The whispers of the enemy has
from time to time run thru my head, heart and soul… I have heard the words you are a terrible
husband, a rotten dad, a lousy person, you will never amount to anything… IF I tried to find my value in those words
and the opinions of those around me – I would most likely end up a statistic in
some police blotter somewhere…
Well, the fact is, my name is
written in a book somewhere; thank goodness it is in a set of statistics that
will live on forever. Since I met HIM,
He has placed NEW Words in my Heart that cast shadows on those old hateful
words, and HE has carried me over and thru all the hardest times of my life,
assuring me (1) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God LOVED me, me – a kid that would
not amount to anything, a man that in the past a woman committed herself to
before God & witnesses for eternity; just walked away. A dad that was too strict and used the word
NO too often, the guy with no value to this world, a lousy excuse for a human
being – He Loved me enough to sacrifice HIS ONLY SON that I might live on? Yes – even for the likes of me…
Then as I accepted that fact,
that HIS Son Jesus, came to this miserable corrupted world to live, serve,
sacrifice, endure cruel criticism, physical beating and then the Cross, (2) “Greater love has
no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The part that blew my mind, I was convinced
that I was rotten to the core, and that by the world’s standards – I was not
only worthless and unredeemable, but I was bound for an eternity of Hell &
Damnation. (3) “But God
demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.” So in that terrible
condition and state of mind – HE still loved me enough, that even if I were the
only one here – HE would have still paid my debt and freed me from Sin and
eternal death.
I have always been a hard head to
learning – I need to practice it a few times till I get it right. So; I am prone to mistakes, miscommunications
and misunderstandings – but GOD in HIS Amazing knowledge, power, wisdom and sovereignty
– he made allowance for this simple minded soul of mine. He built into HIS Love for me a safety net in
HIS Righteous attributes; (4) “But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to
anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
So where I was once most fearful
of failure, what my failures would look like to my spouse, children, family,
co-workers and friends, was all dispelled by HIS Spirit in my Heart; fed thru
the reading and storing away of HIS Word in my Heart… (I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against
you Psalms 119) So the more I learned, the more I read and studied,
realizing that there needed to be a balance between the knowledge of salvation
and the Love, Compassion and Tenderness that needed to fill the Heart as a
result of KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING the Cost of God’s Sacrifice to pay for our
salvation… He wants our HEART knowledge
to open the doors to other’s Hearts so that we can show and prove to the World
that our Testimony and Witness of Him is real and genuine. (5) “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love
each other. Your love for one another
will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
You know, the Apostle Paul said (6) “Love must be
sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” For Love to be Sincere, there must be
a depth in that relationship to allow trust to be formed and walls to fall down
around one’s Heart. Sincere in Loving
those HE places on our path, while HATING that which is evil in the site of GOD
as revealed to us in HIS Word. We are to
LOVE one another in the brotherhood and sisterhood of Christianity, and that
Love and Honor is to go beyond anything we would reserve for ourselves. Sacrificing our wants, desires and needs for
those HE has entrusted the stewardship to us with. Sometimes – most times that takes more
internal discipline and uprightness than any of us can stomach on our own in
this day and age. We are conditioned as
Americans to look out for “number one” first and foremost. Jesus said he that is first will be LAST, and
he that is last will be FIRST… Think
about it…
(7) “He has shown you,
O man, what is good. And what does the
Lord require of you? To act justly and
to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” So folks – NOT ONLY is my value, worth
and identity defined by Almighty God – and HE has told HIS People – HIS Children
that HE holds the same regard for you too.
Therefore, to be obedient to HIS authority in my Life I must practice
what HE has revealed to me thru HIS Word, and understand that HE Died to YOU
too… Therefore; the same LOVE, MERCY,
FORGIVENESS & GRACE
HE has so abundantly shown and poured out over me, I must share with YOU
and those around me, regardless as to whether you are a Follower of HIS or NOT…
My Heavenly Father – my “Abba
Father” shows His gentle and tender Love for His children; fore HE Loves them
and encourages them to call upon HIM as a child calls upon their “Daddy”. HE Alone has the Sovereign Authority to
determine our Value, Worth and Identity…
NO Man, Woman or Child has the right to assign any of those attributes
or properties on anyone else in this world.
GOD and GOD ALONE has that Authority
GO in Peace Brothers and Sisters;
spread the Gospel to everyone that you meet & greet. For we are NOT to judge the soil that we sow
HIS seeds upon, we are simply to trust the Quality and Significance of the Seed
that we freely and sacrificially cast upon the soil that HE has prepared before
us. For HE shall send the Reapers to
gather up the Fruit when it is time.
Here a few other passages that
speak of HIS Great Love and that which Lives in US…
(a)
“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his
wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with
good things.”
(b)
“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and
sisters. But don’t use your freedom to
satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use
your freedom to serve one another in love.
For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
(c)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
(d)
“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who
loves another has fulfilled the law.”
(e)
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good
to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For
those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of
His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom
He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified;
and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
References:
(1)
John 3:16
(2)
John 15:13
(3)
Romans 5:8
(4)
Psalm 86:15
(5)
John 13:34-35
(6)
Romans 12:9-10
(7)
Micah 6:8
a)
Psalm 107:8-9
b)
Galatians 5:13-14
c)
Galatians 5:22-23
d)
Romans 13:8
e)
Romans 8:28-30
