God's Great Love - The Kry - I Know Everything About You

I've noticed something about myself in recent years that has changed dramatically as I've grown in grace. In the song below, which I first heard probably in 1994, the lyrics go, "I know everything about you but I still love you." Those are great, encouraging, assuring words to any Christian about God's unconditional agape love. This song also has a very encouraging message about the finished work of Christ and God's never-changing love.

But what's changed for me - and I don't mean to be a stickler but this is just reality - is that I would change "but I still" to "and." "I know everything about you and I love you." No need to add "but I still..." In other words, God's love and grace that my heart has been growing deeper in, has convinced me of His love without Him having to convince me nearly as much as before that "even when I mess up He 'still' loves me." I know that all my actions don't line up with the reality of who I truly am in Him, but the issue of His love and acceptance of me has been resolved over the years. ALL of it is based upon His unconditional love and the finished work of Christ!

...Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but (Jesus), having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Heb 10:11-14 NASB

I was bought for a price. I didn't pay the price. He did! There's nothing that I've ever done or will ever do that adds to or cancels His purchase. Again, I'm the one who's been redeemed. He's the one who paid the price. Let's keep that straight! Even when we were still sinners, even when we were still His enemies, Christ died for us and reconciled us to God (Rom 5:8,10). It's through nothing we've done. Only His love and work has accomplished this! We did nothing to accomplish any of this. He did it all! MUCH was accomplished on the cross and with the burial and resurrection of Jesus. "MUCH" is a huge understatement!

And so if I was a sinner and His enemy when He did all this because of His great love and grace, who am I to question or even make it an issue of whether or not He still loves me! Of course He does! Nothing I ever did made Him love me, and even being a sinner and an enemy didn't keep Him from loving me. I can see why a sinner and an enemy might question God's unconditional love (even thought they don't have to!), but now that I've died as a sinner and an enemy and have been raised again as a brand new creation, to a brand new Life, joined together with Him, having been justified and having peace with God through the blood of Jesus, why would I ever think there's reason to question His great love?

The Kry - I Know Everything About You


Bought with a price
Nothing you've done
It's a gift to you
My love is unconditional

-----

Each time you fall
Look to the sky
It won't change My love for you
It won't change My mind

Lift your head up
You will always be Mine
My grace for you
Will last until the end of time

You're invited to join the Grace Roots Ning community!

Visit Grace Roots

Many of you know all about the various Ning communities that are out there, and are even members of some of them, as I am (see side column of this blog). A while back I decided to create my own social community - Grace Roots - that is based upon being established in grace, living in grace and growing in grace. I haven't done much with it yet. My "vision" of it is simply an online community where people can encourage one another in God's love and grace. There are various other excellent Ning communities, and my purpose is not to 'compete' with any of them, of course. It's simply to join people together in the pure gospel of grace and peace.

As I said, I haven't done much with this community yet, but that's where you come in! You can share your blog posts there, take part in discussions, post pictures, etc. With a Ning profile, you can have your very own page and customize it to your liking. You can become 'friends' with other people, and even share videos and music. You can send messages to others, share status updates, write on others' walls, share upcoming events, write notes, and so on and so on. Try it out, and let me know what you think! I'm open to your suggestions as to the look and feel of the site, as well as the content, etc.

graceroots.ning.com

Light vs. Ignorance

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place" (2 Cor 2:14).

When you see the word "darkness" in the Bible what do you think of? I used to think of darkness as "evil" or "bad." I suppose we could use the word in that context at times. But many times the word means something else. The way the word is used in the Bible can often mean "ignorant" or "lacking in knowledge."

The Apostle Paul preached words that helped bring light into dark places. In other words, he preached knowledge - knowledge of the Person, Jesus Christ - and his words shined the light in the darkness. Where there was once ignorance in regards to Jesus, his words shined the light and "diffused the fragrance of His knowledge in every place."

It wasn't Paul's lifestyle that the Gentiles were interested in. It was his Jesus. It wasn't the law that he had formerly preached. It was Jesus. The sweet smelling aroma that attracted people to Paul was really the knowledge of Jesus, and when Paul shined the light on the truth of who Jesus really was, people came running to him, and not away from him.

It's been a while since I shared a message from my pastor in the late 90's, "Pastor Mark." Tonight I was listening to a message from him from 1997 that I just couldn't help but share! I believe you will be highly encouraged by this, as he speaks of how the "light," in many cases in the New Testament, is really referring to the knowledge of Jesus, and darkness is referring to being ignorant of Jesus. When the light shines in the darkness, ignorance is diffused and people come to know the One who God gave as a gift to mankind.

Download it, give it a listen, and let me know what you think! It's almost an hour long, and well worth it if you listen to just part of it or the whole thing. I love Mark's sense of humor and his excellent preaching of Christ.