LOVE this! :-)

(via foreverx777)

Look at His hands - holding and loving the very people who killed Him and put those nails there.

:)

(Source: simplyheavenlyfood)

Even as a Christian, I am afraid of messing up. Getting too far away from God, not doing enough for Him. On those days, instead of the kind of merciful Father, I see Him as the just and righteous ruler. Doubt of His forgiveness plagues me sometimes; as once in a while a thought pops into my head, a verse or two maybe, which makes me feel as if I’m “just one mistake away from [Him] leaving me this way.” (Casting Crowns’ “East to West” puts that so wonderfully!)

   Just reading about the purity of Jesus makes my heart sink when I compare His to mine.  When I look at the all the laws of the Bible, I don’t even want to think of how many of them I break, sometimes on a daily basis. Sometimes, I feel chained to the Law. I feel bound to living a life of perfection, or as perfect I can be, out of fear I’ll be a disappointment to Him, or worse yet, when I see Him someday, that He’ll tell me to depart from Him for He never knew me.

Sometimes I doubt if I’m truly capable of loving Him with all I have of my humanity.

One day, I talked to Him about this shadow hovering around me and prayed that I might know without a doubt that He loves me.  In response, I read the devotional* for that day and got this Word from Him:

“I love you regardless of how well you are performing…I love you with an everlasting love… your accomplishment as a Christian has no bearing on My Love for you. Even your ability to assess how well you are doing on a given day is flawed… Bring your performance anxiety to Me.” (Psalm 112:7; Isaiah 41:10)

Just reading that lifted my spirits immensely – especially when Jesus says that our perception is flawed. Our feelings have nothing to do with His unconditional love and limitless mercy. Our human points of view are so different from His – where we see failure and hopelessness, He sees redemption and a new start. When we feel chained, He offers freedom, grace and forgiveness…something key to a Christian’s walk that I had let slip from my mind. In other words (going back to that Casting Crowns song,) Jesus casts our sins as far as the east is from the west.  [Psalm 103:12]

In the Old Testament, there is the Law. In the New Testament, there…isn’t. Or at least it isn’t applied to the way of living. There is no formal “Law” in the New Testament, save for two found in Luke 10:27: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” By doing so, one fulfills all the other commandments.

Why is this so? Because of Jesus.

If one looks at the Old Testament, one sees rigidity. God is holy (“set apart”) and therefore only a few of His spokesmen, the Levites, were allowed to be in contact with Him through a special covenant.  There was much regulation – everything was exact and precise because anything less would diminish God’s glory and holiness. Sacrifices were made for the atonement of sins, of which the animals had to be perfect. To offer less would be spitting in His face, for because He is the definition of perfection, there cannot be anything less than perfect.

The problem was, no one could keep His commandments according to His perfection. Our humanity and fleshly natures cause us to sin, and therefore be cut off from God. This saddened God, because He loves us and wants us to be in a relationship with Him.

Because of that, He offered a Savior – His perfect Son Jesus – as the sacrifice for our sins. Past, present, and future. The blood of Jesus was pure, a spotless Lamb who never sinned, so therefore He was acceptable to God for our atonement. The moment He died on the Cross, the world changed.

The curtain of the temple separating God’s presence ripped in half, and therefore making it so that ANYONE could approach Him on his or her behalf and ask for forgiveness, not just the Levites.

At that moment, we were freed from the Law. The Law where we were once slaves, we became free through Christ. We became forgiven, and because He paid the price for all of our sins we will or ever will commit, we don’t have to.  We became His righteousness by accepting His sacrifice and blood.

By no means does this mean that Christians can do what we like, as Romans 6:2 says. We still must walk in His commandment to love like He does. But with Him as our Savior, it’s okay to slip once in a while because He knows we’re human and forgives us when we ask. :)

The reason why we have the Law, then, is to show us how badly we need our Savior, as Galatians 4:19-20 says. The Law exists to point us to Him and His mercy, not to condemn those who believe He set us free through His death and resurrection.

His grace and mercy are as unending as the sea.

If you’ve been hurt or are in need of forgiveness and a love to quench your aching soul, ask Him to show you why – we can’t see things from His point of view.

Trust in Him, let Him reveal Himself to you.

Let Him love you with all of His heart.

*The devotional in italics was from Jesus Calling, a remarkable book!!! Go read it. :} <3

joanied:

i want to be in a relationship with someone who loves god why .. because i want to live a life running toward god as fast as i can and if your not running with me then we’re just going to grow apart                                 your spouse should be your partner in ministry, a team together in serving the lord, growing closer to God and each other. 

 2 Cor 6:14

How awesome…my stepfather showed me this a few days ago! :-)

trappedoutsidethebox:

Forest Cathedral

I would love to go to an “outdoor” church like this… :)

(Source: )

summerwillcomeagain:

stained glass ceiling

Woooww <3

This is so beautiful, it broke my heart when I heard it. Just take a minute, and listen to the lyrics…

(Source: spiritualinspiration, via awesomeyahweh)

Thank you so much!! :-) God bless you too!

:-)

(Source: 500daysofzyrah, via 500daysofzyrah)

simplyheavenlyfood:

Nothing can separate you from My love.  Let this divine assurance trickle through your mind and into your heart and soul.  Whenever you start to feel fearful or anxious, repeat this unconditional promise:  Nothing can separate me from your love, Jesus.

Most of mankind’s misery stems from feeling unloved.  In the midst of adverse circumstances, people tend to feel that love has been withdrawn and they have been forsaken.  This feeling of abandonment is often worse than the adversity itself.  Be assured that I never abandon any of My children, not even temporarily.  I will never leave you or forsake you!  My Presence watches over you continually.  I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.

            Romans 8:38                            Joshua 1:5                               Isaiah 49:15-16