11-9-2015

Good Morning All!!

          Romans 8:39; “nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

     This past couples of days was interesting.  All three grandchildren were at our house.  Every so often, it got a little loud.  Not bad mind you, they are young but it was louder than usual.  Grandma and I loved it.  In fact, after everyone went home, we thought the place was too quiet.  We love it when everyone is there.  Sometimes, the parents involved get a little worried that a mess is being made or the noise is a little too loud or the little ones get a little too demanding.  Grandma and I always remind them of the basic fact.  We don’t love the grandchildren because they behave; we love the grandchildren because they are ours to love.  It is not what they are but who they are that matters.

     Our faith life is a lot like that.  There are times when we are a little loud or when we make a mess of our life but God still loves us.  This is a concept that many fail to grasp.  When you speak to them about the amazing Gospel of Jesus, someone will always say, “yeah but I have been too bad or what I have done is too bad.  There is no way God will love me.”  This lie told to us by the devil is destructive because it is so untrue.  Nothing can separate us from God’s love.  God’s love for us does not depend on us.  God doesn’t love us because we come to church on time; God doesn’t love us because we put money in the collection plate; God doesn’t love us because of what we do or because of what we are; God loves us because we are his children, we are his beloved.

    It is difficult for us to grasp the love that God has for us.  Most people have at one level or another, a limit to their love.  It might great and far removed but there is a limit.  Yet God knows no limit.  Nothing we do will stop God from loving us.  This is the nature of God.  God is, by his very nature, love.  This is what moved Him to send Jesus to die for us.  This is what moves Him to redeem you over and over again.  It is this great nature of love that moves God to always be seeking you and calling you back into his loving family.

     Since everything depends on God and God is loving by nature, we can be confident that our salvation is secure; our hope is solid.  Nothing we do will drive God away.  God’s love is greater than anything we have done.  Nothing can stand in the way of God’s love, no matter how bad you think you have been; it does not deter God from loving you.

    So we can throw the weight of sin off us; it cannot hold us down or block our path to God and his mercy.  Because of his love, we can know his eternal hope and peace.  Because of God’s love, we can be confident of our salvation.

   Father of all love, in you we have hope.  Guard us by your loving arms and keep us safe in your loving embrace.  Be with those who do not know your love.  Continue to speak to them in your Word.  Give to them the peace that only you can give.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret