Tag Archives: Jeremiah 31:3

Delighting in God's love, Grasping God's Delight in Us

Steps of Delight

December 23, 2022 robuck4@aol.com 2 Comments

When I was a kid we had no cell phones, no internet, and no video games. Personal computers hadn’t been invented. We had four TV channels, if you included the educational channel. A few shows were in color including, Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, which aired on Sunday nights. So, we spent a lot of time playing outside.

At the bottom of my road, my good friends Larry and Lee lived next to each other. On Saturday mornings, I might watch a few cartoons, but I much preferred being with my buds. As soon as possible, I’d hop on my bike and coast down the hill to their houses to hang out.

One Saturday morning, in my excitement, I arrived earlier than usual. Seeing no activity at either house, I parked my bike and waited on a short stone wall in between their two houses. I don’t remember who showed up first, but I do recall my delight when one of them emerged from their house. These were my good buddies and we had so much fun together riding our bikes to the community pool, fishing in the creek or playing whatever sport was in season.

I enjoyed being with my friends and I read that God delights to be with me even more than I wanted to be with Lee and Larry.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me (Psalm 18:18-19 NASB).

This is quite hard to believe, and I don’t always feel as if it’s true. Yet, if I lived the moments of my day in the splendor of this reality, my life would be wonderfully different.

But how?

First, I must realize the facts concerning God’s love for me, then I must act upon the truths or count them as so.

Realize and Recon, the two step of walking in God’s delight.

REALIZE

Realize – to become aware of something as a fact, understand fully

There are many verses in the Bible about how very much God loves his children.

Following is just a few to personalize in a conversation with God:

Before the world was formed, You chose to love me and to adopt me as Your child [1]
You’ve loved me with an everlasting love, a love which is unaffected by any of my thoughts, how I feel or even my choices [2]
You’re familiar with all my ways, You weaved me together in my mother’s womb, Your thoughts toward me are beyond number [3]
Your love for me surpasses understanding. Even the breadth, width, length and height of the ocean and the sky above doesn’t adequately portray how delighted You are in me [4]
Even when I was against You, dead in my sinful ways and lost with no hope, You gave Your very life so that we could be together forever [5]
You rejoice and shout for joy when You’re with me [6]

Pause a moment and relook at these truths. Take note of any which your mind pushes away as not true. Perhaps there’s a lie you’re believing which repels the truth.

Spend awhile in prayer disagreeing with the lie, recognizing that God’s word is far more reliable than historically faulty thinking.

RECKON

Reckon – rely on something to be sure.

In verse 11 of Romans chapter 6, Paul tells us to reckon ourselves dead to sin. Other translations say “consider”. The idea is to personally count as a fact something that is true. As certain as a bank statement is reconciled, and there is no “maybe” about it. It’s either reconciled or not. What God says is true. We’re to reckon it so.

For example, I read God delights to be with me, that I cause Him to be joyful. Though this seems unbelievable, His word says it’s true, so I reckon it so.

From what we realized above, we rely on to be true:

Before I was even born, God chose to love me
God adopted me to be His child
God loves me with a love which can’t change, even when I sin
God knows everything about me, yet still loves me
God uniquely fashioned me in my mother’s womb
God thinks about me all the time
God loves me with a quality of love which doesn’t fit in my mind. His love is beyond measuring. It surpasses knowledge and doesn’t fit in my mind
God loves me with a love which is greater than my disposition toward Him. Even when I was against Him, Christ gave His life for me.
God loves me so much; I bring Him joy.

Practice the Rhythm

Pick one amazing truth about God’s love for you a day and do the two-step.

Realize it – lodge it in your mind

Recon it – consider it true no matter what rises in opposition

Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand. (Psalm 73:23 NASB)

Remember, as you walk, He’s taken hold of your hand.

Prayer

Lord, knowing your love changes everything. Please reveal your great delight in me now and always. Help me travel in your delight. By Your mighty divine power, destroy every speculation and lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of Your love for me. Fill my heart with fresh awareness of your delight in me in every step I take. In Jesus’ name I pray.

[1] Ephesians 1:4-5

[2] Jeremiah 31:3

[3] Psalm 139

[4] Ephesians 3:17-19

[5] Ephesians 2:4-5

[6] Zephaniah 3:17

Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child.

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading.

Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for? Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Knowledge which changes everything

Soap

December 4, 2022 robuck4@aol.com 4 Comments

In the mid 1800s a large number of babies were dying soon after childbirth. During that time Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian doctor, learned something which would change the medical community forever. In his studies he noticed more babies were dying after being delivered by medical students than by midwives. Digging deeper, he realized the students often performed autopsies prior to delivery, contaminating their hands with microbes.

Dr. Semmelweis instigated a regiment of hand washing which substantially dropped the number of infant deaths. Though soap had been around since Biblical times, its total benefit was not known until then. This began the great soap-related hygiene revolution which radically changed the medical field.

It’s amazing how a bit of knowledge about soap could save countless lives.

Is there knowledge we can gain which can have an even larger impact on us?

Yes.

Knowing God’s love for us is even more vital that knowing the benefits of soap during medical procedures. Us knowing God’s love has eternal ramifications.

Following are three reasons knowing God’s love is so essential. To grasp it we need to realize its more than information to be stored in our heads. It must also come alive in our hearts.

May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened. [2]

Perfect Love Drives out Fear and Allows us to Love

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us (I John 4:18-19 NASB).

As I examine my heart, much of my sin is rooted in fear. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of poverty. Fear of unhappiness. Fear of . . .

Fear causes worrying and robs me of essential peace.

In the above verses, John writes about a love which drives out fear, a perfect love, flowing from the heart of God.

While we still fear, we’re yet to be perfected in God’s love. However, to the degree we realize God’s amazing love for us, our fears melt away and peace reigns in our hearts.

As I write, I imagine a life with no fear. Fearless. Oh the freedom! Oh the joy! And it’s not just something to wish for. God’s perfect love is real, the chaser of all fears.

But there’s much more.

God’s love for us is the source of all true love. To the degree we realize His perfect love, we’re able to reflect His love back to Him and to others.

Perfect love not only gives us courage, is also the source of all of our love.

We love because He first loved us.

God’s Love Enables Our Obedience

And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NASB)

Since our love is rooted in God’s love for us, His love enables our obedience. In the above verses, Jesus gives two vital commands which basically summarizes the entire Bible. Our obedience is characterized by love. It’s the overarching filter to govern everything we do. As the ten commandments state, loving God (first four) and loving others (last six) should guide our every word and deed.

So, why is God’s love for us important?

God’s love enables us to love. And loving is how we obey Him.

God’s Love Roots and Grounds Us

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19 NASB)

God’s love for us surpasses our knowledge. It’s beyond our understanding and our intellect. Even so, Paul prays that the superlative dimensions of God’s love might be comprehended or realized in a way which comes alive in our hearts.

Paul is praying that what does not fit in our heads, will dwell in our hearts as God is pleased to illuminate it.

God’s love roots us and grounds us and gives us a vital firm foundation. To the degree God’s surpassing love is illuminated and made real to us, our souls are secured against the storms and trials of life.

Story: There’s a song based on the verses above about the deep, deep love of Jesus. Many years ago, the song was sung at the funeral of Rachel, a little two-year old play mate of my oldest son.

O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus [3]

As the song was sung, I looked over at her parents. I couldn’t comprehend what they were feeling. In my raw state, I wondered how the song could possibly fit since Rachel had died.

Then it hit me. As deep as the pain Rachel’s parents were feeling, God’s love was deeper still. In their pain, they had an opportunity to experience the depth of God’s love in a way they might not have otherwise known.

Since then, my wife and I have experienced some deep relational pain of our own, kind of like the death of a child. But through it all, God’s love is deeper still. We can truly say that we know God’s love more deeply because He’s met us in the depth of our grief and pain.

Conclusion

From Zephaniah 3:17 we learned that God delights to be with us and that we make Him happy.

The Lord your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

What makes this and other facts about knowing God’s love for us so VITAL is that:

God’s love chases away ALL fear
God’s love and is the source of our love
God’s love enables us to obey Him
God’s Root and grounds our soul, no matter what

Prayer

Lord may my comprehension of Your amazing love for me continue to grow as I soak in its reality. Thank You for chasing away my every fear with Your perfect love. Please remind me quickly when fears arise. Thank you that Your love enables me to love You. May I receive Your love and give it away. Thank You for delighting to be with me. Please help me to grasp Your love more and more. Steady my heart in the firm foundations of Your delight in me. Amen.

[1]https://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/21/tenthings.changedtheworld/index.html

[2] Ephesians 1:18

[3] Written by Samuel Trevor Francis

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Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for? Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

God's Everlasting Love, Loved in spite of how we feel

U Can’t Touch This

November 22, 2022 robuck4@aol.com 1 Comment

Stanley Burrell was batboy for the Oakland Athletics from 1973 to 1980. During that time, he was given the nickname “Hammer” because he looked so much like the homerun, king Hammering Hank Aaron.

After his time with the Athletics, Hammer went on to write and perform the first rap song ever nominated for a Grammy Award record of the year. It became the winner for best R&B and best rap solo performance.

The song – U Can’t Touch This. The artist – M.C. Hammer.

I like it. It has an inviting, catchy rhythm. The title is repeated many times during the song.

U Can’t Touch This.

What’s interesting is how these words have helped me get a deeper understanding of some key aspects of God’s love.

You may wonder how the title of a rap song could possibly illuminate God’s love. Let’s take a look.

Everlasting Love

On a vacation in Highlands N.C. a number of years ago, I was struck by the the following verse.

The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness” (Jeremiah 31:3 NASB)

As I rocked on the front porch, staring at the Appalachians, towering above the small mountain town, I dug deeper. I discovered that “Ahabah,” the Hebrew word translated “everlasting love,” describes a quality of love which is beyond corruption. It can’t be changed by anything physical or what goes on in our souls.

With all the recent devastation in the world, the idea of God’s love not changing, no matter what the circumstance, is extraordinary news. It also means neither choices, thoughts or feelings can affect His everlasting love.

The steady embrace of God’s love for us can’t be changed. It remains untouched and unaffected by any external force. You can’t touch God’s love in a way which can change it.

U Can’t Touch This.

As believers, this changes everything about us, especially since we’ve been chosen to be loved by God since before the world began. [1]

And how do we more fully grasp this quality of love which is not only unchangeable, but vast beyond belief?

As we ponder and meditate on the enormity of God’s everlasting love, let’s consider other aspects which add to the quality of His amazing love:

God’s Love Rescued Us

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Romans 5:8-10 NASB)

We were apart from God, facing eternal darkness with no ability to change the situation. In our helpless state, while we were still hostile toward Him, God choose to rescue us. And He did it by sending His Son to die in our stead.

Please don’t allow the familiarity of this great news to cheapen the impact!

We were hostile and helpless, but God, out of His unparalleled love, gave His Son to save us.

And, not only did He save us from God’s wrath by His death, much more will He now preserve and heal us by His indwelling life.

Jesus Loves Us as Much as God Loves Him

“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”[3] Jesus

As much as God loves Jesus, He loves us. How can this really be? It seems unimaginable. Yet, Jesus said it. It is true!

Don’t rush past this. Remain in the truth of Jesus’ abiding love.

But, we can’t assume upon the love and grace of Christ. [4] Though our actions can’t change God’s love for us, we can choose to disobey. As believers, the strap of His love holds, but Jesus desires us to walk in the fellowship of His love and joy. This is done by relying on Him and walking in obedience.

Conclusion

As believers in Christ’s finished work for us on the cross, gazing upon and beginning to grasp the magnitude of God’s love for us is a first step in prioritizing and nurturing our relationship with Him.

God’s love has an eternal quality which keeps it from being affected by anything of this world, seen or unseen.

Even when we were against God, His love for us moved Him to send His own Son to die in our place, rescuing us and making us whole.

As much as God the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves us and we’re called to walk in the fellowship of His love.

Prayer

Lord, I’ll never fully comprehend the extent of Your love for me. It’s beyond my ability to comprehend. However, because You describe it in Your word, I believe it and want to walk in it. Though I don’t understand Your love, please make it real in my heart that it might shape every moment of my life. Amen.

[1] Ephesians 1:4-5

[2] Romans 8:29

[3] John 15:9

[4] Romans 6:1-2

For Further Reading on God’s Love

Completely Loved

Why is Knowing God’s love Essential?

The Connection between Love and Joy

What Threatens us knowing God’s Love?

Experiencing the Freedom of God’s Love

God’s Love in a Broken World

Being Loved by God is our True Identity

Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in the Midlands of South Carolina.

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading.

Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for? Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Delighting in God's love, Grasping God's Delight in Us

Discipleship Rhythms: Walking in God’s Delight

May 30, 2022 robuck4@aol.com 2 Comments

How do I travel in the truth that God Delights in me?

Story

When I was a kid we had no cell phones, no internet, and no video games. Personal computers had not been invented. We had four TV channels, if you included the educational channel. A few shows were in color including, Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, which aired on Sunday nights. So, we spent a lot of time playing outside.

I remember, in my excitement, arriving too early one Saturday morning. I saw no activity in either house, so I parked my bike and sat on a bank in between their two houses and waited to play with them. I don’t remember who showed up first, but when one of them came out of their house, I was so happy to see them. These were my good buddies. We had so much fun together.

Does God delight to be with me this way? Is He eager for us to be together? I read that He is, but I have a hard time grasping it.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me (Psalm 18:18-19 NASB).