Love: Part 1

Introduction:

The topic of love has been on my mind for a long time. Now just to clarify, I'm not talking about a fleeting emotion here. I'm talking about an unchanging, unalterable, undeniable characteristic(a distinguishing feature or quality) of God. I, personally, continue to be amazed at the magnitude and the pureness of God's love and hope you become in awe of God's love, also.

Point 1: God not only has love, but He is love.

1 John 4:8

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Again 1 John 4:16

God is love.

Think of the significance of this. Not only does God have the capacity to love, but love is the very essence of God Himself. To do anything outside of love goes against His very nature and, therefore, is impossible. Think of the implications of that for a while.

Point 2: Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection illustrate God's great love.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Going back to 1 John 4:9-10 gives this brief summary.

9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus said the following when talking to His disciples about His command to love others.

John 10:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus Christ(God's son) did exactly that, but why did He need to give his life for us?

Romans 3:23-24 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

And so Christ gave his life for us, so that we may be made innocent of our sins and have eternal life with Him, God. He did not do this because we were deserving. No, He gave his life for us, because he loves us...with the greatest love! And so because of His love for us, we were valued at such a price that we were worth the price of Christ's sacrifice.

So in conclusion, if you ever think, "How can God love me? I do so many terrible things it is impossible that God loves me." Wrong. It is impossible for God to not love you. How can we resist such a great love? Let's not resist, let's love Him...

Totally Depraved

There I am totally depraved
I didn't know how I was gonna be saved
I kept floundering in this world of sin
I didn't know where to begin

Then someone handed me a tract
I said hey man what is up with that
He said I should take a look at it
Cause he thought it was legit

It started talking about a guy called Christ
And what He did with His life
It spoke about all that He gave us
It said His name was Jesus

and that

I am utterly, completely, totally depraved
I was elected by God's grace
Nothin' could have made me think twice
That abundant joy sounded so nice

Right then and there I made my decision
I had Christ come and fill the division
Now there's a bridge between I and God above
My life's abounding with His love

I am utterly, completely, totally depraved
I was elected by God's grace
Nothin' could have made me think twice
This abundant joy is so very nice

Though I still fail in every single way
I let God come and save the day
I know I still mess up a lot
But thankfully it's according to His plot

I am utterly, completely, totally depraved
I was elected by God's grace
Nothin' could have made me think twice
This abundant joy is so very nice

I pray that I'll serve Him every single day
Throughout all of my ways
I don't deserve all that He's given me
Depraved I am in entirety

My Life In His hands

I've tried everything suggested
I keep trying to change my life
I'm not really happy where I am
But nothing works, nothing makes things change

So I went and put my life in His hands
I committed it all to Him
I found that when I try on my own is when I fail
And I succeed when I put my faith in Him

I found through my life that love hurts
It's the most bittersweet thing that can be found
and one day I got thinking
That Christ know just what I mean and can strengthen me

So I went and put my life in His hands

So I went and put my life in His hands
I committed it all to Him
I found that when I try on my own is when I fail
And I succeed when I put my faith in Him

So I tried and I tried and I failed once again
Until I put my hope and my faith in Him
The waves crashed and they crashed, I was broken down
Until I stood, on solid ground

So I went and put my life in His hands
I committed it all to Him
I found that when I try on my own is when I fail
And I succeed when I put my faith in Him

And this is what my life is like when I try to live it on my own
But now I've got a friend to help me when I fall

So I went and put my life in His hands
I committed it all to Him
I found that when I try on my own is when I fail
And I succeed when I put my faith in Him

Grace

What is grace?
Grace is a wholly generous act of God. It is the foundation of our relationship with God. It's immeasurable and sufficient for everything we suffer (2 Cor. 12:9). It is to vast, to amazing. What little we do know about grace is just a shadow; obscured by smoke and darkness.

What does grace do?
It saves. If we are saved by grace it is no longer by anything we do. It's no longer by grace if it is through what we do. If we we are justified by the law we are fallen from grace (Romans 11:6 & Eph. 2:8-9). We are saved by God's grace.

It allows us to carry on. It allows us to do everything. We accomplish all things through the grace of God.

What does grace change?
Grace changes us, it humbles us. The circumstances that God allows us to go through (insults, distresses, persecutions, difficulties, etc.) are what He uses to make that change in us. He uses those things to transform our minds.

Grace is essential for Christian living.
Christians fail so often because they don't live with grace. Nothing is accomplished through us. Our strength, intelligence, wisdom, etc. don't mean anything because everything is accomplished through grace.

Why don't people practice the grace of God?
Because many times we want to escape our problems so much, that we often avoid what it takes to get the grace of God. "Problems can make us bitter or better." They don't exist to drive us away from God. They exist to bring us closer, so that we might learn just how much God cares for us. Sometimes, we are so caught up with patting each other on the back that we take the glory away from God and what He has accomplished with His grace. By claiming victory in ourselves we are robbing the God of heaven of His glory.

How does God teach us about grace?
2 Cor. 12:7-10
Life for the Christian doesn't always go smoothly. God does things we don't like because we need them. He does this so that we might know that we need His grace. All the "bad" things that happen occur to drive us to God's grace. God uses the circumstances of our lives to bring us to certain conclusions. He has planned our lives, and uses even Satan to bring us to a knowledge of our weaknesses to change the way we think, the way we respond. He uses those things to bring us to a point where we are beyond our abilities, our strength, our knowledge, our endurance. He uses them to bring us to a point where we are beyond ourselves. God will make us perfect in our weakness.

The goal is not to realize how great we are, but how deprived we are and how great is our God. A person realizes the grace of god when he recognizes his infirmities. The problems in our lives bring us to a point of submission. They give us a reality of how great God is.

Don't be satisfied with mediocrity, be all you can be through the grace of God giving Him the glory. 2 Cor. 4: 8-15

Given Up

It's hard to float
When you're floating on nothin'
It's easy to drift
When your anchor is gone

It's hard to climb
When there's nothin' to climb on
It's easy to fall
When your rope is gone

Oh, this is what your life is like
Your life is like this when you've given up
Given up on God (Repeat All)

It's hard to fail
When there's someone to guide you
It's easy to walk
When someone's holding you up

It's easy to stand
On a firm foundation
It's easy to live
When God's holding your hand

Oh, this is what your life is like
Your life is like this when you've given up
Given up on God (Repeat All)

When you've given it all to Him
He'll make sure your safe in the palm of His hand
He'll bless you and keep you through all of your days
If you honor and love Him in all of your ways

Oh, this is what your life is like
Your life is like this when you've given up
Given up on God (Repeat All)

Oh, this is what your life is like
Your life is like this when you've given up
Given it all up to Him

Given it all to Him x 3

Point of Convergence

Convergence is the intersection of two objects...It refers to the point of impact.

This is my point of convergence. I want it to be the place where my life, my faith, and my God collide. I want my world to be unsettled, unbalanced, rocked to the core with God's love. I want my faith to be grounded, my strength to come forth, my dedication to persevere. I will not give up, I will not back down, I have nothing to fear I'm on solid ground. My God is my King, my Lord is my Savior. I now live by faith, lean on His grace, walk in His presence, and pray with power. My face is set, my goal is clear, my journey is long, my way is hard, my mission is defined. I will not give in, give up, or break down. I will press on till the day of His coming. I am a disciple of Christ.

Worthy of High Position

Ephesians 4:1-3
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

In these verses the Apostle Paul calls us to walk worthy of high position. Many of us say that we are Christians, but that fact isn't evident in how we live our lives. As Christians we are called to be "Christ like." We are called to love, to serve, to and to live with excellence. Moment by moment, day by day. Giving it all to God.