REJOICE!!!

Oh my soul... How great it is to rest in assurance that I have been redeemed by the glorious blood of Christ. That I am no longer an object of wrath but an object of righteousness made perfect in his love displayed for us on the cross. And that the Spirit of his eternal greatness is within me and has empowered me to do all things through him who gives me strength. I am so thankful that I serve a God who is compassionate and merciful and so full of grace that there is no sin of mine that exceeds his ability to forgive. Glory to Jesus Christ my Savior and Lord forever and ever. Amen!

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-

with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

Psalm 103:8-18

Make No Mistake

Previously I had mentioned "we cant experience the completeness of Gods love apart from him. " I would just like to clarify that this is not to imply that God does no love those who are not saved. He does love you. Romans 5:6-8 tells us so. It reads, "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for an unrighteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This "completeness" of Gods love that I wrote about refers to the Christians love for other Christians. You want in?

The Bottom Line

One word. Are you ready? Love. That's it. Wish I could say there's more to it but there isn't. Yet since I feel often times we need reminding of what genuine love looks like and not just feels like, lets start in 1 John 3:11,

Here the apostle Paul writes, "This is the message you have heard from the beginning, we should love one another," and in verse 16, "this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." So there are two commands here really, as he reiterates in verse 23 to (a)believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9) and to (b)love one another as he commanded us (Matthew 22:37-39). Remember, there should be no fear in love, because genuine love confirms salvation.

First of all, if you want to experience love the way God desires for us to experience love...well that step begins at salvation because we cant experience the completeness of Gods love apart from him. I have to tell you that there is tremendous freedom when we understand this. Often times our hindrance in loving is rooted in issues with forgiveness. Genuine love perseveres. Genuine love (that lays down its life for another) does not give up no matter how bad it hurts. So when we find ourselves in hurt and despair because of others or in guilt from our treatment to others be encouraged and reminded by
1 Thessalonians 5:13 -15, "Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else." If we can take these principles of Gods word and apply them in our walk with God and others, I am certain that we will begin to experience a refreshed heart in loving others as Christ has loved us...genuinely!

Stop Faking It!

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? "I, the LORD, search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve...When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool. Jeremiah 17:9-11