Foundation of love

John 3:16 (NKJV)

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Amen, thank you LORD.

Father God, thank you for the blessing of a new day. Thank you that in Your presence is the fullness of joy and this is the day that You have made, we shall be glad and rejoice in it. May our hearts be good ground to receive Your Word that comes in seed form as You share with us in Luke 8:11 so that it can bear fruit that will last forever in the name of Jesus, Amen. Thank you LORD.

Today's sharing is based on the foundation of God's love and I believe it begins with an understanding of the classic Sunday school verse - John 3:16. However, I will start with what God's love is not. God's love is not to condone sin or for one to find comfort in sin. God's love has been given to forgive sins, to redeem you from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God's Son, His beloved Jesus. (Colossians 1:13) and to give you victory over sin. Sin in its nature leads to spiritual death and if God's love was ok with sin and death, then John 3:16 above would not apply to the life of a believer because it contains the assurance of the Father God for anyone who believes in His Son to not perish but have everlasting life.

So what about God's love? - The first thing God's love does is to point you to Jesus. This is because knowing Jesus as the Son of God who was sent to the world as a perfect love gift from God is the best way to understand God's heart and the foundation of His love for you and the world. In this love is the redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14). In this love is a new identity where you become a new creation that is no longer a sinner but a saint, a son/daughter that now gets to call God Father, an heir of God in Christ and a child of God (Romans 8:16-17). In this love, the blood of Jesus Christ washes you clean and again, you are no longer a sinner but one who has been born of God. John 1:12-13 (NKJV) says, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

In God's love for you, is the power to overcome sin in the flesh because of your new identity and faith in Christ Jesus. This love does not mean that you are always perfect but when you become born again, God's seed is in you and you do not sin (1 John 3:9) because as a child of God, your desires are aligned to God's desires and His heart for you. This is because as God's child, you are no longer under the control of the prince of the power of the air who works in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2) because every work of the devil concerning your life has been destroyed by Christ (1 John 3:8). In God's love, is healing both physical and emotional healing because a healthy life is included in everlasting life for by Jesus' stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). In this love, you belong to God (Acts 27:23) where every detail about your life has been carefully planned and made by God. Since you belong to God, God in His love promises to never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). In this love, you are the subject attention of God's love - you mean everything to God because without you, He would have nobody to show His love in Christ.

I'll end with this verse found in 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV)

9. "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light;

10. who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."

Amen, thank you LORD.

Invitation to salvation: On that note, if you would like to be born again into God's Kingdom, that is saved and have a personal relationship with God as Your Father and you as His child by receiving His Son, Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, I invite you to say this confession:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.