God is not a noun that demands to be defined, God is a verb that invites us to live, to love and to be. Bishop Spong

Is it true that God loves me?

We promised that we will finish this series. Let me begin by answering the above question.

Is it true? The answer is a resounding YES. God loves you.

He made a choice to love you.

How come I don’t feel loved by God?

The reason is because it is AGAPE love. This kind of LOVE is displayed, it is a verb. It is not felt. God demonstrated His love towards us by Jesus’s death on the cross. We need to receive that by faith.

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 “it’s impossible to please God without faith because the one who draws near to God must believe that he exists…. “. We need to use the same faith that we use for other things.

Let us personalize this. Psalm 139:15-16 “Nothing about me is hidden from you! I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do”. Yes, that is how much God knows about each and every one of us. Yet, He chose to love us.

We need to be liberated by this LOVE to a point where we stop thinking that we are photo copies. We are originals, we are unique. The fact that each one of us has different fingerprints testifies to that truth.
When we do not accept/receive this LOVE, or take it to heart,  this fact that we are loved unconditionally by God Almighty, we miss the experience of the Divine love from Abba Father. We miss the opportunity to grow. When we experience this LOVE, one cannot help but want to change, not because one is judged but because one is LOVED. It was never God’s intentions to scare us with His anger. He showed us how much He loved us, not how much is His anger towards us. When we experience this LOVE, we want to extend the love and grace to others. We also want to show gratitude to God. Luke 7:47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little, shows only, little love.”

One of the reasons we find it difficult to receive this LOVE, I believe, is because we think we were not fully forgiven. Therefore we need to work for the rest of our sins. If this is not the case, then why do we find it difficult to say “I am Sarah whom God loves? Like in John 21:20 “Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple Jesus loved…..”

 When we really experience this through the help of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to accept the love from other fellow human beings.

May we continue to grow in this in Him who is LOVE.

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“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men/women do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)

When a woman or a man is called, “good”, it is not for nothing. It is because there is good that has been done. This reminds me of the story of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:31-32) “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. If it was not for a Good Samaritan, that man would have died.

Jesus said you are the salt. (Matthew 5:13-16) “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.“ You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. But what good is good people, if they do not influence bad? What good is the light, if it does not influence the darkness?”

The story of Tamar seemed to paint the good picture of what really happened when good people keep quiet. We talked about this story before, and we know the story. Tamar was a very beautiful princess. One wonders when one reads what her half-brother did, is beauty now considered to be a crime? Amnon her half-brother violated her in the worst possible way. He raped her, and nobody did anything.
(2 Samuel 13:20-22) Her brother Absalom saw her and asked, “Is it true that Amnon has been with you? Well, my sister, keep quiet for now, since he’s your brother”.

Really? It does not matter who is committing the evil, evil is evil. That did not help Tamar; she lived as a desolate woman in her brother Absalom’s house. Her father was angry, (verse 21) but his anger did not drive him to seek justice for his daughter. Absalom never spoke to Amnon about this; he hated Amnon deeply because of what he had done to his sister. The evil prevailed in Absalom’s heart; his heart became full of revenge as time goes by. He plotted to murder Amnon, (2 Samuel 13:28-29). The evil is getting out of hand in David’s household. If David did something about the evil Amnon committed against the princess, this may never have happened. The evil continued. Absalom raped ten women,(2Samuel 16:21-23). David and Absalom became enemies. It all began from keeping quiet when they were supposed to talk. David was supposed to stand up against evil.

How many times we let evil prevail because it has nothing to do with us? When it is evil, it has everything to do with Christians. It is sad to say that, it did not end with Tamar. Women and children are experiencing exactly the same thing in the hands of the people they trust, and “good people” continue to keep quiet. “Good people”, I wonder.

Happy women’s day to all women.

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If we fully trust God as All knowing and as King of Heaven and Earth, then it goes without saying that He has a last word right? We don’t have to understand everything that God does, but we have to understand that He is in control. If we really believe that He is in control, then it does not have to be over because the people say so. To qualify the above statement, let us look at the following.

There was a time when the Israelites were defeated by Philistines; the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was captured. From the outside eyes, it looked like the Philistines have defeated the Israelites. The Philistines also thought so till their god, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD. After that they put their god in his place. But same thing happen the next day. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. (1 Samuel 4&5) It is the Lord of the Armies of Heaven that we talking about. He is the ONE who makes a call.

Similar thing happened to Elijah. He was afraid of Jezebeel, so he fled for his life. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” (1Kings 19) Elijah thought it was over, he wanted to die. Elijah has forgotten that God is above everything and everybody.

Elizabeth was already put in a box by her community. She was known as the barren one, till God showed up. Listen to what the Angel to Mary, “What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:36-37. The “Biological clock” has long passed her, and she accepted that. What she seemed to forget is the God who made a way in the sea, and there is absolutely nothing He cannot do.

I am not sure what you are about to give up on right now. May be you even reduced your faith to fit the box, because things does not look the way you have hoped. It might look like your marriage is over perhaps, your career is over, and your health/life is over or lost your house. Yes, maybe you lost the battle, but take heart you have not lost the war. It is not over, God has not said so. I know that many times it looks like it is very over, but it looks like that from where you are standing, not from where God is standing.

2 Chronicles 20:17 Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”

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John 11:43-44. When Jesus had finished praying, he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” The man who had been dead came out. His hands and feet were wrapped with strips of burial cloth, and a cloth covered his face. Jesus then told the people, “Untie him and let him go.”

I want us to look at the background of the above passage of Scripture. Jesus is the friend of these two sisters and their dead brother. Jesus was told when Lazarus was sick, but He did not go. Lazarus died. Jesus only showed up when, Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Mary and Martha went through a terrible pain and loss. A pain nobody wants to go through. The pain of losing their brother as women of that Jewish history was worse. The rabbis taught that women were not to be saluted, or spoken to in the street, and they were not to be instructed in the law or receive an inheritance,(Bible History).

Yet, Jesus their good friend, who opened the eyes of the blind, did not show up. When Mary and Martha sent for Jesus when Lazarus was sick, maybe they were hoping Jesus will come, not only to see Lazarus, but to heal him. Maybe that whole community was hoping Jesus will save Mary and Martha the pain of losing their only brother. When Jesus showed up after the death of Lazarus, everybody lost hope. Even Martha said, “Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead four days, and there will be a bad smell.”

Now; let’s quickly look at my favourite verse of the Scripture: Daniel 3:19-23: Nebuchadnezzar’s face twisted with anger at the three men. And he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. Next, he commanded some of his strongest soldiers to tie up the men and throw them into the flaming furnace. The king wanted it done at that very moment. So the soldiers tied up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and threw them into the flaming furnace with all of their clothes still on, including their turbans. The fire was so hot that flames leaped out and killed the soldiers.

I am sure everybody watched this, because these three Jewish young men were in high positions in Babylon. They worshipped God instead of the statue. Maybe God is going to send rain to extinguish the fire. God did not.

Now let’s go back to Lazarus story. Would it not be easy if Jesus came when Lazarus was sick and heal him, to save all the people the pain? Why did He wait? Why didn’t He send the rain to save Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? He waited till they were tied up; fire was heated seven times and thrown in the fire. God made a dramatic entrance in the fire and untied them. Everybody saw the fourth man walking with Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego. Jesus on the other hand, made a dramatic entrance at the grave yard, and asked the people to untie Lazarus. God is looking for an obedient life, where He can make a dramatic entrance. God is sick and tired of Me, Myself and I. It was not about Lazarus, it was not about these three young men, it was about God’s performance in their lives. He wants to perform a show for the World, but He wants to do that in someone’s life. God wants to be seen as He is; can you give Him a platform in your life to perform? God created us for His glory. The king of Babylon took his hat off for God of Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego.

That ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sister is the next level of faith.

God bless.

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Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot! Seek the path that demands your whole being!   Rumi

Matthew 7:13-14 “Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the roads that lead there are easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate. But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it.”

We are going to look at this in a different way than what you perhaps are used to. I don’t know if it is just me, but when I came to know Jesus in a personal way, my world became smaller and smaller. It felt like I had endless choices before I knew Jesus, as I got to know Him better, those choices get smaller and smaller. Before I knew Him, it was about what I feel is right, or what is acceptable in my circle or community. Jesus narrowed that into only two: narrow and wide roads, and nothing in between. Let me qualify this by my favourite Scriptures.

The third chapter of Daniel narrates this so well. Everybody bowed down and worshipped the gold statue of Nebuchadnezzar, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused. Would it not have been easy if they did? After all, everybody was doing it. These three young men walked through that lonely, scary and narrow gate, even though they did not know what lay ahead. Abraham did the same thing. The 22nd chapter of Genesis narrates the story of an old man with his only son going up the mountain, but walking through the narrow gate. The expectations of Abraham clashed with the reality. God made a promise to him, and all of this was not making sense, but he obeyed anyway. In Luke 1:26-38 is the story of a young woman whose choices suddenly became limited. She did not understand how one can become pregnant when one never slept with a man, but she accepted anyway. She was not sure how Joseph was going to take this, but she knew it was not about Joseph or about her.

These kinds of incidents demand everything inside you. There is no control there and that is why only a few people find it. It is a matter of putting one foot in front of the other, no time of thinking about the cost of this decision. The consequences of these decisions are left to God. And that is liberating. It is a lonely road because who is going to understand how the virgin became pregnant without a man? Nobody will understand why did you choose to be put in a fire? God knows and understand that you love Him alone. Nobody will understand why you sacrifice your only son, the son God gave you, and the same God ask you to sacrifice him. How do you tell people about that? And who do you tell? That is where the journey becomes so lonely and narrow. What keeps one going at this time, is that knowing. As my friend and prayer partner puts it, “the knowing that cannot be explained.” One cannot go through these incidents and come out still not seeing anything new about God. These incidents squeeze something out of you, unlock potential and liberates. One comes out of these incidents with an alternative story.

This narrow road is safe because it is not about you. You don’t have to give answers for anything.

The three young men said: “Your Majesty, we don’t need to defend ourselves. The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace. But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up.”

Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said.” And the angel left her.

“My son,  Abraham answered, God will provide the lamb.” The alternative story is formed as you walk through the narrow gate. Abraham named that place “The Lord Will Provide.” And even now people say, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Mary came out with a song of praise in Luke 1:46-55.

In Daniel 3:28 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He sent his angel and saved his servants, who trusted him. They disobeyed the king and risked their lives so that they would not have to honor or worship any god except their own God.”

New insights, new wisdom and alternative storied are formed.

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