YES BUT HOW DO I DO IT?
For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.
Psalm 26:3
Have you ever heard a charge from a sermon or a Bible Study lesson concerning how we are to live for Jesus and wondered to yourself, Yes, but how do I do it? I want to obey, but I just don’t know how to overcome—how to stop doing the bad things and start doing the good things.
“Yes, but how” is a legitimate question.
I read the Psalms each morning as part of my daily quiet time. A few days ago, as I was reading Psalm 26, it was as if the Lord said, “This is the answer to the ‘yes, but how’ question. You can only walk in My truth when you set My lovingkindness (My faithful, loyal love) before your eyes.”
Everything in the Christian life flows from God’s love for us. 1 John 4:19 tells us, “We love, because He first loved us.” I cannot love God with all my heart or love my neighbor as myself until I first receive His love for me. To be sure, it is utterly amazing that God would love sinners like you and me … but it’s true! He does love us. And if we are going to walk in victory with Him, we must keep the truth of His love before our eyes constantly.
THE LIAR IS AT WORK
Jesus said the devil is “a liar, and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan works overtime to try to get us to believe the lie that God doesn’t love us. Perhaps He did at one time, but we have sinned too greatly for Him to love us any longer. We readily believe this lie because it matches up with our feelings. You see, when you are guilty of some heinous, terrible sin (abortion, adultery, betrayal, theft, sexual immorality or perversion), you feel unclean, unworthy, and unforgivable. It makes perfect sense that God would stop loving you given the wretched things you have done. But that “perfect sense” is a lie.
Romans 8:38-39 reminds us that nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing! If Peter’s three-fold denial of Jesus did not cause him to fall from God’s love, there is nothing you and I could ever do to cause the Lord to stop loving us. It is an undeniable truth of Scripture.
So how do you and I live the Christian life? How do we obey the commands of God and walk in the light? We start each day rejoicing in His love—as the song says, “I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart want to sing.” When we truly believe we are unconditionally loved, we are set free to love God and obey His Word. We no longer view His commands as restrictions on our lives; rather we see them as loving reminders of what is good and not good for us. Sin loses a lot of its allure when you set God’s love before your eyes.
Let me encourage you to mentally visit the cross on a regular basis. The cross of Christ proves His great love for you. God did not spare His Son for you, and Jesus willingly gave His life—all because He loves you. Jude says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 1:21). Reject the devil’s big lie that God doesn’t love you. The truth is He does. And that truth will set you free.
Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
Dr. Jeff Schreve believes that no matter how badly you may have messed up in life, God still loves you and has a wonderful plan just for you. From His Heart provides real truth, love and hope on over 700 radio stations each day, in 182 countries each week on TV, and is always available online. Pastor Jeff takes no income from this ministry. All donations go to furthering the broadcast outreach. As a listener/viewer supported ministry, we thank you for joining with us to help speak the truth in love to a lost and hurting world. Go to www.fromhisheart.org for more information.
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