February 6, 2013

Jesus is jealous for me.

Love Series: part 2

Part 1 of the Love series i started with focused on the love Jesus tells us to have for one another.We looked at the second commandment and why it was very timely in the Christmas season because we had to show love to one another. In this second part, i want to talk about loving God. Keeping Him as the number one lover in our lives.

Have you ever thought it a coincidence that the Bible as huge as it is, with so many books and passages has John 3:16 as the most famous, most recited and most rehearsed scripture? Even a non-believer and the devil himself can recite John 3:16 at the top of their heads and interpret its full meaning. This should be a challenge to us Christians that if non-believers and the devil know of the greatness of God's love, then we ought to be basking in that Love.

John 3:16 states “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life". It is because of God's love for us that He sent His only son Jesus Christ as Messiah to come deliver us from bondage and enslavement. In the present times we live in, we have been enslaved by so much that goes on the world. Sex, money, power, lies, steals and so on have enslaved us and blinded our eyes from seeing the truth that lies right in front us, and that Truth is JESUS CHRIST.

Romans 5:8 reads "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God loves us and loved us even a sinners. The bible tells us that we by birth have fallen short of the kingdom of God and as human beings, our human nature gets us into trouble every now and then. But despite all that, all of our shortcomings, our failures and our disappointments, God even so loved us more and still gave His son up on that cross for you and me.

So knowing all of that, why not worship Him in spirit and in truth as the Bible clearly tells us to. Mathew 6:24 -25 says" No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
This message is timeless as it was not just for those whom Jesus was speaking to at the time in the Bible but it also translates to us. If we are going to serve God, we need to do that with everything that we have. It really isn't possible to serve two masters at a time because both require some level of commitment and usually, the most requirement that comes with a lot of work would be from the one other than Jesus. 

Jesus honestly requires just little from us as Mark 12:28- 30 says "And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."  This is the first most important commandment of all times. It is very simplistic in that God needs nothing else from us but that we should love Him as much as He loves us. God is a very jealous God and rightfully so. 

If we could pay just one third of the attention to God as we do to our Facebook profiles, our twitter handles, Google+ accounts and so on, then our lives would be so much different and easier. Because all He wants from us is that we should show Him that much care and concern as He definitely shows to us. He wants us in our entirety, all of us, our soul, body, mind and heart because that much He gave to us in the form of His Son on the cross of Calvary.

John 14:21-24 says "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”  Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him,  “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me." This is plain English in which even the lay man can understand. If we love God, there is absolutely no way in which we would not abide by His word and absolutely no way, He wouldn't in turn bless us.

The world gets too rowdy sometimes and we get caught up in all the chaos but as Children of God, we need to always once in a while, stop and stare at our lives, examine what direction it is taking and reroute ourselves back to God. It is very important  that we find time for God, we find that special place that is meant only for Him in our lives because He has a special place for us, reason why He answers every time when we call on Him no matter what atrocities we have committed.

What matters to Him is our hearts and our spirit; that we genuinely love Him and that we are always willing to serve Him and stay connected with Him. Agreed that we have issues that we need to attend to in our lives, but we cannot let those override the time we spend with Him. Jesus needs to know that we are for Him as He is for us. If you were not in communication with Him, it is never too late and so you are not overwhelmed, five minutes a day like they say is a very good place to start. And if you were already but need to spend more time with Him like myself, then it wise to make a conscious decision and set time aside meant only for Him.
 
I thank God for this platform He has given me and as i write, you need to know i am not perfect and most of the time, i am writing about my struggles too. The beauty of it for me is that while writing as God inspires me, i get to see a new perspective, i have renewed hope and renewed aspirations and now, more than ever, is to love My God, the creator and mediator of my life, with all that i got, because it is only by His grace that  i am here and i am able to do what i do.

He is jealous for me and guards me as though i were His only care in the world, it is about time i too were jealous for my God and i hope you too. Jesus loves us and is for us, so how about we start showing and according Him the same love He accords us with.

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