particular… God moved beautifully that week, as He tends to do every week. I had the wonderful opportunity to sell merch for our pastor, David Nasser, during the week of the Gatlinburg Xtreme Conference. To be quite honest, the first day I was there, setting everything up, I was nervous like crazy, but yet again, my precious Jesus had it all planned out and was ready to take care of me. During that week I was able to reconnect with some amazing long-lost friends. It was so precious getting to see them again, after being away for at least 10 years. As if that wasn’t enough… each day had a morning and evening session, and Skillet was the main group for 3 of the evening sessions. My little area for selling merch just so happened to be set up right beside Skillet’s merch tables. With that said, I had the amazing opportunity of meeting Tate Olsen, a super precious person that happens to be the cellist for Skillet. He also takes care of all of their merch. You may be wondering what’s so great and wonderful about meeting the cellist for Skillet?! Well, let me just say, Tate is super wonderful… He made sure I had everything I needed throughout the week, and not to mention, God has gifted him like crazy when it comes to the cello! Between my long-lost friends that I reconnected with and precious Tate, they all took care of me so wonderfully while I was there, and I absolutely cannot thank my Jesus enough for them and their precious hearts! Thank you SO much Hamner and McIntosh famjams and thank you TONS too, Tate! And just when I thought that was all for the week, I received a text around 3am on New Year’s Day to find out that Sarah had just accepted Christ! Yet again, another illustration of His love, and beautifully amazing it truly is. If we were/are supposed to be a family of 7 instead of 5 solely for the sake of Sarah accepting Christ, then it is worth every single “hair-yankin’-out” moment that has been and will come as the days pass.

So, as you can see (or read in this case)… our sweet Jesus has been up to a ton in the Elmore household over the past several weeks and even months. As a family and even individually we have been blessed beyond anything imaginable, and we have had the amazing opportunity to see His hand at work within our own home. I pray that you would see at least a glimpse of all that He’s doing in and through our family, solely for His glory and for His kingdom!

I pray that God would begin to use YOU to shake the nations, beginning within your home and family. I pray that you would be broken, not by the words in this blog, but by the power of His Spirit. I pray that your heart would beat in perfect rhythm to the heartbeat of our King. I pray that you would become an open and willing vessel, longing to be used solely for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom. I pray that you would experience the work of His hands around you daily. I pray that you would see His face and His love in a totally new and refreshing way, beginning even now. I declare and claim every ounce of all of this in Jesus’ name and by the power of His Holy Spirit! –AMEN!

LostInAweOfHim.

I sit & I ponder...

I sit and I ponder all that's taken place over the past several weeks, especially this past week. It all makes me wonder...Why me? Why my family? What is so great and grand about us that would make Him want to use us to advance His kingdom and build the relationships that we have? I've wondered about each of those time and time again over this past week...you want to know my answer?! His love. Yep, that's my answer...it's all of 2 words. I shall expound upon all of this later (hopefully by this weekend). In the meantime I challenge you to rest in His arms and focus on His love.

InHisLove.

He CHOSE to...

“What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.”

{Hebrews 2:9-10}

Jesus humbly chose to become one of us, an everyday human. He left every ounce of royalty and honor just so that He could become one of us. He wanted to walk and talk among us, us filthy and unrighteous sinners. He wanted to live with us, eat with us, and spend time with us. He willingly chose to.

He chose to become one of us because He wanted to die for us. He very easily could have come to earth just strictly for the moment of His death. Instead He chose to actually become one of us. He chose to die a very realistic and gruesome death and be beaten by us, the ones He chose to live among.

He didn’t choose to die only for those who are considered good in the eyes of the world. He chose to die for everyone, even those who physically beat Him and drove the nails through His hands and feet. He chose to die for you and me, for us filthy sinners who daily beat Him and drive nails through His hands and feet as we enter into temptation and linger in sin. He knew that we were going to beat Him and persecute Him daily as we linger in sin, yet He still chose to die for you and me.

Through the grace of God, Jesus tasted death for every single one of us, regardless of how filthy and nasty we are as total and complete sinners. The same God who created the universe chose to send His only Son (who chose to live among us) to this world to die for us.

You and I are completely filthy and totally undeserving of the sacrifice of Christ, yet He chose to give us this sacrifice and gift of eternal life.

I pray that you would let this penetrate into your very soul. I pray that you would let the words of Christ sink deep into your heart. I pray that you would see this in a new and refreshing way. I pray that you would become soaked in the very glory and love of our beautiful King. I dare you to share this truth with someone else. I promise, God will move in a way you NEVER thought imaginable.

AllBecauseHeChose.

{psalm 62:5-8}

The past couple of days have consisted of unwrapping this particular chunk of scripture and as I’ve been digging into it God’s just spoken and my heart’s flowed through writing. There was no way I could keep all of this inside…I just had to share it with you guys. It’s just my heart poured out in words…

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God,

for my hope is in Him. He alone is my

rock and my salvation, my fortress

where I will not be shaken. My victory

and honor come from God alone. He is

my refuge, a rock where no enemy

can reach me. O my people, trust in

Him at all times. Pour out your heart

to Him, for God is our refuge.”

Psalm 62:5-8

vs. 5 – “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him.”

If the totality of my hope is in Christ then my spirit can rest quietly in His peace. When my hope is in Christ and in Him alone everything else fades and no longer matters. When the totality of my hope is in Christ worry and doubt no longer exist; all fear is gone. By placing my hope solely in Christ my spirit gains strength and comfort. When I place the totality of my hope in Christ I no longer see the attacks of the enemy, but rather the triumphs of my King!

vs. 6- “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken."

Through Christ and Christ alone my salvation is found. Because of the sacrifice of Christ my salvation can exist in Him and Him alone. When I find my salvation solely in Christ and not through works and the things of this world He becomes my fortress, my foundation upon which I stand. In Him I cannot be shaken; He is my rock and my protector.

vs. 7- “My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.”

Honor and victory that is found within the world is false and transparent, lacking solidity. When honor and victory are found in Christ and in Him alone it’s opaque, containing a solid and firm foundation that overflows with the truth of His Word. True honor and victory that’s found in Christ and in Him alone resounds louder than anything found in the world and it proclaims His name and power louder than anything imaginable! When my honor and victory are found in Christ He becomes my sole refuge and not one of my enemies can reach me. *NOTE: He’s always been my refuge, but when I finally choose to find my honor and victory solely in Him I finally see Him as my one and only source of true refuge and forget the world exists! It’s in that moment that I see the true solidity of Christ!

vs. 8- “O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.”

People of today, of this world, will let us down. Period. It happens whether we want it to or not. We will lose trust in people regardless of how ‘good’ or ‘moral’ they may be, simply because we’re all human. People fail—our God doesn’t! When our trust is placed solely in Christ we’re never let down; promises are never broken. When the totality of our trust is placed in our King we no longer have reason to fear or worry. Christ longs for the totality of our trust. He longs for us to empty the contents of our heart out before Him. He longs for us to be real with Him just as He is with us. He IS our refuge and in that is the safest of all places for us to release our heart—in Him and Him alone!

InHimAlone.