Reconciled with the God of Love

 If you are in any kind of need, you must know that God loves you.
Because God loves you, He wants to help you. His love comes from His heart, but His help is also totally practical.
 
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Is 41:10 NASB95
 
This text is for all those who know God personally. He always stands by his children, for he is the faithful Father in heaven. He never abandons his sons and daughters.
 
    But if you don't know God personally, then you need his help all the more. God Himself has made a way for you to find Him if you are spiritually blind and have no relationship with your Creator.

Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Is 59:1–2 NIV

 But despite our estrangement from Him, whereby we have become spiritually blind and like orphans, God still loves us and wants to reconcile us to Himself.
 
The word ‘reconcile’ means that He wants to receive us as His sons (or daughters).
 
Many of us have a longing for God's love.

The German poet Schiller summarised this longing beautifully.

‘Brothers above the stars must dwell a dear Father.’

Perhaps you  cherish a feeling in your heart that you must be a child of the universe.
But God is not the universe. He created the universe and He loves you personally. God wants to give you something much better.

God loves you and understands you. God wants you to know Him, to know Him as a person; and for you to know that you have a heavenly home and belong to a heavenly family.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus was God in heaven, who chose to be born as a human being, to live among us humans as a human being and to sacrifice himself to death as a human being.

Why?

He was executed on the cross in order to bear the punishment we deserve for our sins. Our debt is paid!

Now you can get to know God.

You no longer need to be separated from your heavenly Father because of your guilt. Everything is forgiven if you want to receive God's wonderful grace and boundless love.
You can never earn God's love and grace.

You can never pay your debt.

No amount of virtue or repentance can persuade God to accept you. He wants to receive you as his child.
 
Jesus said 2000 years ago and he is still saying to you today:

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 
Mt 11:28 NASB95

He reads your thoughts like a book, but He doesn't want to be a threatening policeman. He wants to be like your father or your mother or your best friend.
   
Just tell him the thoughts that are in your heart. He understands your heart and your language.

God Created Men and Women to be Equal

Why do many Christians teach that men must always be in charge of churches, not women? Why do they say a woman must always obey her husband?

They can quote bible verses here and there, often with doubtful interpretations. Every verse can also be interpreted to show that it is not a universal law of God, or even that some verses are incorrect translations.  Books have been written to explain this in detail.  

Paul also instructs slaves to obey their masters. If we tell wives to be subordinate, we should, to be consistent, be in favour of slavery.

However, there is a simple Biblical explanation that shows men and women should be equal in every respect.

God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” Ge 1:27–28 NET

Who did God appoint to rule? Only the man? Only the female? No. He appointed both man and woman to rule, with no indication of hierarchy.

But some Christians point to Genesis 3:16.

To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labour you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Gen 3:16.

Did God decree that a husband should rule over his wife? Some understand this to be a divine decree. Others believe God was sadly predicting the unjust subordination of women because sin had corrupted the original godlike human nature. 

Adam and Eve were both originally sinless and therefore created in the image of God.

But God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty of sin.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

If you believe in Jesus, if you put entrust your life to the love and truth of God, if you commit your life to the leading of God, you are no longer an outsider with God.

But that is not all.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— Jn 1:12 NIV

As a follower of Jesus, you are a child of God, a son or a daughter. God does not discriminate.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 2 Co 5:17 CSB

This translation says anyone in Christ is a new creation. The masculine pronoun HE is not in the original Greek text.

When God first created man and woman, there was not even a hint of rank order or gender based hierarchy. Salvation after the cross restores God’s original intention. 

Both man and woman are in God’s image and are appointed to rule jointly.

God wants husbands and wives to be partners, equal in every respect, including equal in authority, just as in Eden before sin spoiled everything.

Likewise, the church should reflect this principle of complete gender equality, in spiritual ministry and church government.

 

God's Family of Believers

Whoever loves Jesus and entrusts him with the direction of his life is a son or daughter of God.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NLT

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8 NLT

How can you know that you are a child of God?

• Your sins are forgiven. You can no longer enjoy your sin.

• You have a new outlook in life, marked by hope, kindness and love for others.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.

But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7–8 NLT

I am a Pentecostal. I do not belong to God's Pentecostal party, but to God's family.

And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. 1 John 4:21 NLT

If you trust Jesus from the heart, you belong to God's heavenly family.

There are different denominations and thousands of churches here on earth, but God has only one family. It is not about who is right, but whether someone accepts Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

Do you love Jesus? Then your co-worker is your brother if he loves Jesus, no matter what denomination he belongs to.

Unfortunately, it is often not easy to enjoy fellowship with other Christians, but if your coworker or neighbour is judgemental or legalistic, you can pray for him.

Many Christians do not understand that we do not belong to God because we are right, but if we live in God's grace.

Are you still not sure if God has forgiven your sins?

Ask Jesus to help you. He sees your need. He loves you.

You can speak freely and openly with Him. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and to free you from your faults.

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 NLT

Is your Christian life characterised by bossiness or contentiousness? That is sin. Ask God to show you a better way.