Loving God

When it comes to loving God, the risk is all His.

True love is about self sacrifice. Giving all that you have to love someone else and not doing it to receive that love in return.

You risk it all when you pour your love into someone else, you make yourself vulnerable to being hurt. You never know for sure if the other person truly loves you back. You cannot read their hearts.

But you can place your trust in God’s heart, because there has been no greater love shown than when He gave His only begotten Son to be sacrificed for us, so that we may be forgiven, and know mercy.

So when Jesus asks us to deny ourselves, and take up our cross, and follow Him, that’s what it means to love Him.

It does make us vulnerable, by exposing our hearts and true motives, but because He already loved us first, the risk is all His.

Advertisements

To know Him

Philippians 3:8-9 KJV

[8] Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, [9] And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith

As humans accustomed to the values of the world, we often, as Christians, can integrate the perceived worth of worldly culture into our lives.

Things like pride, fear of humiliation, and prosecution can stop us from fully coming to know God. These things have become important in the world, where image is everything and substance has taken a back step. As Christians we know that substance is everything, and thus we also know that growing our relationship with God should overrule any inclination to sway towards any popularity with our peers.

We don’t become Christians to become famous, popular, or to become wealthy, those are perceived values that measure a persons worth as determined by the culture of the world.

But to truly know Him, requires us to leave all that behind, to let go of what ties us and binds us to the encapsulating slavery of attaining the impossible. Chasing these worldly aspects will always lead to destruction. And understanding this will make following Him a whole lot easier.

Paul says that anything we may lose as a result of following Him, is to be counted as waste, as rubbish, and was never worth having in the first place. So don’t feel disappointed when riches don’t come your way, because you chose His path instead of the world’s, or even when you simply lose sleep to pray.

Mark 8:36 KJV

[36] For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Chose to know Him. For His reward is far greater than anything we could have gained in this world.

Great is the measure

Psalm 103:11-14

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

As far as east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father pities his children, So the LORD pitied those who fear Him.

For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

Freely, God blesses us with His mercy, forgiveness, and love; and freely we receive these blessings. However humbled we may be, we greatly accept these gifts.

But how willingly do we pass these blessings on to our neighbours? How often do we share the joy that comes from knowing God?

God’s blessings defies logic and mathematical sense, because when you share His gifts of love – kindness – mercy – forgiveness, they do not halve what you have received, they increase. In this sense, sharing increases the gift.

God’s love knows no bounds and is not limited by our worldly agendas and worries. His love is eternal and infinite, so don’t think that by sharing what He has gifted you, means that you will run out.

So it is then wise to freely forgive, freely love, freely show kindness, and freely display mercy, for the richness multiplies and freely it is given to us.

“For as high as the heavens above, great is the measure of our Father’s love!”

With love

2 Timothy 2:24

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient

Arguing with people never ends well. Someone always gets hurt, and the topic in question gravitates negativity towards it, despite how positive it may be.

When Jesus wanted to show and teach others that their behaviour was wrong, He always did it with love. He never argued with them, but gently, patiently, lovingly, and humbly, He would rebuke them.

He never pointed out someone’s flaws to prove His own righteousness, nor to inflate His ego, nor even to prove a point. He always shed light on their wrong doings in order to save their souls for God, and to give them eternal life. It was always about them, and not about Himself.

I liken it to quantum physics. A topic that seems incomprehensible, complex, and way out of my league. Now would I want someone to teach me through arguing, or to inflate their own ego, or to prove a point that I wasn’t smart enough to understand it? No.

That approach would scare me off from even wanting to think about elementary science.

Instead, if someone was to teach me with gentleness, patience, and kindness, then I would anchor to quantum physics more cheerfully and more willingly.

The same goes for the topic of God. To some, He may seem like a big scary figure in the sky, that is impossible to please, and full of complexity. But if we want to win souls, then we must share God the same way that Jesus did whilst He was here.

With love. With the purpose of sharing His gift. With kindness. With gentleness. With patience.

Through the valley

Psalm 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.

What a profound and impactful verse. Many take comfort in this Psalm; they find hope and peace in this text. They come to it during their darkest of times for a comforting and reassuring reminder that God is with us no matter how dark and scary the valley may be.

God is with you always.

He leads you through the valley, not to stay and set up camp. Not to settle down and make roots, but to keep on pushing forward, to keep on pressing on, and to keep on wading through.

Peace and joy await on the other side, and the journey is more than worth it.

I know that the valley is dark, and seemingly hopeless. Steeped deep in depression and doubt. It is a bitter brew of tea that is hard to swallow. And we wonder “where is God?” Where is He when we need Him the most? Where is He to help us endure this painfully over brewed cup?

(Jesus did take of this cup though, when praying to God the Father about His soon coming sacrifice, so He knows exactly how bitter it is)

But this verse says that He is with you always. He is not afraid of the valley, He is not dismayed by the trough of murky waters that try to drown you. He is there with you, holding your hand and leading you through.

And He uses this valley to bring out the best in you, to strengthen your faith in Him, and to cause you to realise His mighty power to pull you through.

His hand is never too short to reach us, and we are never too far from Him that He does not think of us.

There is peace in the valley, if we but just accept God as our help, our leader, and our protector. So do not fear, we will get through this valley!

O Love that will not let me go

One of my favourite verses in the bible is

1Corinthians 13:1

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

This verse has stuck with me since child hood. But I have only come to understand its poignancy in the last couple of years.

Spending my early mornings before primary (elementary) school reciting all of 1Corinthians 13 with my family, my tired eyes and immature brain could hardly comprehend the magnitude of God’s love buried deep within this scripture, let alone in this single verse.

Firstly Charity means Love, but not the kind of love that we use to describe our affinity for ice cream. It’s agape love. The highest form of love possible. It’s the love that God has for us, and it’s the love that we are to have for Him.

Love is so important. Because God is love.

1 John 4:8 KJV

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

And because God is love, you can swap out the word “charity” with God in the verse (1Corinthians 13:1).

Thus, it doesn’t matter if I know every language in the world, and if I have the gift of conversing with angels. If I don’t have God in my life, and if love is not the reason behind this gift, then I may as well be making nonsensical noise that no one can understand.

God does everything in love, because He is love. There is no other possible way for Him to act.

So let love be your motivation behind everything you do. And in doing so, you give God permission to perform miracles in your life.

And the more love you give, the more that love comes flooding back in waves of godly strength that uplift you, and give you courage to love the unlovable, and to show them Christ.

Life with God, is to have life with love, and I pray that it’s a love that will not let me go.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 KJV

And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you

Follow the Leader

Psalm 18:32-33

It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

How great are the mountaineering skills of deer and goat alike? Their ability to climb high up into the rockiest terrains and down into the deepest valleys, leaves you in awe. They do not fall, for fear does not shake them; they remain calm and at peace with their path.

They understand that they have to take this tumultuous journey to get from A to B. But it doesn’t detract them from putting forth their hooves and soldiering on.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

The way they walk is key to their survival. Wherever their front hooves have stepped, their back hooves will also step, in exactly the same spot. They know if their back legs just follow their front legs, they will be able to travel safely through the dangerously steep mountain sides.

God is to be our front legs. Wherever He steps, we must follow, for we are on our rocky mountains of pain, hurt, and heartache. But if we trust in Him, and allow Him to lead, He will get us through it, and bring us peace.

We will not shake in fear, we will not look down, we just keep going forward following His steps as He weaves us through the dangerous terrain.

When we leave His path, we risk falling, we risk death. But so long as God is our leader, He is also our strength, and He will get us through the hard times.

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

So follow the Leader, it’s life saving.

Without Him

Sometimes we can become so absorbed in our own efforts and our own victories that we tend to make decisions based on our own abilities. We make them trusting our own judgement, and our own experiences.

But God is always there waiting for you to call upon Him. Waiting for you to seek His wise counsel, His instruction, and His leadership, in all areas of your life.

Without Him, our lives become worthless, and the decisions we make fulfil our carnal desires, but don’t point us towards Him. They may be fun and adventurous for now, but they don’t put us right with God.

Ask God to lead in every decision you make. He is interested in what you want to eat for lunch, and what college you want to go to. He has your best interest at heart and wants you to succeed. So let Him lead, let Him instruct, and let Him counsel you with His infinite wisdom.

For life with Him, is a million times better than life without Him.

He qualifies the called

He doesn’t call the qualified, but He qualifies the called.

This gives me hope, and I’m sure it will give you hope too.

We may not be educated, or have the best communicating skills. We may not have the best literacy, or even have much charisma. But God made us. He made us to worship Him, and to reach others, so that they may come to know Him too.

So long as we commit ourselves to Him, He will use us in ways that we can never prepare for.

So don’t wait to be highly educated, or to have great literacy skills, to be an excellent communicator, or to have a personable character. Because God can use you now. In the state that you are in, and with any limitations you think you have, God can use you.

He uses the sick to reach the ailing, the broken to meet the wretched, and the poor to help those who lack. Whatever situation you are in, God can use your lowly state to appeal to those in a likewise destitution.

For when God calls you, He qualifies you.

Jacob’s faith

Hebrews 11:21
By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

 Genesis 48:13-20
Before he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, he adopted them Genesis 48:1-6. God wants to adopt us into His family and bless us as His children. We are not to be so enamoured with the offers of this world, that we lose sight of the bigger picture, and the bigger family that we are called to be a part of. 

He adopted them so they fully receive their blessing, as they had an Egyptian mother, and were born in Egypt, they may not have been considered viable options. But as adopted sons, they were eligible to receive all that he had to give through the promises of God.

“A patriarch’s final blessing was important in biblical times as a practical matter of inheritance rights. In addition, some final blessings included prophetic statements that reveal God’s supernatural power through the men of His choosing.” {Got questions}
Jacob adopted two rich princes into his lowly shepherd estate. He then blessed them with a dry desert land that he didn’t even own (Acts 7:5), except for a burial cave. There was no inkling of evidence that God would fulfil His promises, (consider Abraham who did not allow a Canaanite wife for his son, which would have provided a family connection to the land), and yet by faith Jacob gave both Ephraim and Manasseh a full and complete portion of blessings. 

How fortunate, for the two boys, that they had a grandfather that saw past the great and highly esteemed Egyptian abundance; but rather he valued Abraham’s spiritual blessing above worldly fame. That is faith, to not fall for all the world has to offer, however present it may be, and to fully believe that God will provide a way, though you cannot see it. 

Psalm 27:14 

Wait on the Lord : be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord .

Being on the cusp of death is hardly a reason to be joyful. It is notably a time of sadness and of questioning. But Jacob worshipped God. With every last beat of his weak pulsing heart, and his physically failing body, his need and desire to worship his Creator, and Merciful Forgiver, grew immeasurably. 
How often do we let our circumstances dictate our relationship with God? He is ever patient with us, waiting on us to commune with Him. In every situation, God wants us to worship and praise Him. This allows us to be free to receive the blessings and provisions He is longing to give us. 
Though we have faith our whole lives, or at least endeavour to, perhaps the most vital of times to express this faith is on our deathbed. It is how we finish, whether we die believing in God’s promises, that speaks volumes to those that catch us in our last moments. And the best way we can show this, is by singing the praises of the One who brought us through, and by blessing the generations that succeed. It takes great courage to die in faith, but when we honour Him with our patience, our hope, and our joy, God ensures that the promised blessings are sure to be fulfilled.
It was not by his own strength by which he gave his blessing, but rather God’s strength, and Jacob’s faithfulness to Him. 
Exodus 14:15-16 

 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

By faith Moses obeyed God and used a rod, an inanimate object made of wood, to part the red sea into two. Generations before, Jacob divided Joseph’s inheritance blessing into two, and gave it to Manasseh and Ephraim, whilst leaning on top of his staff. 

It’s not the stick that parts the seas and it’s not the stick that holds us up to give us strength. It’s our faith in God that He will make a way. Just like the serpent on the rod that cured the Israelites from their snake bites. The wood did not save them, it was their faith. It’s God asking us to be obedient, even when it seems crazy and beyond understanding. God is saying “Trust Me!”
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith and hope are interlinked. You cannot have one without the other. 
Even though Jacob was sick and harbouring a physically failing body, he still leant all that he had onto his staff and worshipped God. And even though Moses was drowning in the inches of the Red Sea water of which he dared to dip his feet into, and although the prospect of a multitude of deaths was but a gentle wave away, he still trusted God. 

The same faith that portioned a double blessing to two Egyptian royalties, is the same faith that lead Moses on that great exodus expedition, that did eventually see the results of God’s promise to Jacob in the land of Canaan (Genesis 28:13).

Jacob’s eye sight was nearing blindness, thus Joseph was troubled when he realised the swapped positioning of his father’s hands. But Jacob let God lead, and knew what he was doing (Genesis 48:19).

The positioning wasn’t convenient, it was purposeful. Sometimes we like to make provisions for God to bless us, in the way that we see fit. But God knows better, and we must allow Him to bless us, in His way.

 
According to Jewish Sages, growing up, Ephraim was solely focused on doing God’s will. While Manasseh did go according to God’s will, he also concerned himself with the matters of the world. He balanced both, while Ephraim was solely God’s. Much like Jacob and Esau. Jacob was more interested in being a spiritual leader, and Esau was clearly not (as he sold his birthright). Jacob wanted that position as patriarchal leader and a strong pillar for God, and attained it through means of deceit. By blessing Ephraim, he showed God that he had come full circle and that he allowed the younger brother to become the spiritual leader through an honest practice. Jacob had bought his birthright, and Joseph earned it. 
Jacob had faith that the blessings would fall upon Ephraim and Manasseh, and not to Reuben. This was against tradition, but it wasn’t against God’s will. 

Jacob vs Israel 

{why was the name Jacob used in Hebrews 11:21, and not Israel?}
Jacob represents his timid and passive self. As we can see when Jacob wanted to keep Benjamin back with him in their home, rather than save the family from starvation. But it was Israel that eventually let him go to Egypt (Genesis 42:36-43:13). 

It was Israel that allowed for the destruction of Shechem; and it was Israel that sent Joseph to find his brothers, though he knew that they hated him. Jacob would have kept him home, and hoped from afar that his sons would be ok. But Israel was determined and put it into action. 

So it was Israel that sent Joseph away, but it was Jacob that called him back. In his timidness and frailty, Jacob knew the time had come to pass on his blessings.   

In the first 17 years of Joseph’s life, his father raised him to be a God fearing man and equipped him with strong values that saw him succeed in Pharaoh’s command, which saved the people from the famine. In the last 17 years of Jacob’s life, Joseph cared for him and provided for his needs. Their last 17 years together was a testament of their faith in God that had brought them back together, it was this faith that paved the way for Joseph and his two sons to be blessed. 

He died a poor man in a foreign land, but he died in the faith of God’s promises {Dying faith}.