Culled from faith in the news
How can a Christ-follower fall even more deeply in love
with God? Here are four ways I suggest that we can, and
maybe you can add another.
Pouring Out Thanksgiving
Did you know that the only freewill offering in the Old
Testament that was voluntary was that of thanksgiving to
God (Lev. 22:29)? It makes sense. Why would God
command an offering of thanksgiving? Would we feel the
same if we were commanded to give thanks to God and
not doing so voluntarily, out of a thankful heart? Surely,
we have so much to be thankful for–our daily bread; His
Word, the Bible; His daily provisions; our family; and,
most of all, our salvation–because the Father placed His
wrath on His sinless Son, which was what we deserved.
He gave us the free gift of eternal life (Rom. 6:23) that we
could have never earned in a billion lifetimes (Eph. 2:8-9).
The thanksgiving offering was also called the “Fellowship
Offering” (Lev. 7:12), which is interesting since after
we’ve repented and trusted in Christ, we can have
fellowship with Him (1 John 1:6-7).
Dwell on the Cross
If we had all been eyewitnesses to that day when Jesus
died on the cross, I think our love for the Savior would be
so much greater. We can still be there in our minds’ eyes.
To hear Jesus say “ Father, forgiven them for they know
not what they do ” (Luke 23:34) must have astounded
those who heard Him. It is still incredible to me. Imagine
Jesus asking God to forgive them for something as
utterly terrible as what they did to Him. I can’t wrap my
finite mind around such an amazing act of love. Jesus
had earlier said, “ Greater love has no one than this, that
someone lay down his life for his friends ” (John 15:13),
and that’s just what He did. “For while we were still
weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom.
5:6), of whom I am chief among.
Abide in His Word
Jesus said in John 15:5, “ Whoever abides in me and I in
him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you
can do nothing, ” and “nothing” is not a little something
since we can’t even do anything apart from abiding in
Christ. Jesus stated as fact, “ If you abide in me, and my
words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be
done for you ” (John 15:7). His Word is the Bible, and He
is the Word (John 1:1, 14), so we should seek to abide in
it. We know that the Gospel has the very power of God for
salvation (Rom. 1:16), and He promises, “My word be
that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me
empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and
shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah
55:11). So you can fall deeper in love with God by falling
deeper into His Word. It is a cause and effect principle.
Obey His Word
Jesus tied love in with obedience, as He said, “ If you love
me, you will keep my commandments ” (John 14:15), for
“ whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one
who loves me” (John 14:21). The truth is, “anyone who
loves me will obey my teaching ” (John 14:23). You
cannot say you love God and not obey Him, and He does
not live in those who don’t obey Him, as the Apostle John
wrote, “The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him,
and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in
us.” (1 John 3:24).
Conclusion
It’s really very simple to fall into a deeper love for God.
All we must do is pour forth praise and thanksgiving to
Him. We must contemplate the cross and what love this
displayed for us. We must abide in Him, and that means
abiding in His Word, the Bible. Finally, we must obey
what we know Christ commands, for the love of God is
displayed in doing what He commands.
May God richly bless you,
Pastor Jack Wellman
How can a Christ-follower fall even more deeply in love
with God? Here are four ways I suggest that we can, and
maybe you can add another.
Pouring Out Thanksgiving
Did you know that the only freewill offering in the Old
Testament that was voluntary was that of thanksgiving to
God (Lev. 22:29)? It makes sense. Why would God
command an offering of thanksgiving? Would we feel the
same if we were commanded to give thanks to God and
not doing so voluntarily, out of a thankful heart? Surely,
we have so much to be thankful for–our daily bread; His
Word, the Bible; His daily provisions; our family; and,
most of all, our salvation–because the Father placed His
wrath on His sinless Son, which was what we deserved.
He gave us the free gift of eternal life (Rom. 6:23) that we
could have never earned in a billion lifetimes (Eph. 2:8-9).
The thanksgiving offering was also called the “Fellowship
Offering” (Lev. 7:12), which is interesting since after
we’ve repented and trusted in Christ, we can have
fellowship with Him (1 John 1:6-7).
Dwell on the Cross
If we had all been eyewitnesses to that day when Jesus
died on the cross, I think our love for the Savior would be
so much greater. We can still be there in our minds’ eyes.
To hear Jesus say “ Father, forgiven them for they know
not what they do ” (Luke 23:34) must have astounded
those who heard Him. It is still incredible to me. Imagine
Jesus asking God to forgive them for something as
utterly terrible as what they did to Him. I can’t wrap my
finite mind around such an amazing act of love. Jesus
had earlier said, “ Greater love has no one than this, that
someone lay down his life for his friends ” (John 15:13),
and that’s just what He did. “For while we were still
weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom.
5:6), of whom I am chief among.
Abide in His Word
Jesus said in John 15:5, “ Whoever abides in me and I in
him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you
can do nothing, ” and “nothing” is not a little something
since we can’t even do anything apart from abiding in
Christ. Jesus stated as fact, “ If you abide in me, and my
words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be
done for you ” (John 15:7). His Word is the Bible, and He
is the Word (John 1:1, 14), so we should seek to abide in
it. We know that the Gospel has the very power of God for
salvation (Rom. 1:16), and He promises, “My word be
that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me
empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and
shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah
55:11). So you can fall deeper in love with God by falling
deeper into His Word. It is a cause and effect principle.
Obey His Word
Jesus tied love in with obedience, as He said, “ If you love
me, you will keep my commandments ” (John 14:15), for
“ whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one
who loves me” (John 14:21). The truth is, “anyone who
loves me will obey my teaching ” (John 14:23). You
cannot say you love God and not obey Him, and He does
not live in those who don’t obey Him, as the Apostle John
wrote, “The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him,
and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in
us.” (1 John 3:24).
Conclusion
It’s really very simple to fall into a deeper love for God.
All we must do is pour forth praise and thanksgiving to
Him. We must contemplate the cross and what love this
displayed for us. We must abide in Him, and that means
abiding in His Word, the Bible. Finally, we must obey
what we know Christ commands, for the love of God is
displayed in doing what He commands.
May God richly bless you,
Pastor Jack Wellman
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