Like a child!

¹ How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3

I love that word; "lavish". Webster Dictionary defines it as expending or bestowing profusely.

God, the creator of the Universe, has poured out an overly abundant amount of love to us and on us and for us. He knows that we are messed up (sinners). He knows that we have, do and will mess up. Yet He has provided SO much love through His Son, Jesus.

As a father of two wonderful girls and the husband of a loving and caring wife, I understand immense love, but I cannot imagine the type of love that God the Father has lavished on us. Just think, He let His Son  Jesus die a horrible death so you could live forever with Him in Heaven! The death sentence that you and I deserve was placed on the Son Jesus.

I think about the word lavish and try to quantify, "how much love does it take to be lavish"? When I realize how much I have messed up, it must be a lot!

Then this passage talks about being children of God. Have you ever been in the grocery store or the big box store and see kids acting horrible? You know; the ones that are being disrespectful to their parents, upsetting the whole apple cart. (Pun intended!) And you say to yourself, "I'm glad I don't have to put up with that."

God says, about you and me, "I know how bad you are and I want to call you mine anyway." All you have to do is claim the love of Jesus as your own and live as He instructs (love others as yourself) and He will call you "His".

So, you just pray the prayer and everything is good? Not exactly. God's Word (the Bible) never tells us that saying the right words will save us from Hell. What it does say is that giving your heart and life to Him will bring a change in your life like nothing else. He will make Himself very real in your life, but you should want to live for Him and like Him to the best of your ability.

Living for Jesus is not a boring monk like existence. He will show up in amazing ways. He certainly has in my life. Even in tough times, and there will be tough times, I have felt His presence in such fantastic ways. Sometimes He shows up as I listen to music. Sometime when I am reading His Word. Sometime in a conversation with a friend (or stranger). It is hard to explain if you have never experienced it, but it is real!

He has lavished His love on me when I didn't deserve it.

He is Wonderful!

New This; New That

I know by now you have made, attempted and failed at some of your "New Year Resolutions". I know I have! Happens every year.

This made me stop and think. How often do I promise God something and not follow through with it? Some people refer to these events as "foxhole prayers".

Everytime I fail Him, His Holy Spirit convicts me; makes me feel sorry. Not sorry that I failed; sorry that I failed Him. He has told us in His Word, the Bible, that he forgives us. I understand that part. I am grateful to Him for His grace, mercy and forgiveness.

The hard part for me is, after all He has done for me...how little I have done for Him.

I believe. I trust. I AM SAVED by His blood. I am not doubting my Salvation. I am simply saying..."I am sorry Lord for when I fail you."

This blog episode is simply a way for me to express my sorrow for failing my Jesus. But it is also a way for me to restate the fact that we are all sinners (failures), but He sees us through the eyes of forgiveness and love.

Praise Him for all He has done  in your life. Take time to think about how you can do better at serving Him. Read and study His Word. Pray. Serve Him by serving others.

I know I am!
No, really I am.