God's Love

I was reading in Hebrews this morning and I came across Hebrews 7:25:

"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

And I just had to stop and meditate. God is like that with me. I'll read a chapter or two and then something will catch me and I hear a voice in my heart that says, "There, right there. Stop here. I want you to think on this, I'm speaking to you." Don't know if that is what it is like with others. Anyway I just stopped. We have a Intercessor who is constantly interceding for us. When we go through trials and struggles, when we have hardship, whether of our own making or out of our control, we have a wonderful and beautiful Savior, a High Priest, that is for us and is able to save us to the uttermost. In my deepest, darkest days of sin, Jesus was interceding for me. And He saved me. It is hard to wrap my little mind around the significance of this. I believe in my Savior, I love and adore Him. I don't show it very well at times, but He takes no offense because I come to God through Jesus. And in my shortcomings, Jesus stands up for me because He paid the ultimate price. He died for me. Me. If I was the only one, He'd have done it all the way He did. And the works I do now, they are for Him. I don't know when the change happened long ago, but I use to think my works were required, to make up for the bad I did. It is a warped sense of thinking, but it carried over from thinking I had to make up to my loved ones for all the bad I'd done. Then it clicked. You see, the way I live now I just live a Godly life the best way I know how. I fall short, but I live like I feel God leads me to live. And in that type of life, the fruit comes and so do works. I had to apply this to Celebrate Recovery as I've become part of the upper echelon of leadership. I do it not out of a sense of duty, but because I've been delivered from a pit of despair and I want others to see the joy of the other side of addiction, recovery. I use to do alot of things, Drama teams, Mission teams, going to prison to minister. I was getting burned out though. And I remember God, in a still small voice asking me, why do you do these things? For you or me? So I took a long hard look at what I was doing and why I was doing it. In the end the one thing I'm doing now, Celebrate Recovery, I do because I have a passion for it and because God gets the glory. As well, I was fixing to have a new bride, and I have a passion for her too! (almost 6 months now!). It was a pride thing. I'm this and that, I do this and that. Now I'm content. I'm a husband (a very happy husband!) and I work at Celebrate Recovery. And every day I stay sober is a testament to God and His power, because I'm powerless.

I never had to prove to my loved ones that I was changed, my life reflected it. I don't have to try to love Ginger, it happens naturally and the things I do for her I do out of love. Sometimes there is sacrifice, putting oneself to the side for the other, but I do it for love. In the same respect I see how that is exactly how Jesus loves His bride. He sacrificed Himself for His bride. And now He loves us and wants the best for us, He cares for us, prays for us, guides and leads us. Not out of a sense of duty but of love.

So what did God teach me in all this? He loves me unconditionally. When I come to Him, He accepts me as I am. I don't have to change, clean up, be perfect....I just have to come and believe. And when I do, and I follow, my life will reflect that change. Yes, my life is in a constant state of refining, molding, and sometimes even chastisement. But it is out of love. It was modeled to me as a child. I can't say it enough, my parents did an awesome job of raising me. My walk in the wilderness was in no way, NO WAY, their fault. I made choices contrary to the way I was taught, and that was one of the reasons why I am in recovery now, because of how they raised me. You see, I remembered the bible studies after dinner. I remember the I love you's, and Dad playing lego's with me, and making peach and cottage cheese salad with Mom. I remember Mom going over spelling words, and Dad helping me with math. Sitting around watching Little House on the Prairie and the Waltons. You see, they modeled God to me. Because God spends time with me. He says I love you and teaches me His word, and sits (or walks with me) and talks with me. And just like they loved me through the hard times, so Jesus did as well. And now the joy I hear in their voice with my life now, I hear the joy in Jesus's voice as He guides me.

And all this from one verse in the Bible....So just take a moment today and let God love on you, because He does. Got a struggle? Tell Him. Got a victory? Share it with Him. Let Him wrap His arms around you and let the peace surround you.