Resurrection Sunday proved the love of God! Because it marks in history that YES! salvation has been sent! We can have victory forever!
God’s heart is beautiful!
Why then is scripture so often named a rule book?
Well it cannot be denied that God has commanded many things in His word from page one to finish.
God is a God of order, and He commands the order of nature, principles and us.
He commands the perfect harmony of things. The righteous effects of both good and evil, in its time.
God’s not the only one who commands things. • Jesus commands things, like:
follow me, repent and believe, make disciples.
He said ““Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17)
So Christ has a heart for the commands of God, and if we have a Christ-like heart in us Holy Spirit, as Paul said in Romans 3:31 we say “Do we then make void the law
through faith [in Christ, who fulfilled it as we couldn’t for salvation]? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” Because we have the same desire to see God reign and His kingdom come as Christ did!
Scripture renews our heart with the teaching that, if we are for God be for His commands, not against them. Because if we believe that God is love, we should build up His standard and honor it
as our own trusting/knowing it’s good. (Romans6:15-22 , John14:15, 1John1:6)
Love and holiness are one of the same.
So we don’t strive to check off rules,
but to just love well, sincerely and properly, remembering not to call or enjoy sin as ok.
As God’s children if we do wrong we can
receive the discipline, know we were wrong and continue to grow in grace;
or we can leave God’s house and His standard to justify ourselves elsewhere,
and lose the grace of Christ that’s free despite our sin with God.
We enjoy sin and hate the “rules” of God when we have been deceived to think they are burdensome or not the best way of life. But out of the ten commandments, which one of them do we want people doing to against us?
Sin has only reaped havoc in my life
(guilt, shame, hurting people, feeling like
God is angry at me, and rightly so).
But there is none of that in honoring Him.
• Side Note: it can at times appear that way, but He will not allow His ways to be distorted forever. The truth will return as plain as day eventually, so we can have peace in that. •
Our natural fleshly nature has a bent to sin.
It says: let’s get excited about all the things
we’re told we shouldn’t do, rather than the endless lovely things we can.
(just like Eve, we go to the one tree we
shouldn’t in pride and blindness).
I’ve found the best way to conquer sin
is to look ahead to all the harm it will cause (and if it looks harmless, know that going against God is never harmless and that we must not be seeing things clearly).
And not just to stop at reflecting on sin,
but also reflect on Christ, His sacrificial love and the effects of righteousness/ loving thy neighbor as thyself.
I’ve been blessed to see a number of physical benefits in going God’s way.
But if God ever tested and destroyed the physical benefits (like He did Job to see if He loved His good eternal Spirit more than the temporal prosperity), it is a promise that God will never be unfaithful
to His Spirit and His heavenly promises.
And the fruit of the Spirit is: joy, peace, patience, self-control, love, humility, kindness, goodness, faithfulness (Galatians5). So those beautiful qualities can fulfill your soul rain or shine.
It is a benefit to know God solely
because He will truly destroy sorrow and hopelessness ect.!
Can you ask for more than that!?
Constantly be careful not to pick apart God. I remind myself of this. He does not favor sin, but He has given the favor of new good life and promises to walk in.
So discover every drop of that.
Sin and darkness destroyed the light of the world on Good Friday. How can we continue in sin with pride and on Sunday tell Jesus we’re glad to see Him?
(goodness we have not only Eve but Judas behavior too. Saying we’re His friend then betraying Him with a kiss).
And yet, there’s mercy and grace for God’s people!!
Luke 23:34 “Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Jeremiah 32:38-41 “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’”