A short thought

The word of God (the Bible) has no intrinsic value on its own, it is just words on paper, but the word applied to our lives can change everything from dark to light. Applied and lived out the word of God is active and able to transform the willing heart. In the letter to the Ephesians Paul tells us that not only are we

Eph 1:5 ....... predestined us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, but also

Rom 8:29 .......... predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers.

So we are adopted by Father God and Sonship is part of our DNA its within us. All we have to do is look to creation to see we were made in His image from the beginning, its His design for us. To see this clearly brings a sense of purpose and to many relief to their lives. As I brought out in a sermon recently God loves us with the same love that He loves Jesus His son. We have become SONS. (not gender specific) This is shown so clearly in Joh 17:23 I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.

We find it hard to realise that God loves us with the same measure of love that He loves Jesus. No difference. He does not love Jesus with one measure of love and you and I with another. In His eyes you are as loved as Jesus as cherished as Jesus, and as passionately as Jesus is loved so are you. In other words you and I have the same status the same connection the same freedom to come to the throne as Jesus. When we grasp this we can truly find a sense of empowerment and grace that we have never seen before. Because for many all they have been taught is to behave better so that God can look upon them with at least some love. But when we find and know that God loves us we see life differently. We have changed church from its original intention to teach the believer who they are in Christ into behaviour centre's where we train people to put on masks of belief when under it all is the festering reality that "How can God love me as I cannot change my behaviour to what it should be?" We teach people to manage their sin, by creating Sin management centres.

But lead a person to Christ under the premise that God loves us and you will see a person embrace who God says they are quicker than any other. Because when we know we are accepted barriers and walls come down, we let ourselves become vulnerable and when we become vulnerable and real people tend to defend us and love us rather than when we are hypocrites and pretend all is wonderful. The fact that Jesus makes all things new should lead us to the determination that we bring nothing and can do nothing but rest in Him and realise that even when the ugliest part of me is exposed I am still a new creation that God loves. This can lead to an incredible revelation that we are one with not only Jesus but each other,. Which in my eyes can only lead to acceptance and love, which is Gods nature and our purpose.

Once again my random thoughts for this day.

Pastor Rob

Visions of greater realities

"If only we could find a place that the worst of me could be known and I would discover in the revelation of that, that I would be loved more and not less. My unresolved issues would start to go away because of this place of great love." That is my picture of the Church I want to build a place of acceptance and not judgment a place of love and hope. But this can only happen as both the members and myself change to become who we really are. The real me inside accepts all things trusts all things, it does not keep a record of wrong and delights in the good. Sound familiar? Its because the real me is intrinsically fused to God who is LOVE. It cannot be broken and yet time and time again we allow our minds to take us down varying paths of despair.

We who are followers of Jesus can all declare that we love the Lord and yet there is only one reason we do love Him and that is. We love him, because he first loved us 1Jn 4:19 . Even our Love of God comes from God.

I was the victim of my own desperation to please when it came to walking with God. I would try to please try to worship and do my best only to fall into despair over and over. Then along would come some well meaning preacher or theologian and rev us/me up and I would be motivated by his call to pray harder love deeper work better etc etc. So off I would go and set myself up to fail. Never realising that God JUST LOVES me, without even considering the fact that perfect love not only loved me but that Perfect love now lives in me and has become me.

The sad thing is that many people have set themselves up to fail like I did, as they picture and are told what they should look like instead of being who they really are. Paul's great words in the book of Phillipians tend to be the goal for us all Phillipians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content. Being content and vulnerable in who we are is really the Key to our lives. When we find this secret we tend to live free and loose. Truely alive in our faith and no longer walking in a "Should " mentality but we become as Paul says content and trusting.

God called us warts and all knowing full well we have a bucket load of unresolved issues, He called us in spite of them telling us over and over in scripture that He is crazy about us not mad at us. It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that God is not angry with me and I will not face judgment because Jesus did that for me. If I have to go through it again then Jesus was a failure. But He did not fail His word (Jesus) was sent forth and it accomplished what it was meant to do, it did not return void but triumphant with captivity death and the Grave being dragged along for the ride. Jesus won a victory far greater than a lot of us realise.

Heb 10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right of God,

Heb 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

One only has to read the book of Hebrews with a fresh mind to see that Jesus finished work made a way by which God Almighty can now look upon us with a deep sense of pride because what we were no longer exists. He has made a way by which we have become , not going to but have become the righteousness of Christ. So we no longer need to plead the Blood as we are indwelt by it.

Well those are some of my thoughts for this week.

Pastor Rob