Have you noticed how many people are looking for ways to keep themselves encouraged during these past several weeks? How many athletes, celebrities and other “social influencers” have taken to the airwaves or social media with ways to make yourself or your family feel better, or at least distracted? There are shows about good news stories from around the world. There are new cooking shows to teach people how to cook bacon, how to BBQ like a pro, or how to whip up new salads to help you keep fit. There are vlogs about how to apply the latest styles in make-up. Millionaire pop stars are instagramming their new swimming pools, or manicured backyards to show how they are suffering right along with the rest of us. But, it all just feels so artificial, like a façade the world wants to hide behind so they can feel “normal”.
There are often seasons in our lives when we feel overwhelmed or ineffective. When we look in the mirror we feel discouraged or blasé, and even when others try to cheer us up, often we don’t really hear them. Even professed Christians can sometimes act like the rest of the world who can’t see themselves for who they really are, for who they were created to be. When we look at ourselves in the mirror we wonder where it all went wrong or why we feel useless, discouraged, and depressed. We forget where we draw our identity and strength from. The problem isn’t the circumstances in which we find ourselves. It’s because we don’t see ourselves as our loving God sees us. In 2 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul teaches us how God sees us. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” If you put your faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation, the Bible says you are a new creation, right here, right now. Because at the very moment of our belief, we became a new creation. “The new has come.” We are already righteous, made right by God when we first believed in the hope set before us in Jesus Christ, even if at times we might struggle and fall, or feel overwhelmed by the challenges we face daily. When we put our trust and hope in God through the sacrifice of Jesus and acting in the power of the Holy Spirit, we no longer see ourselves as the world sees us, we no longer feel the need to measure up to what other people are doing. We can see ourselves for we are truly are, children of the Lord Most High, worthy of love, respect and joy. This is not a persona you make up to impress God or the world. It is the work of God’s grace in your life to shed the old you who was self-consumed and world-driven, and create a new you who is being molded to become like Jesus. The truth is, God sees you as a new creation. This truth is reality from God’s perspective. When you look in the mirror, who do you see? Do you see someone who is a new creation? Because that’s you seen through God’s eyes. Claim it. Believe it. Live it. Love the Lord your God by Pastor Dave
“…. ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;’ …..” Luke 10: 27 Psalm 84 Do you remember a time when you realised that you loved someone? I don’t just mean a romantic love, it may be love for a friend or a family member. What was it like, what was it that drew you to them that caused you to love them? I think that it is reasonable to say that we need to know a person to some degree to have genuine love for them; the greater we know them oftentimes the more we love them. It is the same with God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is why we looked at who He is last week. This week we will look at how we might love God in a very real relationship. Jesus highlighted the above as the ‘greatest commandment,’ (Matthew 22: 36-38). How do we obey such a commandment? Well the Lord teaches that we show our love for the Lord by obeying Him (John 14: 23 & 15: 9-10); BUT there is far more to this than simple obedience. We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4: 19) and it is this love that helps us to obey Him and remain in Him. This results in real joy for us (John 15: 11); a cycle of blessing. This love we have is rooted in understanding His love for us and in knowing Him. So as we begin our relationship with God through the Lord Jesus it is so important to spend time with Him in His presence, studying His Word, praying, being in His Creation and in His body, the Church. Absence does eventually make the heart grow cold and while He is never absent from us we need to make every effort not to be absent from Him but to give ourselves to Him. Jesus calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. This means that we work at our relationship with God, that we give Him our hearts (our will), our soul (our lives so that our spirit joins with His Spirit) and mind (so that we think like Jesus Christ – as we have looked at in earlier blogs). As in all relationships we can make the mistake of being in it for what we can get out of it. With God we can make the main purpose of our relationship to be one where we simply want God to make everything the way we want it to be for ourselves. God shows us that self-sacrificial love is true love. When we truly give ourselves wholly to God, wanting only His will and glory, that is when we really begin to know Him, His love and find true joy and freedom. This happens over time as our relationship deepens; it is why we are to love with all our strength in obedience. Remember God is love (1 John 4: 8). To Ponder: Pray through Psalm 84 (saying and adapting each verse as a personal prayer); what does this reveal to you about your love for and knowledge of God? How might you deepen this love and relationship? Pray: Lord in your mercy reveal yourself to us so that we may know your love. As we receive your love enable us to love you in return and to give you our hearts, souls, minds and strength. Fill us with joy and freedom as we dwell in your love, we humbly ask through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen Praise: Love the Lord Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAbeFfsqLdc Goodness of God Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f4MUUMWMV4 |
Preachers BlogIn 2024, each week's blog is a follow-up reflection written by the preceding Sunday’s preacher to dig deeper into the sermon topic and explore engaging discussion questions. Archives
April 2024
Categories |