I Am Loved

We have been singing a new song in Church and it has literally been going through my head nonstop. I wake up with it in my noggin, I hear it when I am doing dishes, I am singing it at the sewing machine, and humming it while reading!

I don’t have anything memorized except the chorus, and this is it: “You’re a good, good Father. That’s who you are, that’s who You are. And I am loved by You, that’s who I am, that’s who I am.”

This is a great improvement on the toddler songs that normally run through my head (I keep my two year old grandson Mon-Fri).

I didn’t sleep well last night. I stayed up too late to finish a good book, then Hubby was snoring, not a normal thing for him. Finally sometime after 11:30 I drifted off, only to wake up at 3:30. Sometimes God wakes me up to pray, this wasn’t one of those times, but I figured I didn’t have anything else to do, so I prayed. I prayed for some situations in my life that needed changing, but mostly I prayed for others. After a bit, God brought to mind some of my students from years ago and I lifted them in prayer. I prayed for some family members that are struggling, and I prayed for my children (and theirs). In fact I fell asleep praying.

The alarm was way too early at 5:30. I’ll give you three guesses as to what was going through my head… Yep, “You’re a good, good Father. That’s who you are, that’s who You are. And I am loved by You, that’s who I am, that’s who I am.”

My usual morning routine consists of reading my bible, while Eddie gets up and gets ready for work. Then we pray together, and he leaves. After my morning devotions, I head down for a cup of coffee and wait on my boy. This morning, Eddie got up, and I laid in the bed, not moving and half asleep. Before I could even wake up enough to think about reading my Bible, my sleepy mind contained this thought, “There is only two things I need to know. One, He’s a good, good Daddy, and two, He loves me.”

I woke up then and thought about the simple, profound truth in that. That’s the answer to everything!

“Now, Jodi, that’s overly simplifying things,” I hear you say.

However, I am sticking to it. Do you need healing? He’s a good Father and He loves you. Do need a financial breakthrough? He’s a good Father and He loves you. Do you need help in your marriage, or another relationship? He’s a good Father and He loves you. Are you broken and hurt? Grieving? Depressed? He’s a good Father and He loves you.

A loving Father wants to see His children healed and whole, lacking nothing, happy and at peace. Here is the good news, listen, HE HAS THE POWER TO GIVE YOU THOSE THINGS!

Ephesians 3:19-20 (NLT), “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”

Thank You For Your Grace

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Dear Father God,
I thank You that You have given us mercy and grace. That you are extravagant with both. You always give us so much more than we can ask or think, and most definitely more than we could ever deserve. No matter what we do, how we fail, You are slow to anger and quick to forgive! I thank You for the shed blood of Jesus. That no more do we need to shed the blood of cattle and sheep. That Jesus’ shed blood cleansed us of all sin. I am so grateful that the life and blood of Jesus fulfilled all the law. I no longer have to follow a lengthy list of “do’s and don’ts.” I am no longer bound to the law, but set free by Your grace. Thank You, Father, that I can now come boldly into Your presence. It is so wonderful, Lord, to know You in a personal way, to be in fellowship with you. Thank You, Father, that you speak to me, as I speak to my own child. Thank You for Your love. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Help me to be more like you.
Amen

Guilt Free

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Psalm 103:11-12 “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him, as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
God loves you. I know this is a repeating theme on my blog, but it’s a repeating theme on God’s blog (His Holy Word.) It’s worth repeating. Don’t you think?
But hearing it just isn’t enough. We have to believe it. Have you gotten it past your head into your heart yet?
He loves us so much; He has chosen to forget our sin. He has “removed” our transgressions from us. We have been separated from our sin. Not by inches, feet or miles, but as far as the east is from the west.
Derek Prince puts it this way, “David goes on to picture the way God deals with our guilt: “as far as the east is from the west, so far He has removed our transgressions from us.” How thankful we should be that David did not use as his standard the distance from north to south! That is a finite distance. But the distance from east to west is infinite. No matter how far eastward we may go, there is still just as far to go as when we started. If we reverse our direction and go westward, the same is true.”
God loves us. We are free from guilt. I say that is “good news.”
Say this out loud: “God loves me and I am free from guilt.”
Now say it like you believe it! “God loves me and I am free from guilt.”
Repeat this often. When the devil tries to remind you of your sin, your past mistakes, or tries to put guilt upon you, tell him to shut up. Remind him of the fact that God loves you and you are free from guilt.