God is love

Father God, thank you for sending Jesus who is the epitome of Your love. Because of Jesus, You are no longer only God to Your sons and daughters but You are a Father. Thank you Father that because of Jesus we are now Your children. We give you all the glory and praise in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Today's post is from Matthew 27:27-31 (NKJV)

27. The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.

28. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.

29. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

30. Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.

31. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified."

    
    

Amen, thank you LORD.

Reading and meditating on the above Scriptures, it is painful and hard to imagine what the Lord Jesus was experiencing in this moment of utter shame, disgrace, humiliation, rejected, despised, reproach, pain, etc to say the least. Yet despite all of this, He was still fully loved by God, the Father. We celebrate mountain top breakthroughs (as we should because it is thanksgiving of the Lord's faithfulness), but today I wanted to share on the staying power of Jesus' love for you and I which is expressed through enduring the worst moments of His earthly ministry to say the least. Jesus, the Son of God, endured every painful moment and suffered to the point of literal death (physical and spiritual) so that you and I could be set free from the bondage of sin and be reunited in relationship with God, the Father (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

In Luke's account of the gospel, we see that it took Jesus sweating blood and tears (Luke 22:44) to align His will to the Father's so that He would go to the cross and die for the sin of the world. In the garden of Gethesmane, He prayed and asked God, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:39). Luke also shows us that in addition to the power of the Holy Spirit at work in Him, God also sent an angel to strengthen Jesus before the crucifixion so that He could endure this moment (Luke 22:43).

Father's day is one of the my favorite holidays and I hope it becomes yours as well in the name of Jesus. It is a reminder of the blessing of parents, the blessing of spiritual parents and most importantly the blessing of a heavenly Father. What a privilege it is to call God Father and I wonder how often we remember that when God sent Jesus, He did not just send anyone, He sent His best and beloved Son and it cost Him everything. John 3:16-17 NKJV says, "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. For God did not send the His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. "

It is important to also remember that Jesus did not die for the sins of the world out of coercion but He willingly yielded to the Father's plan of salvation because of His love for you.

Child of God, you are loved beyond words can express and thankfully, God has expressed it through His Son, Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:9 AMP tells us in Christ is all the fullness of Deity (the Godhead) dwells in bodily form [completely expressing the divine essence of God].

I have found that knowing that you are loved by God can heal emotional pain and trauma wounds. Recently, I was speaking with a lady who desperately wanted to experience God's love. She was wondering if God's love is a feeling. I told her God's love can be a feeling but for the most part the love of God is a knowledge. God's love is a revelation, that is, we know that God loves us (1 John 4:16).

As we kept speaking, she was able to see that God's love for her is actually revealed in the whole Bible which is why it is also important to personalize God's love for you through His Word. We were also able to recognize that God's love is expressed for His children both in big and small moments. I was sharing with this lady how I prayed to God for the ice cream truck to come to my neighbourhood on a hot summer day and a few days later while I was minding my business, it was packed outside the house. This to me was a testimony of God's love that He paid attention to my simple prayer. Often times, we are searching for God in the big moments which is commendable but may we never miss or disqualify ourselves from God's love in the small and mundane details of life. Jesus was born in a town that nobody considered good (John 1:46) yet in God's eyes that was the perfect home town where the King of glory who would save the entire world would be born.

I'll end with this Word found in 1 John 4:10 (AMP)

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering] for our sins [fulfilling God's requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath."

Amen, thank you LORD. Thank you Father.

Invitation to salvation: If you would like to know and experience this love of God that is found in His Son Christ, I invite you to a personal relationship with Him where He is no longer only God to you but also Father. If this sounds like you, please confess the prayer below,

"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 Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour today and forever." AMEN!

CONGRATS, YOU ARE THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD! In case, you don't already, please join a church community and get water baptized.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!