Praise God for the Gift of His Truth and Love
I’ll admit, it’s easier to simply focus on Jesus love and acceptance . . . to repeat His Gospel promises and ignore His the truth of His life-changing commands.
It’s more comfortable to say there is no sin, no devil, no hell, and no need for repentance but that wouldn’t be the truth.
Jesus challenged the hypocrites of His day with the following words of Isaiah and through them He challenges you and me as well:
‘These people honor me with their lips,
Matthew 15:8–9
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as
commands from God.’
Trusting Jesus’ promises of love and forgiveness elicits our response to obey and follow His commands with sincere attitudes and actions. And once again, that makes me squirm. You too?
You and I need wisdom and discernment to KNOW, TRUST, and OBEY God’s Word in an age when the passages that make us squirm are being ignored and denied.
I don’t like talking about the Law of God’s Word . . . pointing out sin and evil and our need to repent and change. But it’s the Law that makes us aware that we need the Gospel’s message of God’s forgiveness and love.
We’re blessed to have God’s Word readily available to us and to have the promises of His healing touch on our lives because even as Jesus called out hypocrisy and the need for obedience in Matthew 15, we also learn the following essential truth about His compassion and love…
Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. A vast crowd brought to Him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and He healed them all.
Matthew 15:29–30
You and I can have Jesus’ healing . . . a healing that makes it possible for us to follow Him on a path of righteousness even though we are crippled by sin. And the healing touch that opens our blind eyes to His truth and gives us the message of grace, mercy, and love to proclaim to others.
Healing that gives us a future filled with hope and promise.
I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
Pray with me as I thank God for the Law that shows us our need for Jesus’ healing grace and the Gospel that gives us the hope of His loving promises.
Praise God for the Gift of His Truth and Love
Lord, it’s hard to admit that I can be hypocritical picking and choosing the parts of Your Word I want to follow and those I don’t. How I can point out the flaws in others while denying that I am blind and lame. And the way I can believe the voices around me rather than dig into Your Word and fully trust Your TRUTH. Please forgive me. I am so sorry and I repent of my failures and come to You asking for forgiveness. By Your grace and with Your help, I surrender myself to You. Please give me all I need today to live Your plans for me as I share the hope of Your truth and love. Amen.
Friend, I know it’s easier to ignore God’s Laws and simply focus on the grace of His Gospel. But we need both . . . for without the realization that we have sinned and failed to obey His laws, we won’t recognize our need for His mercy and grace.
So, on today’s sticky note write:
Thank God for His TRUTH and LOVE!
God bless you as you live His plans for you with hope!
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Thanking God with all my heart for His truth and love.
Blessings, Deb!
Thank you, Martha! Have a beautiful day!
Oh Deb,. this is so much more than I could have asked to read today. I am focusing on the word for 2021 “decrease” and writing about wisdom. I am seeing that if I want to decrease and allow Christ to increase, I must acknowledge and live in His Truth. You wrote: “I don’t like talking about the Law of God’s Word . . . pointing out sin and evil and our need to repent and change. But it’s the Law that makes us aware that we need the Gospel’s message of God’s forgiveness and love.” I know. It is hard for me yet it is the relevancy of His Truth that allows us to grow to be more and more Christlike, to decrease in ways of this world, increasing in the ways of Christ. Thank you for writing this and I am grateful to God that you are a neighbor at a linkup today. Praising Him with you, Deb.
Thank you so much, Linda! Your kind encouragement is truly a blessing. I am glad this touched your heart. I write what God is working on in me and I’m always thankful to know that someone else finds themselves in a similar place. Thanks for visiting and for adding this lovely comment to the conversation.
So true! We tend to ignore God’s laws and foccus only on the grace. But without the law, we will never know the true extend of grace!
When we admit our sin we have a greater appreciation for His grace and love. It reminds me of Charles Spurgeon’s quote – “I have a great need for Christ: I have a great Christ for my need.” Thanks so much for visiting and God bless you!
Hi Deb,
I love reading your articles. The are filled with insight, guidance and wisdom. So many important messages from our LORD. Thank you for sharing. Marilyn
Thank you so much for your kindness, Marilyn. Your encouragement is truly a blessing. I am so thankful that God allows me to do something I love! He is so good!! May He be with you and bless you!