God Is Love!

I think I mentioned we are studying the Book of John in my current small group.  What I’ve leaved during the study is that the entire book is a declaration of God’s love for us.  Yes, it is one of the Gospels telling the story of Jesus’s life and His sacrifice and the good news of His Resurrection and our path to salvation.  It is also a book of the love God feels for us.  All throughout the book, it tells of how God provided us everything we need.  Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost (Luke 19:10).  He taught us how we should live in the fullness of God.  He gave us direction and an example for loving others.  

If you notice, Jesus engaged people of all walks of life and boldly told the will of God providing a way for all of us to have a relationship with Him. At the end of His earthly life, Jesus endured a death designed for the lowest of criminals to carry every sin we’ve ever committed since the beginning of mankind and every sin we will ever commit. Can you imagine Jesus who was with God when the world was created before time began, willingly obeying God and being separated from God so He could save us?  How much must He have loved us to do that?  We think about The Cross and the beatings that made Jesus unrecognizable, but do we really think of the separation from God that Jesus endured?  I know how I feel when I pray and God is silent.  I know He is still there.  I can’t imagine Jesus knowing that the Father had turned from Him because of the sin He carried and in Jesus’s case, it wasn’t His sin, but mine….and yours. 

God Is Love (1 John 4:7-8) and He has shown it through all He’s done for us.  It’s important to remember He is Love because we so many times think He is trying to take something away from us.  And sometimes He is – He gives us guidance to remove the detrimental things from our lives.  He wants us to live abundant lives and the only way to do that is to have some things cut out of us.  Because God loves us so dearly, He only wants what is best for us.  When we realize that, the things God removes don’t appear to be so important or fun.  The closer we draw to God and His love for us, the more like Jesus we become.  Yes, we will still make mistakes and sin, but God’s Grace abounds (Romans 5:20).  So we don’t have to be bound by the things that are not like Jesus.  As we ask for forgiveness, God will give us more Grace to cover the sin.

Also, because God is Love, if we know Him we love.  He expects us to love others in the same way He loves us, even when they are unlovable.  Think if Jesus had waited until we were lovable to love us.  What shape would we be in?  Would we be saved right now? I’m not sure I would.  As Jesus loves us, we are to love others.  Let’s look to Him for guidance and keep our focus on pleasing Him. Let’s remember that life is a process and we are to make progress.  Let’s strive to love like He does. If we know Him, what choice do we really have?

Pride Leads to Destruction

How many times have you heard people talking about living their truth or bragging about what they’ve accomplished?  If you listen to some people, you’d think they had it all together and never had any issues.  They sound super confident and if a problem does arise, they are going to solve it all on their own. 

I almost feel sorry for those people.  How much pressure must you be under to have to proclaim your own glory?  I’ve often thought about the self-worth of someone who feels they have to impress others all the time.  Who are they trying to impress?  Why?  What’s wrong with admitting we have problems and can’t do everything ourselves?  What pedestal have people placed themselves on that no one can know their frailties and failures?  The fear and anxiety of having to be right or “on” all the time to please or impress others must be overwhelming at times. 

I sometimes find myself in the posture of wanting things to be perfect and wanting to perform for people to see.  Thankfully, those times are fewer and fewer.  I have to remind myself that my life belongs to God because Jesus paid a price for it and bought me out of the bondage to sin and death (1 Cor 6:20). I don’t have to impress other people.  My purpose is to be obedient to the will of God and to act in order to fulfill His good pleasure (Phil 2:13) as He works in me.   

I’ve been blessed beyond anything I would have imagined as a child.  I had no idea or inclination I could do half the things I’ve done in my lifetime, but God is faithful and He has blessed me.  Yes, I played a part in it, but God deserves the credit for it.  I did the work He led me to do to the best of my ability, but He gave me the wisdom and knowledge to pull it off, like getting a college degree in engineering.  In some cases, He gave me the strength and will to build the stamina to do something, like walking a half marathon in just over 3.5 hours. In some cases, He gave me the courage to ask for things I wanted to experience, like asking for an internship while I was in grad school with a company that didn’t even have an internship program.  In some cases, He gave me a spirit of adventure, like going to Texas by myself during the summer to work for a company after my first year of college.  In all of these instances and so many more, He provided the opportunity and opened doors so I could obediently walk through them.  I celebrated these times and still do.  We can and should celebrate our achievements and opportunity, but we must sincerely give God credit and glory for them as He gave us our gifts and talents (Prov. 18:15-16).  Achievement would not be possible without Him.

The bible says we have not because we ask not.  This is where pride hurts us most.  Pride says we don’t need to ask.  We can do “it” on our own.  Pride flies in the very face of who God is.  Anyone who’s honest with themselves fully understands that we can do nothing without God’s intervention (John 15:5).  He owns everything (Exodus 19:5).  It is only through Christ that we can only do all things (Phil 4:13). 

If you want God’s full blessing on your life (you’re blessed just to be breathing), humility and obedience are key.  God loves us! Yes, He does! But, a relationship with Him is necessary if we want the full richness and abundance of life.  We cannot obtain it separate and apart from Him, not matter how good we think we are (Romans 12:3).  The fact is we all have areas to improve because we are works in progress. Some people believe because they have money, they don’t need anything else.  They have just replaced God with the money and that is a dangerous thing.  Money can be made and lost or stolen.  God CANNOT.  If you belong to Him, He will never leave nor forsake you.  He provides the power to get wealth (Deut 8:18) – remember it’s just a tool to further His kingdom. 

This world is not ours, it’s His (Psalm 24:1).  When we start to think of it that way, we’ll treat it and each other better and get better results.  As long as we think we know better than Him, we will continue down the path of ruin.  Pride is a hurtful, damaging thing (Prov 16:18).  It will only lead to destruction. 

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Do You Know The Word?

Yes, I know.  The first question is always, do you know Jesus?  If not, now is the perfect time to get to know Him.  Tomorrow is not promised and we all have to make a choice to accept Jesus’s gift of salvation or not.  Remember, waiting is a choice not to get to know Him, even if it doesn’t feel like it.  

Today, I’m asking how much of God’s inspired written Word do you know.  Every so often, this is a question I ask myself without really thinking of the question.  What I mean is I think about how much of the Word I actually know.  The answer comes alive practically every week when I’m writing the blog.  The Word instructs us to hide God’s Word in our hearts so we won’t sin against Him.  So, how much of the Word do you know? 

I know some may be asking, why do I need to know the Word?  I have my bible on me at all times.  I know what you mean.  Before I started writing this, I checked and I have bibles everywhere.  I have bibles in my bedroom, my living room, in my car, on all my devices and yet, if I don’t have some Word hidden in my heart, I can’t pull it out when I need it the most.  When things are happening, I may not have time to find a scripture to help in that situation.  I will say the more time you spend in the Word, more of the Word will get into you.  I’m a witness to that.  I don’t know what scriptures get you through your days, but I wanted to share a few of the one that help me every day.

When I find myself getting distracted by what is going on in the world around me and things seem bleak, I go to Roman 8:28, “All things work together for the good of those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose.”  This scripture reassures me that no matter what happens or what is going on the Lord is working it out for me, because I am His.  He has it all in control. 

When I’m asked to do something that scares me or I feel ill prepared to handle in my own strength, I turn to Phil 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  I remember that I don’t have to operate in my own strength.  Christ is there to strengthen me.  I can be weak and He will be strong because His Holy Spirit lives on the inside of me.

When I get into myself and am feeling selfish, I look to Matt 22, “Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind…..And love your neighbor as yourself.”  This quickly reminds me that this life is not all about me.  If God is Lord of my life, through Jesus, my life should reflect that.  I don’t mean there should not be self-care, because there should.  We all need rest and rejuvenation.  But our wants and desires should not outweigh the needs of others.  Jesus proved that by going to the cross and if He is our example, we must take this seriously. 

When I’m confused or trying to justify my own way, I think to Prov 4:7, “Wisdom is the principal thing, so get wisdom and with all your getting, get understanding.” Godly wisdom comes from God Himself.  If we live our lives according to His Word, we don’t have to worry about anything else, because He has it in hand.  He will do what He says, we just have to do our part and be obedient.  It might not always be easy and we may not always like it, but if we want our lives to glorify Him, wisdom will help get us there. 

When my faith is weak or things I see make me question or doubt, I go to 2 Cor 5:7, “For we walk by faith and not by sight.”  It reminds me that I don’t know everything…God does.  He created everything that was created and He knew the ending before He created the beginning. Why wouldn’t I trust Him?  Even when we (human beings) betrayed Him and sinned, He still provided a way back for us, a plan He had before the beginning of time.  This leads me to, Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith is it impossible to please God,” and to James 2:17, “Faith without works is dead.”  We can’t please God without faith, and the faith we have in Him, leads us to do good works so that He will be glorified. 

These are just a few of the scriptures I hold close to my chest, when I need to pull something out to get me back on track.  There are many more.  I hope you have some “go to” scriptures that provide support when you need them – the ones I mentioned above have been invaluable to me.  Remember, God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, more than you can ask or think, but you have to trust Him and know He can.  Knowing His word reminds you of Who He is. 

Be blessed! 

Jesus Paid It All

Happy Resurrection Day!!!!  I hope you are celebrating our Risen Savior with you family and friends because He deserves all honor and praise and glory. 

This advent season has been different.  I can’t completely explain it, but it’s different.  Maybe it’s the fact that COVID has been a thing for over a year.  Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been somewhat physically isolated from people for the past year.  Maybe it’s because I’ve made a conscience effort to be closer to the Lord this year.  Whatever the reason, it’s different and I’m more in touch with the sacrifice Jesus made for me and the fact that I still, after over 40 years of being saved, don’t deserve it. 

When I really sit back and think of all the ways, I still mess up every day, I am humbled and overwhelmed by His love for me.  The fact that He still calls me His own, is amazing and shocking.  I mean, I have been blessed with so much, but still I sometime find myself complaining about things that don’t matter.  I still get caught up in what’s happening to me or wanting something I definitely don’t need.  Then I think back to what Jesus suffered so I can live and not worry about what is to come, because He has already overcome the world (John 16:33). 

In other parts of the world, people are persecuted for their love for Christ.  And I mean persecuted, not just having a hard day.  Many around the world are imprisoned or even killed for proclaiming the name of Jesus.  When I think of these brothers and sisters, I’m ashamed of some of the things that appear to be important to me.  Many of them are not…they are just things or activities I enjoy, but none of them compare to the sufferings of others.  This year has helped me see that more clearly. 

I’ve been thinking about how we were lost to God, due to our own actions.  We (in the form of Adam and Eve) gave Him up…to have some fruit.  When you say it out loud, it sounds crazy.  But Jesus came that the lost could be found through Him.  He gave His very life so that we could have life and it more abundantly (John 10:10).  We owe Him everything and yet we grumble when He asks us for something that is inconvenient or not consistent with our plans for ourselves.  At the end of the day, our Love for God and for our fellow man are what count….it is all about our heart.  If we love God, we trust Him and have faith He will do exactly what He said.  If we love God, we will keep His instructions (John 14:15).

Jesus paid it all, but we have a price to pay as well – our obedience.  Are you willing to pay the price?  I am.