God made us because he loved us!

"God made us because he loved us...

                    NOT God loved us because he made"

The first speaks of intentional and purposeful while the latter speaks of an afterthought or forced action.

So much of scripture supports the first rather than second statement.  Don't know about you but the difference makes a huge impact on my relationship with God, with his son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit.

  

My desire to love and honor him in all I do and say, to worship him as the only true God grows deeper each day as I understand he loved me BEFORE I was even born! Amazing!!

These are truths we can build our lives on and believe when those around us might try to convince us otherwise:

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! (Psalms 139:13-17 NLT)

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. (Ephesians 1:4, 5 NLT)

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. (Psalms 24:1 NLT)

Long ago the lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT)

We love each other because he loved us first. (1 John 4:19 NLT)

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. (1 John 4:9, 10 NLT)

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 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 tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 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 8:31-35, 37-39 NLT)

I pray you find encouragement and hope in this truth today!  Nothing you do or will do, you are or will become, you believe or don't believe is the basis for God's love for you.  He loves you just because he loves you!

Faith Grows from Obedience

We have an elderly family member that even though I know they are grateful in their hearts for what is done for them, they haven’t always verbally expressed their thanks.  To the point where sometimes it seems they just bark orders all the while we are waiting for the “thank you” or “please”.  When I mentioned this observation to them, their response was one of surprise, “I always say thank you and please” and in their minds they may think this is so.

I was thinking about this while reading Luke 17:10 this morning.  The disciples were asking Jesus to show them how to increase their faith.  Jesus gave them the illustration of the mustard seed and then adds,

“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

Am I the only one or have you ever thought this was an odd illustration of how to increase ones faith?  What does a master not thanking his servant for doing what he should be doing have to do with increasing faith?

Simply this, why do we crave recognition for doing what God expects us to do as part of his family?  And is it God’s recognition or man’s we want?  Are we doing God a favor by simply carrying out what his desires are?

Self honor, appreciation or thanks are not to be the driving force behind obedience to God.  Love is.  Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.  And because they love me, my Father will love them.  And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.  All who love me will do what I say.  My Father will love them and we will come and make our home with each of them.  I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart.” (John 14:15-27)

Truth is the foundation trust is built upon. Obedience-love is the result of trusting even though we don’t understand.  Faith grows from obedience, a resignation not in our own way.  These do not require 'thank you', 'please' or appreciation.  We are merely doing what is required of us with the greater reward being faith.

As with a circle these three are a constant flow into each other.

There is no shortcut to faith.  Want faith?  It starts and continues with obedience.

Fan the flame

This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

2 Timothy 1:6-7, 14

Every fall my nephew has a huge bonfire and then bakes the most delicious pizzas in his outdoor oven.  The scent of wood burning pizza and the bonfire sticks to our clothes for days bringing with it the sweet remembrance of times spent with each other.  I thought of him when I read this verse.  The bonfire starts off with a strategically placed Tepee built with different size tree limbs and trunks.  Although powerful looking it serves no purpose until it is lit and nursed into a strong powerful heat source.  When the time is right, the spark is lit and the night sky becomes brilliant with the light from the fire.  The outside temperature can be in the teens and yet the closer we get to the fire the warmer the air around us becomes.

The spiritual gift God gave to Timothy, and likewise to each of us, started with a spark.  The wood for the bonfire had been instilled in Timothy as a youth by his godly mother and grandmother.  Now was the time Timothy would have to ‘fan into flames’ that spark through exercising the power of the Holy Spirit living within him.  Flames will not come when wood is wet and likewise our faith will not grow when saturated with fear and anxiety.  These do not come from the Holy Spirit but rather the enemy trying to keep the bonfire from existing.  

Timothy didn't know the exact outcome of the flames any more than we know the end of the dreams and visions God plants in our hearts.  We don’t need to know, we just need to fan those dreams and visions with the power of the Holy Spirit by renewing our minds daily with his word and his strength.  Our controlling and manipulation will always leave us with wet wood.  God’s word stands guard over that precious truth and he will bring it to pass in his timing.   He then becomes our source of power, love and self-discipline, and strength…never be extinguished. 

Gracious act of giving

I once heard a marriage conference speaker share that he and his family gave away all the money they had, not just once but twice!  This man was not a rich man but one of average means.  Interesting since finances rank in the top three of troubled areas for married couples.

He went on to explain that he and his wife clearly sensed God was telling them to give out of obedience not knowing if they would recoup to where they had been financially.  Not a good technique to share in counseling a troubled couple struggling with finances!!

I grew up under the pretense that you MUST give the first 10% of everything you earn, with much petty debate over gross or net, to God.  If you didn't fulfill this obligation you were not going to be blessed or _______(fill in the blank) could happen to you!  “God loves a cheerful giver”, is the imploring from the pulpit on Sunday mornings.  This always brought a sense of fear resulting in obligation and duty rather than joy and generosity.  How could these two thoughts be reconciled?  The answer would ultimately have a huge affect on the coffers of non-profit organizations but even deeper, the true heart treasure  of the giver.

2Cor 10:12b tells us not to use ourselves as a standard of measurement.  Whew…does that take the guilt away since I will never be able to measure up to someone else’s expectations and standards of giving.   The only standard to measure myself by is the standard of Christ (Eph 4:11-13). 

The apostle Paul gives us some guidelines for this standard in 2 Cor 8:1-15 (NLT)

·      Give ourselves to the Lord

God doesn't want my money!  Surprised?  The Creator of all doesn't need anything to accomplish his purposes.  What He wants and needs is my obedience and faith—not given out of duty or obligation but a heart of love and thankfulness.  He gave the ultimate Gift before you and I were even born. God initiated pursuing me because my mind, heart and soul are the greatest gifts I can give him.

·      Give ourselves to each other

When I understand and accept God’s amazing free gifts of grace, mercy, forgiveness and kindness; when I acknowledge that God has provided all my needs I then am able to freely give of not only what I have but of myself to others.  “…he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.  Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.” (2 Cor 2:14-16).  When we give ourselves to others we give a glimpse of Christ’s character. 

·      Give in proportion to what you have

Giving is not a competition sport.   ‘Showy’ giving not only distorts true giving but can also deny the basic necessities for those the giver is to be caring for.  Proportionate giving doesn't have a percentage sign.  Neither is the act of giving to clear self (or other) imposed guilt.  “Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly.  And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.” (2 Cor 8:12)

·      Give even in troubled times

The past few years have been extremely financially difficult for many people and giving is usually the first area to be axed.  In this atmosphere giving can be very creative and doesn't always mean money.  Giving can be food, warm clothes or blankets to those without or spending time with the sick, elderly or those in prisons.

“Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need.  Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it.” (2 Cor 8:14)

·      Excel in the gracious act of giving

The churches Paul was telling the Corinthians about were “being tested by many troubles and…very poor.  But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity….they gave not only what they could afford, but far more.  And they did it of their own free will.  They begged us…for the privilege of sharing…”  He then encourages his readers, “I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.  I am not commanding you to do this.  But I am testing how genuine your love is…” (2 Cor 8:2-3,7)

To excel in anything comes with the price of practice and testing.  How are we doing?  How genuine is our love?

Gracious giving is "patient, kind not jealous, boastful or proud. It is not demanding, irritable, or keeps records.  Gracious giving new gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.' (1 Cor 13)

What better time  as we enter a fresh new year to excel in the gracious act of giving.

Expectations

Funny how one word can bring such diverse emotions.  Whether expectations are met or unmet they have the potential to bring disappointment and potential impacts on our lives that can last a lifetime. 

We have expectations from family, friends and coworkers; from our employers and government; contractual expectations from various sources.  This is a year of political expectations.

As parents we have expectations, some spoken and some not, for and from our children and likewise they have of us.

 

The disciples and people in Jesus time had expectations from him

The mother of James & John expected her boys to have special favor with Jesus because….well, because after all they were in the ‘inner circle’.

The disciples expected John to get answers from Jesus when the others didn’t want to approach him.

The multitudes had expectations of healing, deliverance, and supplying food (John 6:26) for them.

The religious elite expected Jesus to ‘toe the line’ and conform to their expectations of a messiah. 

We have expectations of Jesus today.  The outcome of our fulfilled and unfulfilled expectations of him plays a major role in our current and future faith and beliefs.

Sometimes our expectations of God are unrealistic.  There are situations we put ourselves in as a result of either ignorance or total rebellion of God’s ways and truths and then look to God like a genie in a bottle for immediate relief.  When he doesn’t do his magic we then assume he doesn’t love us (because if he did he would give us everything we ever asked for!) so we storm out of our relationship like a spoiled child slamming the door.   

I certainly am not expert on the mind and ways of God…none of us really are.  Just when we think we have him figured out (i.e., “Ten steps to________”) we realize God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).  Expectations are blown out of the water and we start back on square one with learning all over again about trust and faith in what we can’t see but yet our hearts tell us is real. 

There are other times we pray with purely unselfish reasons and God doesn’t answer the way we think he should—a friend or family member suffering with unbearable pain with no relief in sight.  Again our expectations of God are not fulfilled in the immediate answers we seek.  Trust and faith in the unseen is once again called upon even though we don’t understand the silence.     

Have you ever consider God’s expectations of us?  They are actually quite simple yet complicated for our “I” mentality. 

B ELIEVE…. in Jesus Christ as the one and only son of God (Jo 3:5-6, 16; 6:29; John 14:11).

O BEY… more than saying but living what we believe… (John 8:31-32; 14:15; John 15)

L OVE… one another as I love the Father (John 13:34-35).  Love is the product of BELIEVE and OBEY 

                    (1 John 4:18-19).

D ISCIPLE… is BELIVE, OBEY and LOVE in action (Matthew 28:18-20). 

Jesus said, “All who love me will do what I say.  My father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.  I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.  So don’t be troubled or afraid.  The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world.  I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.  I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.  The Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” 

(Jesus praying for you and me) “ Holy Father you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are…I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe (you and me!!) in me through their message….may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me…may they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me.” (John 14-17) 

It takes being BOLD to stand against popular beliefs and expectations.  It takes being BOLD  to live in this world, not become part of this world.  It takes being BOLD to live as Jesus would today. 

A fellow BOLD… in progress,

Kay