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Touched By Grace

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By Robin Bertram


Touched by Grace

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (I Cor 13:4-8 NASB).


I looked into the eyes of a broken woman: her garments were tattered, her feet were dirty, her hair was unkempt. Susan had a sadness that permeated her very countenance; it could not be missed. She was the type of person you were not likely to run into on a Sunday morning in your church.

You could tell life had been very cruel to Susan. She had been living in a van with her boyfriend and they had parked in the back of another church about four or five miles away from my church. I was, at the time, attending a beautiful, old historic church in the city where I was living. Stained glass windows, a magnificent pipe organ, and dark mahogany pews adorned our sanctuary. It was beautiful.

Susan had found her way to my church because the pastor of the church where she and her boyfriend had parked their dilapidated van had recommended she come to receive prayer. The Lord had given me a prayer ministry and many people throughout the county came for personal prayer. My prayer partner and I prayed for Susan and, on her third visit with us, we were instructed by the leading of the Holy Spirit to have a foot washing ceremony.

God had given us eyes of compassion for her.

We began to prepare and my prayer partner brought out a pan of warm water. Susan started to cry as her feet went into the water. "Why would you do this for me? I'm not worthy. I should be doing this for you." As the tears streamed down her cheeks, I could see the Lord moving in her heart. It was if He were saying to her, You are worthy. You are My child.

Susan gave her life to Jesus. She was healed of a deep-seated depression and later went on to become a prayer minister herself. If ever there was a time that I tangibly felt the love of God, it was there at that very moment, when we knelt down to gently wash the feet of a desperate, broken woman.

“Put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord (SS 8:6 NASB).

Love's flashes are the very flame of the Lord. Love is an emotion. It is complex. It is strong. It is weighty. Love is more about what you are willing to give than what you are wanting to get. Love speaks louder than words, and no one has ever demonstrated pure, biblical love better than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus, when He walked on this earth, displayed acts of love for you and me to model, even up to and including His death on the cross.

Love Deeply
What can we all learn about loving with greater capacity? How would our lives be different if we would practice this kind of selfless love, the love Christ showed for us? How would our days look if we could overlook the hurts and pains of our past and reach out to those who have hurt us with unconditional love?


What can we learn?
We can first learn what love is, and then we can learn who we are to love. We are to love God because He first loved us. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to love those who hate or despise us. We are to love the most unlovable because that is what Jesus modeled for us.

How do we love?
We love through the eyes of compassion. We learn to love deeply because that is what Jesus modeled for us. This journey that you and I are on is best lived when we live it modeling Jesus' life and teachings and develop our own strong love walk. You will never regret actions done in love or a life filled with an intentional desire to love deeply.
Once touched by His grace, we have a desire to extend that grace, thus truly living a life of no regrets!


For more information visit https://www. robinbertram.tv
Connect here on Facebook: @officialRobinBertram

Robin Bertram is an author, speaker, ordained minister, and the executive producer and former host of the nationally and internationally syndicated television show, Freedom Today. She has been a leader of media leaders for 25 years and has placed several Christian programs onto the national and international stage. She is the author of No Regrets how loving deeply and living passionately can impact your legacy forever (Charisma House Publishing) and Hidden Treasures (Abingdon Press).


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