Jesus did not come to earth as a man to start a religion, but so that you could have a personal relationship with Him. Holy God loves you that much and if that doesn’t at least bring a tear to your eye, I wonder if you have any concept of what that took and how much unconditional love was involved.
If you can
think that the God who loves you so much doesn’t know and want the best for you
and that not you or anything else can ever separate you from Him, then you may
want to meditate on this love of God and be sure you believe in Jesus as your
God and Savior.
“But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NASB)
“He (God)
made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)
“By this
the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son
into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” 1 John 4:9-11, 18-20 (NASB)
If you love God, you will obey Him and part of that is forgiving and loving others. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments”, and that includes the ones on loving others, especially those who are your brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Church is not yours, it belongs to Jesus – the Church is the body of Christ and that includes all true believers. Is loving Jesus your motivation for obedience? Do you know you are His as a believer now and forever based totally on what He did? Do you know you are free to obey and love God because you want to and not to gain something? You can’t help it as His love in you flows out.
Do you really believe you are the worst sinner you know and that it is only the grace of God that allows you to have His righteousness and an eternal relationship with God? You and I are not “pretty good” or “better than…” because we all need God’s grace to save us since we deserve punishment; God took that punishment for us though and it is ours if we believe.
Are you grateful enough for God’s grace that nothing is more important than His presence?
Why not?
Too often I have to ask myself that and humbly recall what it took for Jesus to come and save me and remember all that I received at that moment and then shed a tear of thanks and joy and get back busy being what I am in Christ.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)
REMEMBER and
BE WHO AND WHAT YOU ARE IN CHRIST because of what He did!
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