Who Loves You?

Read: 1 John 4:8-11

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” - Psalm 51:10-12

God is head over heals in love with you. God’s love is a spiritual, physical, mental and emotional “high”. Human love is merely a shadow of His love. The natural order of the universe proves to us that God loves us. If the earth’s axis tilted a degree in any direction, if the stars fell from the sky, if a large solar storm erupted on the sun, if the oceans exceeded their boundaries, if animals no longer had an innate fear of man, if all the molten lava in the earth erupted at once, we would all die. God’s hand, keeping the earth in perfect balance, keeps us all living and breathing and existing on planet earth.

Jesus loves you more than a pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45). He sold all He had, relinquished his kingly status, forsook the glories of heaven, and for 33 whole years he lived on this earth. Then, at the peak of His manhood, He purchased us back from Satan for the Father by suffering the horrendous death on Calvary’s Cross. He gave His life so that you and I could live as God's adopted children, joint heirs with Jesus to receive all that the Father owns. God actually chose you, as He chose me, and adopted you to be His beloved child.  

With God’s love, we do not need another person in our life in order to feel loved, affirmed and validated. In fact, God proved His love for us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might live eternally through Him. This is real, authentic love: we did not earn or deserve God’s love, but He loved us first and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

God constantly draws my attention to the fact that He is touching me with evidences of His love through a variety of means. He reveals His love in a bird’s outstretched wings, in a perfect rose, in the lady bug landing on my arm, in a double rainbow, in the flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk, in the shapes of the clouds, in the waves of the sea, in the seasons of the year, in the red cardinal or bluebird chirping through my open window, in the snow of the winter, in the cool breeze and the gentle rain of spring and in the warm sunshine of summer. All through the day, I have learned to watch for the unexpected ways that God tells me, "I love you!"

Escaping a devistating calamity is another occassion when we feel the love of God. When we see His hand protecting us from sudden and sure destruction and danger, our hearts swell with incredible gratitude and love for God. To realize that God actually intervened for you makes you feel so precious, cared about and loved. At times like these we feel His love surrounding us and keeping us safe.

When my heart is open to God’s love, I can feel it pouring over me like a waterfall. I am drenched with His love. Even the cells in my body are full of His love. I feel like I am wrapped in a soft, fluffy blanket of love. God’s love gives me such a sense of security. Unsurpassed peace and joy flood my soul – my mind, my will and my emotions. His love flows through me and out of me to everyone He brings into contact with me.

God gives us the gift of new life each and every day. Just waking up is proof that He loves us. We often take for granted things like air to breath and eyes to see; but each of these small miracles is evidence to us that God loves us. All through the day, He sends people, events and natural wonders to bless us.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, thank you for giving Your life on the cross as a ransom to pay the debts we owe. Help us to walk worthy of Your love as we live in Your Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

God spends every second of His time showering us with abundant love.

(PS. What if you do not feel God's love? Stay tuned for the next blog.)

Is There Life After Death?

Read: John 14:1-7

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies." - John 11:25

People who refuse to believe in Christ have an interesting view of life. Many do not believe in heaven nor hell and some do not even believe in reincarnation. They just live and die, and that’s all there is. Some even see the idea of heaven as a mythical utopia that has no merit in truth, but one that is needed by those of us with weak spirits and strong emotional needs.

Many despise the fact that Christians believe in the idea that people end up in hell on the grounds of their unbelief in Jesus Christ. On the other side of the scale, Universalism believes that, without exception, through the mercy of God everybody will be saved and enter into the kingdom of heaven.

In our Christian belief, however, heaven is not a place where everyone goes. Nor is it a place where only "good" people go. It is a place in which, through God's mercy and love, forgiveness is granted to anyone who trusts in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and believes in redemption through His death and resurrection.

The Bible holds to the truth that only those who resist God's love, and who refuse to admit that they are sinners and to repent of their sinful lifestyle, will find themselves in hell. Luke 16:19-31 gives us a vivid picture of hell and its torments. It also describes how mankind throughout the ages refuses to believe God’s Word concerning our eternal destination. 1 Corinthians 15:19 reminds us that, if only in this life we have hope in Christ, then we are to be pitied.

However, since Jesus Christ rose from the dead, it is now possible for those who believe in Him to also share in His risen life for eternity. Heaven is where God is and it is not limited by the constraints of space or time. Psalm 62:8 reminds us that God is our refuge in this life as well as in the next. It also states that we can trust in Him and pour out our hearts to Him. He cares about every aspect of our existence, including the timing of our liberation from this earth and our inauguration into life in the heavenly realm. To believe in life beyond death gives us a promising perspective to the life we live now. It is the key Christian belief that this is not "all there is".

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, there are so many people who believe that if they are good, they will go to heaven. Others believe that if they get baptized or work in the church or serve others that they will go to heaven. Help people to realize that salvation is only through grace by faith in Your finished work on the cross, and not about our good deeds at all (Ephesians 2:5-8) .

Thought for the Day:

Satan condemns; Jesus convicts. Satan heaps unforgivable shame; Jesus brings blood bought forgiveness.

And God Gets the Glory

Read: Galatians 3: 1-3

“For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants you to do.” - Phil 2:13 (TLB)

So often we strive to accomplish that which only the Holy Spirit is capable of achieving in our lives. We do not expect God to entirely deliver us from our fears, doubts, insecurities and carnal appetites. We struggle to overcome the sins that so easily trip us up.

Despite our efforts, we still fall into sin. We try to control these acts of the flesh in vain by quoting scripture, praying vigilantly and watching constantly over our feelings and attitudes. If we do succeed, however, then God gets no glory! We accomplished this change through our own effort; and chances are, it may not last very long.

After about 10 years of trying to please God with my good behavior, I realized that my attempts to gain favor with God resulted from my desire to earn God’s love. I struggled with despair each time I fell short of my goals. I feared that God could not love me with all of my imperfections.

Then I heard a pastor preach from Galatians 3: 1-3. I was shocked to hear him say that we would never be good enough. That if we could perfect ourselves, we would not need Jesus! That if we could save ourselves, His death was unnecessary! He made it clear that this is Paul’s point in both Galatians and Ephesians.

Now, when God points out a particular fault to me, I give it back to Him. I ask Him to do His complete work in my life. Then, I look up Bible verses about the opposite of that behavior and I write them down on recipe cards. I carry them around with me and reread them at every available moment. Eventually, I start to see Godly behavior and the fruit of the Spirit manifesting upon occasions when my human nature used to take control.

I realize now that even my best behavior falls short of God’s mark of perfection. I deserve no less than the fires of hell for even my best behavior. In his mercy, however, and even while I am still a sinner, God gave His life to pay the penalty of my sin. He also gives me His righteousness in exchange for my carnal nature.

 
Prayer:
Lord God, I wanted to achieve perfection to make You love me. I forgot that when You look at me, You see Jesus; and therefore, You are already well pleased. Amen.

Thought for the Day:
If trying to improve ourselves never gave us spiritual life before Salvation, why do we think that trying to perfect ourselves now will make us stronger Christians?