Author: Folajumokeadekunle

Loving God is a biblical principle and is best expressed as obeying God’s commandments.

1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Before we go into todays piece let’s quickly review what it means when the scriptures says God’s commandments are not grievous or in other terms “Burdensome”.

When we understand this our journey in Christ becomes a delight and not a drag.

They are not burdensome because we are empowered to obey them .

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

We encounter true love in the Father’s willingness to give his son and also in Jesus giving his life for us.

Additionally God’s spirit dwells with us reminding us of God’s love and giving us the power to overcome sin.

Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,through the knowledge of him who called us to glory

And to accept God’s commandment as not BURDENSOME, we must realize how dangerous and poisonous sin is.

SIN destroys us and destroys our relationship and also turns us away from God .

SIN ENSLAVES US !!!!!!!

John 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

SIN is the BURDEN and God’s COMMANDMENTS offers freedom from the BURDEN!!!!!.

When we submit to God’s command, we find restrictions being released and the freedom to move about burden free .Do not forget that sin is the burden !!!!.

God’s commandments are not burdensome because God wants what is good for us and his spirit empowers us and God’s love motivates us.

So now WHAT IS GOD’s

LOVE ?!

Let’s go back to our bible text : 1John5 vs 3, and it simply breaks down what it means to love God and that is obeying Gods commandments.

BUT WHY IS OBEYING HIS COMMANDMENTS HIS LOVE TOWARDS US?!

Obeying God’s commandments means living in righteousness and this is because the word of God is against sin. when you obey God’s commandments you live a life of righteousness. And this can also mean respect towards God, ourselves and others.

SIN is not love ,It separates us from God and relationships we have with people as Sin will always hurt someone (Romans 13vs 8-10).

HOW CAN WE SEE GOD’s LOVE?!

God’s love is made visible when God the father sent his son Jesus (1 John 4 vs 8-12)

It can’t be that hard. He says he loves us,We know it,We believe it. I know God loves me and Jesus died for my sins and I know the Spirit lives within me.

But there’s something odd about the apostle’s prayer. He asks that Christ would dwell in our hearts, that we would know Christ’s love, and that we would be filled with all God’s fullness. Why would he pray so intently for what we already have in Christ? 

The Ephesians know these things but their knowledge isn’t sufficient. There’s another level of knowledge and experience they lack.  

When Paul prays that we would “grasp” all God has for us, this word can mean to wrestle with or overpower someone.

What’s Paul wanting us to wrestle with? With ourselves, with our souls, with our flesh and our inner being?

No, he prays that we may grasp Christ’s love, wrestling it into our hearts.  

We can know Christ love through the spirit

Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

The source of our experience of God’s love is the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit reveals God and his Word to us ,empowers us to live like Christ,and transforms us into Christ’s image . It’s the Holy Spirit who enables us to taste and see that the Lord is good .

HOW DO WE GET GOD’s LOVE IN OUR HEARTS??!

There are few way to make this happen;

1-) Slow down and make time: Hurry quenches the Holy Spirit, so we must cut it out and make time for sustained seeking-and-listening prayer to experience God’s love.

2-) Meditate on God’s word: let’s learn to study the Bible ,pray and wrestle this truths into our hearts.

There is this phrase :

“Hurry quenches the Holy Spirit, so we must cut it out and make time for sustained seeking-and-listening prayer”

I pray that we might have the power of the Holy Spirit for experiencing God so that we would grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

Amen

Hello Reader !👋.

As you head into the new year ,you may be ready to let go of a dream or vision that God has given you

Don’t give up because the year ahead is another opportunity to start with Christ and pursue the dreams God has given you .

In the NewTestament,New beginnings are realized through life ,death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Apostle Paul writes in :

2 Corinthians 5 vs 17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

This verse encapsulates the essence of new beginnings in Christ , where believers are transformed into new creations ,leaving their old selves behind

Our God is a God of second chances more of like “do overs” ,fresh starts and New beginnings.

He doesn’t have a limit to how many chances you can have

We often lose sight of what God can do because of something in the past and this makes us stuck and unable to move forward alongside with the wonderful plans God has for us and the ones he wants to reveal to us

Maybe you’re still stuck on a memory of yourself frozen in a moment from the past , or you have experienced disappointments in the past .

You think to yourself it’s over ,or God doesn’t see you anymore or it’s just too late

Well !, it’s never to late to have a fresh start when you have a life in Christ.

Allow the Holy Spirit lead you out of that situation of the past ,God will restore what you lost and make life more better that it was before

Joel chapter 2 vs 25-26:

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
:,And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.

Here are some steps to a fresh start ;

1-) Act in Faith : God isn’t moved by our complaints. He is moved by our faith. Jesus said in

Matthew 9:29: Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

You know you’re acting in faith when you’re attempting to do something that can’t be done in your own power.

Goal-setting is a step of faith because you’re saying, “God, with your help, I’m expecting to accomplish this.” God honors faith like that. Most people never set goals particularly big ones because they fear failure. 

So, ask yourself, “What goals will I set for myself in faith this year?”

2-) Refocus your mind : For a fresh start in fulfilling God’s dream in your life ,you need to change how you think.

Ephesians 4:23: Ephesians 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

A renewed mind means you have fresh thoughts and a fresh attitude. The only way you get that refreshment is through listening to and reading God’s Word. 

You don’t have to believe everything you think. You can actually decide what you choose to believe. The Bible says in :

Proverbs 4 vs 23: Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Replace any thought that doesn’t agree with the Bible with God’s truth.

3-) Trust that God knows what he is doing :

Psalm 51 vs 10: Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

You often can’t see what God is doing in your life when he’s at work behind the scenes. Even if you could see God at work, you likely wouldn’t understand everything he’s doing. But you can know that God has your best interests in mind. He is always doing good. You can trust God.

This is a prayer God loves to answer

Start with Christ,start today .He will renew you in strength and he will restore what has been lost ……