So You Say You Love God

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. - (I John 4:20 NIV)

This scripture really stands out to me today because how many times I have professed my love for God but had unforgiveness in my heart toward another?

We humans have a strong sense of right and wrong. We want justice and we will set up our own rules to protect the one we love the most. The one we see in the mirror. So we protect ourselves and try to survive in this world. When we love; we love hard and when we hate it's more powerful than any force in our lives. We feel justified because the person we are hating DID something to us.

Bitterness, resentment, indifference, hatred, malice, jealousy and envy.... to name a few things are the result of unforgiveness. As the Body of Christ, we allow these things to rule in our lives and cause divisions. We are divided in our churches, divided in our hearts, divided in our beliefs, and so on.

This scripture says that if we can not love our brother/sister whom we have seen then we cannot love God. Meaning it is impossible. So I had to repent for lying to myself and God. Because there have been times that I said God I love you but had unforgiveness in my heart toward my brother or my sister.

It is this scripture that will keep many of us from making heaven our home. It is the reason many of us will hear the words, "Depart from me...." instead of "Enter into my rest...:".

Lord I pray now that you help us to forgive those that have wronged us and that you help us to love one another. So that our words and expression of love to and for you can be honest. Forgive us for thinking we could hate and still be in right standing with you. From this day forward we will love as you have loved, withholding nothing and unconditionally.

In those times when we feel wronged we will pray, forgive and trust you to correct it. We will love one another so we can love you.

You are Bound No More. 


Pastor Linda Hillman 
(c) 2015 LAH Ministries International 
Booklindahillman@gmail.com 

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Will You Be Made Whole 
In The Meantime

(Corrected Post) Oh How He Loves Me: A Father's Love

I did not grow up in the same house as my father. My biological father that is. However, he taught me some very important things even in his distance from me. 

As many of us have, especially African American children, my mother and father were divorced before I could walk good. Now, to their defense... it was a shotgun wedding. I mean my mother was 17 going on 18 when she found out she was pregnant with me and my father was 18 going on 19.  So needless to say, they got married and we became an instant family, I believe my mother was about 6 months pregnant walking down the aisle. 

So now back to my father and what he taught me. 

My father was not a rich man nor did he have a lot of material things to give, but I can say even in my darkest moments, My daddy loved me. even when I was unlovable and made it difficult for him to love me. He did. Wade Alfonso Hillman Sr. was the best daddy this girl could ever have. Let me tell you I made it hard on him to love me. I had heard so much about how terrible it was for my mother and the things she had suffered that I just really thought my father was a deadbeat dad. However, I only heard one side of the story.

When I finally got around to hearing his side, I was so sure it was a lie that I did not accept it. However, God used my Father's love for me to teach me about His love for me.

Like I said even when I made it extremely hard on my father. He never stopped trying to be my father. He never gave up on me and he never stop telling and showing m how much he loved me. His love won me over and we started having a better relationship and shortly after that he was gone. He had passed away. I regret the years that I would not accept his love for me.

I remember one day I was journaling about how much I missed my father and hearing him say I love you, when god spoke to me. "Why did you wait so long to receive his love?"  I then heard my voice saying about God and his love... I just can't receive God's love after all that I have done. God showed me that the same issue I had with my biological father was the same issue I was having with my Spiritual Father. He loved me unconditionally. He never asked for anything in return, but I could tell when I had hurt him. However, it dd not stop him.

If my biological father could love me unconditionally until death tore us apart. Then why is it so hard for me to understand the love of God for me. Not only did God robe himself in flesh to have something in common with me but he gave up his life that I might live. When Christ tell me he loves me, it is easier for me to understand what that kind of love is because I understand now how much my earthly father loved me.

Even though my dad has been gone for years, He is still close to me because every once in a while I remember him saying I love you. It was not eloquent or poetry, but it was heartfelt. so even now I felt his love. but even more importantly because of his love, I can now understand my heavenly father's love toward me. I understand that even when I disappoint him, he will not give up on me.

So thank you Wade Alfonso Hillman for loving me. it's because of your love I know an everlasting love.  RIP Daddy! Happy Father's day!

Lost And Searching For Answers: Love and Faith is the key!

I want to talk to you today about a subject that touches every one of us, young, old, male or female...LOSS.

Sometimes we are faced with things we think we just cant handle; the death of a beloved father, mother, sister, brother, child, spouse etc... but what happens when the loss we feel is the loss of self? What happens when we lose who we are? Whether it is beaten out of us, snatched from us, or we give it away. How do we recover from this loss?

We may strive to find the reasons behind it, but when those reasons don't make sense or add up, we question God. We look up to the heavens and say, "God, how could You do this to me? How did You allow this to happen? Why do I have to suffer with so much pain in my life? How can You put so much on my plate? Why do I have to suffer at all? Why Me? What did I ever do to You to deserve this?" We might even go as far as becoming angry with God and blaming Him for the evil that has befallen us.

The real point is this... we don't operate on God's timetable nor do we have a true understanding of His ways and thoughts. We allow the fear of the unknown to cloud our judgment and even the most logical theories fly out of the window. We would rather think a loving God is punishing us, and that a God that gave up His own life so that we might live, somehow hates us. Even though His word is true and He speaks only of how much He loves us. 

In the world we live in, how could we even begin to understand His plans and purposes for our existence? So we look to other things to add value to us. Thus, we lose ourselves even more. OH, we say, we are trying to find our purpose because somewhere we have lost our worth. That tragedy, we survived, has stripped away our happiness, left us with no joy, scattered our peace. We are lost, broken and devalued.

My friend, let me tell you, this is where FAITH comes in and begins to play a huge role in our healing and restoration. Faith helps us to see His message in the darkness of our caves of despair. Faith beckons us to believe again, to hope again, to search for the truth of God's love for and toward us. Faith requires us to love through the pain of loss. Faith tells us that God's message has never changed. This loss is there to teach us not to take the ones we love for granted while they are with us. To love hard and deep. It is there to teach us that we should love ourselves enough to want better for our lives. We should love ourselves enough to search for the treasures God placed in us the moment we were conceived and not to let anyone speak over us what He has not already spoken.

Faith says even the mundane has purpose. Even the fleeting moments are to be cherished. The solitude that comes in those glimpses of hope, should be embraced. As I reflect on the pain we feel when we lose who we are in a hurricane of issues and strife, I am reminded what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39.

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.'"

Faith breeds love. First, love God with your very being, Secondly, love yourself unconditionally, and then it spills over to mankind. It also reminds me that God is love; therefore there is no ill will in Him concerning you. He desires to see you prosper and walk in your expected end even if you never had a relationship with Christ. You cant be angry with a God that only wants the best for you. All He has is love to give.

He only requires us to love as fiercely, as bravely and as compassionately as we can and in that love, that human love, to allow faith to grow. Faith that allows us to forgive, and to continue to love unconditionally. As we find the peace of who we are once again, the pain of loss lessens and the joy of live emerges.

Today I challenge you to take a chance on FAITH and LOVE. Let your life begin again.

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2015 Living Above Hurt Ministries  

Pastorlindahillman@hotmail.com

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Through the scripture and the story of the woman with an issue of blood, Linda Hillman moves past the obvious, more common meaning of the text to a revelatory truth: GOD would not have us live unbalanced and incomplete lives. In her book WILL YOU BE MADE WHOLE, Linda reveals just how crucial balance is in every area of your life. Through scripture, practical principles and faith, Linda shows the reader how to get back on track when life derails. In Linda’s own words—“The one thing I have discovered in my life is that the pains I have had to endure were not to take me out of the game but to polish me for the end result.” Get your copy today and be made whole! 

Get your Copy now!

In today’s microwave society, we want everything in an instant. And we want it now. Between instant gratification and a sense of entitlement, we often forget that GOD is GOD and HIS will be done. We can’t lag behind HIM and we surely can’t jump ahead of HIM. Linda Hillman’s new book, IN THE MEANTIME, addresses this very subject—waiting upon GOD. 

Through vignettes of the Prophet Elijah’s life, Linda reveals GOD’s plan for waiting upon HIM. This concise but rich study provides insight into the character of GOD and how HE takes us through steps of preparation, motivation and confirmation in getting us through our seasons of waiting. The beauty and truth of Linda’s message is that you can have the same glorious breakthrough as Elijah had.