God Still Loves You.

This is my encouragement for you today. No matter what has happened this past week, or even today. God still loves you. I know a lot of people are thinking that with what they have done, there is no way that God could still love them. I have had a rough week and half myself. I have yelled at someone and said some not so nice things. It definitely was not pleasing to God, and it did not lift up or encourage whom I was interacting. I apologized to them, and then asked God for forgiveness for my attitude.  At work we use a acronym for certain products that are still being worked on. (WIP) Work in Progress. I see that I am a WIP with The Lord. I am still a work in progress. He isn't finished with me yet. So I turn to His word for direction and instruction. What better place to go for guidance.

Psalm 119:105(NLT)
¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
    and a light for my path

Romans 3:23(ESV)
²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

He knows that we all sin, and fall short of what He wants for us. Everyone of us. There isn't one person better than the other. God loves us all.

Romans 5:8(ESV)⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

That's right. God knew that we would still sin, but He still sent His son to die for us. So that we may spend eternity with Him. How awesome is that!! When we stumble and fall, we just need to ask for forgiveness and repent from our sin. Once God has us in His hand, no one can take us out of His grasp.

John 10:28-29(NLT)²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, ²⁹ for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.^[a] No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.

Although we still sin and do stupid things, we have a Father who loves us unconditionally. He will never leave us or forsake us.

Nehemiah 9:31(NLT)
³¹ But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!

Thank You Lord, for Your Grace and Mercy towards us sinners! Amen!

Ending Up on The Floor.

I was drying dishes the other night like I have many, many, many times before. When I was finished drying, I did something that I have done a million times ever since I was old enough to do chores: I threw the drying towel towards the counter. Like 1/2 million or even 3/4 million times before, it hit the edge of the counter and ended up on the floor. I grumbled under my breath a little saying, "so I see how this is going to go tonight." Sure enough, a few minutes later, I tossed a piece of paper towards the garbage can. You guessed it. It ended up on the floor. Except these two times were a bit different than all the other times. I could sense God trying to tell me something. He was saying to me that He wants all my life, not just my feeble attempts to get near Him. He wants me, just like when I pick up the towel or garbage, to take the extra step to make sure I get to where I need to be. He wants me to place my life in His ever loving arms, not to just throw some of myself His way and hope that I connect but end up on the floor instead. He wants me to intentionally seek Him in everything I do.

Romans 3:23(NLT)
²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

That's what I felt when the towel & the garbage fell to the floor. That I know that I still sin and fall short of God's glory. No matter how much we work and try, we can still end up on the floor.

 But there is good news.  

Ephesians 2:8-9(NLT)
⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

That's right. No matter how hard we work or try to attain our salvation, it's only by God's grace that we achieve it. We can not take credit for it or boast about it. It is a gift from God.

 Romans 8:38-39(NLT)
³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Once I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I am His forever! Nothing can separate me from Him & His love for me. One of these days, I will no longer have stuff ending up on the floor.