Tag Archives: Loving like Jesus

Fears Chased Away, Loved to Love, Rooted and Grounded

(The Everlasting Way) Transforming Awareness: The Power of God’s Love

2 Comments

Raymond had given up. It seems he’d failed at every opportunity in life. Though he was still a young man, his hopes were drained. What he’d always wanted to do was help people, but now he couldn’t even help himself.

His meager inheritance from his dad yielded only enough money for a semester in college. And when he missed the filing deadline to receive a grant, he’d have to drop out and move out of his dorm. 

After receiving the news, he stopped for a while at his mom’s grave, who’d committed suicide when he was seven. Going on in the grave yard, he found his dad’s grave, dug almost a year ago. He was a consummate entrepreneur, always on the brink of something big. He had such high hopes for his latest discoveries and was sure he could use what he’d developed to make a difference, to help those in desperate need. But a stroke cut his life and dreams short. 

Now, his only child was the one in desperate need.

Raymond sat down on a bench, buried his head in his hands and wept. A feeling of emptiness and poverty filled his soul.

“Raymond Anderson?”

Raymond opened his eyes to find an elderly black man standing over him. 

“Yes.”

“Someone instructed me to give you this,” he said, handing Raymond a legal-sized brown envelope.

Raymond received the envelope, noticing there was no return address – just his name.

“Who’s it from?” Raymond asked, looking up. But the man was gone.

He opened the envelope and began to read:

Mr. Raymond Anderson,

I’m delighted to inform you that shortly before your father passed away, a large corporation purchased his patent right out. Based on the terms of the contract and his will, which I drew up for him as his lawyer, you have received $500,000,000 as his sole heir. He has also designated you as his benevolence agent to give away another $500,000,000 to the charities and needs of your choice. Even though this money has been at your disposal for almost a year, your father instructed me to wait until now to let you know.

Please come by my law office as soon as you can so we can meet and begin turning over the funds to you.

Sincerely,
Walter H. James

Being Made Aware

Raymond suddenly became aware of his possessions and grand purpose. This knowledge changed everything about his life. He had a mission he could wake up to every morning.

As believers in Jesus Christ, a change in our awareness could have even greater ramifications on our lives than Raymond had. In our case, what we need to be aware of is beyond change and corruption.

God’s love.

What are some ways that an awareness of God’s love for us can transform our lives?

God’s Love Drives out Fear

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 (I John 4:18).

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

Fear causes worry and robs me of peace, which is essential. 

In the above verses, John writes about a perfect love flowing from God, which drives out fear. To the degree that we realize God’s amazing love for us, our fears melt away and peace reigns in our hearts.

As I ponder these truths concerning God’s perfect love, different nagging fears come to mind, particularly fear of failure and fear of rejection. These fears have sometimes sent me down destructive paths. But more and more, the reality of a love that literally casts out fear is growing in my heart.

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 genuine, the destroyer of all fears. 

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)

These verses summarize the Bible, instructing us first to love.

We love, because He first loved us (I John 4:19).

But our love must originate with His love for us,

Because God loves us, we are able to love Him and others.

God’s love for us empowers and guides us. Like a cart being pulled along by a horse (God’s love), our works of obedience (loving) flow from His love for us.

It’s not the other way around. Our obedience doesn’t gain God’s love. That’s like putting the cart before the horse and horses make terrible cart pushers. 

God’s love for us gives us the ability to obey His commands to love.

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. Paul prays we might grasp the superlative dimensions of God’s love in our hearts. What does not fit in our heads can dwell in our hearts as God is pleased to illuminate it. 

God’s love roots us and grounds us, establishing a firm foundation for our lives. When God’s surpassing love is revealed and made real to us, our souls are increasingly secured against the storms and trials of life.

Prayer

Lord, may my comprehension of Your amazing love for me continue to grow as I bathe in it. 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 in being with me. Please help me grasp Your love more and more. Steady my heart on the firm foundation of Your delight in me. Amen.

Reflections

Previously, in Embracing God’s Amazing Love, we established that God’s love for us:

  • Cannot be altered by anything in this world, whether seen or unseen.

  • Motivated Him to rescue us through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ

  • Is modeled by Jesus’ love for us.

In this post we learn that God’s love for us:

  • Chases away ALL our fears

  • Is our source of love, enabling us to love

  • Roots and grounds our soul, no matter what we go through

In today’s world of disunity and hatred, it’s essential to realize God’s love for us every day, in every way

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all referenced Scripture is from the NASB 1995. Photos generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Other posts in our Everlasting Way Series:

Learning How to Overcome Emotional Numbness

Embracing God’s Amazing Love

Are we More Like Batman or Spider-Man

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

This collection of devotionals chronicles a heartfelt journey from a life of striving and self-reliance to one of growing surrender and trust in God.

Through personal stories of family struggles, cancer, grief, and unexpected trials, the devotions show that true, unshakeable joy comes not from perfect circumstances, but from the constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ.

It’s an invitation to learn to let go of our burdens and find growing peace in God’s greater story.

Finding Joy in Life’s Moments

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowingly set off a series of events which uncovers a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains

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

Eternal, Unparalleled

(The Everlasting Way) Embracing God’s Amazing Love

Leave a comment

It’s an especially hot, mid-summer morning, even for South Carolina. Today, there’s a bit of a break in the humidity. With the ceiling fan whirling at full speed, I’m writing on our newly constructed porch.

The old one, built on our septic tank by the previous owners, was collapsing. So, it had to be demolished and rebuilt. We love our new one. The ceiling is higher, and the floor raised, making it feel more like an extension of our house.

Jack, our twenty-month-old Aussie “puppy” is with me, as always. 😊

The low hum of cicadas dominates my hearing, even above the running water from our man-made mountain brook beside the porch. The sounds remind me of my childhood summers in the Upstate. My dad and grandfather built a water fall as well.

Divisions and hatred dominate the world these days.

Hard things are happening, much more than I can remember when I was growing up. I’m astounded at the number of shootings, natural disasters, and plane crashes throughout the world.

If we don’t grasp an overall, eternal perspective, we can easily get caught up in the madness and lose hope.

Love 

When it comes right down to it, we must build our lives on love.

From Jesus: 37 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. 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.’ (Matthew 22:37-40)

And after washing His disciple’s feet, Jesus said, 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.  (John 13:34-35).

And a bit later that same night, He said, This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

Grasping the magnitude of God’s amazing love for us is not just informational, it’s to become a growing realization. Beginning with grasping His love for us: We love because He first loved us (I John 4:19)

What should we know about God’s love for us?

God’s Love for Us is Everlasting

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)

How do we get our head and heart around everlasting love?

‘Ahabah,’ the Hebrew word for everlasting love, describes a love which is beyond anything physical or any aspect of our soul, which people describe as our mind, will and emotions.

Nothing can alter God’s eternal, unconditional love for us. It outshines every war, every illness, every natural disaster. No choice, thought, or feeling can change the quality of God’s love for us. 

Pause for a moment and let this sink in.

As believers, God chose to love us before the world began. [1]

God’s Love Rescues 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)

Before our deliverance, we were apart from God, facing eternal darkness, with no ability to change our situation. In our helpless state, while we were still hostile toward Him, God rescued us. And He did it by sending His Son, who lived a perfect life, 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 God’s love for us save us from His wrath through Jesus’ death, but much more He is now healing us, and making us whole by His life, which indwells us by His Holy Spirit.

He is always at work for our ultimate good according to His purposes: to free us from ourselves and to make us more like Jesus. [2]

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.” (John 15:9)

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. 

Story: If you’ve seen the movie Twister, the last scene is powerful. A raging tornado blows a building completely away. But because they strapped themselves to a pipe secured underground, the pipe saved the main characters.

God’s love is like that. He’s got us.

But we can’t assume upon the love and grace of Christ. [3] Though our actions can’t change God’s love for us, established before the world began, we can choose to disobey.

As believers, the strap of His love holds, but Jesus desires us to walk in the fellowship of His peace and joy. We can only do this by relying on His Holy Spirit and walking in obedience.

By His Spirit, we 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 Your love doesn’t fit in my head, please make it real in my heart that it might shape every moment of my life.

Amen.

Reflections

As believers we rest in Christ’s finished work for us on the cross.

A first step in prioritizing and nurturing our relationship with our Lord is gazing upon Him and beginning to grasp the magnitude of His great love for us. 

God’s love has an eternal quality that 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.

[1] Ephesians 1:4-5

[2] Romans 8:29

[3] Romans 6:1-2

Unless otherwise specified, all verses are from the New American Standard Bible – NASB

Other posts in our Everlasting Way Series:

Learning How to Overcome Emotional Numbness

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

This collection of devotionals chronicles a heartfelt journey from a life of striving and self-reliance to one of growing surrender and trust in God.

Through personal stories of family struggles, cancer, grief, and unexpected trials, the devotions show that true, unshakeable joy comes not from perfect circumstances, but from the constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ.

It’s an invitation to learn to let go of our burdens and find growing peace in God’s greater story.

Finding Joy in Life’s Moments

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowingly set off a series of events which uncovers a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains

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

 

Abiding, Practicing the Presence of God

(In the Moments) Hey Pop

2 Comments

 I love exploring the woods behind the house with our grandkids. Though we live close to civilization, our unique neighborhood feels like the mountains of North Carolina. All the lots have at least 2 acres with wells and septic tanks. Quite magical.

A few years ago, I took our, then two-year-old grandson, Nicholas to the barn to see our baby chicks. On the way down the hill to the barnyard, as I was holding his hand, he looked up, found my face and said, “Hey Pop.”

This took me a bit by surprise. ‘Hey’ is what we typically say to someone when we initially see them. But Nicholas was acknowledging our continuing togetherness. In a true childlike moment, he was savoring our nearness.

Fast forward a few years to a couple of weeks ago. I was with both Nicholas and his brother Zachary (who is two years old and just now finding his words). We were hanging out at their house while their parents were on a date. While reading a book to Zachary, he looked up, found my face and said, “Hey Pop.”

This was such a pleasant surprise. Like Nicholas, he was acknowledging our nearness, as we enjoyed a book about dinosaurs.

Nearness

A few of us at our church are encouraging each other in practicing the Lord’s nearness throughout the day. We’ve read books like Union with Christ [1] and Practicing His Presence [2]. God indwells His saints by His Holy Spirit. We’ve been raised with Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places. [3] The Lord is always closer than breath. Everything exists because of Him. He holds all things together. [4] We’re learning from saints, like Brother Lawrence and Frank Lauchbach, the rhythm of being mindful of the Lord’s near throughout the day, even as we’re engaged in our temporal activities.

I’m learning to find great joy when He comes to mind. Even after long stretches, when the day’s endeavors have occupied my thinking, I celebrate His nearness and refuse to feel shame for not acknowledging His nearness more often.

We’re learning to be ever mindful of His presence, thanking Him, depending on Him, and asking for His guidance at every turn.

Hey Lord

A couple of days after Zachary said, “Hey Pop,” I was at work teaching a class. During a break, heading down the hall for some coffee, I thought, “Hey Lord.”

It took me by surprise, like my grandson’s acknowledgment of our togetherness. It was a simple expression of the Lord’s nearness.

Since then, I’ve frequently thought, “Hey Lord”. Sometimes it stops there. Other times the reminder He’s with me leads to prayers of praise and asking for His help with what I’m doing. “Hey Lord” has become a beautifully simple step in acknowledging the Lord’s nearness and practicing His presence.

Become Like Children

To me, it’s easier to love and appreciate childlikeness as a grandfather. When I’m with my grandkids, I find myself feeling childlike and playful. It takes me back decades to when I was a child and could enjoy the moments of life more fully and took the time to play.

Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3b NASB)

But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14 NASB).

My grandsons are teaching me to pause often and appreciate the relationships the Lord has given me, especially my relationship with Him.

Challenge

Where are you spiritually? Even if you don’t consider yourself a spiritual person, you are on a journey. We will all die one day. No one gets out of here alive. As my old pastor said to us, when he found out he had terminal cancer, “I’m a dying man speaking to dying people.”

As believers, we know that, for us, eternal life has begun. We’re indwelt by the Living God, designed to live through us. Abiding in His nearness, remaining in His love, yielding to His Spirit, is not just a nice way to live, it’s the normal Christian life.

Celebrate God’s nearness right now and throughout the day. Allow Him to live His life through you. Only as we abide in Him are we able to live lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control [5].

Prayer

Hey Lord. Thank You so much for allowing me to learn from my grandson’s childlike hearts. If they are so excited about my nearness, how much more should I be excited about You and Your nearness. You indwell me and empower my every word and need. Please stop me quickly when I go off on my own and don’t wait for You.

I want my life to be lived for You and You alone.

Amen

[1] Union with Christ by Rankin Wilborne, David C Cook publisher 2016

[2] Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach, SeedSowers Publishing

[3] Ephesians 2:6

[4] Colossians 1:17

[5] Galatians 5:22-23

Other posts in our series In the Moments:

As Sea Gulls Fly

It is Finished

Behold the Moments

Tranquility

Stop Striving

Simplicity In Christ

What is Good

Yet Will I Rejoice

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

Exploring Grace and Joy together

Stay Present My Friends

Quiddity. It Could Change Your Life

The Cake Maker’s Blunder

God at Work (No Trespassing)

Hidden with Christ in God

Finding Joy in Love and Relationships

Escaping the Rat Race

When I don’t Feel God’s Loving Kindness

Experiencing Completeness in Christ

Overcoming Pain Through Faith

Recalibrating Our Hearts

The Joy of Waiting

On the Fifth Day God Created Dog

When Things get Really Hard

A No Lose Situation, Even with Cancer

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an 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

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

A Greater Hope, Joy in the Midst

(In the Moments) No Lose Situation (Even with Cancer)

Leave a comment

According to Wikipedia, game theory defines “no win” as a scenario where every outcome is disadvantageous to all players. How about the game called life? Most of us have experienced a time when we feel completely cornered and trapped. A step in any direction seems detrimental, producing feelings of hopelessness.

Chris’ Cancer

Consider my friend Chris. A successful business executive with a loving wife and two God honoring sons, he found out in February 2015 that he has brain cancer. This news devastated us all. You hear about folks dealing with cancer, but when it happens to your family, it hits home. I say “family” because Chris is my brother in Christ. We’re both adopted sons of the Lord Most High, bought and paid for by the precious blood of Jesus. We’re brothers on the same commission: to live and speak the love and grace of Christ to everyone God brings our way.

Long before the cancer, loving like Jesus has been Chris’ heart. His multiple trips to India ignited his love for its people. So much so, he and his wife, Sharon, moved their whole family to an apartment complex, where many of his Indian business associates lived. Chris did it to be near them. He taught them to swim and loved them in ways the Holy Spirit directed him.

We Can’t Lose

Though the news of his cancer was certainly devastating, Chris and Sharon have clung close to each other and trusted God in the midst. Amazingly, Chris sees this whole situation as giving him a unique platform to continue his commission. Chris is a walking example of someone who sees God as his good, no matter what circumstance he faces. Chris is a vessel of the Lord’s joy, and his life speaks of God’s nearness, infusing courage to others daily.

He shared with me that the dire spiritual conditions of some of his family are far tougher for him than dealing with cancer. Chris knows where he’s going and his faith in the truths of his future centers him and gives him eternal hope. He’s ready to see Jesus, but he knows some of his family members are not.

With conviction, he recently told me we Christians are in a ‘no-lose situation’. As adopted children of the King, given the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance [1], our lives on this earth are our journeys home. We know how our story ends. We literally cannot lose. This brings joy inexpressible and full of glory.

Chris’ life reminds me of the following verses: “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:16-18 NASB)

Challenge

What ‘no-win situation’ do you feel you’re in right now? Do you feel trapped, like no move could get you out? If Chris focused on his cancer, he might feel this way. And maybe he did for a while. But Chris has ongoing conversations with his Savior. He and Sharon share a deepened faith and intimacy. Christ is Chris’ life.

What’s your situation? Bring it to the Lord. Consider this a chance to entrust yourself further to God. Embrace God’s higher purpose for your life, a greater story which is about Him conforming you into being more like Jesus.

If you don’t know Jesus, He invites you into His fellowship. When you do, you too will know how your story ends, no matter what you face at this moment.

Prayer

Lord, I must confess, I’m not where Chris is with such a frightening word as cancer. But you’ve given me courage through my own difficulties, because I know You’re near. You’ve grown my faith because You’ve used really hard things for me to learn that I can’t, and You can.

Please continue to grow my faith through all the days You’ve numbered for me. Keep me aware of Your nearness and keep me from running ahead of You.

Like Chris, may I use the platform You’ve given me to tell what wonderful things You’ve done for me and how You’ve shown me mercy.

May my days be filled with love for You and for those You bring my way. Guard me from ever choosing any worldly pleasure above you.

You are my King, my Highest Joy.

My life pales compared to knowing You. I give all of me to You, Lord Jesus. You are my life. [2]

Amen

 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21 NASB).

Epilogue

After seven years of fighting the good fight with much courage, Chris completed his journey here on earth in 2022. He used his platform to proclaim the goodness of God to so many. Knowing Chris deeply touched my life. I will see him again.

Christopher Ward Mercer

July 10th, 1963 – February 18, 2022

[1] Ephesians 1:13

[2] Colossians 3:4

Other posts in our series In the Moments:

As Sea Gulls Fly

It is Finished

Behold the Moments

Tranquility

Stop Striving

Simplicity In Christ

What is Good

Yet Will I Rejoice

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

Exploring Grace and Joy together

Stay Present My Friends

Quiddity. It Could Change Your Life

The Cake Maker’s Blunder

God at Work (No Trespassing)

Hidden with Christ in God

Finding Joy in Love and Relationships

Escaping the Rat Race

When I don’t Feel God’s Loving Kindness

Experiencing Completeness in Christ

Overcoming Pain Through Faith

Recalibrating Our Hearts

The Joy of Waiting

On the Fifth Day God Created Dog

When Things get Really Hard

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an 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

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

Waiting on Jesus

(In the Moments) The Joy of Waiting

4 Comments

Stepping back can seem like quitting but think of it as waiting for another. I’m not usually good at it. When we’re taking a walk or shopping, my bride tells me she loves my butt, but would prefer not to be looking at it when we should be together. This slows me down and I take her hand. The point is being with her, not finishing the walk or checking shopping off our list.

Walking with my wife is about savoring our moments together. It’s also that way when I’m with God. Problems and duties give me various opportunities to walk with God and to wait on His timing. When I forge ahead on my own, I’m missing out on being with the Source of joy. I’m also detached from the Source of Life, who guides and empowers my life.

Why I Step Ahead

I’m realizing that I step ahead because I don’t really trust God is in control of certain situations. It’s a terrible idea to try fixing life on my own terms, but I still do it. God is at work in all situations to conform me into the image if Christ. [1] Though I may not like His methods, stepping ahead doesn’t save time. It prolongs the process.

I also step ahead because I’m compelled to accomplish. My sense of self-worth seems linked to my perceived success. This is exhausting, especially when I take on things God never intended me to do. The result is futility. Apart from God’s life working in me, what I do has no eternal worth. [2]

I’m a slow learner with this one. How quickly I convince myself that this or that is a good thing and forge ahead. I’ve worn myself out doing what seems good, instead of waiting on God’s best for me.

These actions are doubly harmful because when I don’t wait on God and the empowerment of His Holy Spirit, I operate in my power instead. So, not waiting on God causes me to wear myself out doing things which have no real value.

Nobody has time for that.

Waiting Starts with acknowledging Weakness

After Paul repeatedly spoke to the Lord about his weakness, the Lord responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” [3]

His response, “Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So, I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (II Corinthians 12:9b-10 CSB)

What I’m realizing is that waiting often depends upon the value I place in my weaknesses. If I truly believe my weakness is good, which is often hard to admit, God’s power can be perfected in my weaknesses.

This is by far the best route to take.

My weaknesses remind me to wait for God’s direction and power.

In the Waiting

Waiting is the best. If I trust Him, God promises to guide me. God is at work. In His timing, He’ll show me when and how to join Him along the way. If I’ll wait, He’ll show me.

In the waiting, I learn to trust in His control, His love, His strength. Stepping back is making way for another. Stepping back is waiting for Him to initiate and allowing His power from the vine to produce true fruit in my life.

In the waiting, I’m with God, digging deeper into His love, basking in the joy of His presence, depending on His glorious power.

Being with God really is what it’s all about. I don’t want to miss out on the most important thing by stepping ahead without Him.

Challenge

Is there a situation in your life where you’re waiting for God? Most of us have several. Perhaps you’ve already inserted yourself to no avail. You may have even made matters worse.

It’s okay. God’s mercies are new every morning. He can use even our bad choices for His ultimate plan to make us more like Jesus.

Step back. Wait now.

Waiting is hard but take courage. He is with us in the waiting.

Prayer

 Lord, I’m sorry for moving ahead of You. I see now how utterly futile it is. Please keep me from rushing ahead. Please build my trust. You’re in complete control of every situation and You will show me my part. I open my heart to understanding Your great love for me. I look forward to the marvelous adventures which await in my communion with You as I wait.

Amen.

 [1] Romans 8:28-29

[2] John 15:5

[3] II Corinthians 12:9

Post image generated by AI

Other posts in our series In the Moments:

As Sea Gulls Fly

It is Finished

Behold the Moments

Tranquility

Stop Striving

Simplicity In Christ

What is Good

Yet Will I Rejoice

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

Exploring Grace and Joy together

Stay Present My Friends

Quiddity. It Could Change Your Life

The Cake Maker’s Blunder

God at Work (No Trespassing)

Hidden with Christ in God

Finding Joy in Love and Relationships

Escaping the Rat Race

When I don’t Feel God’s Loving Kindness

Experiencing Completeness in Christ

Overcoming Pain Through Faith

Recalibrating Our Hearts

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an 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

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

Knowledge which changes everything

Soap

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

Other posts on God’s Love

God’s Everlasting Love

Experiencing the Freedom of God’s Love

God’s Love in a Broken World

Completely Loved

God’s Delight in Us

When we don’t Feel God’s Love

What we Need is Love

Subscribe below to have the posts delivered to your email. We publish weekly. At least that’s the plan. (8^>

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

2 Comments

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:

Rob Buck

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

Fears Chased Away, Loved to Love, Rooted and Grounded

Rhythms: UP (Why Knowing God’s Love is Essential, Especially Now) (Republished in Everlasting Way)

4 Comments

Why is God’s love absolutely essential right now?

How is God’s love for us tied into how we love?

What is the correlation between God’s love and our fears?

How does God’s love enable our obedience?

What difference does God’s love make when we confront life’s storms?

Review some amazing truths about God’s love

Knowing God’s love for us is essential. And it needs to be more than information, it’s to become a growing realization. May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened. [1]

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 peace, which is essential to my existence. 

In the above verses, John writes about a love which drives out fear, a perfect love, flowing from 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, our fears melt away and peace reigns in our hearts.

But there’s much more.

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

We love because He first loved us.

Story: As I ponder the truth concerning God’s perfect love, different nagging fears come to mind, particularly fear of failure and  fear of rejection. These fears have sometimes sent me down destructive paths. But more and more the reality of a love which literally casts out fear is growing in my heart.

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

This is something to get very excited about.

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. Like a cart being pulled along by a horse, our works of obedience (loving) are empowered and guided by God’s love for us, not the other way around. 

In the above verses, Jesus gives two vital commands which basically summarizes the entire Bible. Our obedience is characterized by love, becoming the overarching filter to govern our lives. 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.

Story: For many years I’ve been captivated by the verses above. As complicated as life can be, they seem like a great filter to run all aspects of life through. After all, Jesus tells us the command to love God and love others summarizes the whole law and the prophets.

So many times I’ve realized that what I was choosing was not loving toward God as my highest love. What a great realization, as opposed to not realizing it and continuing to love idols.

So many times, I’ve realized my actions toward people were more for me than for them. Again, what a great realization. I want my love to be pure. I know I have far to go, but to the extent that I’m loving others out of God’s love for me, joy and freedom erupt.

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

What does not fit in our heads, can dwell more and more in our hearts as God is pleased to illuminate it.  This is what Paul is praying.

God’s love roots us and grounds us, establishing a firm foundation. To the degree God’s surpassing love is illuminated and made real to us, our souls are more and more 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 song at the funeral of Rachel, a little two year play mate of my oldest son.

As the song was song, I looked over at the parents. I couldn’t comprehend what they were feeling. In my raw state, I wondered how the song fit.

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

Since then, my wife and I have experienced deep relational pain, but God’s love is deeper still.

Conclusion

Previously, we established that God’s love for us:

  • Is eternal and can’t be changed by anything of this world, seen or unseen.
  • Motivated Him to rescue us by the death of His Son Jesus Christ
  • Is modeled by Jesus’ love for us

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 these and other facts so VITAL is that God’s love:

  • Chases away ALL fear and is the source of our love
  • Enables us to obey God
  • Root and grounds our soul, no matter what

Especially Now

In today’s world of disunity and hatred, it’s essential to realize God’s love for us. We must know we’re completely loved no matter how we’re treated. 

Prayer

Lord, may my comprehension of Your amazing love for me continue to grow as I soak in it’s 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.

Personal Study

Highlight I John 4:13-19

Explain it in your own words

Apply it to your life

Respond to God in prayer 

 [1] Ephesians 1:18

Previous posts in the UP series:

UP (The Amazing Truth About God’s Love)

.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:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Everlasting, To Die For, Unparalleled

Rhythms: UP (The Amazing Truth About God’s Love) Republished in (The Everlasting Way)

9 Comments

UP is about our relationship with God our Father. It’s developing daily rhythms of meditating on God’s love and His purposes through the lens of His word. This prioritizing of our relationship with God is necessary for all spiritual activities both within and outside of the church.

UP is intentional, unhurried times of being with God which yield fullness of Joy and empower us to live the abundant, loving life Christ demonstrated for us to follow.

Grasping the magnitude of God’s amazing love for us is not just to be information, but it’s to become a growing realization. May the eyes of our hearts be enlightened.[1] 

We love because He first loved us (I John 4:19 NASB)

For those of us who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation, the following is true. 

God’s Love for Us is Everlasting

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)

How do we get our head and heart around everlasting love? “Ahabah,” the Hebrew word for everlasting love,  describes a love which is beyond anything physical or any aspect of our soul (mind, will or emotions). God’s eternal love for us is unconditional and can’t be altered. It outshines every war, every illness, every natural disaster. No choice, thought or feeling can change the quality of God’s love for us. 

Let this sink in a moment.

As believers, we’ve been chosen to be loved by God since before the world began. [2]

Story: There are exceptions and vast limitations to any earthly correlation to the things of God, but my mother gave me the most tangible example of His everlasting love. No matter how I disappointed her throughout my life, I never doubted her unconditional love for me. Often, when we’d part, she’d say, “Robby, don’t you ever forget how much I love you!”

She passed away in 2011, but her love remains constant within me ever day.

“Mom, I won’t ever forget. I love you too.” 

P.S. Mom came into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus seven months before she died. I smile within at the thought of seeing and hugging her again.

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. 

Story: Growing up in a social Christian environment, I had a twisted view of what it means to believe in Jesus and go to heaven. I heard the wrath and hell part, which scared me to death, but I knew nothing of grace. My assumption was that since I believed in Jesus and was a pretty good person, I’d go to heaven.

But my belief was only a belief in the fact that Jesus is Lord. True belief, as spoken by Jesus in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life,” is more than factual. Belief in this context means, trust in, commit to and rely upon.

My true belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ occurred one evening during my college years. In those moments, my trust in Christ’s work and His death for me  freed me from God’s wrath. His life in me, as I continue to trust Him, is conforming me into His image. [3]

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.”[4] 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. 

Story: If you’ve seen the movie Twister, the last scene is powerful. A raging tornado blows a building completely away. But, the main characters are saved because they are strapped to a pipe secured underground. God’s love is like that. He’s got us.

But, we can’t assume upon the love and grace of Christ. [5] Though our actions can’t change God’s love for us, established before the world began, 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 nurture 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 Your love doesn’t fit in my head, please make it real in my heart that it might shape every moment of my life. Amen.

Personal Study

Highlight Zephaniah 3:16-20

Explain it in your own words

Apply it to your life

Respond to God in prayer 

[1] Ephesians 1:18

[2] Ephesians 1:4-5

[3] Romans 8:29

[4] John 15:9

[5] Romans 6:1-2

.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:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Trusting, Resting, Enjoying, Loving

(In the Moments) As Sea Gulls Fly

4 Comments

Martha had enough. Her sister Mary did it again, leaving her to do all the work while she just sat there. Martha was distracted by all the preparations. And though the very source of Joy was with her, she was focused on what she had to do.

Sound familiar?

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”  Luke 10:38-40

“But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

But how can life really be about one thing? Without Martha, no food would have been served.

On a slow morning, sitting on a dock facing the intracoastal waterway in Wilmington, NC, I’m once again pondering how to rest as Mary did without neglecting my responsibilities.

The mid-morning sun warms the steady breeze as it whips across my face. I look across the gray blue waterway and see white caps ushering the tide to my right. The rhythmic waves lap upon the shore only interrupted by the rubbing of the floating docks along the pile driven wooden poles and the distant sound of a dog’s bark.

I have sought my own answers to this quandary for years, but this morning it all seems clear. No profound answers are given, only His strong hand outstretched, inviting me to give Him my cares. He’s much more concerned about us being together than what I’ll accomplish. Together, He’ll show me how to live a Mary life in a Martha world.

My worries are safely sealed, waiting for His commands to be revealed.

Two light yellow butterflies dart across the rolling tide. Above the water flow, there is a lime green strip of land below a line of emerald trees, couching white, multi-storied buildings in the distance. Above the tree line, a cloudless sky rises in deeper shades of pastel blue towards the heavens.

Wow! Is this joy, this trusting, this resting, this enjoying His presence? Is this abiding? Is this what Jesus means when He tells me to remain in His love?

A convergence. Totally unplanned. Unscripted. A gift.

A sea gull effortlessly glides above me. Outstretched wings riding on unseen strength. Lord, is this like us resting in Your strength as we journey? Positioning in the wind of Your presence, relying on You to empower and guide.

So, what now? I could regret millions of distracted moments in my past when I labored without a thought of His nearness. Flapping against the wind.

But I won’t.

I ‘ll go forth with a deeper understanding of what Jesus means when he tells me not to worry, but to seek His Will, His Kingdom, His supremacy in my life.

All that other stuff, the things I seem to focus on, what I’ll eat and what I’ll wear and what I’ll drink – He’s got that. (Matthew 6:33) He and I have more important things to do, like resting in His presence enjoying our time together.

And when I am doing that (Enjoying moments of life with Him), I will naturally love the people I meet along the way. When, like Mary, I’m in tune with my Lord’s nearness, when I’m yielding to His Indwelling Spirit, His love flows through me to others. My number one concern now is to love others as He’s loved me. This  starts with resting in His love.

Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”

“Love is the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others.”  John Piper

Trusting, Resting, Enjoying, Loving

Challenge

Do you ever find yourself in the Martha/Mary trap, having way too much to do that you’re too distracted to enjoy the moments of life and our nearness to God?

Though, in the encounter above, He touched my spirit with a tangible realization of the peace and joy of His presence, I often revert back to acting like Martha.

I’ve asked God to show me quickly when this happens and to remind me of His strength and the beauty of His nearness.

Try it. Overtime, as it becomes a rhythm, you will find yourself more and more able to be like Mary, even in the midst of a whirlwind of activities and responsibilities.

Prayer

Lord, truly these moments cannot be scripted. However, like the sea gull, I can spread the wings of my life out to You. I can trust that as I rest in your Indwelling presence, You will carry me. You in me will accomplish what needs to be done. You in me will love those who need to be loved. You in me will guide along this path of life until you receive me into Your glory. May I always have my wings ready to catch the wind of Your Holy Spirit and glide where You want me to go. Amen.

“Nevertheless I am continually with You. You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterwards receive me to glory.” Asaph from Psalm 73:23-24

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

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

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

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 an 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

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