Learn more about how much that God loves us and use it to encourage yourself to keep going.
Enjoy the video!
Sermon Notes: https://www.heartofgraceministries.com/blog/after-the-fact/gods-love/
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Patience
God’s Love Toward Us
God loves us so much that He loved us even before we realized who He was
1 John 4:19
19 We love him, because he first loved us.
- It is by this kind of love we realize that we must love others to help them realize how much that God loves them. By this love it opens the eyes of a person that does not know God to realize God has sent people into their life so they know God greater.
God loves us so much that even when we are on the fence about trusting in His love that He continues to love us while we decide
Romans 2:4
4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
2 Peter 3:15
15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
- It is by His loving patience toward us that while we are into things that we should face punishment and exposure for that we receive mercy even when we have not apologized and confessed our sins to God.
God loves us so much that once we are Christians and we stumble that He gives us another chance rather than giving up on us.
Job 33:27-30
27 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;
28 He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
29 Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man,
30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.
- God knows that as we fail and move forward that we have the chance to learn from our failures to be stronger people. Thank God for another chance for growth!
God loves us enough that even when we suffer that it is never more than we could stand.
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Matthew 11:29
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
- What would be too much on our own without God we know that through Christ we can do all things. It may not always be how we wanted it or as easy as we wished it could be, but through Christ we can make it!
God loves us enough that while we are on earth that we have everything that we need in order to sustain a happy and Godly life. Materially, physically, literally, mentally and spiritually.
2 Peter 1:3
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Hebrews 13:5
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Psalm 37:25
25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
God loves us enough that irregardless of what we have done prior to this moment that if we come to him and ask forgiveness of our mistakes and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that by accepting Christ as Lord of our life that we can be forgiven from our past and have a eternal future in Heaven.
Romans 10:9-10
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
– Not only forgiveness and freedom of our past is rewarded but we also receive power by the Holy Spirit to have a present authority to write a new chapter of a bright and marvelous future!
Sometimes People Just Won’t Get You
John 15:18-25
[18] If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
[19] If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
[20] Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
[21] But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.
[22] If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.
[23] He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
[24] If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
[25] But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
One of the toughest truths to accept when considering the social aspect of being a Christian is that sometimes people just won’t get you.
Let’s read from II Corinthians 12: 20:
[20] For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults
Through the few years of ministry that I have made it through I have found all of the different types of negative behaviors attempt to attack me on a public as well as a personal level. There has been times that even when you are doing all of the right things that someone still finds a way to point something negative out to you. Some people will even tell others about something that is not wrong whatsoever just to attempt to create drama to elevate their status in self-righteousness. Drama happens whether or not you are in presence of others. The part that I have noticed about the enemies tactics through using willing people that will behave negatively is that they are nice to you in person and only feel the authority and power over you to work division while not in your presence. You will also find this behaviour as you read of the demons in the bible whom scared others from even walking by but began to change their tune when Jesus was in the midst!
Matthew 8:28-34
[28] And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
[29] And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
[30] And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
[31] So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
[32] And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
[33] And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.
[34] And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.
When the enemy is in the presence of the anointed he cannot exercise the same authority he could while working it in the shadows of what you cannot see or hear. Each of these kinds of feelings that people will bring on you are not things that you should take lightly or not prepare yourself against. One of the best nuggets of wisdom God has taught me is that you must not worry about what people will try to do to work against you. We as Christians must learn to work together and to see persecution as a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block. For when we can endure the present sufferings of peoples’ persecution then we can be blessed by walking in the virtues that God has given and called us to use.
Continue in your calling and be not moved by the words and attempts to bring division. Stay steadfast in the love you have for all people and bless those that will despitefully use you for their own gain. Turn away from the petty attempts the devil uses behind your back to try and ensnare your favor and patience that God builds in us daily. Be strong and keep your mind focused on the one who loves you and forget the things that those who despise you will do. What your enemies will try to do only hinders what God tries to prosper. Jesus even recognized that mankind in its weakened state of sin doesn’t even know at times what we do; for in the greatest moment of suffering on the cross Jesus chose to love us and to prevail against all the things that would have kept us from the eternal fellowship and relationship we remain in with God today!
Wait On That Good Seed To Bloom
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Here is a devotional that talks about learning to wait and see the good seed that was sown in God’s love to bloom and be a blessing to others (and you too!)
The Power And Influence Of A Negative Attitude Towards Others
I would like to start out today with a short story. The other day my wife and I were about to watch a movie at a local theater. After getting our tickets and concessions we proceeded to head into the viewing room. As we made our way in and were about to sit down, we were met with an awkward surprise. The man behind us proceeds to immediately speak ill of where we were going to sit (in front of them), thus taking the Lords name in vain. After we very quickly decided to relocate to bring peace to this mans issue two questions came to mind. The first question was “Was acting that way worth the satisfaction to have an unobstructed view?”. Obviously I knew that the answer to that was no, but a question that reflect the bigger picture came up:
How much are people convinced in our walk with God when we possess an negative attitude?
Answer: People are directly affected by your demeanor.
When this is brought in sync with our walk with God, this takes on a completely different thought. Are people drawn to Christ when I lose it over getting my seat at the movies? Chances are the answer is 100 percent NO. There was only one thing that Christ operated in when He walked in the midst of adversity: love. That same love branched out to have all other virtues. I can hear the scriptures in my mind reminding me about how patient and kind love can be. If you have the love of God in your heart and are using it you will in turn reflect attributes of it. This means losing it over the silliest of things merits no excuse for why we lack in being a witness for God.
Whether you be at the movies, shopping, eating, at work, at home, or even…yes that’s right…at church one thing is clear: it is easy to see that we need to be on guard and aware of our attitude no matter where we are! The most important word I could leave you with while we evaluate ourselves on this would be the word of God, which says “Continue ye in my love”. Let us continue to show demonstrated love through patience and kindness on all venues and not give in to being short-fused!
God Is Love, And Love Will Make The Difference If You Let It
If I told you today that when you began to share your feelings with me that I would turn a deaf ear, what would your reaction be? Likewise if you walked by me to say hello and we were as close as family and I looked away or pretended you were not there…what would be your thoughts or feelings? What if I told you that this lack of compassion has began to lay dormant in the hearts of people everywhere (even in church!) ? I know at first you would want to say no but consider within yourself the amount of love you have for not just people that are close to you but people in general.
When you consider the amount of time that is being spent towards God versus what we spend for ourselves, the love to which we have for what we spend time for is truly reflected. It cannot lie and will tell on us every time. Let’s examine both contrasts of this. If I seek God and am before Him with it as my first priority, then the love in my heart is towards God, which in turn creates a love and compassion for others that is not naturally there. Now if I seek for myself all the time, then the things that I lust for and seek after are what I love, right? This could mean that you could have someone broke down on the side of the road and yet you speed on by to make sure you catch your tv show. This could also mean you do not participate in church actively because you love the social aspect of church more than the spiritual. Some often discuss this topic as selfish love for carnality or as a love for one’s self. Let me just make note here that just because the love of many will wax cold does not mean you lose the capacity to love, it is simply love redirected for the love of things greater than God (which makes us spiritually dead or cold).
In looking at both of these, it is reminding me to seek God not only in a church or group setting but on a very personal level. For when you do, the love of what you cherish will flow out and your natural desire and likemindedness will be to help others and lead them to Christ! Help us at this ministry continue to never pass anyone by and love everyone as they should be! People need a loving generation of the body of Christ!
A Special Thank You On This Special Day
I write this today with a very humble heart, because I am so grateful for what God has done for me. There are many trials that I have faced in my life to which I would have counted myself out or defeated or even done with life, yet God had another plan. Through the love of my wife Angela, God has shown me how magnificent that He is. Through the way that she has stood throughout all of time no matter if I was on the mountain or in the valley, God has shown me what patience means. Through the way she looks over my irrational behavior and times when I was weak and discouraged, God has shown me what forgiveness and mercy means. It is one thing to hear people say your whole life to wait one day until you just “know” what these sorts of principles are, but I feel like that God has given me the most wonderful person in the world to show me each and every quality that I would have never seen otherwise. God gave me someone to be able to make it through life instead of giving up a long time ago. Today I thank my wife for sticking with me throughout all of the changes in life. I celebrate this day with her and I pray that each and every one of us examine and magnify the great things about one another! I thank God for His love and the love that He has given me through letting me meet such a wonderful person!
Helping To Heal And Healing To Help
I come in a very open point of view with the word I share today. I have been in prayer as of late and my heart has come to a word of encouragement for each one who is so wonderful to read this. When it comes to the discussion of healing for your life it can oftentimes be confusing as to how we should begin to allow God to let change come into motion. For example, I know when I have a head-cold and could probably see a quicker move if I changed my behavior to reduce my chances of it coming around again. Yet without any reaction or change to know is better direction for healing in my life, I prolong a sickness that could otherwise be moved quicker.
God is looking for us to be more proactive to react and change when we hear the word of the Lord to help heal each and every one of our troubles and trials. If I learned to not just be a hearer but a diligent doer of it then I am reducing the likelihood of the same thing occurring again of the same magnitude. This could be a test of patience, anger, moving you from depression, helping you through finances, etc. that list could go on forever. My point to you is that the healing of the Lord is for way more than just our bodies! It is for our minds as well!
So remember this: using the healing that God performs in you to allow you to be changed once and forever. After your wonderful change, use that experience as part of your witness to draw others! That is how others can begin to be drawn for their own change and the beginnings of that brand new life in Christ!
New Beginnings and Old Endings
Welcome to another year in your life! If you are reading this today, than God has a spectacular plan in store for you in the upcoming future. One would ask, “how do you know this about me when you do not know me?”, and my response is simply this: it is God’s pleasure to do great things and to be glorified through your life!
As you embark upon this next few months, do not make resolutions that will fall through just as they always do. Make some fresh commitments to Christ and get out there and start beginning to make a difference in your life and the lives of others!
Do not let another year go by with doubt and regret. Step out and do the things you were afraid to do before. Be more obedient and faithful to believe in what God is trusting you to do. There are lives hanging in the balance all around you, whether you may realize it or not.
Most importantly, remember your self worth and the worth of your walk with God. Never forget its value in the good or bad times and always remember to utilize every part that God has placed in you to give you strength for the trials ahead.
May God bless you abundantly this year, and I pray that everyone’s churches and ministries go further than they ever imagined!
Remember, It’s Not Just You Out There
I am so thankful to be serving a God whose presence wants to dwell within us. Words sometimes cannot begin to find what I need to say to express how grateful that I am that I have the comfort of the spirit to continue to lead me on.
One of the most important functions of the Holy Ghost (spirit) is that it is a teacher for you. The presence of God will not only teach you to stray from the things that would lead you out into sin in a greater way but also help you other aspects of your life as well!
I remember being in college and how I had such a hard time with a couple of particular classes that year. As I began to seek the Lord more for understanding, God provided in the simplest of ways and far beyond what I expected. You see, I didn’t have the patience or drive to try and learn anything so I would give up too quick. God gave me peace and patience to help me endure, and “D’s'” became “B’s”!
Remember: when you are in the middle of life, you are not alone! The spirit of God is there to help you and remind you that it’s not just you out there!