Loved by God II
As I began to read His Word and ask Him to reveal Himself to me, He began to reveal to me His purpose for why we were here. I realized according to the scriptures, that God’s plan was not some cosmic chaotic mess that it seemed. God is the master planner. His will cannot be denied. He is All Soveriegn and All-Powerful! For God to be these things, He would have to have a plan so detailed it could not be comprehended totally by our natural understanding! Jesus tried to reveal some of that plan to Nicodemus:
John 3
3)Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4)Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5)Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 7) Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8) The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Verse 8 really stands out here (not just because I underlined it). Jesus compares the process that God chooses those to whom He has decided to the moving of the wind. I like to take this scripture and transpose “the Spirit of God” into where you see “the wind” cause He is describing the Spirit of God as “the wind”.
Just as the Holy Spirit hovered over the waters of the deep in Genesis 1, even today, He moves across this world drawing those to Himself that He has chosen before the foundations of the Earth were laid!
Ephesians 1
3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5) he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6) to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8)which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9) making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10)as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
There are so many more scriptures I could share about this, but back to my story.
I began to realize that God’s love was not determined upon whether or not I did certain things, but was given freely because I was chosen by God. I was taught for a long time that salvation was based on my actions (not that we have a free license to go out and do whatever we want with no consequence). I had to a pray a prayer to get saved, had to not drink or smoke, read my bible, pray regularly, give my tithe, and I was good to go. I did good on the smoking and drinking stuff cause I had no desire to do either, but I struggled with prayer,reading, and still have some attitudes and things I have to work on. Many well intentioned men would use condemnation to get me back in line which only really worked for short periods of time.
What I have come to learn is that I am free and you are free to seek Him! There is no long list of prerequisites to be saved or be in right standing with Him! Jesus already did everything that was required and we have an opportunity to experience the love of the God of the universe with no restrictions, no bounderies, no limits! Is that not incredible?! The burden of your salvation was carried on that cross and we are free!! Free to love Him and be loved with no strings attached! It’s this love that moves me to read so we can know Him better. It’s this love that should move us to spend time in prayer, fellowship, and worship!
Hebrews 10:21-23
21)and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22)let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
We are so loved by Him! I hope you get a revelation of what He has done for you!. Thanks for reading.
Kevin
