Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what the difference is between believing, expectations and loving?
For example, as we go about our day, we believe/expect our car is going to start. We believe/expect we will reach our destination. We also believe/expect that that same car will bring us home safely. Most of us give very little thought to this daily regimen. We do not wake up in the morning thinking our car is not going to start. Nor that we will not reach our destination. No! We wake up with a belief/expectation every day that whatever we have to do that day is going to move forward without a problem, or at most, very few....
Have you ever thought about the different facets of love? I think there are several different kinds of love. The love for our pets, the love for our parents, the love for our spouses, the love for our children, and of course the love for our friends. Where does our love for God fit into the many facets of love?
Only you can answer that.
Have you ever applied those same beliefs and expectations you have for your car or mode of transport, to your loved ones? Do you expect dinner to be made every night? The laundry done, the groceries in your house or the bills paid for you? How about that paycheck deposited into your account's. Someone labored for that. We tend to get in this rut of service and expectation, this proverbial pit until we face the possibility of loss. That is a warning. Maybe we are taking these loved ones for granted? We fail to count the many lovenly granted blessings on any given day. They are why life goes well, why we have so may good days.
Have you ever thought what it would be like to wake up to everything you thanked God for the night before? You know some of us would wake up homeless on a city sidewalk.
Have you taken for granted all that God has given you?
Lets move on....We have discussed loving. We have discussed belief and expectations.. Let us apply all this to our relationship with God.
Have you ever thought about what your life would be like without God/Jesus and his sacrifice for us? Or what it means to humanity that Jesus died for our sins? Or that God rules over this universe, the place we live. Or maybe you're not even a follower of God/Jesus, and you have never given any thought about what life would be like without our creator. Even if you do not believe Jesus or God exists, something created this world and everything you love and enjoy in it. Who did it? Why?
How do we cross over from believing/expectations to love? Or have we without a thought to how we got there? Do we have to invest ourselves into everything we partake in? What is in us that causes us to cross over from belief to love?
In order to cross over this threshold, of believing to loving, we must invest something personal. It must cost us something such as our time and effort. Or maybe God performed a miracle that you know for a fact could only come from Him. We must disrupt our lives to incorporate God, that friend, spouse, pet or hobby into our lives. We all have the same 24 hours it really boils down to how we spend it.
So think about it like this. If we believe something created all of this. If we believe there is a God, if we believe in God, if we believe all things are here because of God, what then? Do we love God? Do we love our creator? Have we ever given thought to everything we have and love is because of God, because HE gave it to us?
At some point we have to come to terms with the truth. There is no such thing as OUR truth. Only THE truth. Society decided to twist the truth to make it whatever one wishes it to be. This is called a deadly convenience. If this is allowed to continue, this sets us up for destruction. That means nothing is true. There is no plumb line. Only what we believe to be true is true. Everybody around us is a liar if they do not come into agreement with us. I chuckle when i see those co-exist bumper stickers. There is no such thing in GOD'S kingdom. We are so afraid to offend anyone. Jesus clearly states we will be offended by him. We must stop fearing and speak the truth!
Matthew 11:6
And blessed is [he], whosoever shall not be offended in me.
15:37
And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
We all were given free will. Do we give that up just because some says so?
15:12
Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
26:31
Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
You get the idea.....
We never had to defend our existence or free will before now. Or at least, not like this!
GOD is the one who gave it. (GOD gave his Son) Not man, Satan, demons or other Gods. Only GOD gives.
We must come to terms with the fact there is a threshold that we all need to cross between belief and love.
When something or someone loves you back, have you ever wondered why or who created that emotion? This can get so complex. But, it does not have to be that way. The Gospel message is simple. The sacrifice is simple, the love of God, is simple. Just be with him. That is all he wants from you. Do not muddy up the waters with the 33,000 plus religions. Just Jesus. Keep it simple. Religion was not created by God.. No!!! Religion was created by man. What man thinks God wants. Religion destroys the simple Gospel message. For example, there is no sinners prayer in the bible. In fact, the closest sinners prayer I could find is Acts 2:38-40 (key). The entire chapter tells you how to be saved.
Our God is a God of love, and that is what he wants from us, he wants our love. Just like everyone you are blessed to have in your life. If we can extend our trust to him, we will naturally love him as he reveals himself to us. This is why we all must learn to be like Mary of Bethany, Ruth the Moabite, Jonathan, David's best friend, David who had a heart for God, or Joseph who was sold into slavery by his own brothers, or finally, check into the the bond servant covenant. Love comes with belief, expectation, trust, loyalty and covenant.
If we can come back to the basics. Accept the gospel message rather than allow society to twist the message of God. Recognize the word of God for what it is. Say a simple prayer of repentance and choose to live for God, DAILY. Then, become a doer of his word. What would this world be like?
Earth is a labor of love. Gods love. We have allowed Satan to come into our hearts, distort the truth and deceive most of us. Won't you deny the lies of 33,000+ religions and simply ask Jesus to become your Lord and Savior? To recieve the gift of salvation? To accept his simple message? Jesus came to earth, given birth by a virgin. Lived for 33 years. Shared the fact that we are living in flesh suits, literally. We have a sinful nature and HE came to share the salvation message. Jesus, God in the flesh, took on all the sins of mankind, died via crusfiction (the cruelest way to die), rose 3 days later and came back in a glorified body. He walked the earth for a time, 40 days, witnessed by 100's of people. ( documented by secular texts as well.) Then he told the deciples he had to leave and he would then send the comforter, Acts chapter 2, (The Holy Spirit) and come back the same way he departed, into the clouds he assended. To prepare a place for those who love him.
Who does that? Can you recognize the world's most beautiful love story? The one who knows everything about you and still loves you enough to die for you? To take you to paradise, with him. Or would you prefer the ugly we deal with and KNOW ABOUT, BUT WILL NOT TALK ABOUT....life on earth? Its not all bad,, but it pales in comparison to heaven.
We have two choices
Remember, Acts 17:11, Be a good Berean and search the Scriptures daily to see if it is so. 1 Corinthians 12:11 We all see through the mirror dimly, none of us have all the answers.
I can assure you, in your travels, if you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you daily, you will put the pieces back together and you will have an incredible walk during these final days.
Romans 8:11 BSB
11And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.
So how about a small challenge?
Set your first action of the day by reading God's word for just 5 mins. Before you open up the Bible say this in you own way. Forgive me for my sins. Repent for your doubt and unbelief. Jesus, help me to believe every word in the Bible so that I may not doubt one word. That I may be able to recieve it all and believe it all. Do this every day.
Then- Respond to everyone with love, ask him for the ability. (very difficult, but with practice, you will change your little piece of the world). Learn to see humanity the way Jesus does. Separate the demons from the human spirit and show them the love of our Savior. When Jesus covers our sin, this is how he sees us. A human being, our spirit. God can be in our presence.
Please move your belief and expectations to the next level. Did you know God will impart the gift of love if you ask for it?
Choose whom this day you will serve. It is always about Him.
May God and Jesus our Lord and Savior Bless you- ❤🙏
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