No
one is bad enough for God to give up on them, or good enough to earn God's love
(Ephesians 2:8-9). God already loves the whole world, and desires that not one
single person will die in their sin to spend eternity separated from Him (John
3:16-18).
It
is said that Noah's Ark had enough room in it to house every person living in
that area at that time. Yet, only Noah's family chose to believe God and to get
aboard the Ark. I think if I saw animals coming two-by-two of their own accord,
it would make a Believer out of me.
God
never sends judgment without first sending a warning. Noah preached for 120
years, and he spent a great deal of that time building the ark with his sons.
Everyone had ample time to see His example, to repent of their ways, to believe
God, and to get on board.
The
same is true today (Matthew 24:37-51). People are eating and drinking, carry on
with their life as usual, with little consciousness of God. Yet, He still loves
them. Many others are trying to earn God's love through self-effort; yet, that
is not necessary.
When
we confess our sins, and accept the sacrifice that Jesus paid for our
redemption, we are set free from both sin and death. We start living in
eternity at that moment. We are in this world, but not of this world anymore (John
15:19, 17:14-26; 1 John 2:15-17; Romans 12:2). We live for God instead.
God
has loving plans for each one of us, which He formulated before we were ever
born (Ephesians 2:10). Living in the center of God's will for us is the
happiest place on earth. We live, move and have our very existence in Him (Acts
17:28).
Humility
and trust lead us to put our faith in the Lord's way, timing, and will for our
life. We love the Lord, our God, with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength
(Matthew 22:37). We keep our mind focused on Him each moment of our day
(Proverbs 3:5-6).
Prayer:
Father
God, there is nothing that can separate us from Your love (Romans 8:31-39),
except our own choices. You protect us from every principality and power in
high places, but You give us a free will to make our own choices. Those choices
are often contrary of Your wisdom and will for us. We start to reap from the
poor choices we make, and our life goes downhill from there.
Remind
us that You have our best interest in Your heart, that You care for us, and
that You want to bless us beyond anything we can ever imagine (1 Peter 5:7; 1
Corinthians 2:9). We are so grateful for Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf and for
Your plan of salvation to redeem our spirit, to sanctify our soul, and to
glorify our body for eternity.
Thought
for the Day:
We
can pile our troubles on God's capable shoulders, because He cares for us more
than we can ever care about our self; He turns our hurts and trials into
blessings; He loves us just the way we are, with all of our sins and
peculiarities, without judgment and with the promise of a fulfilled future.
-
Romans 8:1; Ephesians 3:16-19, Amplified Bible
