Words from the Lord:
"There is a plan by the enemy and the spirit of anti-Christ to try to cause My people to doubt and fall away. But stay firm in Me. Stay firm in My Word. Look to Me. My love for you conquers all. You are made more than conquerors through Me who loves you. Receive My love. The hatred, ridicule, or mockery that some people throw at you, pray for them and return with love. Let My love fill them. When they know My love, they will know Me."
God is not just loving. God is love. To know God is to know His love. To experience God is to experience His love.
1 John 4:7:9 says, 'Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son (Jesus) into the world that we might live through Him.'
Beloved, if you are one of those whom the work of darkness has tried to cause you to doubt your faith or to doubt the Word of God, the Lord is here to fill you with His love. Receive from Him. Look to Him. Let your focus be fixed on the Lord. Let your eyes be fixed on His Word.
Romans 5:5 says, 'Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.'
You see, the Holy Spirit has been given to us. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. Romans 5:5 says this love has been poured out into our hearts. And you know what? There will always be hope in your life when there is love of God in your life!
We humans are created to receive God's love. That's innate in our lives. We are born and created to receive God's love. And you know what? To receive God's love is to receive Christ! Why? Because Christ is the manifestation of God's love. You have read in 1 John chapter 4 that God's love was manifested toward us. In other words, God's love was shown toward us. How? Through Jesus! He came down and walked among us! So, Christ is the manifestation of God's love. He is the epitome of God's love. He is the very personification of God's love. What is personification of God's love? It means God's love came on earth in the form of Jesus, the Person of Jesus!
For each person whom God created, whatever their upbringing or background may be, there is something inside each person, innate in each person, that yearns for God's love.
1 Peter 3:8-9 says, 'Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.'
We are to love and do good to others. Not just to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but also to those who are against our faith or against our belief in Christ. Their spiritual eyes may not be enlightened yet, and they may say all kinds of untruth against our faith, but render not evil for evil. Render evil with good. Pray for them. Forgive them. Look at them with the eyes of God's love and compassion. I know it's easier said than done. But we can if we open our hearts to receive God's love and let God's love overflow in our lives.
Let God's love fill our hearts right now. Let God's love fill our hearts to the overflow, so much so we can't help but to look at others with the eyes of God's love. Amen!
In Matthew 5:10-12, Jesus says: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
So take heart, beloved. Let your eyes be fixed on Jesus. Always remember He is the personification of God's love. When you have Him, you have everything. When you have Him, you have His love overflowing. So, even if people mock at your faith, or accuse you and your Bible as being wrong in their eyes, you know what God says today? Pray for them. Do not return evil for evil. Pray for their spiritual eyes to be enlightened. Pray for God's love to visit them. Be patient. Do not react. Remember, you are not fighting flesh and blood. You are to love one another. You are to love others. You are to love even those who are against you, or those who attack your faith. The Bible says so.
In Matthew 5:43-47, Jesus says: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?"
You may be asking why the Scripture mentions about tax collectors. There are reasons why there's such a low view of tax collectors those days. These were Jews who worked for the Roman government those days. No one likes to pay money to the government that's oppressive, like the Roman Empire those days. And that's what happened in the first century. So, those who collected the taxes for the government were seen as traitors. Rather than fighting the Roman oppressors, these tax collectors were helping them. Not only that. They were enriching themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens. Also, it was a common knowledge that these tax collectors cheated the people they collected money from. They would collect more than required and keep the extra for themselves. In other words, they were dishonest.
Now, back to this statement 'love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.' You see, you love not just in words, but you love in deeds and in action. So, whenever you have the opportunity, do good to others. Not just to others who are good to you, but even to others who hate you. Now, it doesn't seem logical here. At least not logical in the minds of this world. But you know what? Many times, God's Word and God's love is above human logic. This is a God who is above human minds and human logic. This is a God who is supernatural. And that's why many people in this world cannot understand who He is. Because they use their human logic to try to understand Him.
Now look at Jesus when He was at the cross. Luke 23:32-35 says, 'There were also two others, criminals, led with Him (Jesus) to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.' You see, Jesus was put together with criminals. In other words, in the eyes of the world those days, He was seen as a criminal. He was punished on earth just like other criminals. But you know what did Jesus say? He said: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Even when He was in pain, even when the nails were pegged on the palm of His hands, even when He was mocked and ridiculed, and even when He was being sneered at, He didn't react negatively. Instead, He said to His Father: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." I continue here. 'And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."'
But you see, He chose to die for us. He died for our sins. He has carried away all our sins. Because He knows that we cannot save ourselves. All of us have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. He came to redeem us. Why? Because of His love for us!
Romans 8:31-34 says, 'What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son (Jesus), but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.'
Romans 8:35-37 says, 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.'
Romans 8:38-39 says, 'For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
Beloved, God's love for you is everlasting. God's love for you never fails. When everything else on this earth fails, God's love for you never fails. Let us always remember this. And we have read just now in Romans 8:37 that 'in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.' It means God's love for you conquers all! When you know how much God loves you, and when you know that you are a beloved of God, you become more than conquerors, whatever situation you may be facing on this earth, or whoever that comes against you. Amen!
