DELIBERATELY LOVED

and believing it.

I posted on a social media site a few weeks ago about a conversation I had with our oldest son one night. He had basketball practice, and his brother and I had to leave in the middle of it to run an errand. Knowing our MCs are pretty attached to me, I wanted to make sure he was alright with us leaving him alone. I explained that we would be right back and that I wanted to make sure he was okay with it. He informed me that he had been alone before (mind you he was in a gym full of people), and then he said the most profound thing,

"Besides, Mom, I know you would never leave me."

I've got to tell you, a few tears welled up in the crinkles of my eyes. The purity of the faith in that statement was too much. My heart was tender to the fact that he knows I love him; that he knows he will not be abandoned; that he knows I will come back for him.  Sometimes as a mama, who in the midst of the training up has made mistakes, there is a piece of me afraid those truths might have gotten lost. I was relieved to know they hadn't.

My tears weren't just of relief, though. Some were of conviction. Could I, or more importantly have I, acted out of such pure faith toward my Heavenly Father? At times, yes, I have. At times, no, I have not. There have been those moments when I have felt I have been abandoned and forgotten.

I have learned, however, that what I feel is not always the truth.

The truth is that from the opening lines of Genesis 1 to the final words of the book of Revelation, God Almighty has declared these truths -

He deliberately loves me.

He will not abandon me.

He will come back for me.





I must be deliberate in believing them, not just knowing them. 
I must be deliberate in acting and reacting out of those truths.
I must be deliberate in not letting the voices of fear and doubt drown out those promises.

When I don't "feel" Him, when I don't "see" Him, when it appears I am alone, I must be deliberate in reminding my flesh the truth of God's word. I must purposefully remind myself that Christ sacrifice was a deliberate plan to conquer the enemy and restore me unto Himself.

Deliberately delivered from sin and death,
because I am deliberately loved.

And so are you.

Let us walk forth today not only knowing that, but believing it.







GALATIANS 3

Galatians 3:13
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law....

The curse of the law is not that the law is bad. The curse is our inability to keep the law in our own flesh.

Galatians 3:19
What purpose then does the law serve. It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to who the promise was made...

The law is a mirror. Looking into it we can see our sins. Our capacity to sin. No matter how good we have been or how well we were raised or how long we have been in church. We need to know how wrong we will go without Jesus.

Galatians 3:23-25
But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was out tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Once we accept Jesus, we are made righteous through faith in Him alone. Doesn't negate the law, but satisfies it. We are no longer required to fulfill it in order to attempt maintaining at right standing with God. That is done, finished, and completed through Jesus.

A good reminder for this rule follower.

SAUL or ANANIAS...

I am sure other people have made the comparison I am about to make, but I am going to make it anyway, because it hit me afresh last week.

Acts 9:3-5
As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Acts 9:10
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

Here we have Saul. Religious leader extraordinaire. He knew all the rules. He could read the scrolls. He was as good a Pharisee as one could be. Yet, he had no relationship with God or Jesus. He didn't even recognize the voice of the Lord when He spoke to Him.
Then there is Ananias. A disciple. Maybe he didn't know and keep all the rules. Perhaps he couldn't read all the scrolls. He knew Jesus though. He knew His voice when He called.

One of my concerns is that I don't become more like Saul than Ananias.
I know the rules, I know what and what not to do, I know the Scripture and can quote it, yet I miss the voice of the Lord. I don't even recognize it.

I think it is a healthy concern. Yes, it must be kept in check and not become a window for the enemy to get a foothold in my thoughts, but it is something to be aware of. Even Paul, formerly Saul, warns about it.

1 Timothy 6:20-21
O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.

Guarding my faith. The entirety of it.
What I know the Scriptures say.
What I know to be the heart of God.
What I know He says about me.
Guard it.
Be on guard.

How?
By being in relationship with Him.
By reading the Word, hiding it in my heart, and knowing what it says to be true.
By talking with Him, not in rote prayers, but in honest conversation.
By being quiet before Him and listening.

By being deliberate in my pursuit of Jesus.

John 10:27-28
 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 


May we be found following our shepherd and led not astray by another.

WHAT'S YOUR STORY...

And the Lord said,“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Luke 22:31-32 (NKJV)


Tears. The beauty of this verse moved me to tears.

But I have prayed for you.....

Christ prayed for Peter. Just let that sink in. Christ went to His Father on behalf of a man who would soon deny Him. He does the same for us.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should
pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 
Romans 8:26

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Romans 8:34 


That your faith should not fail....

Knowing full well that the man was about to do that very thing, but believing that His faith would survive. Isn't amazing how He sees us? We look at Peter's story as an epic fail in the faith department. Y'all, I mean, EPIC! Yet Christ didn't.
Peter's faith might have been battered, but it made it through to the other side.
We can look at David and see an adulterer. A conspirator. A murder. A father who doesn't deal well with his kids. Even a coward at times.

And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus—
Acts 13:22-23

God sees "a man after My own heart"?

How about Abraham? We see a man who had a child by another women in an attempt to gain the promise. God....He says,

And not being weak in faith, he [Abraham] did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.  He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,  and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.  And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Romans 4:19-22

Really? Dude who followed his own path to obtain the son God had promised him never wavered in His faith? A tough one for us to see, but not for God.


And when you have returned to Me....

The mere fact that Peter even could is enough to move you to tears. Christ, with open arms, is taking back into the fold a man who denied Him publicly, not once but three times. Christ is longing for Peter to come back. He has plans for Peter when he does.

^"I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Isaiah 44:22

...who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Titus 2:14

Strengthen your brethern...

Peter had a story to tell. His story was encouragement. His story strengthened others. Hearing of his mistakes, God's grace, and Christ's redemption stiffened the spiritual backbone of those who were walking life out with him. It does the same for us and those we are walking with. It contributes to how we overcome.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 

Revelation 12:11

Y'all, Christ is so for us. Not that we get what we want and not that we are glorified, but that in our pursuit of Him, He is found. When we fall seeking Him, He picks us up. He is so for us being with Him each and every step of the way. He is for our story being one about Him...about victory... about our deliverance through Him.
He was and is deliberate about it.
Choosing then....choosing now.

You and I can have a story like Peter's.
Like David.
Like Abraham.
You and I just need to choose now.
We need to be deliberate in choosing what our story is going to be, and Who we are going to let write it.
So I ask you-
What's your story?

WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:13 (NKJV)

Underneath I wrote -
Be ready - he comes again.

Again. The enemy comes again. At a time that works best for him, not me. He doesn't come when I am on my game. Nope, he comes when my game is compromised. Maybe after a victory. When that sense of pride and self-sufficiency comes in. When I forget Who was the source of that very victory. Maybe after a shocking blow. One that has knocked me to my knees. One that has shaken the very foundations of my faith. Maybe somewhere in the middle. Where I have just gotten lazy and comfortable. Where the battles seem easy. Where the road seems wide and level. The enemy doesn't care. I had better. I must be deliberate in keeping myself submitted Jesus, deliberate in keeping my armor on, and deliberate in fighting the good fight.
I don't fight, as Paul says, as "one who beats the air", but as one who has great hope because all though the enemy will come again, so will Jesus.

Revelation 19:11-16

(NKJV)

¹¹ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.

And our deliverance will be most definitely be deliberate.

A BEAUTIFUL MIND

Luke 8:35 (NKJV)

..." came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind"...

If you, like me,

face some of your strongest battles in your thought life,

this scripture brings a world of hope.

Hope that I can have a right mind.

One not given over to thoughts of

fear

anxiety

insecurity

vain imaginations

worry

hopelessness

panic

loneliness

jealousy

you can add your own to the list.

Hope of where such a mind can be found.

At the feet of Jesus

where we find this promise

 For God has not given us a spirit of fear,

but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

See yourself.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Clothed in His righteousness.

In your right mind.

Confident of the One whose feet you sit at.

It is a beautiful picture.

It can be yours.

In Christ Jesus,

You, and I, 

 can have a beautiful mind.

Oh dear ones, let's deliberetly give it over to Him.

He can deliver us.

2 Corinthians 10:5 

"casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,"

ARE WE HEARING?

Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

Mark 4:24-25 (NKJV)

I have written this post at least three times. There is so much I could say. So much I thought to say. The bottom line is this-

If we think we aren't hearing from God, maybe it is because you and I didn't use what we heard previously. Whether it be in a general act of obedience or a specific call to faith - did we use what we heard? I know for myself, the times I haven't, I did feel as though I lost something. The times I did, I heard Him even more clearly the next time.

Deliberately listening.

Deliberately using.

So that you and I can be deliberately delivered.