Love and Grace

Abba, we thank you that this is the day that You have made and we shall be glad and rejoice in it. We usher Your presence into every space that we are in right now and especially our hearts. May our hearts be good soil to receive all the blessings found in Your Word In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Today's Word is coming from Jeremiah 31:2-3 MSG

This is the way God put it: "They found grace out in the desert, these people who survived the killing.

Israel out looking for a place to rest, met God out looking for them!" GOD told them, "I've never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love and more love."

Amen. Thank you LORD.

When you think of God, what do you expect? Today's Word is reminding us to expect love. I prefer the Message Bible translation of this verse as it repeats the word love three times. In the Bible, the number 3 represents completion. When Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world, He rose from the dead on the third day. When Jesus performed His first miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana, it happened on the third day (John 2:1). So when we see love repeated three times above, I invite you to embrace the truth that under no uncertain terms will God ever quit loving you. It does not matter how many mistakes you make, God's love for you through Jesus Christ will always be bigger than your mistakes and sin. That is, provided your heart and mind are yielded to repentance. Psalm 51:17 says, "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart - These, O God, You will not despise."

Often times, we like to believe that we found God especially after we have wandered off in the wrong direction and come back to Him in repentance. However, that could not be further from the truth. God's love for the world is not dependant on our good or bad actions, that is, His love is not reactive. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

God's grace which is available for all who believe in Christ Jesus qualifies you to access blessings and things that you don't deserve because Christ paid for them on the cross so that they could freely become yours.

The above lead Scripture also highlights the importance of rest. When Israel (insert your name) was looking for a place to rest, God was instead already looking out for them ready to re affirm His love for them. Herein, we see that there is a correlation between the love of God and rest. Hebrews 4:9-10 speaks of a rest for the people of God and it says, "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His." This illustrates to us that rest is a place of positioning that belongs to God's sons and daughters. Going to bed early and getting eight hours of sleep is great. At the same time, it is also possible to sleep eight hours a day and not feel rested at all! Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that the Word of God helps discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts which is the reason it is important to read your Bible daily.

When you are rested in God, the Father's complete love for you found in Christ, will ensure that you are at peace because Jesus encouraged us to not be troubled but to trust in the peace that He gives that the world cannot give (John 14:27). When you are rested in God, the Father's complete love for you found in Christ will ensure that you are not afraid for His perfect love casts away fear since fear involves torment (1 John 4:18). When you are rested in God, the Father's complete love for you found in Christ, will ensure that you are anxious for nothing as we are encouraged to make our requests known to God, through prayer and supplication (Philippians 4:6-7).

From the above, it is evident that God created you with emotions and He cares about every detail of your life which also includes your emotions because you are a being created out of God's love. So when you feel certain emotions, always remember that God can handle them and no matter the emotion, surrender them to Him in the place of prayer and in exchange receive His love and grace for you in that area. As you receive God, the Father's love for you in Christ, may you remember that as much as expressing your emotions is important, they may be separate from your identity as a son and daughter of God especially if they are contrary to who God has created you in Christ Jesus. In that case, you would have to replace the negative emotion with what the word of God says about you. For instance, feeling ill equipped to handle a particular task is a valid feeling that may cause anxiety but that emotion would have to be replaced with what God says about you in His Word. In this case, "I can do all things through who Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13). Believing this truth and confessing it with your mouth would enable you to walk in God's love and grace which would in turn equip you for the task at hand.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I'll end with this Word found in Philippians 4:8 AMPC

"Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God's Word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable, and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]."

Amen. Thank you Father.

Invitation to salvation: If you would like to know about God, the Father who from the beginning of creation has always loved you and desires to commune with you through a personal relationship with His only Son Christ by dwelling on the inside of you and to have internal life including all the blessings found in Christ Jesus such as joy, peace, love, guidance, victory and more - I invite you to make this confession:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.

Congratulations, by grace you are saved and are now a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old life has passed away and you have received the free gift of salvation into your life (2 Corinthians 5:17) where you get to freely access everything I've shared in this post. To the glory of the Almighty God. Amen.

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