Crushing Carona - God's Way

                                                                                                                                           

Aloha Dearest Family,

                This morning I was taking the elevator down to go to work, and as I was going down, the elevator stopped on a floor to pick up a woman in our apartment building. As we went down a bit further, the elevator stopped a few floors down to pick up someone else. It was obvious she was very uncomfortable and she said that we needed to be at least six feet away from each other because of “social distancing”. She also stated that if one more person got on, she would have to get off.  I understood her concern and I think it’s wise to stop the spread of this virus  but I also thought of how many times her (and our) ancestors faced floods, famine, deadly viruses, deadly plagues and other adversities yet here she stands (and we stand) because not everybody succumbs to every tragedy out there.  The devil in its attacks has so many people thinking that they are going to succumb; it’s just a matter of time. Hogwash!

Let’s say we are concerned about something such as this virus. The first thing we do is see what God thinks about it and says we should do. Let’s look at what God says about anything that tries to stand against Him, Jesus Christ and us.  1 John 4:4 says,

“Ye are of God little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

John 6:33 is a verse that will set the course for you whatever you face in life. It’s a course to victory. 

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

God always tells the truth. He means what He says and says what He means. His only Son that was sent for you and for me overcomes any troubles we face if we simply believe it. You and I have not only seen and heard of miracles but we have experienced them many times in our own lives. People get healed, people see prosperity in times where it seems like these things would be impossible. How? God is huge and He’s loving and He’s gracious and He’s given us all things to have a winning life.

What does God say to do when we get afraid? Pray, that’s what. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious or concerned for nothing; but in everything with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known unto God.”              

1 John 5:15 says, “This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He heareth us.”  We can be positively sure that He hears us and will answer our prayers because He said He would. He doesn’t lie and He really loves to work with us to defeat the devil and the evil it does.

 Let’s say you wake up and you’re a little stiff and you say, “Hey, this is one of the symptoms of the virus.”  Stop what you are thinking and begin to think what your Heavenly Father and His Risen Son are thinking.  

In Romans 8: verses 35 and verse 37 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or peril, or sword? NAY! In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  You’ll notice I didn’t put in verse 36 because Paul was stating what too many people at the time thought when they faced adversity. He’s telling them that God thinks and acts bigger than they do so get on track and win the day with Him.

    The last two things you should do when concerns seem overwhelming are to keep the Faith and be thankful. Read Philippians 4:6 again – it’s two paragraphs up. 

                             

               We want God involved in fixing this situation, so we let God know that we need help. Now keep in mind that God already knows what’s going on and He knows how to fix it. But He won’t overstep our free will. So if we want His help, we need to pray and ask Him to be with us.

                “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Ephesians 6:18) 

We not only pray for God to help us in our situation, but we also pray for one another. When we intercede in prayer for one other, God can work all things together for our good.    

Romans 8:28  “And we know that all thing work together for good for them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

                Finally, give God praise. We praise Him in good times and we praise Him during trying times as well. The troubles we are seeing around us will pass. Then we can truly give God prayers of thankfulness that He brought us through it, as He always does. Keep the faith, Baby!!!!

                                                  Love Always, Ray

                “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

“And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”         (Philippians 4:7) 

The Blessings of Abraham

                                                                                                                   

Aloha Dearest Family,

                When studying how God takes care of us and blesses us today, it is vital that we first look at how God blessed Abraham. We will start our study in Genesis chapter 17.

                “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” 

It is important for us to recognize how God refers to Himself in this verse; Almighty God (El Shaddai). God uses many terms for Himself in scripture that are not just haphazard in their usage but are meant to teach us about His nature. In Genesis 1, he refers to Himself by the Hebrew word Elohim- the creator. In Genesis 2 He refers to Himself as Johovah-showing Himself in relationship to what He has created. But in Genesis 17 He uses a new term, El Shaddai. Why is this important? As we keep reading we will find some of the attributes of God as El Shaddai- God Almighty.

                

                      “And I (El Shaddai) will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” (verse 2) 

25 years earlier God had promised Abram that he would have a son. Here in verse 1 God is reiterating this promise to him. In fact God says that He will multiply Abram’s seed exceedingly. We must realize that at this time in Abraham’s life, Sarah his wife, was barren. She is unable to have children. So in order to get Abram’s vision up to where it needed to be, God changed His name from Abram (father of height) to Abraham (father of multitudes).

                

                 “And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” (Verses 6 and 7) 

God tells him that He will make him exceedingly fruitful and will make nations of him. Furthermore God would establish this covenant to Abraham’s seed after him, even though physically it was impossible for Abraham and Sarah to produce children. This was the promise that God (El Shaddai) made with Abraham. And because Abraham believed this promise, Abraham and Sarah begat Isaac. Remember that God can always bring the impossible to pass.

               

               In chapter 28 God restates the promise to Isaac that he made to his father Abraham.

                “And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou may be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou may inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham”. (Genesis 28: 3 and 4) 

Again God refers to Himself as El Shaddai, God Almighty. He promised Isaac what He had promised to Abraham his father; that He would make him fruitful and multiply his seed and God would make him a great nation. As we read the record we will find that this is exactly what God did.

                To Isaac’s son Jacob, God says, “Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;”  (Genesis 35:10 and 11) 

Again we see that God Almighty (El Shaddai) is still intent on blessing the descendants of Abraham. God also promises Jacob that He will make him a great nation. God was true to His Word because out of Jacob came kings such as David, Solomon, Hezekiah and the king of all kings - Jesus Christ. 

                When we study the term God Almighty (El Shaddai), we see that it refers to the God who promises bountifulness, fruitfulness, blessing and support. And one who will defend His people and provide them with endless supply. And this is how God blessed the descendants of Abraham throughout their generations. This is the true meaning of why God refers to Himself as El Shaddai. 

Now you may ask, “Why is this important to me to know today”? Remember that God promised Abraham that he would bless his children after him. Let us now go to Galatians.

“Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.” (Galatians 3:7) 

According to the scripture, there are two ways of becoming children and the off spring of Abraham. Either by bloodline or by faith.  Very few of us can say that they are children of Abraham by bloodline, but ALL of us have believed on Jesus Christ and therefore are the children of Abraham by our faith.

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:28 and 29) 

We belong to Christ so that makes us Abraham’s seed and partakers of God’s promise to Abraham. All of the promises God made to Abraham regarding His promise to greatly bless his descendants now falls on us. Because we are Abraham’s seed God has promised to make us fruitful, bountiful and supplying us with every good thing.

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) This promise is available to us because we are the seed of Abraham. And God is not slack concerning His promises.

Since we believed on Jesus Christ, we are a blessed people. We not only are blessed with every physical blessing available through Abraham, but we now are blessed with every spiritual blessing through Christ as well.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)

We as believers should never ever feel down-hearted, depressed or abandoned. Every blessing that was available to give, God (El Shaddai) gave to us, His children. We lack nothing in this life. Let us live every day basking in this eternal reality.

                                            Love always, Ray

Absent from the Body

                                                                                                                              

“..absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (II Corinthians 5:6b)

For many years, this section of scripture has been used to say that when we die, we go right to heaven to be with the Lord. But as we have learned, we can’t just take a scripture out of the Bible and not consider it’s context. This is not being a good student of the Bible. If this scripture agreed with what God had already revealed to us about life and death, then we could take this scripture at face value. But this scripture, taken by itself, contradicts other scriptures on this topic, and therefore must be examined more carefully to discover its true meaning.


To grasp what this verse is referring to, we must go back to II Corinthians 4:14 to pick up the context.

14 “Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.” Paul is speaking of the time when Jesus Christ will return for his church. Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He will also raise up US also. When? At Christ’s return.

16 For which cause we faint not (we are not discouraged); but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.                                                                                                         

Our physical bodies tend to grow old and feeble the longer we live, nevertheless, our inward man (the Christ in you) is renewed daily. It is renewed daily when we realize that one day Christ will return for us.

17 For our light (weight of) affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;                                                                                                                
Here we have a comparison. The first part of the verse should read “our light weight of affliction” and is compared to our “eternal weight of glory”. If we had a balance scale, and we placed on each side these weights, our “weight of glory” would far out-weigh the other. Whatever afflictions or tribulations we may face in this life, our future reality of the joy we will experience cannot even compare. Like Romans 8:18 informs us, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal (temporary); but the things which are not seen are eternal.
We are all encouraged to look at (envision) the things that are not seen yet (what God has in store for us when Christ returns), instead of considering what we are going through in life, for it is just temporary.

                 Verse 5:1 starts a new chapter but does not start a new thought. This verse and the verses that come after, should actually be part of the preceding verses. (Remember, that chapter divisions were added by man. Even though they are helpful at times, they are not Godly inspired).          

                1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle (tent) were dissolved (or taken down), we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

The Apostle Paul now starts to make a comparison between our earthly tabernacle or tent and our eternal bodies that we will receive at the return of Christ. Our earthly bodies are considered to be just a tent that is not a permanent structure but mobile and is easily taken down. In contrast we have in the future a permanent building of God. This represents our future incorruptible body that we will all one day receive.

                2 For in this (this earthly body) we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked (unclothed).
The ones who will be found unclothed are the ones who do not have eternal life and the promise of new spiritual bodies. These are the unsaved. When these people die, they will remain dead.

4 For we that are in this tabernacle (this present physical body) do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
We would groan and be burdened if we did not have the promise of a future life with the savior. But we do and we know that one day our “mortality shall be swallowed up of (eternal) life”.

5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
The reason we can be sure that we will have this eternal future is that God has given us His spirit. The spirit is our guarantee that we will one day live with Christ in a future paradise with new spiritual bodies.  

6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
As we have already seen, this verse does not refer to being with Christ immediately after death, but upon Christ’s return.

7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (one day). 9 Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
                Whether we are present with the Lord (at his return) or absent (in this present physical body) we may be accepted of him. And we are.

 

God Loves People

                                                                                                                                       

Aloha Dearest family,

                We have heard many times that God is a personal God and that he cares for each one of us individually. At first I had a hard time picturing this. I mean we are talking about God Almighty, the Creator of everything that is. Even the heaven of heavens cannot contain His majesty. As King Solomon stated,

                “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (I Kings 8:27) 

With God being this magnificent, why would he ever consider little old me? But as I started to study God’s Word I started to understand God’s desire for children and how deeply He cares for each one of us.

                We will first examine a record from Mark 5. Wherever Jesus went he always took direction from his Heavenly Father and on this day Jesus was directed to go across the Sea of Galilee to the land of the Gadarenes. As soon as he got out of the ship, there met him a man who was possessed with a legion of devil spirits. This man spent many years in this condition and was so out of control that no man could bind him.

                “Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.” (verses 3-5)

This man was in great torment and in great need of deliverance. As the record goes, Jesus casts the devil spirits out of the man. When the people of the city came and heard of what had happened with the man and the aftermath, they begged Jesus to leave. As he was leaving, the man who was once tormented wanted to go with him. 

“But he (Jesus) did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (verse 19)

                After reading this record, we realize that all this was done to save one man. To God this man was worth sending His son across the sea to save him. Remember that Jesus told the man to go back and show his friends what God had done for him. We can just imagine how long these friends had been praying for him to be set free. And God heard their prayers and sent Jesus. This record shows the lengths God will go to heal and deliver people from their  afflictions. It also is a great testament of how prayers for your loved ones do not go unheeded. God answers them.

                We are reminded of the parable of the lost sheep.

                “..if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray? And if so be that he finds it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.” (Matthew 18:12 and 13)

The shepherd is caring for 100 sheep but one is lost. It is important to understand that outside of the sheep-fold, this sheep is in danger. He is susceptible to predators and injury. Alone he is unable to find proper food or water. He is helpless without the shepherd. This shepherd then leaves the 99 and scours the mountains for him - he’s got to be found. And when he finally finds him there is great rejoicing (also see Luke 15:6). This is a great analogy of how deeply God wants to find one lost sheep. God knows that without His protection and guidance, we become prey to the devil and his minions. In truth God doesn’t want to even lose one person. 

“Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” (Verse 14) 

                God greatly loved the world so He gave the world the life of His son, so that NONE would be lost (No, not one). This is His greatest desire.

                “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9)  

God loves people and He wants to be a Father to them all. We are God’s children and we desire to imitate our Daddy. 

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” (Ephesians 5:1) 

But how do we imitate God? Jesus was the ultimate example of how to imitate His Father. His love for people was astounding and he lived a life of service to bring God’s love to people. We are called to do the same. We are in the ‘people’ business. Remember God loves each one. Let us do good to all while we can. 

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,..” (Galatians 6:10) Why? Because God loves people and wants them all to be saved. Will everyone come to know God? No. But we don’t know who will and who won’t. So we are to do good unto all.

                “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Matthew 5:43 and 44) These actions are so unlike what we see in today’s society but God’s ways are far above our ways.

               

           “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (verse 45) Even as God is blessing the righteous, the unrighteous may get blessed as well.

                “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) 

We are to be as perfect in our thoughts and actions as our heavenly Father is. This is the way Jesus Christ lived and we are encouraged to follow his example. Jesus loved people because God loves people. Therefore we cannot afford to treat people as a nuisance or a bother. Let us strive to be a blessing to all and not be a hindrance to them from seeing God living in us.

                                                                                                               

                                 Love Always, Ray

                “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Holy Spirit

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                           

Aloha Dearest Family,

           Several years ago many people had bumper stickers on their cars that had the word “COEXIST” on them with symbols of all of the religions of the world. Among the “religions” was a symbol of the cross; which signifies Christianity. I personally never liked this bumper sticker because, contrary to what society says, Christianity is NOT a religion.  Religion is defined as what man does to try to get right with his god. Christianity is what God has done through His son to be the payment for our sin. Since the fall of man, sin had separated us from God, but He took care of this “sin problem’ by nailing all of our sins to the cross, in the body of Jesus Christ. 

             “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;” (Colossians 2:14)

                So what is the biggest difference between all of these other religions and Christianity? God’s gift of holy spirit. From speaking with many people, I found that there seems to be a question as to who or what holy spirit is. Holy spirit allows us to have continual fellowship and access to God Almighty. It allows us to have connection to the “power source” so that we can ask for (and expect) the impossible to come to pass. (It must be understood that God Almighty is Holy and He is Spirit-He is the Holy Spirit. What we are referring to in this sharing is God’s gift of holy spirit that is given to all who believe). It is vital for every Christian to understand the importance of holy spirit if we want to live extraordinary lives and please our heavenly Father. Since the scope of this topic is so big, I am unable to cover it in depth, but here are some of the most important points to know about holy spirit from God’s own Word.

                -Adam and Eve were made “3-fold beings.” They were made body, soul and spirit. This separated them from all of the others of God’s creatures. All animals are born with body and soul (1. a physical body and 2. soul life, which makes them alive). Only man had the privilege of having been made with God’s spirit. This allowed him to communicate with God. When Adam sinned, he lost the spirit from God. This now made him just body and soul, and all others from his bloodline would be born with just body and soul (just like the animals).

                -Now whenever God wanted to communicate with man, He would have to do so by supernatural means; like an angel or a miraculous sign like a burning bush. Or he could choose certain men and women to place His spirit upon to communicate with His creation.

                -All of the great men and women in the Old Testament had spirit upon them. Notably   Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samson, David, Esther and Daniel all had God’s spirit. This spirit that was upon these men and women was not permanent. If they displeased God this spirit could be taken away. King Saul was a great example (I Samuel 16:14). In fact after David sinned against God, he begged God not to take His holy spirit from him (Psalm 51:11)

               -John the Baptist had God’s holy spirit upon him from his birth (Luke 1:15). He was the only person to have this privilege.

-Jesus did not do any mighty works until after he received God’s spirit after he was baptized by John the Baptist.

It is obvious by studying these points above, that all people in the Old Testament recognized the importance of having holy spirit. This set you apart from all others and designated you as God’s anointed.

The day of Pentecost is historically recognized as the birthday of the church, because on this day, God poured out His holy spirit upon all mankind. The sign that they had received this spirit was that they “spoke in tongues”. Now anyone who confesses Jesus as their Lord and believes in their heart that God has raised him from the dead (Romans 1:9), receives this same holy spirit that the apostles had. Now we can ALL walk like Jesus Christ and do the works that he did (John 14:12). For we are sealed with holy spirit.

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”. (Ephesians 1:13)

            Now unlike the spirit that was upon men and women in the Old Testament, this holy spirit is permanent. It cannot be taken away like King Saul’s spirit was. When God gives this spirit, He does not take it back because we “born again” (born from above). This makes us children of God (Romans 8:16).

We now have another source of information to learn. Before salvation, all we had to rely upon to acquire knowledge was the five senses. Now we can receive spiritual knowledge that God can teach us. We have a distinct advantage over every other man or woman who are just body and soul, for God can teach us the mysteries hidden in His Word, the Bible. In fact you really can’t fully understand the Bible unless you have spirit.

“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” (I Corinthians 2:14)

                

          This is why Christianity is NOT a religion. Religion focuses on man’s actions to try and ‘earn’ God’s favor. Christianity focuses on what God has done and the sacrifice that was paid to, once again, give us access to God. We have this access through His spirit that he has given to us. 

               “For through Him (Jesus Christ) we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18)

                Christians today can live exciting, joyful lives with purpose and power. God has given us His holy spirit, making us “supernatural beings” with Christ living on the inside. What a glorious time to be alive!

                                                                                                                                        Love Always, Ray

                “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (II Corinthians 2:21 and 22 NIV)

This Is Love

                                                                                                                                             

Aloha Dearest Family,

                In 1985, singer songwriter Julie Gold wrote a song called “From A Distance” which has been recorded by many artists. The message of the song is that if we look at the earth from a distance, it seems flawless and beautiful. From a distance we do not see the troubles and sadness that men and women experience in life. Also in the song are the words “God is watching us – from a distance.” These words have always rubbed me the wrong way because I know that my God isn’t watching us from a distance, but is a very personal God and loves to get involved in each of our lives. In Romans 8:28 it says that God is always at work on our behalf,

           “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” It sounds like God is very involved.

                In the Bible, no other Psalm portrays God’s personal involvement in our lives than does Psalm 139. In this Psalm, David describes God’s continual presence and love for him.

                “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.” (verses 1-5)

                To David, this thought was just too wonderful for him to comprehend, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” (v. 6) He could not imagine the Creator of the heavens and the earth wanting to be so involved in his life. (Wow!) David then writes just how close God was to him and how God would never leave him or forsake him.

                

           “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” (verses 7-12) David could not go anywhere where the Lord would not also be present with him. He is a very personal God. He knew David and all his days even before he was born.

                “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (verse 16) 

These verses must have brought David much joy and comfort. 

           “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.” (Verses 17 and 18). 

How God must love us to have so many thoughts of us. Does this sound like a God that just watches us “from a distance?”

                

          God has not changed since the days of David. God still has great love for us and He wants to be involved in each of our lives. He longs to walk and talk with us each day, throughout our days. God shows us in many different ways how much he cares for us and wants to shower us with blessings. And God dramatically demonstrated His love by giving up His beloved son for us all. A son who always obeyed His Father. Who always chose his Father’s will over his own. There can be no words to describe how deeply God loved His son. But God was willing to give him over to experience agonizing torture and death – ON OUR BEHALF. This kind of love is beyond comprehension. 

               “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) 

This is called sacrifice. Someone once gave the true meaning of sacrifice; it is "giving up something you dearly love in order to receive something of greater value." We are that of greater value that God was willing to give His own son for. This is love.

                “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) If God was willing to give up His own son for us, what wouldn’t he give us?

                Through the many centuries, God’s greatest desire was to be able to have an intimate relationship with sons and daughters. This plan was fulfilled by Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The truth is that God not only raised Jesus from the dead to live forever; He also raised us up also-to live forever. 

                                       

                Today we can find great joy and comfort, just like David did, with the reality that no matter what we do and wherever we go, God’s unfailing love is always with us. He will never let us go and He will not allow anything to pull us away from His side because of His great love He has for us. This love will NEVER change. And like David wrote, this thought is almost too wonderful to comprehend; but nevertheless it is true.

                “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38 and 39)

                                                                                                    

Love Always, Ray

                “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” (Isaiah 54:10)