God's Love For You Has Nothing To Do With You!

Did you have to read that title a couple of times? Think about it - God's love for you has absolutely nothing to do with you! Doesn't make much sense, does it? However, when you give it some thought, it really does!

The Bible says that nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God. This includes us! Not even we ourselves can separate up from His love. God loves us, no matter what! There is nothing we can do to make Him love us less, and there is nothing we can do to make Him love us more. Therefore, His love for you has nothing to do with you!

If you are like me, you have probably struggled with feeling like you've gone too far this time, or that God has extended His mercy too many times, and soon He will take His grace away from you. I don't know why Christians find it easier to believe lies than the truth of God's own Word, but it is usually the case.

If you are struggling with these thoughts of condemnation, read Psalm 106. This Psalm talks about how the Israelites rebelled against God time after time after time after time. It says that they even went as far as to sacrifice their own sons and daughters to idols, shedding innocent blood! Then it talks about how God was angry, and gave them over to their enemies.

HOWEVER! In verses 43-46, it says: "Again and again He rescued them, but they chose to rebel against Him and they were finally destroyed by their sin. Even so, He pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries. He remembered His covenant with them and relented because of His unfailing love. He even caused their captors to treat them with kindness."

Christians! His covenant with YOU is His blood! There is no stronger covenant than this! Nothing can erase what He has already done for you - no, not even your sins! So do not accept condemnation. Instead, repent of your sin, and then move on from it, confident that He who has the final say has already forgotten it.

Why Was David "A Man After God's Own Heart?"

I've been reading about David lately - not just in Psalms, but in 1 and 2 Samuel as well. The Lord called David "a man after My own heart," and I wanted to know what made David that kind of man. He wasn't perfect - not all of his sins are listed, but he did commit adultery and murder! Yet, the Lord still loved and favored him. I think that part of what made God favor David so much was how David dealt with his sin.

Whenever God sent someone to rebuke David he immediately repented and accepted the consequences of his sin. There isn't a place in the Bible where it talks about David refusing to repent, or being self-righteous about his sins. His heart always yielded to God's conviction right away, and he always repented 100%.

David also stepped out in faith quite a bit. The most famous instance of this was when he fought Goliath. I have read this story many times, but this was the first time I realized that the Bible does not say that God told David to kill Goliath. There are other times when it tells how David asked the Lord for direction before he went into battle, but when he went to fight Goliath, David just stepped out and did it, trusting that God would back him up! After reading that, I had to sit back and think about it for a few minutes. If I were in that situation, would I have done what David did? I hope so, but I have my doubts! David knew that God was on Israel's side, and that He took insults to His chosen people pretty seriously, so from that I guess he figured that all he had to do was take a stand against Goliath and God would go before him. Well, as we know, he figured right!

This decision was made in a matter of seconds! He didn't wait and pray it out, or ask for advice or talk to anyone about it. He just did it - no doubts, no worries. He KNEW that God would do it! He knew God, and what He had done for the Israelites in the past, and David had also seen God come through over and over again in his own life. And that was all it took for David to put his life in God's hands.

Think back and remember what God has done in your life. Read the Bible and take a look at what He did for the people back then. Has He changed? Of course not! Just what He's done in your life alone should be enough for you to put your life in His hands and make it possible for you to step out in faith like David did. He knew God so well that he knew God would bless him in his efforts. He knew what God wanted - even what He would want. Like I mentioned before, sometimes he did pray and ask for direction, and God always answered, but He rarely told David "no, don't do that." David had a heart for God, and for the things of God. He searched after the heart of God, and he knew Him - really knew Him. David knew sides of God that many Jewish people at that time did not know. Read the Psalms - God was David's everything - He was closer to Him than anyone else. He trusted God above everything and anyone. He made mistakes, sinned and messed things up just like we do, and everyone else has done since Adam and Eve. But he didn't let those things stop him for long. He got right back up and continued in his walk with the Lord.

Don't let your sins knock you down for long - Satan would rather you stayed down, buried under shame and guilt for the rest of your life, but God wants us to learn from our mistakes, seek His forgiveness, repent, and move on. (Wow, this post took on a mind of its own! Funny how you start with one idea and then it turns into something else!)

BUT GOD!

"BUT GOD". Those are 2 of my favorite words (especially when they are together!) Another 2 of my favorites are "I AM". These 2 phrases really go well together in my life, and probably in yours as well.

All throughout the Bible, people were afraid, or they strayed away, or something happened that was out of their control. Whatever it was, their situation was too big for them to handle... BUT GOD came and scooped them up and fought and won the battle for them. All through the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New, God shows up in situation after situation.

In Exodus 13:10-31, the Israelites are being chased by Pharaoh and his army. They are barred off by the Red Sea and cannot run any farther. The army is getting closer and will soon re-capture the Israelites and take them back into slavery...BUT GOD parted the Sea and allowed them to walk across on dry land. Then He drowned the entire army! BUT GOD!

When the Israelites forgot all that God had done for them, and started worshipping idols and doing everything that God had warned them not to do, He got mad at them and punished them. Did He leave them in misery? No, He turned around and said, " 'For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you' says the Lord your Redeemer." Isaiah 54:7-8. BUT GOD!

The biggest one of all is when only the Jews could know God, and He wanted everyone to be able to know him and spend eternity with Him. Yet, someone needed to do something about the sins of the world, both present and future. Sin was blocking man from God. BUT GOD gave His one and only Son, Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins so that we could have a relationship with God and spend eternity with Him. BUT GOD!

In the New Testament, Jesus gives us a ton of BUT GOD moments. He healed diseases that people had been suffering from for years - BUT GOD! He fed the five thousand with 5 loaves and 2 fish - BUT GOD! He brought people back from the dead - BUT GOD!

What is happening in your life these days? Life is good, but life is not always good all of the time. Everyone goes through hard times, and sometimes it seems like there will never be an end to your struggles. Think back to the BUT GOD times in your life. He was there then, and He is here now. As surely as He took care of the people in the Bible, giving them undeserved mercy, winning their battles and doing the impossible for them, He will take care of you too.

Here is the best part - here is where BUT GOD joins I AM! We know the meaning of "BUT GOD", but do we really know about "I AM"? BUT GOD intervenes for us, but I AM carries us through. I AM encompasses all of our struggles, all of our hardships and all of the unfair things in our lives. It even covers things that have happened to us because of other people's choices - things that we have no control over.

I AM is enough. He is bigger than our troubles, bigger than our fears and frustrations, yet He knows and understands what we are going through because He has been there - He's walked a mile in our shoes!

Matthew 11:28 says: "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."