#God – Instructions To A Young Life

A Life with Lovingkindness

A life with lovingkindness is a sweet life indeed. How much better it is to have a heart filled with love rather than a heart filled with bitterness, hate, anger, rage and the many other emotions and passions that can destroy our lives. How do we have a life filled with lovingkindness?

Lamentations 3:22, 23 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

The word lovingkindness describes who the Lord is and what He does. His lovingkindnesses never cease and His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Did you have a bad day yesterday? Today does not have to be bad at all because it is filled with the lovingkindness of the Lord.

Joel 2:13 And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.

To know and experience the lovingkindness of the Lord then we must come to Him. He tells us to not worry about changing our clothes but that we need to change our hearts. We need to change the direction of our hearts and quit trying to live life out on our own and live according to His lovingkindness. He is gracious, that means that He is full of grace. He is compassionate, which means that His love and concern for you compels His to act. He is not passive in His love and concern. He is slow to anger and abounds in lovingkindness. He does not give us what we deserve but wants to bless us. He relents of the evil that we should experience because of our wanting to go our own way and in the direction we wanted to go rather than come to Him.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

You must come to God to experience His lovingkindness. Life becomes wearisome apart from Him and we become heavy laden. His lovingkindness gives us rest for our souls and refreshes our hearts.

Daniel 9:4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,

The experience His lovingkindness on a continual basis then you must keep His commandments. He loves you regardless but you will not feel or experience His love apart from keeping His commandments. If you do not obey His commandments then it won’t be long before you will feel that He is has left you and forsaken you. That is an awful feeling and can negatively affect your life and actions. Security comes from living in His love and His truth.

John 14:21 He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.

The more you experience His love then the more you want to love Him. The more you love Him then the more you will experience His love. It is a wonderful cycle to be in and is the way life was meant to be lived. If you have gotten off of this cycle or never been on it then come to Him today and ask Him to restore you to Himself.

I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Be honest with the Lord and tell Him where you are at the moment if you are struggling with wondering if He loves you or if you have not been experiencing His love recently. He forgives and cleanses and restores.

A Life with Truth

Truth is often what people do not want to hear but truth is often what people most need to hear. Sometimes we don’t want to face the truth or hear the truth but it is the truth that sets us free. Truth sets us free from fear, anxiety, hopelessness, depression, discouragement, loneliness, hate, panic, destruction and whatever else we struggle with in life. We do not need to be afraid of the truth but welcome truth as a gift from God.

John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

The truth never changes. Theories and speculations will change but the truth never changes. The more we understand the truth about life the more we will enjoy it. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed. Life is a gift from God.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

When you base your life on truth then you will have far fewer decisions to make and will not be overwhelmed with “should I do this or should I do that” or even worse, “if I do this will this happen or if I don’t do this will that happen”. What a horrible way to live. When we understand truth then we start to understand consequences and we will not do this or that because we will know the consequences of our decisions before they are made.

Colossians 3:25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

For example, the more you understand the truth of the law of gravity then the easier your life will be. You will not step out of a window but will rather go through a door. You will even want to carry things in a way that gravity will help you rather than hinder you. Since you understand the law of gravity you can get securely out of bed in the morning knowing that you will not bump your head against the ceiling by floating up there. The law of gravity never changes. It is not that one day it is not so and another day the law of gravity works, it is true every day of the year, and true year after year. Life is the same and there are truths about every area of life. Sometimes the consequence of a truth does not seem to be related until you understand the truth. The more you understand truth then the more you will understand the consequences of life. Life will not seem so random and your decisions will be based on truth.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Some people will sometimes hear some truth and will live their life accordingly and will be successful in that area of life and they do not have to be a Christian to experience this. However, unless they have the source of all truth, which is God Himself, then they will not have access to all truth and will fail in other areas of their lives where they lack the truth. They may even have a false confidence because of their success in one area and feel that they do not need the Lord. However, if you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then you will have the truth because He is the Truth. The truth will be in you.

John 16:13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

The Lord will also give you the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth. When you receive Him then He will guide you into the truth. God’s truth applies to everything in life. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord then you also receive the Holy Spirit.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

God’s Word is also truth. The more you know God’s Word then the more you will know the truth. God’s Word is what will set you apart from others, that is, when you live by His Word.

Luke 6:47-49 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.

When you hear God’s Word and act on it then your life will stand strong even during the storms of life. The storms will come and go but God’s truth never changes and your life will express God’s truth. Are you struggling in any area of your life? Then take God’s Word and study it and find out what it says about the area that you are struggling with and do what it says. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by searching it out.

Isaiah 64:5a You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.

The Lord will meet you where you are and will help you. He is good and He loves you.

A Married Life Filled with Love

There are things that destroy love and there are requirements of love that are essential to lasting love. One of the roots of true love is moral excellence. There must be trust and respect to have true love in a marriage and the prerequisite to love, trust and respect is moral excellence. If you want true love within the marriage then you need to have moral excellence before marriage. Moral excellence is not compromising morally. If someone has moral excellence before marriage then they will almost always have moral excellence after marriage. Immorality is taking something that is not yours to take. A man has no right to any physical affection that he would not have with his sister. Any kind of physical affection has meaning to a female. Until a man takes a woman to be his wife he is to treat her with the same respect that he would treat his sister or mother.

II Peter 1:5-7 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

A good measure of how to treat another one of the opposite sex is if this person married your best friend would there be any awkwardness. You do not know who you will marry so do not speculate or presume. Through presumption comes strife.

Proverbs 13:10a Through pride and presumption come nothing but strife,

A great marriage is when two people become one in every way. Marriage is the only way it is possible for two people to become one spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. When there is a violation of God’s ways then it prevents the oneness from happening and that leads to emptiness and frustration. Moral excellence is the requirement for oneness and love, trust and respect is what allows oneness to happen. Oneness spiritually can happen with anyone who is a Christian and so for there to be spiritual oneness in marriage both spouses must be Christians.

II Corinthians 6:14,15 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

Once there is the common faith in Christ then it is good for there to be attraction of a friendship. This is the oneness of soul. Again, no physical because that is a lack of moral excellence and once there is the physical then the soul aspect becomes secondary. The Lord chose Eve to first be a companion to Adam and a great marriage is great companionship and friendship. In a great marriage there is a great need for clear communication and this is developed through friendship. One of the best ways to see what a person is like is to see how they interact in a group of friends. When a man and a woman spend much time alone together, even on the friendship level, then at least one of them will become emotionally attached and the breaking of the friendship will be painful and especially if there has been any defrauding. Defrauding is communicating that there is more to the relationship than there really is. Defrauding is a lack of moral excellence.

I Thessalonians 4:3-8 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

The third aspect of oneness in a great marriage is the oneness physically. You will be very glad if you wait. There is a peace, comfort, joy, security and great love for the couples who wait until marriage for the physical. It is so great that the Lord says that the man will outshine the sun when he comes out of his bedroom on his wedding night.

Psalm 19:1-5 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;

A man loses as much as a woman if he compromises before his wedding night. He has made his wife feel guilty and when they are intimate after marriage it will be a reminder to her of her guilt. She will not trust him like she would if he had exercised self control before marriage. Before marriage she may have thought it was love but after marriage she will realize that it was lust. They both lose and will struggle for the oneness that God designed.

A Life that Begins Marriage Right

The beginning of marriage starts before you even meet the person that you are to marry. This may sound a little strange but most, if not all, of the problems in marriage are the weeds of the seeds that were planted before marriage. How much easier it is to only plant good plants with good fruit in our marriage rather than to allow the seeds of weeds or plants with bad fruit to be sown. We all reap what we sow.

Galatians 6:7-9 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

There are three enemies of a great marriage. These three enemies will destroy the love that God designed. A great marriage can be the closest experience to heaven if done God’s way. The Lord designed for marriage to be the closest picture of God’s love.

I John 2:15,16 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

The word “lust” literally means desire. When we lust for something then we are simply desiring something that is outside of God’s will. God’s will is perfect and His love is perfect. When we succumb to a lust then we have given in to a desire that is not a part of His will and it will bring destruction to our lives and the lives of those around us. A great marriage is made of two people who have learned to not give in to the lust of the flesh or the lust of the eyes. They also have recognized the deceitfulness and emptiness of the boastful pride of life. These three things will destroy love in a marriage but they must be dealt with in a person’s life before they are married. We take into a marriage who we are. If we have failed in these areas then we are taking into our marriage the seeds of failure that will reap a marriage without true love or respect. You can not keep covered up who you are in your heart.

James 1:12-17 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

It is through learning to persevere under the trials of life that our character is formed. Blessed in the man or woman and blessed will be their marriage if they have learned before marriage to flee from temptation and to turn to the Lord with all of their heart to receive His grace to do life right. If you can seek Jesus Christ and learn to walk in His ways before marriage then your marriage will be a picture of life rather than death. If you give into your lusts before marriage then you will be greatly tempted after marriage and it is you, yourself who will bring about the death of your marriage. Marriage is a gift from the Lord that He wants to give to His children but it must be done God’s way.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.

The Lord is perfect in all His ways and there is nothing to add to it and nothing to take from it. God has so worked that we should fear and honor Him. He is good and His love is perfect. When you do marriage God’s way then you will praise Him for His good and perfect gift.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

It is most important to remember than you can only have a great marriage through Jesus Christ alone. He is the One who designed marriage and He is the One who will give you the strength and wisdom in how to do marriage right. If you did not start marriage right then He will help you if you turn to Him with all of your heart. Where sin, which is giving into lust, abounds His grace and love abounds all the more. There is no life and no marriage that is beyond His grace and mercy.

Romans 5:20b,21 but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Just as when sin reigns in a person’s life there will be death when grace reigns in a person’s life then there will be righteousness, or in other words, the life and marriage will be done right with the outcome of life. However, the grace, righteousness and life is only through Jesus Christ.

A Life of A Great Marriage

A great marriage is God’s design for His children if it is His will for them to be married. He came that we might have an abundant life and part of that abundant life is an abundant marriage if marriage is a part of that life.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

It is the devil who comes only to steal, kill and destroy and he will do that not only in your life but in your marriage if you let him. The Bible says to resist the devil and he will flee from you.

James 4:6-8 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The first step to having a great marriage is to realize and acknowledge that you can not do it on your own. We all need God’s grace and the way to get God’s grace and help is to humble yourself before the Lord. He gives grace to the humble. He opposes the proud. Pride says that “I can do it on my own and I can do it my way.” When you humble yourself before the Lord then you are resisting the devil who whispers in your ear that “you have got this and don’t need the Lord”. Cleanse your hands means that you need to take it out of your hands and put it in the hands of the Lord by giving it to Him. Purify your hearts means that you can not be double minded, but single minded by being fully surrendered to the Lord. A double minded person is one who can not decide how to do something. Should they do it “this way or that way”. A pure heart says that you want only to do it God’s way. When we are fully surrendered to the Lord and put our marriage or future marriage in God’s hands then He will show us His ways and give us His grace. God’s ways are God’s wisdom and He will give to all who ask Him if they are not double minded.

James 1:5-8 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

So, the beginning of a great marriage is to ask God for wisdom. Don’t lean on your own understanding but trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Faith is trusting in the Lord and asking Him for wisdom is an expression of that faith. He wants to help you and direct you. His ways are perfect and He is good.

Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

If you will build your marriage on God’s wisdom then it will be firmly established and will be able to endure the storms of life. The days will be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Your marriage and home will be a refuge to you and all who enter.

Proverbs 24:3,4 By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
And by knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.

A Life that Becomes Great

You must be taught by One who is great if you want to become truly great. Since there is only One who is truly great when we are taught by Him then He will lead us into greatness.

Luke 6:40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

You must learn to sit at the feet of Jesus everyday and allow Him to teach you His ways. When He speaks to you do what He says. He will speak to you through His Word and you will find that as you obey His teaching that He will teach you more.

Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

Faithfulness is what is necessary to become great. Faithfulness in the little things will bring more truth so that you can learn faithfulness in the bigger things. Righteousness is doing what is right. We learn to do what is right by doing what Jesus teaches us. Yes, when we become a Christian we receive the righteousness of Christ, since He always did what was pleasing to God, but He also tell us to do righteousness that we might represent Him to the world.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

As you allow yourself to be taught by Him then you will learn to practice righteousness and will become more like Him. As you learn from Him then He will also lead you. You will see that as you follow Him that He will also teach you to be a servant, for Jesus came not to be served but to serve.

Matthew 20:26-28 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

As you learn to follow Him and be led by Him then He will lead you into the good works that He prepared beforehand for you. He has made you unique and no one else can do what He has called you to do. He wants you to follow Him.

Matthew 4:19 And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Follow Him and you will be His servant and you will see His kingdom built. Your cup of joy will overflow as you learn to walk in His ways, do righteousness, love kindness, do good to others and see Jesus and His glory.

John 12:26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Do you want to become great? Then you must learn to become like the One who is truly great. Jesus came to serve and those who follow Him, He will lead and will teach them to serve. All of our service to others is an expression of our service to Jesus Christ. Whoever serves Jesus, the Father will honor him and he will become great like his Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ.

A Life with Forgiveness and Freedom

It is easy to misunderstand what is in God’s Word until one comes to know the Lord Jesus Christ in a personal relationship. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the truth. He is the source of all truth. There is no truth apart from Him.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

There is peace in knowing and understanding the truth. The truths in the Bible are like diamonds with many facets. The more we know then the more we understand and the more we understand then the more we are set free.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32

To know the truth of what God says then we must first become a disciple of Jesus Christ. A disciple is one who believes in Jesus Christ and holds to His teaching. When we hold to His teaching then we seek to do what He says. Obedience to His teaching comes first and then understanding and knowledge. Many people want to understand first and then obey but the knowledge of truth comes after we hold to His teaching and do it. When we know the truth then the truth sets us free. When a person becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ then they receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and the Holy Spirit leads a disciple of Jesus into the truth. The Holy Spirit sheds light on God’s Word and gives understanding.

When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. John 15:26

A disciple of Jesus Christ receives the Holy Spirit when he becomes a child of God. He is born again through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes and lives within him. He becomes spiritually alive and this is when he becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ. A true disciple will want to live according to God’s Word. He will want to be faithful to do His commandments. He will begin to understand the truths in God’s Word through learning and keeping His commandments. He will see that God’s commandments are not burdensome, but when obeyed, they bring freedom and joy. He will want to love God.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. I John 5:3

Apart from God we can not understand the way to true freedom. It is God’s Word through our conscience that keeps us. When we choose to live the way we want to and not according to God’s Word then it is called sin and lawlessness.

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. I John 3:4

The world feels that they are free from God’s Laws. However, when they break free from God’s Word then they are in what is called “free fall”. It is a state of feeling free because they have not experienced the consequences of when they “hit bottom” which will come either sooner or later. Either way, it will come and it will be painful. Lawlessness is sin and sin brings death.

For the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23a

The death for the one who chooses not to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is an eternal death, which is an eternal separation from God. It is being in a state of torment for eternity.

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:10

For the Christian who sins, this person will experience death to his soul and his fellowship with God will be broken.

you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? Romans 6:16b

When the Christian sins, the death that he experiences in his soul is the regret and shame that he feels. He has grieved the Spirit of God within him. However, he can repent, that is, turn away from his sin, and confess his sin to the Lord. He can then experience God’s forgiveness once again and come back into fellowship with the Lord.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I john 1:9

When an unsaved person, that is, one who has not yet given his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ to be His disciple, sins then he too can experience God’s forgiveness and cleansing from his sin if he will come to Jesus Christ also. If he repents, that is, turns from his sin and confesses his need for a Lord and Savior then he will be forgiven, saved and set free from his sin.

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

For Jesus Christ came for this purpose to set all men free from death and He came to give all men life. He came that He might bring us to God.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; I Peter 3:18

This gift of life is for all. However, only those who receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will experience this great gift of God’s love and forgiveness and become His child and His disciple.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, John 1:12

Have you experienced the love of God in your life? Have you known the cleansing of your heart and conscience? Have you experienced the forgiveness of all of your sins? The Bible says that “today” is the day of salvation. Come to Jesus Christ. There is no one who has sinned too much and there is no one whom the Lord does not love and want as His child. Come to Jesus Christ. He loved you so much that He died for you.

Coming to Jesus Christ is acknowledging your need for Him and surrendering your heart and life to Jesus Christ. Believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you, was buried and rose again. He lives today. Receiving Him as your Lord and Savior. If you have never prayed and asked Jesus Christ to come into your life then you can today. Pray to Him. Prayer is expressing your heart to the Lord. Tell Him that you are coming to Him and you want Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. He is faithful and if you genuinely mean what you pray then He will answer you.

And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. I John 5:11-15

Jesus Christ is the way to true freedom and forgiveness. He is the only way. There are no other religions who can offer this great gift and He is the only Savior. He is Lord of lords and King of kings. He is alive today.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16.

A Life Knowing and Respecting God

The Bible says that knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. If we want to understand anything then we must know the Lord Jesus Christ. He gives understanding. If we want to be happy then we must read the directions of the One who created everything. Just as anything, if we don’t read the directions then we will generally make a mess of whatever it is we are trying to do or fix.

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10b

Another word for directions is instructions. The Lord gives instruction in what He has created.

The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility. Proverbs 15:33

The fear of the Lord means that we respect Him and listen to Him. Humility is recognizing that we do not know everything and we need to know the instructions that the Lord gives us. It is acknowledging that the Lord knows more than we do about everything and therefore we need His help in everything. When we read His Word with humility then we learn to fear Him because we realize that He knows far more than we do.

Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You. Psalm 119:38

We can not even fear and respect God on our own. It is not in us but if we humbly come to Him and spend time in His Word then He will put within us a healthy fear and respect for Him. A healthy fear of God allows us to see His great love for us. It removes all unhealthy fear. Unhealthy fear involves punishment and the Lord does not punish His children. Jesus Christ took the punishment on the cross for all of mankind. Those who receive what He has done for all of us escape the punishment of God and they come into a love relationship with God.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. I John 4:18

When we come into a love relationship with God then we become His child. When we become His child then we begin the most amazing journey of living in His love.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. I John 3:1-3

When we become His child then we enter into a love story that never ends and is a journey for much joy and peace. We become His masterpiece of Him transforming us into His likeness. He is good and He is love and that is His design for us. He takes our defeats and He gives us His victory. He takes our failures and gives us success. He begins a good work in us and does not ever give up on us.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

The Lord begins making us into the person that we long to be. He does not change our personality and the uniqueness of who He made us to be but He sets us free from the very things that destroy who He designed us to be and the person we want to be.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death. Proverbs 14:27

The death that we experience when we fall into a snare is the defeat, the regrets, the guilt and the destruction we experience when we don’t follow His instructions. This is an eternal death for the one who has not received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and it is a temporary, but none the less, real death to the soul for the Christian. It is not His will that any should experience death or for any to perish.

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. II Peter 3:9

Repentance is acknowledging that we do not know what we need and that He does know and has all knowledge. Repentance is turning to God for help and turning from the other “things” that we looked to to help us.

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19

When we look to the Lord and fear Him by coming to Him and acknowledging that we need Him then He will meet us and He will set us free and give us life.

You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. Isaiah 64:5b

Jesus Christ came to give life and not only that, but He wants to give us an abundant life. It is the devil who robs us of life. Jesus Christ defeated the devil on the cross and offers life to any who will come to Him.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10

Are you weary of your defeats in life? Are you tired of the guilt? Do you have broken relationships? Do you have regrets? Do you feel as though you are just seeking to survive and do the “best you can” but it is never good enough? Are you tired of doing life on your own? Then come to Him. Jesus Christ love you and He offers you a life of peace, joy and love. He came to give you life.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30