Category Archives: God’s love

Longing for your Heavenly Home or Fearing its Loss?

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

This is my favorite verse to turn to in times of trial and distress of any sort. Here the Lord reassures us that though he has returned to the Father and we cannot see him face to face and feel his physical touch of comfort, he is preparing a place for us, his bride, to dwell in, and he will return again and receive us as his own forever. No matter how hard and dark and cold and lonely the night is here on Earth, in Heaven, we have a warm place called home and we can always call home and talk to our Father and our Brother and be loved and welcomed and encouraged and strengthened and made whole where it matters most.

Older translations of this text render “rooms” as “mansions” while we can dispute which is more accurate and which is more desirable, the epistles suggest God is preparing not merely a literal dwelling place for us in Heaven, but a brand new body as well. God’s standards are strict, and we cannot hope to obtain to them on our own, but he is making preparations to transfer us from our old broken bodies of sin (spiritual corruption) and physical corruption to pure, spotless, incorruptible bodies, to transform us from sinners into saints.

Let us not lose heart then as we battle against sin within ourselves and to resist the external pressures of the corrupt world around us. No matter how many times we stumble and fall, so long as we continue to choose Jesus and trust him as both our Savior and our Lord, we stand secure, because He will never change His unfailing love for us. He will never abandon us nor forsake us, nor will he ask from us more than we are capable of or more than he is willing to equip us to do.

So many of us when our hearts are troubled turn to our friends and family. Some of us are fortunate enough to have strong loved ones who are full to overflowing and have plenty to give us and meet our needs. Others among us are surrounded by friends and family as every bit as troubled as we are and often are also running on empty. For those in this situation, leaning upon one another spreads the pain around like a game of hot potato being played with toxic waste.

Christ urges us this day to stop a cycle that tends to compound and multiply our troubles and bring our broken hearts to Him. The Lord is the ultimate source of the spiritual and emotional fuel we require to live and thrive, and He is the only true source of healing, and only He can take the toxic waste, nail it to His cross, and truly remove it from us and those around us once and for all.

Lord, open our eyes. Draw our attention to the times when our hearts are troubled. When we are tempted to unload the toxic waste building up in our fallen hearts on our loved ones, remind us to stop and pray and surrender it to you instead. Show us also when our loved ones are seeking from us what comes from you and handing to us burdens that only you can carry. Give us the strength to refuse to participate in what amounts to idolatry and the courage to gently, respectfully, and lovingly, yet firmly point them to you and offer to pray with them instead. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

 

Posted in Bible and Theology, Fear and Anxiety, God's love, Prayer and Devotions, Suffering

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What I am Thankful For

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

This year, I am thankful for something quite odd in today’s culture. I am thankful for a God who is, without apology, jealous and controlling.

Yes, I am thankful for a God who demands absolute loyalty and obedience from his servants and children, a God who is intolerant of anyone seeking to rival him in his glory, especially in terms of power over others, or even over ourselves.  I am thankful for a God who is a perfectionist in the extreme, allowing not the slightest spot, blemish, wrinkle, or stain into his spiritual presence in Heaven.

I am thankful for a God who has decreed a death penalty for any and all infractions of his law without exception, who cannot be moved to change his mind and change the rules based upon an emotional appeal to hard circumstances, but always carries out his decrees. I am thankful for an obstinate God who never changes his ways, never changes who he is and what he believes, never waivers on what he hates and what he loves, for any reason.

I am thankful because this God is just, reliable, trustworthy, and dependable, powerful enough and willing to protect us from harm and avenge us of wrongs.

I am also thankful this God looked down on a world that hates him for all of the above things that I would praise him for, saw that this world was full of everything that he hates, saw that we were hopelessly unable to ever measure up to his standards, all of us condemned to die and that our spirits, though designed to dwell in a body of flesh and to be in his presence, would be left disembodied and spiritually separated from his presence for all eternity.

I am thankful that this god so loathed by the world, so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son to pay the penalty of our sin and die in our place, so that we could be washed clean of our sin and purified in his blood. I am thankful he sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in us, so we can learn to walk in his way rather than continue to follow after the corruption of the mortal flesh we will trade one fine day for new, immortal, sinless and flawless bodies worthy to be with Him.

I am thankful that my God is both simultaneously a Just, Jealous, Holy, Unwavering, Unmovable, Unshakable, Authoritarian King of Kings and a Loving, Merciful, Good, Gracious, Patient, Gentle, Humble Savior and Redeemer.

I am thankful that the power of sin has already been defeated on the Cross and that it is only a matter of time before this long cosmic war is over and the last battle fought. I am thankful that, by grace, through faith alone,  I can stand with the Creator of the Universe in the battle against sin and overcome rather than rebel, wallow in sin, and find myself cast out with the Lawless One. I am thankful that God has begun a good work of eradicating sin and imperfection in me and that he will continue to carry out his work in me until the day of His Coming.

I am thankful even us rebels who have betrayed our Heavenly citizenship again and again, going the way of the enemy culture all around us, can always  humbly bow our knees to the King of Kings and be reconciled to him and forgiven.

Posted in Bible and Theology, God's Character, God's love, Gospel, Grace, Legalism, Post-Modernism, Sin and Holiness

Slipping in the mud? God has his hand out. Grab it.

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” (Psalm 94:18-19)

Is your foot slipping, stumbling and falling flat into sin’s mud? Trust in the steadfast love of the Lord–not to make the mud less muddy and falling acceptable–but to catch you by the hand and hold you up from doing a face dive into the mud.  His blood washes us clean, and his love can keep us clean. In the hour of temptation, take your eyes off the mud of this earth and look up to Heaven’s righteous king. He will give you the strength to safely walk around it and keep going on, hand in hand with him.

Burdened with a huge pile of debt? Medical problems? Marriage difficulties? Work politics ? Family drama? Afraid of natural disasters? What the government might do? What  your neighbor might think? If you’re drowning in a sea of fears and worries today, again cry out to Jesus. Let him take your hand and lift you up. It may not happen right away.  We often have to confess it all to the Lord, name what we’re afraid of (gasp!) and then loose it from our hearts, releasing that concern to him. Only when we’ve gotten it out of us do we often have room to listen to his voice in our hearts, receive his words of comfort and peace, to alleviate our grief, to soothe our distress, lift the heavy burden from our hearts, and give us joy and satisfy our need. Gratitude is our best response in that hour.

Lord, thank you for hearing our prayers. Thank you for consoling us and giving us peace and joy. Thank you for holding our hands. We pray in the hour of temptation, we would be reminded in our hearts to look up to you, and we ask you to strengthen us in our hearts to have the spiritual discipline to obey and meditate on your love, to hide in it from sin, rather than using your steadfast love as an excuse to roll in the mud like pigs. Forgive us for the times we’ve done that, wash us clean, and polish us until you see your son’s face reflected in us. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Fear and Anxiety, God's love, Lament, Prayer and Devotions, Sin and Holiness

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The Promise of the Cross: No Pain, No Gain

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

If God is for us, who can be against us? Will he who gave us his own son to save us not provide everything we need?

These are great promises, but we must stop and consider the flip side. He who did not spare his own son the cross won’t spare us from all the trial, tribulation, pain and sorrow of this life, either. But none of these things can destroy our eternal soul and separate us from him. If we take up our cross and follow him, we will also be raised victorious with him, and receive an inheritance from our adoptive Father in Christ’s kingdom.

That is, if we don’t grow weary and quit and give up. Whatever we do, we must not stop, we must not give up the fight. Keep on pursing the heart of the God who has already caught us–meaning to reflect the image of his son within our hearts. Let us take courage. No matter what happens in this life, we are his. Let us become more like him each day, through every battle, through every sorrow. Let’s pick ourselves up when we stumble and fall and get going again.

Lord, strengthen us in our hearts today. Give us courage and boldness, let us not be afraid or ashamed. I pray we would trust you, even in hard times, even when our bodies, minds, or hearts and spirits ache. Grant us faith that knows you will be there for us and give us a lasting name and inheritance in your kingdom. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, Faith, God's love, God's promises, Prayer and Devotions

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Don’t Sell Yourself For Two Cents.

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)

This is one of my favorite passages. Often in this world we can start to feel unimportant, insignificant. We may think our petty problems are too small for God to be concerned about in a world full of grave evils. If we suffered the abuse of neglect as children, we may think our human fathers couldn’t be bothered and didn’t watch out for us, so God won’t care enough to be there, either.

This tells us it is a lie. God is not like us–he sees everything and everyone and he cares about and forgets none. Not even the most insignificant thing escapes his notice–not a sparrow dies, not a single strand of your hair comes off in your comb, without God noticing. He has all of us counted that exactly.  Those who see this and care about the sparrow also do well. Those who remember we are worth far more than the sparrow and refrain from  saving the animals while neglecting the humans’ lives and well being do even better.

We must not forget that. God cares about the sparrow, but you are worth far more. You’re the one created in his image, you’re the one Christ died for. Do not sell cheap the treasure that God spent all that he had to redeem.

Lord, forgive us when we sell our selves short, whether by surrendering to sin, or giving into satanic lies that demean humanity and worship the creation, or even that misuse your word to beat us to a pulp and make us feel worthless. Remind us of the value you freely gave us at Calvary and at the Creation. Show us how we can best live before you as your priceless treasure. May we value  you as much as you have valued us and hold nothing back from you. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Posted in Abuse, God's Character, God's love, Prayer and Devotions

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God’s Commandment Defines You, Not Your Sin

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10)

Today’s verse comes in the middle of the vine and the branches parable urging us to abide in Christ.  We were designed to connect to God and we need to receive spiritual nourishment from him to grow and live.

Christianity is all about love and relationship to some. To others, it’s really all about rules and regulations with lip service paid to Christ’s atonement for our breaking the rules and regulations in the past.

What we actually have is a divine paradox.  Love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all  your strength and love your neighbor as yourself, Jesus told us is the aim of the law and the prophets.  The commandment is  a tool teaching us how to properly relate to one another. If we forsake the truth and throw out the commandment, our love is nothing but a demonic counterfeit.

Jesus paid the whole debt for sin on the cross. Our works are filthy rags. We cannot keep the law sufficiently on our own. We obey not to save ourselves, but in gratitude that he has saved us, because we love and trust him. He has to do the work. We need his transforming grace and power flowing through our hearts to walk as Jesus walked, especially in those areas where our fallen flesh is weak.

In verse eleven, Jesus tells us he spoke said verse ten and the ones preceding it so our joy may be full.  If your reading of this text brings condemnation and despair, then you’re reading it wrong. God’s desire is for you to abide in him and in his love and to keep the commandment. He won’t lower his standards to accommodate your weakness, but he will raise you up to meet them by strengthening you and renewing you in your mind.

Trust God’s commandment. He designed you. He, not the world, knows who he created you and fashioned you to be–and it is *not* a sinner of any sort, no matter how attractive that sin might be to you. It is not who you are. Embrace the commandment. Accept by faith who God says you really are meant to be and who he is willing to restore you to being over the course of this earthly life. It can be really tough down here, but if we hold on, one day, we will shed the sinful, corrupt flesh and put on our incorruptible Heavenly bodies.

Posted in God's love, Sin and Holiness

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Trouble? God’s Purpose Cannot be Defeated.

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Andrea Graham| Comments Off

“The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” (Psalm 138:8)

Verse eight follows verse seven, where the psalmist says to god, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out  your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.”

We all have times when trouble surrounds us on every side, where the heat is on, angry voices mock and scorn us. Sometimes the enemy works through people, sometimes it’s a voice inside our heads. Either way, it is all the same destroyer and liar seeking to devour us.

God promises to be there with us and deliver us out of it–by bringing us through it safely to the other side often. He promises he has a purpose for our life and no device of the enemy can thwart it. His love endures even when we make wrong choices and choose to listen to the wrong voices. He redeems us and gets us back on track, should we put our trust in him as the psalmist did.

Lord, we are the work of your hands and the people of your pasture. We ask you not to forsake us,  knowing your love is steady, secure, and constant, for it never ends. We lift our hearts and lives up to you today, and our minds also. Cleanse us, heal us, shape us according to your purpose. We trust in you. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Posted in Bible and Theology, God's love, Prayer and Devotions, Suffering

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