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