Transforming Love

“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, HCSB)

1) God created men and women with a God-shaped void that can only be filled by Him.

2) All mankind needs to feel loved by God.

3) All mankind yearns to fulfill the destiny God has planned for them.

4) Every person born yearns to be loved.

5) Not every person born finds the ultimate love of God.

6) God’s love transforms, edifies, changes, corrects, enables, encourages, is joyful, is full of faith, doesn’t worry, is not self-seeking, is compassionate, kind, trustworthy, noble, self-sacrificing, honest and sincere.

“God our Father loves us. He treats us with undeserved grace and has given us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope. We pray that our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father will encourage you and help you always to do and say the right thing.”                                        

(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, CEV)

Copyright 2014 Kathy Sanders

Justified by Faith

“But we know that God accepts only those who have faith in Jesus Christ. No one can please God by simply obeying the Law. So we put our faith in Christ Jesus, and God accepted us because of our faith.” (Galatians 2:16, CEV)

I am not forgiven of my sins because I repented. I am justified (made righteous) by my faith in Jesus Christ because of His payment for my sins upon the cross.  He paid the price for all my sins, past, future and present.  Not that I may now freely sin, but knowing that when I do (and all humans will sin) the payment for restoration with God has already been made.

It is not baptism that brings remission of sins, but faith in the Lord Jesus and the all-sufficiency of the sacrifice He made upon the cross on my behalf. My punishment for sin was borne by another, the very Son of God.   

I am not justified by repentance.

I am not justified by baptism.

I am not justified by confession of sin.

I am not justified by the laying on of hands.

I am not justified by righteous living.

I am not justified by being as good as I possibly can be.

I am not justified by the things I do, say, think or speak. 

I am justified by faith in the Lord Jesus and His atonement upon the cross when He forfeited His life for mine upon the cross and received in full the punishment for all my sins.

“I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. I have died, but Christ lives in me. And I now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. I don’t turn my back on God’s gift of undeserved grace. If we can be acceptable to God by obeying the law, it was useless for Christ to die.” (Galatians 2:19b-21, CEV)

  

Copyright 2014 Kathy Sanders

Knowing Jesus

Salvation is not intellectual assent or acknowledgment of power or presence, but a heart fully surrendered to perfect Love.

Isn't there a certain arrogance in thinking we can reason our way to God, reason our way to salvation? If that were the case then people would only have to "think" correctly to get there, leaving each of us responsible for our own salvation.

We may use logic and reason to find our way out of a false system of beliefs, but we cannot use intellect and logic to reason our way into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  Relationship with Jesus comes when a heart unstintingly surrenders its independence and embraces the love of Christ. 

"For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 
(Romans 10:8-13, HCSB)  
  


Copyright 2014 Kathy Sanders

Now is the Day of Salvation

"And many came to Him, and they kept saying, John did not perform a [single] sign or miracle, but everything John said about this Man was true. And many [people] there became believers in Him. [They adhered to and trusted in and relied on Him.]" (John 10:41-42, Amplified)

John the Baptist did no miracles.  Yet, he came as the last old testament prophet, the final  prophet of the covenant of law pointing the way to the long awaited Messiah and the new covenant of grace. 

His was a special calling, a special office.  John alone would say, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! No longer would his prophetic utterance be a gesture for the future, but now in that moment of time, an act of submission and allegiance to a tangible living person.  The Son of God had come in the flesh. 

Jesus has come!  He is here on the earth through the Comforter He sent when He returned to heaven.  Jesus is knocking at the door of every soul, waiting to take up residence in all who will believe. There is no longer any waiting, any need to postpone submission and allegiance to the Bearer of the gift of eternal salvation.  Jesus died on the cross because He loved us, so that we might live forever with Him.

“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)



Copyright 2014 Kathy Sanders

Seeing Through the Eyes of Others

“If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal. Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:1-4, HCSB) 

We often look at the world through our own eyes and assume that others see things in exactly the same way we do—and of course they don’t. We don’t all see alike because each person brings his or her preferences, experiences and perceptions to every situation.  Everyone filters human interactions through their own  standards of conduct, their own definitions of right and wrong. And this is where the rub comes in. 

I remember someone saying something like,  “I’m sure they view things the same way I do and  it won’t bother them.”  Unfortunately, they may have been mistaken. Assuming that others think and feel as we do ensures miscommunication and can damage relationships. No one enjoys having another person assume they know what is best for them, especially if they haven’t been brought into the discussion first. 

None of us knows what is going on in another person's life at any given moment. Something devastating may have happened to them that we know nothing about, or they may have been going through a demanding day or struggling through a difficult situation.  We only add to their burdens by making assumptions about their actions or words. It is only human to speculate, but when that speculation turns to supposition, especially when we don't or won't talk with them personally, it becomes internal gossip. 

We need  to see the world through the eyes of others, focusing not on how something they said or did made us feel, but focusing on their viewpoint of reality. As we endeavor to understand and love them better, the smallness of our attitudes will fade away and we will be able to see them with a new appreciation. 

Copyright 2014 Kathy Sanders

Difficult People

When dealing with someone who is difficult we need to see them as a person, not as a problem.  We need to desire to see them change because we love them and want to see them healed, not because we want them to stop being a problem.

As we pray for their healing, let us also pray for ourselves that we might see them through the eyes of Jesus and be used as His instrument of grace.




Copyright 2014 Kathy Sanders

Momentary Ministry

Blog Entry #3, 

“Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38, HCSB)

We are each given a unique sphere of influence within which to operate.  We must ever be aware that the person God has caused to cross our paths, whether positively or negatively, is an opportunity to allow the light of Christ of shine upon that situation.  How often I have responded to an annoyance with no regard for the person on the receiving end of my frustration. When we understand that every interaction is an opportunity for Jesus to work through us to brighten someone’s day or provide comfort, hope or joy, we become vessels of God’s goodness and grace.

At this exact moment in time God has placed each of us in a unique set of circumstances.  Out of those circumstances flow a wide variety of relationships with all types of people, for this given day.  The moment can be as brief as an interaction with the checkout clerk or the bank teller.  It can be the handful of minutes we take to listen to another’s concerns, especially when it is inconvenient for us and makes us step outside our self-focus. What we give to others in even the smallest moments can enrich another person’s life, far more than we will ever know.

Don’t be afraid to be God’s secret agent of hope in another person’s life.  Reach out with confidence knowing that God loves the other people He brings into your life as much as He loves you and that He wants you to be His tangible presence in showing that love to the world.   

Copyright 2014 Kathy Sanders

Tragically Blind

"Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no sin; but because you now claim to have sight, your sin remains. [If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but because you insist, We do see clearly, you are unable to escape your guilt.]” (John 9:41, Amplified)

Some churches and denominations insist they alone have the truth, yet deny the basic tenants of Christianity.  Their concepts are usually distorted in one or more   ways; they deny the absolute holiness of a self-existent God, reject the sinful nature of all human beings, or refuse the necessity of Jesus’ death on the cross as the only means of reconciliation with God.

These are the churches who claim, “We alone have the true gospel!” Their “salvation” is based upon obedience to a religious organization, rather than the miracle of a new heart given by Jesus.

By denying the possibility of an intimate, personal relationship with God—in favor of a do-it-yourself holiness—this type of religion becomes an endless snare for all who enter and those who do so are consigned to its unbiblical teachings.  One such false teaching is that men and women can make themselves righteous through following rules, regulations and rituals.

Only He who is holy can make human beings holy. To believe that self-effort avails anything is to deny the sacrifice Jesus made upon the cross, and that sacrifice is the heart of true Christianity.

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.” (Galatians 2:21, HCSB)

Copyright 2014 Kathy Sanders