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Posts Tagged ‘God’s Love
30
Apr
20
God Doesn’t Play Favorites
When Jesus calls us to love others, He is talking about loving everyone. He means family and friends. He means co-workers and neighbors. He even means our enemies. Since God loves the world, so should we. God loves those who don’t believe in Him as much as He loves those who do. God loves those who reject His Son as much as He loves those who accept Him. God loves everyone, period. He doesn’t play favorites. Jesus said this in Matthew 5:45b (NIV):
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
We may think that this is a contrast between good days and bad days. It isn’t. In an agricultural society, both sunshine and rain were signs of blessings. The sun and the rain were necessary for crops to grow. Jesus is saying that God does not just bless believers. He does not just give good things to those who are followers of Jesus. If we only love God because of what He can do for us, then we don’t really love God. Since God doesn’t play favorites with His love, neither should we. We need to love everyone.
29
Apr
20
Loving Your Enemies
Jesus asks His followers to do some pretty tough things. He asks us to forgive others when they’re hurt us deeply. He asks us to turn the other cheek. In Matthew 5, He asks us to love our enemies. He said in Matthew 5:43-45a (NIV):
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
It’s easy to love those who love us, isn’t it? It’s also easy to hate those who hate us. If we want to be the children of God, though, we have to take a different path. When we love our enemies and pray for our persecutors, Jesus says that we are children of God. Why does He say that? It is because God loves those who hate Him. He loves those who deny Him and reject Him. He even loves those who persecute His people. Following Jesus isn’t a matter of sinless perfection. It is about loving unconditionally like God loves the world. If we want to look like God, we have to love like God.
21
Apr
20
The Shepherd Protects
The shepherd carried two sticks with him. Each of them was for protection. One was to protect the sheep from predators and the other was to protect the sheep from going astray. David wrote about these two sticks in Psalm 23:4b (ESV) when he said:
…your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The rod would be used to fight off any animal that would attack the sheep. The staff was the shepherd’s crook that could be used to pull the sheep back in line. It was also used to count the sheep so that none would go missing.
God, our shepherd, protects us as His sheep. He uses the rod to protect us from the attacks of the enemy. He fights our battles with the enemy for us and He never loses. He also corrects us and keeps us safe from our wandering away. He does this because He loves us. His discipline is never punitive, but rather corrective. He lovingly reaches out with His staff to bring us back into the fold. God loves His sheep and wants everyone to be a part of the flock. When we start to wander away, He gently pulls us back in to make sure we don’t get lost. It’s a scary world out there, but our shepherd protects us with His love.
20
Feb
20
Sin Starts In The Heart
Legalistic rules don’t help. They don’t help us get any better because they don’t get to the heart of the problem. They don’t help us follow Jesus better because they imprison us in a cycle of guilt and shame. We try to follow these human made rules and when we do, we feel good about ourselves. When we fail to follow them, we feel bad about ourselves. These outward rules may look like they’re helpful, but in reality, they are not. The apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 2:22-23 (NLT):
Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
If we are going to conquer the sins in our lives, we have to start in the heart. The heart is where sin begins. Our evil desires are conceived in our sinful nature. Jesus is the cure. The Holy Spirit of God is the antidote. God’s love and His grace are the prescriptions for healing our brokenness. Even if we follow the rules outwardly, we still have a sin problem inwardly. Let Jesus perform heart surgery by surrendering your life to Him and submitting to His leadership today. Then you will know the true freedom that comes from following Him.
24
Jan
20
God’s Awesome Secret
The apostle Paul knew his purpose in life. It was to proclaim a message that had been hidden for centuries. It was an amazing message that had been kept secret until the time was right. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:25-26 (NLT):
God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people.
Paul’s mission was to share the message of God’s grace with the Gentiles. They had been in the dark for centuries and centuries. But when Jesus Christ came into the world, grace came with Him. This grace was sufficient to reach the whole world with God’s love. The mystery of God was how He could take a people who were not His people and make them His people. Gentiles were welcome to become part of God’s family when God’s plan of redemption was fully revealed. For 4,000 years, God’s plan was to call to Himself a people, who were the Jews, and to send a Messiah through them who would save the whole world. Everyone is free to come and know the Lord and that includes you.
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