For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.  As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

(Isaiah 66:12-13)

“if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

(2Chronicle 7:14 ASV)

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work,
he stops all people from their labor.”

 (Job 37:5-7-NIV)

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

(Luke 19:10-ESV)

Have you ever had moments reading a scripture that you have read in the past and on a particular day, reading it again seems like you have never read it before? It always amazes me that no matter how many times I read a scripture or passage, God always reveals a new applicable lesson to my life.  However, 1 John chapter 4:7-21 seems to always be consistent each time I read it, ‘God is Love.’ The writer wrote the word love twenty-four times (NIV version) to help us understand that God is love and to tell us if we claim to know Him and have no love, we are liars.  The love that the writer is describing is known in Hebrew-Greek as agapao, to love in a social or moral standard. That love is different from the love that derives from the Hebrew-Greek word phileo, which connects to feelings or expressions.  For example, in Matthew 10:37 Jesus used the word Phileo. Jesus is saying our affection for Him as our God/Lord/Savior/Redeemer must supersede all emotional connection that we have for our family.  For us to better understand the gift of love given to us through Jesus Christ, we must go back to Genesis 6 to understand its significance. God’s voice in the flesh, willingly stooped down to the lowest level so that we can have the incredible invitation to share in his kingdom’s blessings.

Genesis Chapter 6:5-8 reads  

 “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.  The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.  So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

(NIV Version)

“ADONAI saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their heart were always of evil only. ADONAI regretted that he had made humankind on the earth; it grieved his heart. ADONAI said, “I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the whole earth; and not only human beings, but animals, creeping things and birds in the air; for I regret that I ever made them. But Noach found grace in the sight of ADONAI”

(The complete Jewish Study Bible Version).

As I meditate while reading these scriptures, I am in awe of how much God so deeply loves us. He is always looking for the one righteous person who is willing to love Him above all. As a parent, I can relate to the pain that God felt as He watched his children, human creation, choose Satan’s voice to follow; they chose to allow Satan’s spirit to dwell in them. God concluded that every tendency of His children was evil.  The scripture states that God was deeply troubled/grieved by what He saw. The word grieve in the Hebrew-Greek language is atsab (Pronunciation: aw-tsab), which describes physical and emotional pain and anguish that one can experience.  God was in so much agony watching humankind destroying their souls, He saw them as unrepairable and resolved to one decision, destruction. I know God does not take any pleasure watching us use our free will to do harm to ourselves and others because He says so.  In Ezekiel 18:23 God says, “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live” (NLT Version).   God's deep desire has always been for us to simply turn from our wicked ways and come back to Him.  I have always wondered during the 400-year period of God's spiritual silence until the arrival of Jesus, what was God like in Heaven?  I picture Him grieving the continuous disregard for His law and the constant rejection from Humankind.  I also envision Him pacing back and forth in His kingdom saying to Himself; I cannot do this again; I can’t destroy them again!  Yes indeed, He did promise that He would never destroy life by waters again (Genesis 9:11) but there are so many other ways He could have chosen to destroy us.  I also picture the joy in His heart as His voice whispered, "Send me; maybe, just maybe, if we demonstrate for them how to draw closer to us (Father- Son- Holy Spirit) instead of telling them, they might come back to us." I also envision God with extraordinary joy saying, "Yes, let us take the sins of the whole world and die in their place so that I, their creator, can also be their rescuer if they choose me."  I truly believe John 3:16, “For God so Loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal Life” was possibly written on the day in heaven that God decided to give us all one more chance to be reunited with Him through Jesus Christ who became the Bible in action (John 1:14).

In my early Christian walk Romans 10: 9-11 was taught to me as the path to Jesus. In part, the people who taught me the scriptures were right!  However, as God allowed me to study the Bible for myself, I learned through scriptures that the writer in the book of Romans was speaking about faith in Jesus which was taken out of context regarding Salvation.  These scriptures are also one of the most used scriptures in the religious world that are often used to deceive many people into believing “confessing Jesus with your mouth” will grant you Salvation.  In verse 14 of the same chapter 10, the writer made it noticeably clear that you must know Jesus in order to believe. Yes, declaring “Jesus is Lord” and believing in His resurrection are fundamental to our faith in the path toward Salvation. However, according to the Messiah’s own words, confessing and immersing in water of baptism are both important to be a born-again Christian.   Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born! “Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:1-8).  Jesus Himself, as the Messiah, modeled for us the incredible process that He preached by his own example in Matthew 3:13-16, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.  As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.”  If Jesus can say he must be baptized to “fulfil all righteousness,” how can we disregard the power that comes through repentance, confessing Jesus is Lord, and being baptized (Submerged) which symbolizes the new life that Jesus promises us (Acts 2: 37-41)?   Colossians 2:11-12 and many other scriptures describe for us the power of dying to our old selves in baptism and raising into a new life just as Christ was raised from the dead to “wiped away the bill of charge against us” (The complete Jewish Study Bible).  There are many characteristics I learned about Jesus in His ministry but the one trait I have always loved about Him is that He never asks us to do anything that He Himself has not demonstrated.  In the same way, His Apostles started the 1st century church with the same response that the Messiah has taught them, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ``Save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:37-40, KJV).

I am not writing this to disprove or disqualify anyone’s faith in Jesus Christ.  I am a prime example of how in my deep desire to learn about Jesus, He reveals Himself to me by using diverse congregations to influence my walk with Him.  I prayed Jesus into my heart and confessed Him as my Savior on several occasions; however, I learned the true power that I was seeking is hidden in dying to myself and being raised into a new creation with the Holy Spirit of God as my Counselor in baptism (Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Isaiah 43:18-21, Romans 8:11-17, etc.). Yes, believing and confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord is a positive step toward a relationship with Him but according to Scriptures, there is more to the process of becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus as a Christian/Disciple.  I would encourage anyone who is seeking a deeper understanding about God to read the Holy Scriptures, spend time with Jesus to learn how you can enter His kingdom.  Don’t take my words, your preachers’ words, your parents’ words and/or any outside influence, kneel before His throne and learn from Him through the Holy Scriptures. Jesus tells us He is the bread of life that gives everlasting food and drink (John 6:35).  In the same chapter of John 6: 63, Jesus addressed the disciples that were with Him saying “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you they are full of the Spirit and Life.”

I am so grateful to learn that Jesus did not come to condemn us. He simply came to give us life and a new beginning with our maker.  I have contemplated this thought for a while. If God wanted to condemn us, why would he need to come to us?  As you meditate on this thought, think of everything that God has allowed or caused in the Old and New Testament. Why would He need to send Jesus His ‘Word’ in the flesh to condemn or punish us? Jesus came with one purpose that is to seek and save his lost children who are lost in the scheme of Satan’s lies (Luke 19:9-10). Jesus was clear about his purpose on earth during his ministry. When they came to arrest Jesus, he made it very clear that God can rescue Him if that was the plan. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword. “Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” (Matthew 26:53-Barean Study Bible). God never makes a decision in vain; His heart is to rescue every soul on this earth, but He also knows many would reject Him and would choose the wicked path (Matthew 7:13-14).  Even though God knew a few will find His path, He felt that the few are worthy of His Grace and Mercy. Jesus says there is a gate and a path to eternal life, and He is the way (John 14:6-7, Revelation 1:17-18).  Many people often wonder, how do we find the path to eternal life?  What does it mean to believe and love God? In my walk with Jesus, I have learned one important fact about God through the Holy Scriptures, He will never leave us in the dark. Scriptures clearly depict His expectation to ‘whoever’ says yes to His reconciliation invitation (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).  Through different series of devotions, we will explore what it means to ‘believe’ and ‘love’ God according to Jesus’ own words and actions.