Catching Up

It has been several days since I shared any of my thoughts with you via this blog. Trust me, I have thought about many things and I have been in some Pastoral situations in which I needed to be reminded about the omnipresence of God. Isn't it a wonderful blessing to understand and believe the fact that "God is truly interested in my life?" I stand in awe of the love of God and realize that it is shed abroad in my life on a moment by moment basis. I have sensed His love this morning as I have been preparing some thoughts for Sunday's message. I have sensed His love this morning as I have communicated with some individuals with a heart that desired to provide encouragement to them. The line from a song is going through my mind even as I type these words; "Oh how He loves you and me..." Praise God for the awesome revelation of His love and concern for each of us!!

I would like to share a few thoughts with you from last week's message.

John 3:14-17, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (NKJV)

God created you in order to love you. WOW!!! Isn’t it a relief to know that God does not hate me but that He truly loves me?  Jesus refers to a “snake on a pole as an example of the love of God.   Let me take a moment and remind you of that story. The Israelites had won a great victory over the Canaanites. A spirit of impatience set in among the people and they began to grumble and complain against God.They complained about the food that God has provided. God responded to their impatience by allowing poisonous snakes to come among the people.   Many of them were bitten and many of them died. They turned back to God in repentance and asked Moses to intercede for them. Let us look at God’s response to the intercession of Moses.   Numbers 21:8-9, “Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!”⁹ So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!” (NLT)   This is the incident that Jesus is referencing when He speaks about Him being lifted up on the cross.   God’s love was revealed even during these moments in which Israel had rebelled against God.   Let us remember that we were living in rebellion and yet God revealed His love to us through Jesus Christ our Savior.

Ephesians 2:11-13, “Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. ¹² In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. ¹³ But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.” (NLT)