Mark B Weaver

Love And Our Words: Part Two

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 02:11:55 -0700

What Does Love Do With What I Know About Another Person?

Gossip is about far more than words. It touches how we see one another, how we love one another, and how the world sees Jesus through us. In these three blogs, we'll look at what Love does when another person's story finds its way into our hands.

The Last Apologetic

When Our Love Makes Jesus Visible

"I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me." John 17:23

The Prayer Of Jesus

Shortly before the cross, Jesus prayed for us, and one of the deepest desires of His heart was that we would experience the shared life and love He has always known with His Father: “I in them and You in Me.”

Then Jesus connects that union with something extraordinary. Our love for one another would help the world recognize Him and discover that the Father loves them with the very love He has for His Son.

Maybe our greatest apologetic has always been Love.

What The World Sees

What Does Love Do With What I Know About Another Person?

Before The Words Leave My Mouth

The Power We Hold In Another Person's Story

"The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts." Proverbs 26:22

Words Have A Life

Have you ever wondered why gossip can be so difficult to resist?

Proverbs describes gossip as a choice morsel. Something about knowing what we weren't supposed to know, or sharing what someone else hasn't heard, appeals to something within us.

Yet once those words leave our mouths, we have very little control over where they go or what someone else adds to them.

A few careless words can travel farther than we ever intended and remain long after we've forgotten saying them.

Someone's Story

More Than An Answer

Christ Is Our Life

"Christ, who is your life..." — Colossians 3:4

The Answers I Wanted

I've spent a good part of my life asking the Father for answers.

Sometimes I needed wisdom. Sometimes I needed direction. Other times I simply wanted Him to change a circumstance that felt bigger than I was. Looking back, I don't think those were the wrong prayers. They were simply the prayers of a son who needed his Father.

What I didn't realize was that while I was asking the Father for answers, He had already given me something far greater.

He had already given me Himself.

An Old Friend

Andrew Murray has been one of the companions on my journey for many years. Every time I return to Abide in Christ or Absolute Surrender, it feels less like opening a book and more like spending time with an old friend.

He uses the picture of a physician. A physician works from the outside, treating what is broken until we no longer need his care.

Jesus does the opposite.

He doesn't simply help us exist.

He lives and works from the inside and becomes our life.

I realized I had spent years...Read More

The Gate Is Open

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 02:19:05 -0700

The Gate Is Open

Learning To Live In The Freedom We Already Have

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Galatians 5:1

When The Gate Opens

Have you ever wondered what would happen if every enclosure at a zoo were suddenly opened?

Some animals would probably run. Others might stay close to the only environment they have known, even though nothing is keeping them there anymore. The gate may be open, but years of captivity have taught them where it feels safe to stay.

I wonder how often we do the same thing.

Jesus has already set us free, yet old patterns, addictions, codependence, fear, shame, or familiar ways of thinking can keep us living inside boundaries that no longer define us.

The Familiar Can Feel Safe

Being set free and learning to live free are not always the same thing.

Sometimes the old enclosure feels safer simply because we know it. We know how to survive there. Even patterns that have hurt us can become familiar enough that stepping beyond them feels frightening.

Abba doesn't shame us for this.

When The Weight Is Too Much

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 02:29:03 -0700

When The Weight Is Too Much

Seeing What The Father Sees

The Transforming Power Of A Renewed Mind

Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

More Than Better Thinking

I think many of us have been taught that renewing our minds means...Read More

What Pain Cannot Tell You

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 01:43:33 -0700

What Pain Cannot Tell You

Listening For Love In The Loss

"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." — Jeremiah 29:13

God uses our losses as holy sandpaper—refining, strengthening, preparing. Nothing is wasted. — Mark B. Weaver

When Life Hurts

Pain has a way of getting our attention.

Loss can slow us down enough to notice things we once hurried past. A relationship changes, someone we love is no longer there, a dream doesn't unfold the way we hoped, or life simply takes a turn we never expected.

I've heard it said many times that God doesn't waste our pain.

I believe that's true, but I've also learned that pain can be wasted when it becomes the only voice we're listening to.

Another Voice

Jeremiah gives us a beautiful invitation: “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

Pain may be what gets our attention, but it doesn't have to become our teacher.

In the middle of loss, Abba keeps drawing our hearts toward His, where we begin hearing something pain could never tell us on its own.

Above Me, Below Me, Beside Me

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 02:23:23 -0700

Above Me, Below Me, Beside Me

Seeing One Another Through The Father's Eyes

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..." — 1 John 4:18

Why Does It Bother Me?

Have you ever been around someone who seems to think they are better than you?

Something about it can get under our skin. We may become irritated, defensive, or offended, and before long we're having an internal conversation about their pride.

They may indeed be struggling with pride, but there is another question worth asking:

"Why does how they see themselves, or how they see me, have so much power over me?"

The Old Hiding Place

The first response to shame appears very early in our story. Adam and Eve suddenly saw themselves differently, became afraid, covered themselves, and hid from the One who loved them.

"I was afraid...so I hid." — Genesis 3:10

Fear, hiding, and blaming still show up in different ways. One person may shrink back because they feel unworthy, while another builds an impressive image because they need others to believe it.

What looks like inferiority and what looks like superiority can both grow from the fear of being truly known.

The Beauty Of Ordinary Days

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 02:10:37 -0700

The Beauty Of Ordinary Days

When Abba Opens Our Eyes Again

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." James 1:17

An Ordinary Morning

This morning I woke up.

That may not sound extraordinary until you remember that not everyone did.

I got out of bed on my own. I walked to the bathroom without anyone helping me. I made a cup of coffee, sat down at my computer, encouraged a few friends, did work I genuinely enjoy, and even earned a living while doing it.

Before the morning was very old, I had already been surrounded by gifts I hardly noticed.

The Gifts We Forget

It's amazing how quickly ordinary blessings become ordinary expectations.

We seldom thank the Father for walking until we're unable to walk. We rarely think about clear vision until it begins to fade. A conversation with someone we love, another sunrise, another quiet morning...these things quietly become part of the background until something reminds us how precious they really are.

Abba Father hasn't been correcting me; He's been awakening me to His extraordinary love in ordinary days.

Seeing...Read More

Walking In His Will

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 02:04:28 -0700

Walking In His Will
The Joy Of Walking With Abba
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
The Question I've Prayed
One of the questions I've prayed more than almost any other is, "Father, what is Your will?"
I've prayed it over jobs, relationships, opportunities, crossroads, and decisions that seemed too important to get wrong. Looking back, I don't think those were bad prayers. They simply weren't the only conversation my Father wanted to have with me.
The Answer Was Already There
Then one day I found myself reading Paul's words as if for the first time.
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
I had read those verses many times before, but this time I wasn't looking for another instruction.
I found an invitation.
Rejoicing keeps my heart turned toward His goodness. Prayer keeps the conversation going. Gratitude opens my eyes to His faithfulness, even while life is still unfolding.
That isn't a checklist; it is what walking with Someone looks like.