His Sovereignty and Unconditional Love

 
During a wonderful few minutes of worship at a church service a month or so ago, the following words flowed into my heart;

"Trust In My Sovereignty and My Unconditional Love."

At first I related to it as God's way of telling me to stop worrying about everything, and simply trust in Him.

But I've come to realise that those words mean so much more.

Let's begin with Forgiveness

The bible tells us that "He That Is Forgiven Much, Loves Much."
Luke 7 vs 47

There's a reason why those that fully understand, receive, and accept the message of Grace - the Gospel - are so much happier than the rest of us (yep - me included. I'm still learning day by day, and have a long way to go. Lol).

They recognise just how much God has forgiven them!!

They recognise how much God loves them - so unconditionally; and because of this, they are able to love God and all around them so much more freely and genuinely.

Indeed it seems that even Satan knows how much God loves us better than we do.

When God spoke to him about Job, he replied "....but you have put a hedge around Him".

If God could love Job so much under the old covenant that He put a hedge of protection around him, how much more do you think he'll love and protect you under the new covenant?!

Remember - Jesus has done all the necessary work for your righteousness. When God looks at you, He sees his son Jesus - because you are 'In Christ Jesus'.

The bible also tells us that 'He who started the work will complete it'.

That journey that you began when you gave your life to Christ, will be completed - not by your works but by the Grace of God. In other words not by you but by God himself.

Nothing can happen without His allowing it; and all things work together for good for those who love Him. He was aware of every one of your mistakes and failings, even before you were born.

Not only does He love you,  inspite of your mistakes and failings, but He will complete his work in you.

Grace is far more powerful than the law and sin. It is also a lot more powerful and effective than our efforts. Remember - He Who Is Forgiven Much Loves Much. 

Isn't it strange how the more we are forgiven the more we want to do better - not to earn points or His love;  but as a result of 'forgiveness' reassuring our security in His love, thereby giving us a genuine and free-willed desire to do good.

Finally, Jesus also tells us that every commandment in the bible is summed up in these two commands;

"Love God with all your heart......

"Love your neighbour likewise"

Do you really think that we humans are capable of loving with all our hearts and minds??

Neither do I.

That is why Christ did it for us. Because He loves us with all His heart, all His Strength, and all His mind, he died for us.

It is the recognition and acceptance of how much God has forgiven us for, and how unconditionally he loves us that enables us to love.

Focus less on the dos' and don'ts.

Fix your eyes on His unconditional love.

By focusing on how much you are unconditionally loved, the dos' and don'ts are easily overcome.

By His Grace Only

'It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.'

1st Corinthians 1 vs 30-31

There is something satisfying about successfully performing a task isn't there?! You set your heart on it, go through the grind, and achieve your objective.

It isn't too dissimilar to setting our hearts on achieving righteousness. We set our minds on what we believe needs to be done, and then do it with all heart and strength - at least for a while anyway.

It's all very commendable of-course. But our 'acts' of holiness are not the reason we are righteous.

We are righteous only by the grace of God, who recognised a long long time ago that we are incapable of doing it on our own.

You are perfect in Righteousness through Christ Jesus because you are 'In' Christ Jesus.

Be assured of who you are.

You are a beloved child of God, and forever in 'Right Standing' with Him.

Have a wonderfully blessed February.

Within, not Without.

During an intriguing conversation a week or so ago regarding the manner in which God blesses those He loves, someone made the following statement.

 ''I think we've got it all wrong. We continue to believe that God demonstrates and conveys His love for us by showering us with material wealth, but that can't be the case. Are we saying that God doesn't love the poor and needy? Or that the poor and needy are sinners that God continually punishes?''

I must confess that this statement caught my attention somewhat. I've felt for a long while that the depths or otherwise of one's material wealth does not in any way relate to the extent of God's love (for that person). 

Although my friend's statement was in line with my own view I couldn't resist the urge to gather evidence to support the notion.So off I went in search of the nearest bible to do some digging. 

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, Ruth, Esther, Job, Daniel, and many more - God conveyed His love for them by showering them with an abundance of material wealth.But in the new testament there is very little talk of wealth. Rather, God's loved ones are mostly poor and needy.Well, you know me - I couldn't just gather all this info, which I must confess got me a little confused, and not ask someone of more knowledge than me. So I proceeded to ask a man of the cloth.

His explanation is an interesting one.

'In the old testament people didn't have the holy spirit. Therefore God's way of showing His people that He loved them was by blessing them with material things. But after Jesus, we have the holy spirit residing in us. There is no greater blessing than the spirit of God dwelling inside you.'

Simple explanation, but it does make sense.

I can't help feeling that despite the new covenant of Grace, we still continue to live partly in the old testament and partly in the new.We all want success and material wealth. But surely there is so much more to life than money and riches!?!It's interesting that what many of us want more than anything else is 'peace of mind'. About a year ago I asked many of you what you want most from life. The top three - in this order - were 1. Peace of Mind, 2. Love, and 3. Happiness. Isn't it interesting that wealth and riches didn't make the top three??!!And yet this continues to be the focus of prayers in churches across Nigeria. This is not an attack on churches. Heavens No! Who am I to attack churches, or anyone else for that matter?!

My point is this;

If we continue to put unnecessary pressure on ourselves by believing that God will reward us for good behaviour and obedience by making us absurdly wealthy then all we are doing is reducing our chances of finding 'Peace of mind, Love, and Happiness'.

Peace of mind, love, and happiness reside in a content relationship with the Holy spirit, and thereby with those around you.A yearning for 'loadsa' money leads to the opposite direction of peace of mind. I believe God showers those He wants to shower with an abundance of wealth - but not because He loves them more. The level of your wealth is not a direct correlation of God's love for you.God's love is unconditional; and it is our belief and understanding of His unconditional love for us that gives us peace of mind.

Ambition is good.

Selfish ambition is not so good.Work hard, do your very best to succeed - for the sake of those around you; bless others as well as yourself with your success. But never for one second think that the depths or otherwise of your wealth relates to the extent of God's love for you. His love for you runs so much deeper than material wealth.