1 Peter 1:8 –“You love Him passionately (do we) although you have not seen Him, but through believing in Him you are SATURATED with an ecstatic joy (are we), indescribably sublime and immersed in glory.”
The Power of God’s Grace and our faith filled my thoughts during my morning devotional time. 1 Peter 1:3 tells us that we were reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus. Our inheritance is perfect and imperishable and never lessens in magnitude.
1 Peter 1:5 – “Through our faith, the mighty power of God constantly guards us UNTIL our full salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
By trusting God as savior and surrendering to Him as Lord, we are Constantly Guarded by heaven’s armies and power. If that doesn’t give peace and confidence, what will happen?
Peter made a declaration about Christianity that seems foreign to many. 1 Peter 1:8 – “You love Him passionately (do we) although you have not seen Him, but through believing in Him you are SATURATED with an ecstatic joy (are we), indescribably sublime and immersed in glory.”
Peter said something about Jesus that needs to be the foundation of our relationship with the Father. 1 Peter 2:23 – “Jesus faithfully entrusted Himself into the hands of God…”
This issue and the key is Total Trust! Trust when we understand and when we do not. Trust when it is easy and hard. Trust! Jesus faithfully entrusted Himself. He was kept by power by trusting God.
That is the question for us today, “Do we faithfully entrust everything to Him? “ We need to run to Jesus. He is the author and finisher of our faith, and He will guard and guide us all the days of our lives. Rejoice! This is your day to be all you can be! Victory today!
Song of Solomon 8:7 – “Many waters cannot quench love; neither can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with everything he owned, his offer would be utterly despised.” NLT
Everyone, not just Christians, should not need a special day to focus on Love. Love should be the rule, not the exception, in our relationship with that special person in our life and our dealings with everyone at all times. There are numerous passages in the Bible regarding love and how relationships should be conducted on virtually every level. I chose this particular passage for what it says and want to address a couple of things on this day in which there will be more flowers, cards, and candy given than almost any day of the year.
This verse describes that true love cannot be washed away even with a flood. It is not fickle or fragile as is often the image we get from today’s society. If we look at 1 Corinthians 13, we realize how strong love really is in the human heart. If we consider John 3:16, we understand how powerful and committed love is in the heart of God.
If we read this verse with an open heart, we understand that Love is not for sale. That is a powerful point. True Love is not a purchasable commodity, nor is it an earned commodity. It is GIVEN! It may grow stronger based on the actions within a relationship, but actions, gifts, or even words alone are not the foundation of love.
It is not fragile and fickle. In that scenario, if one or the other forgets the gift, the words, the look, the touch, the kiss, the card, the flowers, or whatever, then love wanes. That is not love by any definition. I won’t attempt to tell you what it is, but love it isn’t.
We should all be the loving husbands, wives, friends, companions, neighbors, and human beings the Bible encourages and even dictates that we are to be. Yet, we know that that goal is impossible to attain without God’s love being first shed abroad in our hearts. Without a change in our very nature, through Christ’s giving of grace, we will remain selfish, though some are much more so than others. We will demand rather than give and receive. In a sense, we will sell what we call love, but it isn’t.
Love is not an emotion or something one falls into; it is a commitment of the heart and a decision of the mind, soul, and spirit. It is a choice that develops into a bond that becomes a covenant that is not fragile or fickle. Love is not necessarily easy because we must overcome our expectations, demands, and selfishness.
We must allow the Holy Spirit to keep our hearts attuned to God’s heart and desire the best for someone other than ourselves. Love, as Paul says in Corinthians, “Does not seek its own.” That is a picture of God’s love toward us and an example of how our love should be to others!
God’s expression of love through the sacrificial work of Christ on the Cross was not for Him but for us. His focus was not to amass a multitude of people to praise and worship Him, which would make Him selfish and self-centered; it was about bringing us out of darkness into light and redeeming man from Satan’s bondage. It was about giving!
I am thankful that God’s love is not something I have to earn because I would fall so short that I’d never taste even the slightest morsel of His bountiful and beautiful love.
I’m glad my wife’s love is not something I have to purchase or earn through meeting her requirements; it is bestowed on me because she has chosen to commit to me to love me, flaws and all. Mine for her is the same, and out of that covenant comes true love. It is not swayed by our temporary moments of selfishness. Our momentary lapses in our displays of our human frailty do not diminish it. It is strong because of the love of God in our hearts, our commitment to each other, and the covenant bond that we have developed and grown into, which keeps our love growing stronger each day!
Did you have children and begin loving them only after they were old enough to fulfill your expectations?
Did you only begin to love your parents after they had fulfilled your desires, demands, wants, and wishes?
Did you begin to love God only after He fulfilled a certain number of prayer requests?
I dare say you did not in any of those. You love your children because they are God’s gift to you and “flesh of your flesh;” they are part of you. You love your parents in response to their love, nurture, and care for you even before you knew or could rationalize anything. They loved you, and you responded to that love. The Bible tells us you love God because “He first loved us.”
In loving, we are responding to love! When two people find that the bond between them, the attraction that may have begun as physical, has risen to a higher level, they decide to commit, form the bond, and “cut the covenant’ that love requires; then it can be said that they are in love with each other! I’ve heard so many definitions of love in my years of ministry that were a million miles from what love really is that I wonder if most really know what love is.
My desire is that the Holy Spirit will enable me to love unconditionally as and with the Love of the Lord. If God loved us according to the definition, understanding, or commitment that is demonstrated among human beings, we would all be in serious trouble eternally.
So, my prayer is that on this day, when the focus is on Love, each of us will reexamine our understanding of and commitment to love. It is my prayer that we will allow the Holy Spirit to not only deposit the Love of God in our hearts but enable us to let that love flow out of us to others, especially to that special person or those special people in our lives that we treasure.
May God be with you on this day and make it a day with an Abounding Overflow of Love from you and to you! Blessings!
Exodus 20:1-3 – “God spoke all these words: 2 “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Let me begin by saying, “Hold this in your heart and rest in its reality. God values and treasures you! God can transform your life and encourage you through others in Christ. Encouraging one another is part of our Body Ministry in God’s Love!”
Today, several things exploded in my consciousness as I read, prayed, and pondered His Word.
Number One – God speaks!
He has been and always will be the Speaking God! When He speaks, it is vital to hear and heed His words. In Exodus 20, He spoke to the entire nation of Israel, and it shook them to their core. They stopped hearing God and wanted Moses to interpret and relay God’s words to them. That is a tragedy. If we cease hearing God personally, it is easy to get off track.
God sent an angel before them, and Psalm 91 informs us that He is doing the same for us. Our key is the same as theirs (Exodus 23:23): Listen closely to the directions and obey, and then God’s might is displayed and His provision realized.
Hebrews 3:1 says something amazing that is connected. Not only have we been made Holy by the Blood of Jesus, but we have also been invited “to the feast of your Heavenly calling…” That could be translated as “You are called to share the life of heaven.” The Aramaic is “called with a calling from heaven.”
Thy kingdom come was the model prayer Jesus taught. The Father desires and goals to give us the kingdom and empower us to bring the culture of the kingdom of God to earth and into our daily lives. That requires hearing God and obedience. It requires cooperating with the angelic help he sends. It requires embracing every word of God with faith and obedience.
Number Two – God Expects us To Have Expectation.
Hebrews 4:3 –“…faith activates the promise, and we experience the realm of rest.” Hebrews 4:12 reminds us of the incredibleness of God’s Word. It is Alive, full of power and energy. It penetrates deep into the core of our being and interprets and reveals our thoughts, motives, and God’s purposes.
If we realize our call and invitation, we can realize the reality of Hebrews 6:18—God does not lie and never takes back His promises. Then, “We run into His heart to hide ourselves in His faithfulness.” There, we find strength and comfort, and “He empowers us to seize what has already been established ahead of time—an unshakable hope!”
Think about who we are in Him, and as we obey His Voice, we enter into the heaven life on earth. Today would be a great day to seize the day, rejoice in God, and expect Heaven to come down and glory to fill our souls!
I pray that your day will be filled with expectation and a demonstration of God’s Love, Mercy, Peace, Presence, and Power!
Exodus 5:22-23 – “Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 From the time I went to speak to Pharaoh in your name, he has caused trouble for this people, and you have certainly not rescued them!”
Today is a day of rejoicing and reflection. Rejoicing, not because there are no obstacles but because God is God! Reflection, because by rehearsing God’s goodness, we are encouraged and empowered to press into His fullness. Today is your day because it is God’s day, and you are God’s. Therefore, it is your day; seize it and squeeze from it every ounce of life it holds.
In Exodus 5, we encounter a powerful reality: “Promises come with problems that are influenced by perception.”
In Exodus 5, when the children of Israel complained to Moses about Pharoah’s actions, Moses went to God with a question that reflected his perception. Moses had given them the Promise, and when they heard, they believed.
Their perception and expectation were that it would be easy. It was not! It usually never is. Moses asked God, “Is this why You sent me?” What an insult to the character of God. A problem manifested, and his perception was that God sent him to give false hope.
Moses tried to convince the people to persist, but in Exodus 6:9, we see the situation, “…they did not listen to him (Moses) because of their broken spirit and cruel bondage.” Problems crushed their hope and shifted their perception from victory to defeat.
The victory in Exodus 14-15 gives us something to anchor in our hearts to help us not get off course and be sidetracked by the problems within the promise. Exodus 15 speaks numerous things about God that will inspire and empower us to pursue God’s promise and purpose if we cling to them.
God is highly exalted.
He is a warrior.
He is glorious in power.
He is great in excellency.
He is unending in loving-kindness.
He brings into the promise no matter what the problem.
He reigns forever.
He plants His people in His Garden.
He is I AM.
Problems may lurk in the background, but you won’t see them. You will look past them to the promise. Perception becomes a reality, not because it is but because we believe it is.
Embrace the Promise and trust God rather than focusing on the Problem and making it your Perception of reality. Make Psalm 91 your anthem and expectation.
Perception penetrates the possession and, if negative, prevents the promise from becoming a manifested reality. Focus on God, not the problem. He Is God! Our self-talk reveals our perception. Our perception predetermines our victory or defeat. Be victorious!
Have a great day, and embrace His promises. Do not allow problems to defeat you!
Exodus 4:2 – “The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”
As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word, an old saying came to mind: “Another day, another dollar.” It caused me to reflect on the reality that God is still on the throne and is the I AM, I WAS, and I WILL BE. That opened the door for the Spirit of God to speak clearly to my heart.
I heard the question, “What more do you need?“ People frequently tell me that great things are going to be done by God’s hand through them WHEN. The when and the what is a bit vague in those assertions.
When or What? Sometimes, it is when their ship comes in. It is when they reach a certain level of success. It is when this or that transpires. It is contingent upon something external. A blessing or windfall or something.
God’s question of Moses in Exodus 4:2 is revelatory. Moses was focused on perception, and God asked, “What is in your hand?”
What do you have now?
What can you do now?
Who are you now?
Where are you now?
Is God limited to something we think will elevate us to a place where we can perform His purposes?
What’s in your hand at this very moment? What do you have to work with at this moment? God takes what we have and uses that to bring us to the place of fulfillment He has purposed. If we tie the fulfillment to something that may be more fantasy than a promise, we limit God and guarantee that we will be waiting to fulfill our destiny when we die.
Tomorrow is not guaranteed. We have today, and Now is the time. Therefore, take what you Have, not what you hope to have, and let God use it; He will. Look at what God did through Moses, who went to Egypt with a staff and a Word.
Take the Word and use what you have. It’s not up to you or based on what you do not have, but on what God can do with what is in your hand.
Procrastination leads to stagnation. The outflow of the reservoir keeps it alive. What is in your hand now? Little is much when God is in it. God will take your seeming little and amaze you if you will trust Him.
What is in your hand Now?
Have a fantastic day, and remember that Sunday is coming!
Roy's Covenant Corner 