"God is Dead!" - so proclaimed the modern theologians years ago. I gleefully remember hearing a clever retort, "MY God's alive...sorry about yours!" For you see, my God IS alive. I received a hurting letter a few days ago from an atheist with the usual questions....if there is a God, why does He allow evil and suffering? Why? Why? Why? I have no answers--for the Jonesboro tragedy, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Holocaust--except that they are the the perverse, willful acts of sinful men, controlled by an evil enemy who hates God and us all! MY God is LOVE--He is alive and He suffers with me in my pain--He loves, He listens, and He forgives. I trust Him--I would be a fool not to, for He IS God. His wondrous creation, His inspired Word, His faithful followers all prove it...and I must place unanswered questions at the foot of His Cross. For He suffered too--He sacrificed His Son for a world that rejected and despised His gift of love.
But it didn't end there. My God has been, is now, and always will be alive...in resurrection love for us all. I may choose to live in death (what an oxymoron, and yet true!). You may know people "living in death" - you may be there yourself - but there is no need to live in the pit. Because HE lives, YOU can live also...the God who created you did so that you might live in His love. Let's run to the Well and find out how we can live a "GodLife"- a life truly ALIVE in His resurrection love!
A Helping Word...or Two!
GodLife...Living in His Fatherhood!
"What kind of relationship did you have with your father?" Any competent counselor knows therein may lie the secret to the pains you carry this day. Now I don't believe in blaming our parents for everything in life--that is ridiculous--but I am aware that many suffer as adults because of an unhappy, unloved, and abusive, childhood. A father is mean, judgmental, unconcerned, absent--and therefore, that person has great difficulty relating to a loving Heavenly Father." But you don't have to LIVE in that DEATH! You can KNOW Your heavenly Father understands all the "bad stuff" you have experienced--but you can also know you are now HIS child--loved, accepted, chosen, cared for, and cherished. Let HIM show you what a true, real father/child relationship is all about. He WILL--if you let Him! It is a choice you must make--to surrender the painful past, give it to the Lord, and in childlike faith cry, "Abba, Father," or "Daddy." He will be to you what no father on earth can ever be, for He is God...
The same Father that gave Jesus to the world, that allowed Him to die on the cross, is the same One who proved Himself on Resurrection Morning. And He is Your Father--He waits to prove that love to you today! Let Him!
GodLife...Living in His Faithfulness!
We live in a world of unfaithfulness...husbands (or wives) cheat, wives (or husbands) leave home, kids run away--no commitments seem sacred anymore. Unfaithfulness abounds in our world, and unfortunately, even in His Kingdom. Those who once knew and served the Lord, no longer live for Him. Pastors fail, congregations fail, families fail--but God remains faithful. You may be living in hard times--when trusting the Lord is a difficult thing to do, not because of YOUR unfaithfulness, but just because....life is difficult, and things happen we do not understand. Money is scarce, kids get sick, problems arise in the home, workplace and church--we live in a troubled world. But HE is still faithful--to His Word, His promises, and to HIS KIDS! He is a faithful God--and He will be faithful to you, whatever your circumstance today--for He IS God...
The same faithful God who raised Jesus from the dead, just as His Word declared, is the same One who will prove Himself to you this day. Don't give up--He will not fail! For He is Your Faithful God--He waits to prove His faithfulness to you this day. Let Him!
GodLife...Living in His Forgiveness!
If you are perfect, you can skip this point, and just move on...But if you are like me, you need forgiveness daily--and a loving God gives it to us, graciously and freely. That's the easy part--the hard part is....you guessed it...to forgive yourself! We beat ourselves unmercifully, degrade, and devalue ourselves to the point of no return...now, why did I do that? How could I be so thoughtless, so stupid, so selfish? Or we remember "yesterday" - the "way we were" - the sins and dark past that haunts us like evil, unwanted, shadows, never going away, always there to remind us of what we were, and what we did. And Satan laughs--for he loves nothing better than to discourage, defeat, AND harrass Christians, to leave them defenseless, wallowing in their own guilt and self-debasement and despisement. DON'T let the devil do this to you. LIVE in God's forgiveness--He's forgiven you, now LET IT GO to the pit of hell where it came from, and forgive yourself!!
The same forgiving God who gave Jesus to die for the sins of the world, LIVES for you. Don't wallow in guilt and condemnation, for He, the One who raised Christ from the dead is alive to offer you complete forgiveness--this day. Receive it in Jesus' Name!
GodLife--what a great way to live, and it's possible, not in ourselves, but in Him. Won't you allow Him this week to show you His resurrection love in all its fullness? Live in His fatherhood, His faithfulness, and His forgiveness--and know REAL life is yours for the asking. It's Easter time--LIVE in His Resurrection love, and have a wonderful week!
And that's just a thought or two--from my heart to yours!
His Healing Words
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:9,10 (KJV)."
"Lord, I really don't know how to relate to you as my Father--but I want to. Please help me to know, deep within my heart, that I am your loved and accepted child. Help me to live in your faithfulness and forgiveness. It's Easter--I'm glad Jesus is alive, but Lord, *I* want to live too--joyfully serving You. Please help me. In Jesus' Name, Amen."
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A Hurting Word...