Knowing Who I Am Will Lower My Stress

In 1 John 3:1 it says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (NIV)

We are all living in stressful times. More than ever, we need to learn resilience so that we can do what God has called us to do. That’s why the first step to being resilient is to remember how much God loves us. That’s the antidote to stress!

Part of fulfilling our purpose is becoming more like Jesus. And Jesus had no doubt in his mind that God the Father loved him. He talked about it over and over in verses like John 10:17, which says, “The Father loves me” (NLT).

Knowing and remembering that God has unconditional, extravagant, continuous, and never-ending love for me, just like he did for Jesus, is the foundation of a resilient life. As Paul says, “I am convinced that neither death nor life . . . nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NIV). I can be resilient, knowing that I can never be separated from God’s love.

We may be thinking, “Well, of course God loves Jesus. That’s his Son.” But did you know that Jesus says the same thing about his love for us as God’s daughter or son? In John 15:9-10, Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love” (NIV).

Understanding how much God loves me is the basis of my personal security. If I’m not convinced that God loves me at all times—unconditionally and completely—then I’m going to be easy prey for the disapproval of others. I’m going to be a people pleaser.

But when I’m secure in who I am as God’s child—when I understand and accept how God feels about me—then I can face difficult times with confidence and less stress.

When I need to be reminded of how much God loves me, I can just look at his Word.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NIV). 

As a believer, my self-worth is based on the fact that God loves me and calls me his child. I am his child now, not just sometime in the distant future. Knowing that I am his child should encourage me to live as Jesus did. 

Five Ways to Relax in God’s Grace

In Hebrews 12:15 I read, “Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace.” (NCV)

How do I learn to “R.E.L.A.X.” in the liberating grace of God?

Realize nobody’s perfect. Psalm 119:96 is a verse directed toward God, and it declares, “Nothing is perfect except your words” (TLB). What society tells me isn’t perfect. What popular opinion tells me isn’t perfect. What I learned growing up isn’t perfect. But God’s Word is perfect. When I get in the Bible and build my life on it, I will have a perfect foundation.

Enjoy God’s unconditional love. The Bible says, “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children—think of it—and we really are!” (1 John 3:1 TLB). As a follower of Christ, I take on a role of service to him, but I’m more than a servant! The Bible says I become a child of the King. A servant is accepted on the basis of what they do; a child is accepted on the basis of who they are. A servant starts the day anxious and worried that their work will please their master; a child rests in the secure love of their family. A servant is accepted because of his workmanship; a child is accepted because of their relationship.

Let God handle things. What do I do about the uncontrollable things in life? “Cast all your anxiety on [God] because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV). When I’m fishing and I cast a line, there comes a point where I have to take my finger off the button and let it go. Just like the essence of casting is letting go, to overcome perfectionism I have to let go and let God do his work.

Act in faith, not fear. Remember how I got into God’s family in the first place. Ephesians 2:8 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (NIV). Grace is the only way to get into heaven. I’ll never be good enough, and I can’t buy my way in. It’s a free gift from God.

Exchange my perfectionism for God’s peace. Perfectionism destroys peace. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-29, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest . . . Learn the unforced rhythms of grace” (The Message). What a deal!

I’m going to fail a lot in life. But I don’t have to worry about it if I’ve received God’s grace. In fact, there’s only one failure I ever need to worry about: “Be careful that no one fails to receive God’s grace” (Hebrews 12:15 NCV). Receive it right now, and then relax!

In summary, I am to be careful that I fail to receive God’s grace. How do I learn to do this or to  “R.E.L.A.X.” First, realize nobody’s perfect. What society, popular opinion and what I learned growing up isn’t perfect. But God’s Word is. When I build my life on it, I will have a perfect foundation. Second, enjoy God’s unconditional love. I take on a role of service to him, but I’m more than a servant! I become a child of the King. A servant is accepted on the basis of what they do; a child is accepted on the basis of who they are. A servant is accepted because of his workmanship; a child is accepted because of their relationship. Third, let God handle things. What do I do about the uncontrollable things in life? “Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for me” Just like the essence of casting is letting go, to overcome perfectionism I have to let go and let God do his work. Fourth, act in faith, not fear. Remember it is by grace that I have been saved, through faith” Grace is the only way to get into heaven. I’ll never be good enough, and I can’t buy my way in. It’s a free gift from God. And fifth, exchange my perfectionism for God’s peace. Perfectionism destroys peace. I’m going to fail a lot, but I don’t have to worry about it if I’ve received God’s grace. There’s only one failure I ever need to worry about and it to fail to receive God’s grace” 

In reflection, so many of these things are not natural to me. I need to learn to relax, enjoy, let, act and exchange the items mentioned above. The key is that God unconditionally loves me with his never ending unfailing love. I need to build this notion into my life.  Father, I ask this morning for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions, my future job role and leading a small group. I ask these things in your Son Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Learning What Forgiveness Really Is

In review of Luke 23:34 it says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (NIV).

Bottom Line:

Forgive, for they don’t know what they are doing.

What this means to me:

Even when I’m persecuted, like Jesus I can forgive because He forgave me.

Today's verse comes from the last part of Luke 23, where Jesus is placed on the cross. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."

Jesus asked God to forgive the people who were putting him to death. God answered that prayer by opening up the way of salvation even to Jesus' murderers. Jesus was suffering the most horrible, painful death ever devised by man, and he looked at the people responsible for his suffering and prayed for their forgiveness. Because I am a sinner, I also played a part in putting Jesus to death. The Good News is that God is gracious. He has forgiven me and gives me a new life through his Son.

Forgiveness is most misused, misapplied, and misunderstood quality in our culture. We think we know what forgiveness is all about, but I really don’t. Here are some misconceptions:

1. A person should not be forgiven until asking for it.

2. Forgiving includes minimizing the offense and the pain caused.

3. Forgiveness includes restoring trust and reuniting a relationship.

4. You haven’t really forgiven until you’ve forgotten the offense.

5. When you see somebody hurt, it is your duty to forgive the offender.

However, what I’m finding in God’s Word about forgiveness, are that all five of those statements are false. Over the next few days, I’ll be digging into what forgiveness really is.

First, real forgiveness is unconditional. There’s no attachment to it. You don’t earn it. You don’t deserve it. You don’t bargain for it. Forgiveness is not based on a promise to never do it again. I am to offer forgiveness whether someone asks for it or not. When Jesus stretched out his hands on the cross and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NIV), nobody had asked for it. Nobody had said, “Please forgive me, Jesus, for what they’re doing to you.” He just offered it. He took the initiative.

Second, forgiveness isn’t minimizing the seriousness of the offense. When somebody asks for my forgiveness, I would actually cheapen it if I say, “It’s no big deal. It really didn’t hurt.” If it wasn’t a big deal, you don’t need forgiveness and you don’t need to offer it.

Forgiveness is not only for the big stuff. If something really requires forgiveness, then I should not minimize it when somebody asks me for forgiveness. Don’t say it wasn’t a big deal. It was a big deal! If it is a big deal, then I need to admit it. There is a difference between being wounded and being wronged. Being wounded requires patience and acceptance, not forgiveness, because the person did it unintentionally. Being wronged requires forgiveness.

When situations of forgiveness come up in my life, I should look to Christ’s example and how he forgave me and model that with others.

God’s Unfailing Love for Me

In review of Isaiah 54:10 it says, “The mountains and hills may crumble, but my love for you will never end” (54:10 GNT).

Bottom Line:

Even with the destruction of things around you, God’s love will never end.

What this means to me:

Everything around me may be destroyed, but God’s love for me will never end.

Just as God swore in the time of Noah, that he would never again let a flood cover the earth, so he swears now that he will never again be angry and punish me. For the mountains may move and the hills may disappear, but even then God's faithful love for me will remain. His covenant of blessing will never be broken, he has mercy on me.

As I read this passage, I'm reminded of how God had made a covenant with Noah that he has never broken. Likewise, God made a covenant of peace with the people of Israel that a time would come when he would stop pouring out his anger on them; he would restore their wealth, and would personally teach their children.

What I’m learning is that, if I’m not feeling loved by God, it will be hard to offer love to anybody else. It is impossible to be a truly loving person unless I understand and remember the way God loves me.

I need to remind myself every day what God thinks about me, not what the world thinks or what I think about myself. This is what will remove my fear.

Here are four things God thinks about me. This should help to remind me why and how to love.

1. I’m completely accepted.

I can spend a lot of my life trying to earn acceptance from my parents, peers, those I respect, those I envy, and even total strangers. But I need to realize God has already settled this issue of acceptance: “Jesus . . . made us acceptable to God” (Titus 3:7 CEV). What Jesus did on the cross made me completely acceptable to God, no matter what I’ve done or will do.

2. I’m unconditionally loved.

God doesn’t say, “I love you if” or “ I love you because.” He says, “I love you — period!” I can’t make God stop loving me, because his love is not based on what I do but on who he is. Isaiah 54:10 says, “The mountains and hills may crumble, but my love for you will never end” (GNT).

3. I’m totally forgiven.

Because Jesus died on the cross and gave his life as a payment for my sins, I’m totally forgiven once I accept that gift of forgiveness. Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (NLT). God doesn’t rehearse my sins; he releases them.

4. I’m considered extremely valuable.

There are two things that create value: who owns something, and what somebody’s willing to pay for it.

I am a child of God and “have been bought and paid for by Christ” (1 Corinthians 7:23 TLB). Jesus Christ paid for me with his life. That’s how valuable I am.

When I remember that I’m accepted, loved, forgiven, and valuable to the Creator of the universe, I’ll be better equipped to show that same love to others and build deeper relationships.

This is a great reminder of how much God loves me. He paid an extremely high price for me and thus makes me a valuable asset of his. Knowing this reminds of the essence of the Gospel message that I should be sharing with others who have not yet accepted his free gift. I think one of my big problems is that I continue to focus on myself. I realize that I’ve been looking for assurances from others that I’m doing good. I’m forgetting that all that matters is what God thinks. From that and my daily relationship with him to get his guidance, I will be doing what pleases him and will ultimately bring value to those around me that I serve.

God’s Love Is Unconditional

In review of Matthew 15:28 it says, "'Dear woman,' Jesus said to her, 'your faith is great. Your request is granted.' And her daughter was instantly healed."

Bottom Line:

His love is unconditional

Today's passage comes from the middle of Matthew Chapter 15. In this passage we learn about the faith of a gentile woman. As Jesus was going from North from Galilee to the areas of Tyre and Sidon, A gentile woman who lived there came pleading to Him.

From what I understand at the time of this story, anyone who was not a descendent from Israel was considered a gentile. Israel had been God's original people that he was raising to be his example. Thus there became a distrust between the two people groups, with people from Israel, thinking themselves higher/more privileged and others being less. For the most part the Jewish people didn't even talk to those who were gentiles.

This gentile woman recognizing him as the Lord, asked Jesus to have mercy on her daughter who was possessed by a demon who had been tormenting her severely.

At first, Jesus gave no reply. His disciples urged him to send her away, she is bothering us with all her begging.

Jesus told her that he was sent only to help God's lost sheep (people of Israel.) However still she came forward and worshiped him, pleading again, "Lord, help me!". Jesus responded with, "It isn't right to take food from children to fee the dogs". The woman replied, "true, but even dogs are allowed to eat scraps that fall from the table."

Jesus then said, dear woman, "your faith is great. Your request is granted" and her daughter was instantly healed.

In this passage, it's interesting to see that at first Jesus gave no reply to the woman's request. This seems harsh at first, however I've been reminded lately that one of Jesus main objectives here on earth was to train disciples who would make disciples.  I'm thinking that he was waiting to see what his disciples would do with this. Up to this point, Jesus had been very compassionate with people and had healed all that came to him. I think he wanted to see how his disciples would respond. We eventually see the disciples response, "send her away, she is bothering us with all her begging."

This response pretty much hits home with me. I can easily be irritated and want the irritation to go away.  However what I’m learning is that the irritation is often a need or a lesson being presented to me. Just yesterday I was listening to an old recording from the late 1970's where Rick Warren (before he started his Saddleback church), was speaking to a group of students on how to a one-on-one time with someone you are discipling.  The core of the message related to responding to situations, problems or irritants around us.  Rick mentioned that often God will put these things into our lives to see how we'll respond and where our heart is on the matter. God's goal is to make us more and more like Jesus. For example one way to teach us how to love isn't to bring around people that are easy to love, but rather bring around ones that are difficult. We often just need to recognize this and then praise God for bringing this into our lives. In praise we can learn to deal with and overcome our problems.

In getting back to this passage, after the disciples tell Jesus to send her away, Jesus responds to her with some statements about giving good stuff meant for a chosen people to those who were thought of as less. The woman responded with a statement of faith from her heart. She knew in this culture and at this time, her heritage made her appear as less, however, she had faith that even the leftovers or scraps would be sufficient for her.  

The woman responded with what was in her heart, which was true faith. Jesus responded this proclamation of faith with his affirmation that "her faith was great and that her request would be granted.

I'm certain that Jesus knew all along where this woman's heart was. He used this situation as a way to teach his disciples an example of what true faith is. It was also a foreshadow of the future where the good news will be for all and not just Israel. This passage not only gave the disciples a real life example of what faith is (from the heart), it provides one for me as well.

I’m also reminded that God knows my heart. He sees through my exact circumstances, past my money and status in the world, right into my core. That’s where He meets me! He loves me all the way through my situation.

Surely the woman in this story had heard great and wonderful things about the power of Jesus. She may have heard reports that all who came to Him were healed and that He had the authority to cast out demons, if she believed.

So, this woman heard. She acted. She received. She was healed immediately. Jesus didn’t ask her for her progress report first. He didn’t even ask her about her past sins or if she had unforgiveness in her heart. No, she just believed, so she received. His love is unconditional; He gives it freely.

One other question to ask myself this morning is, what have I heard about that I need to act on? Is something holding me back from doing so? Am I trying to get my act together before Him on it? What I need to keep in mind is that His love is unconditional! Like the woman, I can believe and reach out to Him.

Father, this morning I thank You!  As I sit at Your feet with my weary head in Your lap, Your love rushes over me and lulls me to sleep. Your unconditional, unquestioning, never-exhausted love brings security and peace to my soul. In Jesus’ name.