“We love Him, because He first loved us.” God loved us when we were still His enemies because of sin. We were in a fallen state that kept us alienated from God, spiritually dead to Him. To be spiritually dead to God puts us on course for eternal damnation. Justice must be satisfied because God is still the God of justice. His love for us must be balanced with justice. Free will beings must have a governor that keeps us in line. The sin nature had been working in mankind for so many years since Adam and Eve dropped the ball. We have become so accustomed to living in sin, we think it’s normal. That’s why we are admonished to renew our minds with the word of God. Reprogramming our way of life is a must. How can we love God in that selfish state of existence. Once we’ve gained the knowledge of what God did for us at Calvary to correct things, how can you not love Him. You don’t love Him because you don’t know Him, you don’t know Him because you haven’t put the time in to seek Him. The Lord has made a way of escape from the sin nature that still is at work in our bodies. The only thing changed at the new birth is our human spirits. We must bring our bodies into subjection to His word. God says, I love you, you say I love you more, and He says, I loved you first.

“For I the Lord your God hold your right hand; I am the Lord, Who says to you, Fear not; I will help you!” God is telling you that He is holding your right hand. The right hand in this passage is more indicative of strength and power as mentioned in the bible about God’s right hand (Isaiah 41:10). God’s right hand holding our right hand can only lead to victory over our challenges and troubles. He is here to help us on every level of life. The ticket you’ll need to ride this train everyday, is your faith and tenacious, relentless, and steadfast belief, He’ll do it. Through faith and patience we obtain the promises of God (Hebrews 6:12). If you are afraid, there’s a promise of God to cover that, and give you a clear undisturbed thinking mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Also perfect love drives out fear, which is a more mature love. A love that can suffer unwarranted disrespect or offense of any kind without retaliation. That love which has no breaking point once understood by the lover. God has said, I Am here to help you, but understand how to get that help on a regular basis. Draw near to God, and He’ll draw near to you. He has given mankind free will, so we must invoke our free will to go after God like a bulldog on a bone. Hold on tight to the Lord’s hand, and don’t let go.

“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive the glory and the honor and dominion, for You created all things; by Your will they were [brought into being] and were created.” God created all things by His will and we were brought into existence because of it. The Lord created mankind in His image and likeness. We have our mannerisms and basic behavior from God. After the fall of mankind in the garden of Eden, our mannerisms and behavioral boundaries were affected. Our make-up became less heavenly minded, and we developed more worldly concerns which took us away from God’s will for us. The remedy is receiving the finished work at Calvary, provided by Jesus Christ for your salvation. Since this is a free will choice, if you decide to accept it you will be restored to your original position with the Lord. That original position puts us in line with the one who created us, and His plans for us. Who better than the one who created it all to download in you the program designed especially for you for victorious living. God gave dominion over the earth to mankind. Since Satan temporarily has the rulership of this world (John 14:30), there will always be a fight between you and him trying to flex his dominance. The devil knows whether or not you are close to God. If you’re not close to God, he knows you don’t know you have authority over him. To God be the glory for the mighty works He has done for us.

“Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.” This world we live in was created by an unseen entity. The unseen realm is where God, His angels and Satan are visible. From heaven long ago God said, let us make man in our image and our likeness (Genesis 1:26). The earth had already been created by Jesus before man was on the scene (Hebrews 1:2). Our existence is based on the rules and guidelines set by the unseen realm. Our success is based on following the teachings and precepts of the unseen One. What is temporary is this world we live in (Matthew 24:35). Life in this world can be summed up like this, testing ground to determine if a person will choose the Lord Jesus regardless of the spirit of the anti-christ always in our ear. God allows us to touch evil (go through crisis), to experience it. Going to heaven without that understanding of evil, could cause us to turn out like Lucifer. Lucifer who is now the devil, chose rebellion against God, and now his future is everlasting punishment. You will join Satan in hell without the unseen One in your life. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Think long term, not on this short life span we have here on earth.

“There is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides You; there is no Rock like our God.” He is immovable, not pressured or moved in any way because of circumstances or bad situations. He is the Rock of our salvation and deliverer of our soul’s torment and unrestfulness. There is no one holy like the Lord, and there is none besides Him. Holiness in the born again believer can repel demonic influences. The devil and his pitiful crew cannot stand in the presence of God’s holiness. When there’s a sufficient amount of Christ’s presence in the heart of a child of God, it’s like Jesus facing Satan, no difference than when Satan got the Holy beat down in hell. The power of the Godhead dwells in Jesus and we are complete in Him (Colossians 2:9-10). Stability in this world as it is today has left. The only surety is Christ the solid Rock on which we stand. To walk in holiness is to walk in love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, meekness, kindness, goodness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). As the christian believer follows these Godly attributes and characteristics of His make-up, the power of God will flow through you easily. The devil can’t tell the difference between you or if that’s really Christ Himself. It’s all about your faith in the Lord. As our faith grows the Rock in us will grow. Since we are made in God’s image and His likeness, is this really that far fetched (Genesis 1:26:-28).

“Now may the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus.” It takes endurance and encouragement to ultimately live in harmony with each other. Being able to suffer certain things to happen without retaliation. People can be easily angered, and easily offended. The only way to be able to get to them is by loving them through it. Not becoming a doormat along the way, but being more understanding of what they may be going through. People are not born angry, bitter, hurt, jealous, or any of the bad qualities none of us like. We go through stuff that causes us to become that. Without knowledge of God’s word, or certain people helping, we will most likely stay in that funk. Having the mind of Christ on every subject or issue in life can be your lifeline to deliverance from that snare of bondage. Paul is talking to the Romans in this passage about having the same attitude of mind that Christ Jesus had. Jesus loved without restraint towards the people in His day. Even the ones about to crucify Him on the cross. We must be long-suffering and steadfast in our relationship with God. Quality time with the King brings peace of mind, and clarity of thought. We have clear thinking minds as we continue in our fellowship with the Lord. Without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Encouragement, the fortifying support which helps us endure.

“But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].” To walk in the light is to follow the footsteps of how Jesus walked the earth. Since Jesus is the light we can more easily walk this walk (John 8:12). When our fellowship with the Lord is unbroken, and undisturbed, we are continually being cleansed of our sins by the blood of Jesus. All christians have relationships with God, but many have left the idea of maturing in Christ. The richer our fellowship with the Lord, the more cleansing of sin will occur. The main God blocker from getting His help is sin in our lives. Sometimes we are unaware of certain sins in our life but the Lord sees it all. Every morning when you speak to the Lord you should ask Him, if there’s any sin in my life please forgive me. Much sin in our lives is self inflicted because we have not renewed our minds enough with the word of God to be more conscious we’re messing up. To walk in the light is not to be perfect, you can forget about being perfect, not happening while in these bodies of ours. We should always be striving for perfection, understanding we’re working towards a much higher prize than this world can offer. Walk in the light because the darkness will suck you dry from living a victorious life.

“Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.” The word of God says, meditate in the word day and night and then you’ll make your own way prosperous (Joshua 1:8). If we are to have great success in life, we must study to show ourselves approved by God. Because of the many distractions in this world we must invoke our will and make ourselves study the words of the Lord. His word is spirit and life. There is no word of the Lord that is void of power (Luke 1:37), and where it is sent will produce the desired results you’re looking for. Our faith must be tested, but without studying first how will you understand the answers. We can have head knowledge of a subject matter but without living it, or having revelation knowledge of it, the test has not been taken. When the only way you’ll get out of a bad situation is if God delivers you, that’s when your faith will be tested. God has said in His words, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). There is no shame in knowing the truth, and the truth about life will make you free as long as you keep God in the mix.

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!” Where God dwells there are gates and then the courtyard. Not much different than the approach of today’s kings. Much of how and what we do in this world is patterned after heaven’s design whether realized or not. Thanksgiving is the key into His gates, and praise should be given once we’ve entered the courtyard before the Holy of holies. Once we’ve come into the presence of God, the Holy of holies, it changes us for the good. By worshiping before going into the Lord’s presence, it calms down our flesh, and minds to be able to receive from God. Our spirit man at this point is ecstatic, super excited and totally submitted to the presence of God. In this position we can receive our spiritual needs. God works on us in a supernatural way that will affect our everyday life. There’s nothing like the presence of God. The counterfeit to God’s presence is drinking alcohol or using drugs to help you feel a certain way of comfort. But there’s only one true high that builds you up after the experience, and it can only be found and experienced by the presence of the Lord. The shekinah Glory of God is the ultimate experience of God’s presence that won’t kill us. Our earth suits (our bodies), cannot handle the uncut presence of God. The Lord has so much more for us that we can have if we would just seek Him out.

“The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.” The Lord your God is with you, let that sink in. The creator of the universe lives in the born again Christian’s heart. We have access to His benefits for victorious living. He does not hold our sins against us anymore. Today we are living in the dispensation of grace. Meaning we are not in the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth get even mentality with those that come to do us wrong. Neither is God counting our wrong doings against us any more like in the old testament bible days. Because of Jesus Christ our Lord we are forgiven of our sins. They are as far from God as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). Unlike mankind God makes no mention of past sins. In many human circles people have heated discussions and they bring up a past issue that was put to bed or settled way back when. Stirring up a pot of troubles that were already settled and forgiven, is like reliving something that could keep you in a drama loop of unnecessary misery. If a person is doing that to you, run away from them as fast and far as you can. Because of God’s love for us He will be silent and make no mention of your past sins. Ask God to forgive you if you mess up, and don’t allow negative people to keep you under condemnation when the Lord has already forgiven you. Be free!