God is For You, Not Against You
My heart is so overwhelmed. Like a kid standing outside Cinderella's castle at DisneyWorld...except 1,000 times that. So much can be said about our Heavenly Father, and yet no words could suffice. The One Who sent His very own – only – begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I've been spending a lot of time particularly in the last couple of days listening to messages about prayer, including a couple by Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love and other books, and author Priscilla Shirer, who many of us also know from the move War Room.
I came to know the Lord at a Greg Laurie Crusade when I was 4 years old – that was 24 years ago. No, I was not too young to hear God's voice speaking to me and calling me to Him. Several years ago I told my salvation testimony to a Buddhist (and oddly enough, was raised in a Christian home), who told me I was just copying other people and wasn't really aware enough to know what I was doing. According to Jesus, we must become like children in order to become children of God.
What is God's Love?
- Unreserved. That's right, no reservations. You are loved because...because!
- Unconditional. Because we are already loved, there is nothing we can do or undo to change His mind on that!
- Wholehearted. He is passionate about you. He wants you to feel the indisputable love that is just waiting for you to take a hold of.
- Unassailable. It cannot be defeated. "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"!
Have you ever been in a place that you just didn't even feel like talking to the Lord? I've been there. And guess what? You can tell Him that! He's not going to be offended or surprised. You'll be surprised at how much just simple confession opens the doors for a wide open relationship with Christ. He is for you, notagainst you.
I must've listened to the song, "No Longer Slaves", about a half-dozen times today. Still not tired of it! I think I'll listen to it again. If you don't know the song, stop right now and go listen to it!
You unravel me with a melody
You surround me with a song
Of deliverance from my enemies
'Til all my fears are gone
I'm no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
From my mother's womb
You have chosen me
Love has called my name
I've been born again into your family
Your blood flows through my veins
I'm no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I am surrounded
By the arms of the father
I am surrounded
By songs of deliverance
We've been liberated
From our bondage
We're the sons and the daughters
Let us sing our freedom
You split the sea
So I could walk right through it
My fears were drowned in perfect love
You rescued me
And I will stand and sing
I am a child of God.
Yes, I am
I am a child of God
I am a child of God
Yes, I am
I am a child of God
Full of faith
Yes, I am a child of God
I am a child of God
I'm no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
You're no longer a slave. So don't live like one. YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.
Alana Flowers Gibson writes at The Jesus Pursuit, a site dedicated to encouraging others to get to know Him better, and along the way, feature other believers who can give us a living example of what it means to do as Paul said – Follow me, as I follow Christ.