Power Of Who God Really Is

Key Scripture:  “I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only”  Psalms 71:16

Power Point:

    Have I mentioned lately that God loves you?  I was following behind a truck yesterday and on the back in big red letters were the words:  “Fear God and keep His commandments.”  I thought “Well then.  Somehow that does NOT make me run into His arms.”   It really gives the idea of a stern God who will judge you if you don’t follow all the rules doesn’t it?

     Years ago, before we were Christians, we were traveling somewhere and there were several billboards along the way that said, “REPENT! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”  Actually it sort of scared me. The truth is that when God came into our lives, He came with such an outpouring of love and kindness that it took our breath away. There was not one word of judgment or condemnation or “you must” or “you should”; there was simply an encounter with the most perfect love that made us look at everything differently, and feel differently.  That love gave us the desire to know Him better, to change how we thought and how we lived.

It still does.

     Beloved, Grace is how God operates. He pursues us with grace and mercy. The commandments are wonderful. Everyone should obey them. They just make sense don't they?  However the way into the kingdom of God is encountering the love of God through Jesus and saying, “Wow, I want IN!”

     If you’ve been under the mistaken idea that people need to measure up to a certain set of behaviors in order to be a Christian, allow me to mention the fact that Jesus is our only measuring stick.  In Him, we are complete. 

We have His incredible Holy Spirit in us to complete the good work in us. How? By growing the seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness,

gentleness, faithfulness and self-control in us. Those qualities are our standard of measurement.  When people see those things in you, they always want more. There are no shells around people that are too hard for God to crack. He doesn’t crack them anyway. He pours His oil on them until the hard shell softens and falls away and the beloved person inside can emerge, whole, loved, and blessed.

     Beloved, give up the rules and embrace the character, the nature, the love of God for yourself and everyone within the sound of your voice. You’ll be happier and so will they. Isaiah 26:6 says, “You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent.”   Let’s be sure to make mention of God’s extraordinary love today.  Let’s meditate and concentrate on the power of that love to transform and bless everyone and everything.

Power Thought:

  

Grace and mercy are how God loves us every day. That's a fact worth mentioning isn't it?