Know God: God is Love

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (I John 4:14-16)

God is Love. It is the very nature of who He is. Even if he punishes, corrects, or carries out justice – It is done in Love, because that is His very nature. He is like a loving father who corrects his children so that they become good adults (Hebrews 12).

Romans 5:8 says that “God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.” It means that love is not based on a feeling. It is not based on a circumstance or what is happening around us. It is not based on whether we have money this month or we lost it. It is not based on whether the healing came or did not come. The Love of God is based on this: That Jesus Christ came into the world to die for us while we were yet sinners, and He gave His own life for us.

“Greater Love has no man than this, that a man would lay down His life for His friends.” (John 15:13).

God already showed His love to us by His completed work on the Cross and that should be our anchor in the midst of chaos when we feel that God does not love us. It is at exactly that time when we need to believe.

Here are some prayer points to pray this Scripture into you, so that it becomes not just head knowledge, but heart knowledge. Pray these out loud to yourself, adding things as you feel in your heart.

Scripture: “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (I John 4:14-16)

Prayer Points:

• Jesus, help Your Word come alive in my thoughts and in my heart.

• Jesus, I testify and believe that You are the Savior of the world.

• I confess that You are the Son of God.

• Help me to abide (live, dwell) in You, and in Your Presence. Help me to live in Your Love. Help me to receive Your Love.

• I know Your Love, and I believe in Your Love, but help me know Your Love more and believe Your Love more. Help me to feel it and experience it, even when outside circumstances are telling me differently.

• God, You are Love. Jesus, You are Love. Help me to know you more as Love. Unconditional. Pure. Help me know True Love that has no end. Help me to know You and experience You as Love in Person.

• I love you, Jesus. Help me to love You more. Help me to live in Your love today and show Your love to others.

Sing: Also, feel free to turn on a little instrumental music or grab your instrument, and sing these phrases and prayers, and allow them to go even deeper into your heart. Allow your own words and thoughts to come out of your spirit.

Listen: Ask Jesus to talk to You about His love for you, and just take a few minutes to pause and see if He shows You anything. Ask Him to talk to you about His love for others. And pause to see if you feel or sense anything.

Write: Write down your thoughts, or impressions in a journal, and write different Scriptures that touch you. In times when you need encouragement, go back and read them.

The Risk of Love

Some things in life are worth taking a risk. Some things we just cannot pass up. So, we take a deep breath and jump. Those times when we jump out can either be the most beautiful or the most heart-wrenching—and we never know which one it is until the end.

Jesus took a risk for us, a self-less, heart-wrenching risk. And it seemed as though His risk failed. To the world, it did. But in truth, Jesus’ risk was no failure. Actually, it was the greatest accomplishment the world has ever seen.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Jesus laid down His life for the world. To men, it may have seemed like the most foolish risk; yet, it was the greatest love.

Jesus gave absolutely everything; and yet, He still gave man the ability to choose or reject His love.

There is no greater pain in the world than the rejection of wholehearted love. That’s the way Jesus feels every time one of His children walks away from Him. But the good news is that Jesus promised He would never reject wholehearted love from us.

Love is the ultimate risk. It makes you do things that you never would do otherwise. There is no fear in love. There is no failure in love. Love never fails. Love also never seeks its own. It is never arrogant or selfish. Love hopes. Love believes. Love is patient. Love waits.

Love never imposes itself on the freewill of another. Love allows choice. Love allows time. Love allows distance, but always wants to be close.

We may take daring risks with things in the natural world without ever daring a risk of the heart. A risk of the heart is one of the most vulnerable risks possible. It is the risk of hope, risk of faith, and risk of love that matter the most. But the greatest of these is love. It’s worth the risk.

False Expectations and Communication

False expectations lead to false hope which leads to disappointment. What is the primary reason that false expectations occur? LACK OF COMMUNICATION is the answer.

Sometimes, it is not that the existing parties did not talk to each other, but the problem is that somehow each person’s expectations were not properly communicated, which resulted in unnecessary hurt and disappointment.

This process happens all the time, and unfortunately, it normally happens with the people you care the most about. The most hurt usually happens with the people we love the most, because we have taken a risk to open our hearts in a vulnerable way not knowing what the outcome will be.

We form expectations as a way to protect our hearts from the fear of the unknown. Completely free hearts are unhindered to love, laugh, give and serve without expecting anything in return.

Our goal is to be expectation-free and love without expecting reciprocation. However, although we can move in this direction, our hearts on this side of eternity will continue to be influenced by the bounds of fallen humanity until the Lord establishes the fullness of His pain-free, sin-free kingdom.

Disappointment and heartache are inevitable in this fallen world, but they can be minimized. The way to minimize it, however, is not to draw back from taking risks of love, but to use wisdom in risk-taking and to learn to identify and carefully communicate our expectations to those close to us.

The more communication we have in relationships, the less we hurt and disappoint one another. When we express an expectation, we must not then require the other person to meet that expectation, but we must realize it is a communication tool to express to the other person ways that we receive love.

Our desire to express love to one another and minimize disappointment will fuel our attempts to develop healthy and frequent communication with those we love. Learning to identify and express expectations will help us to eliminate false expectations and minimize disappointment and heartache.

Implementing the Five-Fold Ministry: Love & Service

As the Lord begins to stir a hunger in our hearts for the release of the five-fold ministry, we will begin asking the questions of how to practically apply this in our church and ministry contexts. As we learn to apply this practically, there are some foundational principles that are essential for this system to work.

The most essential element for the five-fold ministry to work is love. The second is the knowledge that the functional role is given for the sole purpose of serving the Bride.

There is a passage in Philippians that breaks my heart. Paul says in Philippians 2:19-22, “But I trust the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. Therefore, I hope to send him at once…”

It is remarkable to me that out of all the people serving with Paul, he had no one who was like-minded except Timothy. There was only one person he could send who cared more about the state of the church and the glory of Christ Jesus than his own success and well-being. This breaks my heart.

Even in the early church, there was so much disorder and confusion about the functioning of the body. Paul wrote numerous times to correct their conduct—and many times, the problem was the lack of mutual love and service (humility) toward each other.

In I Corinthians 12-15, Paul wrote the church and he spent a lot of time telling them how the gifts should function in the body and how one person should sit down and let the other speak. The list of the gifts of the Spirit and one of the five-fold ministry passages were actually given in the context of a rebuke to the church for not working together in love and preferring one another.

Right in the middle of this rebuke and instruction concerning the gifts, Paul places the famous chapter on love. He said even if you prophesied or gave all you had to the poor, if you were lacking in love, then you were nothing.

Even if we are all filling our positions and doing our jobs correctly, if we are lacking in love, then we are nothing. If we are following all the procedures and manuals to the utmost degree, but we are seeking our own, then we are nothing. Love does not seek its own.

God is looking for bondservants who will lay down their lives for His Bride. He is looking for team ministry in His body, where each person lays down their life to love and serve the other. Without this foundational principle, you could implement every system, program, and structure in the world, and it will not work.

So much of the damage done in the body of Christ by leadership structures has been because of the lack of humility, service, and love. This has caused the need for so much structure and systems being put in place, that may not have been necessary if people were actually caring for others more than themselves.

 

Even though we are working with real people in a real world, believers in the body of Christ no longer have to live according to the standards of the world. It is possible for us to do what Jesus told His disciples, “They will know you are my disciples because of your love for one another.” If each of us live as individuals who learn to love and obey God, then love and serve each other, we will become the growing body God desires for us to be.

 

Grace in Firey Trials...

As I write, my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for how wonderful He is. The past year was a difficult one for me, but I feel a maturing of love for Jesus in my heart. I feel closer to Him than I ever have in my life and I am so grateful for His leadership. He really knows what He is doing.

I am alive and absolutely on fire. God is wanting to take His bride from a place of trusting Him when circumstances are good to a place of absolute trust no matter the circumstances. Since the Onething conference in January, I have felt a shift in season in my personal life--even in circumstances, but also the level of the presence of the Lord resting on me is quite noticeable to me, and I think to other people as well. It is not because of any goodness on my own part, but because of a resolve that has settled in my spirit that I will not quit.

We all go through times in our lives when we are so tired of fighting. We feel like we cannot pick up the sword or swing it one more time. And yet, we do. God gives us grace. Grace is the God-given ability to do something that you do not have the strength to do on your own. Many times, we do not know how to lean on grace, because we are too busy leaning on our own strength. Yet, when our strength is taken from us, then we see the need for God's grace and learn how to walk in it. I am so thankful for the grace of God that empowers us to walk in righteousness, love, and holiness no matter the circumstances.

It is amazing that the teaching of abiding in the love of Christ was actually given the night before Jesus was crucified. It was given to the disciples the night before one of the greatest trials of their lives. It is the firey trials that push us deeper into His love if we respond with trust rather than with offense and bitterness.

I am so grateful for God's nearness no matter the circumstances. I am so grateful that He NEVER LEAVES. He is so faithful.

Devo 65: Consecrated

Devo 65: Consecrated June 8, 2010

“Jesus stepped in front of me and took His hands with the bloody nail scars and pressed them into my hands. His blood was left on my hands and I realized that even my sacrifice was His sacrifice…”

The Hebrew word “consecrated” literally means “hands full of blood,[1]” and was used to describe the priestly ministry because they had bloody hands after sacrificing animals at the temple altar. They were then stripped naked and bathed in front of the whole assembly of Israel, redressed by Moses and blood was put on their ear, thumb, and big toe. They then stood in the door of the tent of meeting for seven days—just waiting there.

It is amazing that when Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice, He was pierced through His hands. He literally had “hands full of blood.” It was the ultimate consecration as a priest. He was the priest and the sacrifice. His hands were full of His own blood rather than the blood of bulls and goats.

When Jesus asked us to take up our cross and follow Him, He was saying not only to take up a life of sacrifice, but take up a life of priestly ministry—of “consecration.”

However, the more I learn about it, the more I realize that even this sacrifice of ours is not really ours, but His. We can only do it through His Grace, which comes through the blood that He shed. No matter how zealous we are to fast, pray, give, and live lives of righteousness—we only accomplish it through His Grace. Works of our own are as filthy rags, but when we enter into His rest, it is His work of grace that works righteousness in us. It was by His obedience that we were made righteous (Rom. 5:19).

These nail scars of Jesus were more than just sacrifice and priestly ministry, they were also the fulfillment of a promise to Israel. In Isaiah 49:15, Jesus said, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget you, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands…your walls are continually before me.

Jesus inscribed Israel on the palms of His hands according to His promise. Those nail scars are a continuous reminder of the remnant He will never forget. He was pierced for their trangressions and wounded for their iniquities—and ours (Isaiah 52-53).

His very name in Hebrew “Yeshua” literally means “salvation.”[2] So, the places in the Hebrew Scriptures where the word salvation is used, it is the same word as the name Yeshua. So, Isaiah 49:6 says, “Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be my salvation (yeshua) to the ends of the earth.’”

I heard a teacher[3] say that even the Hebrew letters YHVH (the Name of God) basically translate as “The hands,” “Behold,” “The nail pegs,” “Behold.” I have to research that more in depth to make sure it is legitimate, but it is amazing to think about.

The Grace and Salvation of the Lord far exceeds what we can ask, think, or imagine. I used to think that salvation was the point where the blood of Jesus covered us, but after that we needed to live holy, obedient, and work as hard as we could to live a life of righteousness. Well, that is true to an extent, but actually it is His grace that helps us do that as well. It is only by His blood we are saved and by His grace we keep on the path of righteousness.

We have to realize the power of the blood of Jesus. He was only “salvation” when He did that one act on the cross, but He IS salvation. His name is still Yeshua. His name is Salvation. Every time we interact with Him, we are interacting with Salvation. In Him we exist, move, and have our being (Rev. 4:11). Every moment is because of His saving grace.

It was through His sacrifice and surrender to the will of God that He entered into the rest of God and also created the way for us to enter into His rest.

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His (on the Sabbath). Let us therefore enter into that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience…
Hebrews 4:9-11

How do we enter this rest? What does it mean to enter the rest of God? Verses 12-14 go on to speak of the word of the Lord that divides soul from spirit and determines the thoughts and intents of our hearts. We cannot hide anything from Him, but all things will be revealed. We will have to give an account. I believe this is speaking of the motives for why we are striving to do our own works and entering into everything but the rest of God. However, there is a High Priest who sympathizes with us…

Seeing then that we have such a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but on all points was tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16

We see our High Priest and we hold fast to our confession. What is that confession? It is the confession of His blood sacrifice that He gave, and therefore we can enter into the rest of the Father, by approaching His throne where we obtain mercy and find grace.
Mercy is something we obtain, but not through our own works, but by approaching His throne and holding fast to our confession that we have been bought with the blood sacrifice of Yeshua, our salvation. If we came to that throne claiming righteousness by any other work, we would not obtain mercy, but rather the wrath of God.

When we approach His throne, we find grace. It is almost as if unexpectedly, grace comes to us. It is as if we are there groveling, hoping that in the midst of His glory, fire, and the fear of the Lord we may obtain mercy, and we feel as though we will never amount to anything or do anything right. Yet, right in that place, we find grace. Grace is not merely forgiveness, but it is empowerment to become what God has designed you to be. It breaks off condemnation, shame, and sin that has already been bought. Grace is a wonderful gift that God gives us so that we can live a life of righteousness—a life of consecration.

It is as though the very blood from His hands covers our hands and gives us the strength to follow His example in living a life of being totally His. Not only were we bought out of sin into life, but we are given the grace to be transformed and to live a life of taking up our cross and following Him.

Ask God to give you that grace (strength) to remain in His righteousness. Ask Him for grace in time of need. Ask Him even before you feel you need it. Ask Him to strengthen you, and focus on the fact that everything—literally everything is about Him.

Bless you in the name of Jesus.
Amanda

[1] Apostolic Foundations. Art Katz
[2] Eitan Shishkoff. Israel Mandate Conference. 2010
[3] Dr. Terri Terry

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved