“…I will love them freely…” Hosea 14:4
God loves us naturally, not of necessity. In others words, He loves us because of His character, not our conduct. God isn’t looking for something in us to prompt Him to love us, nor is He looking for something that would prevent Him from loving us. He loves us freely, fully, and forever. His love is the one constant we can count on regardless of circumstances.

Regardless of how hard we try or how good we are, we are never the cause of God’s love. He loves us in spite of us, not because of us. We neither earn or deserve God’s love. We cannot do anything to cause God to love us or to stop Him from loving us. God is love. Knowing this removes the tension that comes from trying to win God’s love, relieves the fear associated with thinking we might lose God’s love, and reassures us that our trials are meant for good not evil. Knowing that salvation is a matter of mercy rather than merit, grace rather than goodness, love rather than labor, a gift rather than a goal, gives us peace that passeth all understanding. There is no peace like that of knowing we are freely loved, fully forgiven, and forever secure.

Living in the light of His love should enlarge our wonder, excite us in our worship, express itself in our walk, encourage us in our work, effect our will, edify us in our warfare, and ease our worries. When we stop meditating on the riches of His grace and the benefits of His mercy, and the reality of His love, we grow cold and become weak–an easy prey for Satan. We faint in time of tribulation and fail in the hour of temptation. However, by looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our salvation we grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ and are transformed into His likeness. Nothing can separate us from the love of God and nothing should distract us from rejoicing in it. Being forever loved by God should be all it takes for us to be forever looking to God, and that leads to us becoming more and more like God.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind– 2 Timothy 1:7

Fearfulness does not come from God. As children of God, who believe in the perfection and power of Jesus Christ, we don’t need to worry about the future, or fret over circumstances, or be anxious about what others may think.

Rather, Paul reminds us, we are to rely upon the power and love and mental soundness that we are granted by God. This is the only way to make God-honoring, God-directed decisions.

In Christ, we know that we will be granted the strength to do anything that He requires of us. Out of love for Christ—and through Him to others—we must be willing to do whatever tends to His glory and their good. And with careful, thoughtful discipline we should therefore chart the course that He directs.

It is so easy to crumble because of conflict, or to surrender because of our situation, or to be paralyzed because of possible problems. But through his admonition to timid Timothy, Paul confronts our natural fearfulness and exhorts us to courageously make wise decisions, out of love for God.

Which paradigm best describes your decision making? Are you most concerned about financial security, or social approval, or selfish pleasure? Or are you walking in paths that are guided by the power of the Spirit, motivated by a love for Christ, and carefully chosen according to faith? (Baptist Bible Hour)

“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”–1 John 1:3–5

During a long and distinguished career of service to his country, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. gained a reputation as one of the great legal scholars of history. After serving in the Civil War, he began an academic and legal career that saw him spend thirty years on the Supreme Court. His opinions were filled with well-crafted phrases that are still referenced today. At one point Holmes is said to have remarked: “I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers.”

A miserable, depressed, defeated and joyless Christian does not provide a good advertisement for his faith. God has not planned for us to be miserable, but to be joyful. The fact that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit means that we are not responsible to produce it—instead we are to yield to His control and allow Him to produce joy in our lives. During his pioneering missionary work in Burma, Adoniram Judson was called “Mr. Glory Face” by the people to whom he ministered. What was on the inside showed up on the outside.

God wants us to be witnesses of His love and grace to a lost and dying world. If we appear to have no better hope than those around us, they are unlikely to listen to the message we want to share with them. The joy of the Lord shown in our lives will make our witness much more powerful.( Daily in the Word)

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.–John 17:15

It is a sweet and blessed event which will occur to all believers in God’s own time—the going home to be with Jesus. In a few more years the Lord’s soldiers, who are now fighting “the good fight of faith” will have done with conflict, and have entered into the joy of their Lord. But although Christ prays that his people may eventually be with him where he is, he does not ask that they may be taken at once away from this world to heaven. He wishes them to stay here. Yet how frequently does the wearied pilgrim put up the prayer, “O that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away and be at rest;” but Christ does not pray like that, he leaves us in his Father’s hands, until, like shocks of corn fully ripe, we shall each be gathered into our Master’s garner. Jesus does not plead for our instant removal by death, for to abide in the flesh is needful for others if not profitable for ourselves. He asks that we may be kept from evil, but he never asks for us to be admitted to the inheritance in glory till we are of full age. Christians often want to die when they have any trouble. Ask them why, and they tell you, “Because we would be with the Lord.” We fear it is not so much because they are longing to be with the Lord, as because they desire to get rid of their troubles; else they would feel the same wish to die at other times when not under the pressure of trial. They want to go home, not so much for the Saviour’s company, as to be at rest. Now it is quite right to desire to depart if we can do it in the same spirit that Paul did, because to be with Christ is far better, but the wish to escape from trouble is a selfish one. Rather let your care and wish be to glorify God by your life here as long as he pleases, even though it be in the midst of toil, and conflict, and suffering, and leave him to say when “it is enough.”– C. H. Spurgeon

“But God is the judge—“. Ps. 75:7
“—-Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?“–Gen. 18:25

Considering that every culture has some sense of right and wrong, it stands to reason that everyone believes in justice of some sort. That of course raises the question, “To whom are we ultimately accountable?”. Who is the final authority? For the Bible believer the answer is obvious— “God is the Judge”. Not “a” judge, as though one among many, but “the’ Judge. He is the Supreme Judge of right and wrong for the entire universe. He is King of kings and Lord of lords! And He is so by Self-appointment. He is perfectly justified in doing this because He is perfect in all His ways. If not Him, who? Who is better qualified? Who else has such authority? Who could do it better?

— His wisdom is infinite.
— His knowledge embraces the past, present, and future.
— His character is holy.
— His power is unlimited.
— His mercy is everlasting.
— His love unconditional.
— His laws are just.
— His judgements are true.
— His promises are sure.

Does it trouble you to think of God as the Judge? Are you afraid of being accountable to such a God? This subject is unpleasant only to those who have a good reason for it to be so. For those who know God and are knowledgeable of God (there is a difference) this is a glorious thought. It assures us that justice will prevail, that good will triumph over evil, and right will overcome wrong. In other words–God will make all things right, for the first time since before the fall when He pronounced His creation as being “very good”(Gen.1:31). Whether He is recompensing the evil or rewarding the good He does all things well. When it is all said and done, not one single person will be able to say God was unfair. Is it not good to know that, regardless of how things seem at the present, all will end well for those who trust Christ. In that great day when He shall rule with a rod of iron from His throne over all the earth, every knee shall bow and “every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”(Phil. 2:11).