Sunday, March 24, 2013
RANSOMED: KNOW Me-LOVE Me
RANSOMED: KNOW Me-LOVE Me: Is this not one of the deepest cries of the human heart? Someone, anyone please know me and love me. Deep within the human heart there is a ...
KNOW Me-LOVE Me
Is this not one of the deepest cries of the human heart? Someone, anyone please know me and love me. Deep within the human heart there is a desire to be known and yet loved for who we really are. But over the journey of our lives, we meet disappointment after disappointment filled with rejection, hurt, and pain. We realize that people are incapable of loving us perfectly, and often times, fail in loving us or quit loving us. So in a sense, we feel we have to pretend or work harder, always providing excuses for our failure, so people will love us. I know much of this encompassed my life, always looking for someone to love me for me and yet, finding it so difficult to let the only true lover and romancer of my soul, love me and romance me. But this romancer and lover never stopped fighting for me, and one day I was awakened to the truth of this GREAT lover! JJ Hellar wrote a beautiful song, "Who will love me for me?" The truth is there is only one person who is fully capable of loving you or me in the way our heart truly longs to be loved. However, we have a real enemy who seeks to steal us from this love and place before us deceitful lovers that lead us to an empty path of destruction. We run to these lovers whom seem appetizing; yet we find ourselves empty in a pit of treachery. Satan is mankind's enemy, and he always seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. He is the king of KILL JOY!!! But yet Jesus Christ, is the one who loves us perfectly. God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit love mankind perfectly. But what stops us from embracing this love and receiving it. Many factors: our own fallenness, our rebellious hearts, past hurts, Satan's lies and accusations against us, etc. Revelation 12.10 talks about Satan as our great accuser. He accuses man day and night. What might his accusations sound like, well for me, they were never gentle always harsh and hurtful....."you dont deserve love?" "You are filthy and unworthy." "Why try, why let someone else in, you ruin everything, every relationship you have always fails." "You are too much for anyone to love." We all hear some accusation. So, how did we come to a place to receive God's love and continue in letting Him love us. It continues to be a daily battle for me, but there is VICTORY!!!! And refuse to let the enemy win any longer.
First, there must be trust and belief in what God says is true and asking Him to open your heart to hear the lies and the voice that is not His. The reality is yes, WITHOUT Christ, we are unworthy, ugly people, failures, etc. But as followers of Christ, we are not WITHOUT Christ, but covered in Christ. Over the past few years of walking with Christ, I would hear over and over, "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8.1)." But one day, this truth became so real to me. If there is NO condemnation left for me, then I am condemning myself and letting Satan condemn me. When God removed the stain of sin from us through the blood of Christ, His wrath was completely satisfied, therefore, only grace is left. Christ did not die in vain. And God, unlike fallen man, does not remember our sins. The penalty was paid, and He chooses to remember them no more. David Crowder sings a beautiful song regarding grace, "It's your love that we adore, it's like a sea without a shore." How incredible! God's love and grace towards us is a sea, and there is no shore for us to swim to; we are sinking in love and grace. Stop and picture that! Meditate on that image!
Secondly, We have to fight! Your heart may not fully believe this truth just yet. And God is patient and long suffering with us. He remembers we are dust. But we will never believe without faith. Sometimes, we have to act upon what God says is true whether we feel it to be true or our rationale proves it true. REMEMBER-------We are fallen, NOT GOD and His word. Our SAVIOR JESUS, never fell. We did, and honestly we are a pretty pathetic people that someone else had to die to save us because we were incapable of saving ourselves. I like to say, sometimes in our walk with God, we need the Nike attitude- "Just DO IT." For me, I had to just let God love me, and STOP running to all my other false lovers. Was it easy? No. Was it comfortable? Initially, absolutely not. BUT God says there is no condemnation, and if God says that, then there is NONE. When I feel most wretched, wicked and disgusting inside, I can bow my head, and say Jesus love me, and because there is no condemnation, I am then loved and embraced. I have found that the presence of Christ is the only place where I never have to explain myself; I just come, sit, and rest. Sometimes, I just cry without words, because my heart is in so much pain and weary over life. So, often we say, God doesn't love me. God doesn't care about me. God is not good to me. I believed all those dirty filthy lies Satan was throwing at me. I had to stop those lies, stop life, sit at His feet in prayer or reading His word. And TRUST what He says. Even confessing what I was believing, the lies. And He is so faithful. When I approach God in FAITH (not feeling lovable or deserving of love), He always meets me. And I see my Jesus wrap His arms around me. He holds my hand with His nail pierced hands. Why is Jesus scarred and will always be scarred? Because we are wicked people who need saving. He holds me, and I see His scars, and when He holds me, I hear a gentle whisper, "I love you Tara. I love you for you. I love you with all your brokenness. And nothing will ever ever separate you from me. Rest my child. Im gentle and lowly in heart. You dont need to run anymore." Nothing says I love you more than nail pierced hands!!!!!
First, there must be trust and belief in what God says is true and asking Him to open your heart to hear the lies and the voice that is not His. The reality is yes, WITHOUT Christ, we are unworthy, ugly people, failures, etc. But as followers of Christ, we are not WITHOUT Christ, but covered in Christ. Over the past few years of walking with Christ, I would hear over and over, "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8.1)." But one day, this truth became so real to me. If there is NO condemnation left for me, then I am condemning myself and letting Satan condemn me. When God removed the stain of sin from us through the blood of Christ, His wrath was completely satisfied, therefore, only grace is left. Christ did not die in vain. And God, unlike fallen man, does not remember our sins. The penalty was paid, and He chooses to remember them no more. David Crowder sings a beautiful song regarding grace, "It's your love that we adore, it's like a sea without a shore." How incredible! God's love and grace towards us is a sea, and there is no shore for us to swim to; we are sinking in love and grace. Stop and picture that! Meditate on that image!
Secondly, We have to fight! Your heart may not fully believe this truth just yet. And God is patient and long suffering with us. He remembers we are dust. But we will never believe without faith. Sometimes, we have to act upon what God says is true whether we feel it to be true or our rationale proves it true. REMEMBER-------We are fallen, NOT GOD and His word. Our SAVIOR JESUS, never fell. We did, and honestly we are a pretty pathetic people that someone else had to die to save us because we were incapable of saving ourselves. I like to say, sometimes in our walk with God, we need the Nike attitude- "Just DO IT." For me, I had to just let God love me, and STOP running to all my other false lovers. Was it easy? No. Was it comfortable? Initially, absolutely not. BUT God says there is no condemnation, and if God says that, then there is NONE. When I feel most wretched, wicked and disgusting inside, I can bow my head, and say Jesus love me, and because there is no condemnation, I am then loved and embraced. I have found that the presence of Christ is the only place where I never have to explain myself; I just come, sit, and rest. Sometimes, I just cry without words, because my heart is in so much pain and weary over life. So, often we say, God doesn't love me. God doesn't care about me. God is not good to me. I believed all those dirty filthy lies Satan was throwing at me. I had to stop those lies, stop life, sit at His feet in prayer or reading His word. And TRUST what He says. Even confessing what I was believing, the lies. And He is so faithful. When I approach God in FAITH (not feeling lovable or deserving of love), He always meets me. And I see my Jesus wrap His arms around me. He holds my hand with His nail pierced hands. Why is Jesus scarred and will always be scarred? Because we are wicked people who need saving. He holds me, and I see His scars, and when He holds me, I hear a gentle whisper, "I love you Tara. I love you for you. I love you with all your brokenness. And nothing will ever ever separate you from me. Rest my child. Im gentle and lowly in heart. You dont need to run anymore." Nothing says I love you more than nail pierced hands!!!!!
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