I Am Convinced!

What a powerful statement spoken by the Apostle Paul. Convinced of God’s love and nothing would persuade him differently!

Have you ever been in a place where you wonder “does God really love me”? That’s a very lonely place to be. The thoughts in your head show you all the times you’ve failed; there’s a spotlight on every insecurity you’ve ever felt, and the measuring tape used to assess your goodness falls short.

In times like these, it’s easy to become depressed and discouraged.

That’s when we take the advice of the Apostle Paul.

“We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world doesThe weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments, and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 ERV

 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.” Romans 12:2 ERV

If anyone had cause to wonder if God could really love him, it was Paul. It’s a trick of the enemy to get us to question God’s love for us. But God gives us power over those arguments and ideas. He gives us a new way of thinking, centered on His love.

Paul had zealously arrested and imprisoned Christians. He had been at the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr of Christianity. He was on his way to arrest even more Christians in Damascus when the Lord stopped him in his tracks. Right there on that road Paul had an encounter with Christ and his life was forever changed.

Everywhere Paul preached he met with opposition and persecution. Beatings, imprisonment, stoned, shipwrecked.

 After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully. 24 The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened. 26 Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.” Acts 16:23-26 CEV

He had plenty of reason to be discouraged but Paul faced it all – knowing this:

 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrownot even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39NLT

The Father sent His Son to die for us because He loves us. The power of hell couldn’t stop it then and can’t stop it now.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners... 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:6-8 NLT

My purpose in spending the last month teaching on the love of God is that you and I will boldly say with Paul “I am convinced that NOTHING can ever separate us from God’s love”!

A Life Transformation

As I was reading in Colossians this morning, I immediately thought of a series of stories I read to our younger grandchildren. Two of them are old enough to read the stories for themselves but I think they really enjoy the time of us sitting together, cuddling, and I’m glad they still like to hear the sound of my voice.

Max Lucado, the Christian author, not only writes books for adults but he has a whole children’s book line as well. One of these characters is a caterpillar named Hermie. Hermie has all sorts of adventures, each one teaching him about God’s love and character.

So, I want you to think about Hermie, his transformation, and your life and your transformation as directed by God’s word.

 When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new!” II Corinthians 5:17 ERV

Let’s read:

 Now you are wearing a new life, a life that is new every day. You are growing in your understanding of the one who made you. You are becoming more and more like him. 11 In this new life it doesn’t matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, circumcised or not. It doesn’t matter if you speak a different language or even if you are a Scythian. It doesn’t matter if you are a slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he is in all of you.

12 God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient13 Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. 14 Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body. And always be thankful.

16 Let the teaching of Christ live inside you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Everything you say and everything you do should be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.” Colossians 3:10-18 ERV

Wow! That’s enough good solid teaching to live on for the next month or so. Daily application of God’s word brings transformation. Our spirit is created new the minute we receive Christ as our Savior, but our emotions and our will need to be transformed on a daily basis.

 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.” Romans 12:2 ERV

Don’t give up. Don’t get discouraged by the process. “Let God change you inside with a new way of thinking”. The transformation takes place daily – God is working in us and through us, giving us a new way of thinking, completing the transformation.

“I am sure that the good work God began in you will continue until he completes it on the day when Jesus Christ comes again.” Philippians 1:6 ERV

Incomparable & Absolutely Amazing

Once again, my heart is overwhelmed as I sit here this morning thinking about the unconditional, everlasting, unfailing love of God!

There are no words to adequately express what causes my heart to swell and my eyes to tear as I sit in the quiet knowing I am surrounded by His matchless love.

So, I will let God’s word speak for me.

“…I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted.” Exodus 34:6 CEV

“Lord God of heaven, you are great and fearsome. And you faithfully keep your promises to everyone who loves you and obeys your commands.” Nehemiah 1:5 CEV

“But I will sing about your strength, my God, and I will celebrate because of your love. You are my fortress, my place of protection in times of trouble.” Psalm 59:16 CEV

“Praise the God of all gods. God‘s love never fails.” Psalm 136:2 CeV

“The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.” Zephaniah 3:17 CEV

God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” John 3:16 CEV

” …God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own people. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!” Romans 1:7 CEV

“I have died, but Christ lives in me. And I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.” Galatians 2:20 CEV

“But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God‘s gift of undeserved grace is what saves you.” Ephesians 2:4-5 CEV

“I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:38-39 CEV

There is a praise song I sometimes sing and it is bubbling in my heart right now, “Reckless Love of God”. The chorus goes something like this:

“Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
And I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God”

Don’t let circumstances, worry, fear or doubt steal the peace that God gives. We are wrapped in His arms, held there by His never-ending, unconditional, everlasting love!

So Much Better

Happy Valentine’s Day!

These are verses I always like to read on February 14th – Valentine’s Day. They are such a wonderful reminder of the greatest of God’s love for us.

I don’t normally include the footnotes with verses but this morning I did. You need to read it and absorb the meaning of grace – some much better than we deserve.

Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God’s gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. God did this so in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.[a] This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are.” Ephesians 2:3-10 CEV

Footnotes

2.8 treats us much better than we deserve: The Greek word charis, traditionally rendered “grace,” is translated here and other places in the CEV to express the overwhelming kindness of God.

God’s gift to us!

“But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 CEV

When we seek the Father with all our heart, we will want to be like Him. Imitate Him. Then others will be drawn to Him like we were when we came to Christ.

Jesus wants us to have an abundant life. King David knew that when he wrote the Psalms, hundreds of years before Christ was born.

“A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully.” John 10:10 CEV (Jesus)

“Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, Lord.” Psalm 23:6 CEV (King David)

” God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23 All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:22-24 CEV (Apostle Paul)

Our heavenly Father isn’t looking to quench our lives, on the contrary, He has given us an abundant life filled with His love which is so much better than we deserve!

How Great Is God’s Love?

From that moment in the garden when Adam sinned, God the Father put His plan in place to restore us.

“But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:15-17 NLT

God’s love for us is so great that He gave His Only Son as the way for us to have eternal life with Him.

We look back to Christ’s crucifixion on the cross and we thank God for what He did to restore us in our relationship with Him. Those in the Old Testament looked forward to the promise that there would be a Savior to come.

David’s writings in the Psalms were filled with praise for God’s faithfulness and love. He was writing about that same hard-to-understand, incomparable love of God that the Apostle Paul wrote about in Ephesians.

“The Lord’s Wonderful Love

With all my heart I praise the Lord, and with all that I am I praise his holy name!
With all my heart I praise the Lord! I will never forget how kind he has been. The Lord forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick,  and protects us from death.
His kindness and love are a crown on our heads. 5 Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle.

For all who are mistreated, the Lord brings justice. He taught his Law to Moses
and showed all Israel what he could do.

The Lord is merciful! He is kind and patient, and his love never fails. The Lord won’t always be angry and point out our sins; 10 he doesn’t punish us as our sins deserve. 1How great is God’s love for all who worship him? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth! 12 How far has the Lord taken our sins from us? Farther than the distance from east to west!

13 Just as parents are kind to their children, the Lord is kind to all who worship him, 14 because he knows we are made of dust. 15 We humans are like grass or wild flowers that quickly bloom. 16 But a scorching wind blows, and they quickly wither to be forever forgotten.

17 The Lord is always kind to those who worship him, and he keeps his promises to their descendants 18 who faithfully obey him.” Psalm 103:1-18 CEV

If you grew up thinking that God was writing down all your faults and frailties so that He could condemn you this Psalm should be a daily read. Yes, He knows our faults and our failings, but He has chosen to forgive them and forget them.

This Psalm answers the question in today’s title. How Great is God’s Love? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth!

Let His love embrace you!

A Tradition of Love

Those of you in my age group remember the days of taking a shoe box to school, covering it with construction paper, cutting out hearts and pasting them to the box and then, fingers crossed, hoping that your classmates would put nice Valentines in it.

For the past number of years, I feel like I have done that in the month of February. I’ve shared Valentines from God’s word to brighten your day. So here we go again.

 I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.” Ephesians 3:17-19 ERV

Our hearts, our lives, will be strong when we are filled with an understanding of God’s deep and amazing love.

The Apostle Paul, who wrote this letter to the Ephesian Christians, understood the depth of God’s love.

He had been a zealot. Arresting, persecuting and even responsible for the deaths of many Christians in the early days of the church. He thought the message of Christ, being the Son of God and raising from the dead was heresy and it needed to be stopped.

Then one day, with arrest warrants in his pocket, he had an encounter with the Lord. God spoke to him in a bright light from heaven.

 So Saul went to Damascus. When he came near the city, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shined around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

Saul said, “Who are you, Lord?”

The voice answered, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Get up now and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.” Acts 9:3-6 ERV

In that one moment, Paul (formerly known as Saul), was changed. He went into the town and a godly man cared for him and taught him about Christ. God used him to be a missionary to the Gentile nations.

He spent the rest of his life traveling all across the Mediterranean preaching the gospel, telling of the risen Savior and the love that God has for everyone.

In these verses he says that he wants us to understand the depth of the love of God but then he goes on to say its greater than anyone can know but still he wants us to know it.

Seems like a contradiction but what I think he’s saying is that we are to be focused on the loving and forgiving nature of God and when we think we fully understand the amazing depth, length, height and width of God’s love for us we will realize that we are just beginning to comprehend it. It is so much greater; we will spend the rest of our lives going deeper and deeper into the love of God.

 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created worldwill ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 ERV

Join me in this annual February tradition of exploring the depths of God’s love. He alone will fill that Valentine box to full and overflowing!

Keep Life Spicy

Yesterday I was making homemade pizza for our dinner. I really enjoy cooking with fresh vegetables. As I was slicing and dicing, my mind began to wander. How many kinds of peppers are there?

I had just chopped jalapenos, green bell peppers, used diced green chili peppers and sprinkled on some fresh ground black pepper. When the pizza was done, we would sprinkle on some red pepper flakes. There are ghost peppers, habanero, poblano, serrano, and those are just the ones that I am familiar with. How many other kinds of peppers are there around the world?

Why didn’t God just stop after he had created three or four varieties? Wouldn’t that have been enough to add spice to our lives?

As I was pondering that I began humming a children’s chorus from Sunday School days: Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

God did with people what He had done with peppers. He created variety.

“The Scriptures say no one who has faith will be disappointed12 no matter if that person is a Jew or a Gentile. There is only one Lord, and he is generous to everyone who asks for his help. 13  All who call out to the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:11-13 CEV

Jew or Gentile (all of us who aren’t Jews), the Lord is generous to us ALL. ALL who call on Him will have salvation. No one is excluded from God’s plan of reconciliation. No one has been set outside of His grace. No one will be rejected. All people have infinite value to our God and heavenly Father.

The family of God is an all-inclusive melting pot from the nations. Jesus told the disciples to go into ALL the world and preach the gospel.

John wrote this in the book of Revelation.

“After this, I saw a large crowd with more people than could be counted. They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands, 10 as they shouted

Our God, who sits upon the throne, has the power to save his people, and so does the Lamb.’” Revelation 7:9-10 CEV

Heaven will be filled with those from every tribe and nation. The message of God’s love reaches to the whole of humanity. If it could be bought, it would only be available to the wealthy. We receive salvation by grace so that no one would be excluded.

We have so much we can learn from all who are in the body of Christ.

My meals would be bland and boring without the use of peppers. I’m glad God saw fit to make so many varieties to spice things up. But I am even more thankful that He has included ALL who come to Him with sincere hearts into the family of God.

Together we have a way of spicing things up for His glory!

Surrounded By Love

I hope you are finding strength, joy, comfort and peace in our morning times together, as we explore the depths of God’s goodness.

Each morning the Lord reminds me of His love, girds me with strength, fills my heart with joy and infuses me with confidence that my trust and hope in Him is never in vain.

“Many are saying of me, ‘There is no help for him in God.’ But You, O Lord, are a covering around me, my shining-greatness, and the One Who lifts my headI was crying to the Lord with my voice. And He answered me from His holy mountain. I lay down and slept, and I woke up again, for the Lord keeps me safe… It is You Who saves, O Lord. May You bring happiness to Your people.” Psalm 3:2-4,8 NLV

This Psalm was written by King David when he was running from his son Absolom who wanted to kill him and take his throne.

Talk about discouragement and hopelessness – this was it.

Your own son and some of your closest advisors and confidants joined together to kill you. If you stand and fight, lives will be lost, probably the life of your son. It seems to be a no-win situation. But then…you turn to God and He provides the safety and protection that you need.

I doubt any of us has ever faced such a situation, but we have all faced weariness and the enemy of hopelessness.

How do we survive? The enemy seems too large to fight any longer.

 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not let your feet go out from under you. He Who watches over you will not sleep. Listen, He Who watches over Israel will not close his eyes or sleep.

The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your safe cover at your right handThe sun will not hurt you during the day and the moon will not hurt you during the night. The Lord will keep you from all that is sinful. He will watch over your soul. The Lord will watch over your coming and going, now and forever.” Psalm 121 NLV

The Father’s watchful care will not cease, He promises it now and forever. We are His beloved children, and He is our loving Father. He is ALWAYS faithful to His word.

 Give all your worries to Him because He cares for you.” I Peter 5:7 NLV

When worries come and they will, we have two choices. We can let them become embedded in our hearts and produce fear or we can give them over to the Father and let Him handle them while we rest in His peace.

 When we have learned not to give up, it shows we have stood the test. When we have stood the test, it gives us hope. Hope never makes us ashamed because the love of God has come into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who was given to us.” Romans 5:4-5 NLV

Take today’s worries and hand them over to the Father. Now, rest in His loving care!

XOXO

Yesterday we were able to spend a few hours with our oldest daughter, her husband, oldest granddaughter, her husband and our two great granddaughters.

I love family time!

Our daughter had decorated her home for Valentine’s Day. On her laundry room door she hung a beaded X and O. Our great granddaughter thought they looked like a fish and they did.

I told her the O was a sign for hugs because when you wrap your arms around someone to give them a hug it looks like an O and when you pucker up to kiss someone your lips kind of look like an X. Now that’s silly I know, but it was great to have her play it out as she gave me hugs (O) and kisses (X).

I love you very much we said.

I love you very, very much. Is that different than a simple “I love you”? True love is unconditional and sacrificial so can we really love someone more than we did say 6 months ago? I think we can express love better than we did before and we may be willing to sacrifice in a greater way but if it’s true love, it really can’t be more. Time will reveal the depth of our love, its enduring commitment but true love is just that – love.

We are often caught in the vicious cycle of trying to do the right thing so that people and/or God will love us. We also strive to keep from doing the wrong things, so they won’t stop loving us and walk away.

That’s a really heavy burden to bear. No matter how good we try to be, there will be times of failure and if we feel that love is based on our performance that can be devastating.

One of my favorite passages on God’s love is found in Romans 8.

“So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right. 34 Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died for us, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love? 36 As the Scriptures say, ‘For you we are in danger of death all the time. People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.’

37 But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39 ERV

Nothing can separate us from God’s love! I just wanted to give you a few X’s and O’x from the Father. God loves you!

A Message of Hope

Watching old westerns on the movie channel, preachers are depicted the same way over and over again. Hell fire and brimstone – turn or burn – tellin’ folks that God’s judgin’ them and thar goin’ to hell. Boy, how many times have we see that not only on the silver screen but in our churches.

One thing I know for certain, you don’t have to tell a sinner he’s sinnin’ cuz he already knows that – the Holy Spirit will convict of sin. Paul put it this way in Romans 2.

God has been kind to you. He has been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives.” Romans 2:4 CEV

Paul was preaching the Gospel of Christ – gospel means the “good news, nearly too good to be true news”. Good news is that God loves you and sent someone else to take your place of punishment so that you could live in right relationship with Him and enjoy all of His blessings.

 All have sinned and are not good enough to share God’s divine greatness. 24 They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.” Romans 3:23-24 ERV

I’ve had folks in the past tell me that I am always focusing on God’s love and his blessings and not making people responsible for their sin but I choose to focus on that because the sacrifice that Jesus made is so much greater.

Do we go on sinning – the Apostle Paul said “God forbid”. But if folks think that God’s mad at them and that “God’s gonna get ya for that” then why would they want to come to Him. When we’re focused on God’s great love, we aren’t going to want to do things that will shame Him.

 So what should we do? Should we sin because we are under grace and not under law? Certainly not! ” Romans 6:15 ERV

“So I tell you, live the way the Spirit leads you. Then you will not do the evil things your sinful self wants.” Galatians 5:16 ERV

The people in our life don’t need to hear about their faults and shortcomings. They need to hear about God’s unconditional love – who am I kidding, I need to hear about God’s unconditional love.

That first sin of Adam in the garden brought sin into the world for all of us but Christ’s death on the cross brought us all into a place of grace – we simply need to receive it.

“So that one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, Christ did something so good that it makes all people right with God. And that brings them true life. 19 One man disobeyed God and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God and many will be made right.” Romans 5: 18-19 ERV

The Father wants relationship not rules, sons not slaves, grace not groveling.

 For Christ is not only God-like, He is God in human flesh10 When you have Christ, you are complete. He is the head over all leaders and powers.” Colossians 2:9-10 NLV

Let God’s love be paramount in our lives and our actions today. Let’s bring a message of hope to our world!