Viewing entries tagged
testimony
Viewing entries tagged
testimony
Jesus we love You…oh how we love You. You are the one that our hearts adore…
Last night was a praise and worship night where we joined together with another church.
It was wonderful.
From the beginning the Spirit’s presence was manifested. You know those chills you get, the smile that comes across your face, the joy, the victory, the hope we receive as we corporately gather together to recognize and praise our God.
Yet towards the end of the night and in the midst of telling Jesus how much I love and adore Him, I was drawn back to my own reality and the question that seems to steal away my intimacy with God.
Do I really know the love of God?
Meditating on this and seeking His word brought up two distinctions regarding God’s love.
The first belief without a doubt is that God is love.
His mercy, grace, forgiveness, and our very breath of life is because of His love.
Unchanging and steadfast, a love that nothing can separate us from!
A love that brought redemption and reconciliation and allows us the blessing of knowing Elohim, God Almighty as our Abba Father. Yes, I believe this!
Knowing that truth then lead me to then ask what I am looking for to determine if I know ‘the love of God’.
Many like myself, have grown up with brokenness in our families. Absent or unloving parents, mistakes made, and wounds unhealed have left a ‘longing for love’. In the flesh, my defensive responses of pride and entitlement or hurt and anger can even now arise as idols that compete and rob me of relational intimacy with God and others.
God has been continual healing me and I am grateful to say that the break in that moment of worship was by His grace. I knew to go to His word to allow Him to give the answers that I could now receive in His timing.
1 John 4 brought me to the truths that set captives free. Please walk with me through my thoughts as the Spirit did His transforming work:
8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Woah, that was right to the point and my first response was this doesn’t sound like the unconditional love I expect from God. God is telling me I need to do something to know Him and His love.
12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
‘If we love another’, there it was again, a condition and one that I don’t do well with. Is God then not abiding in me? Would not this thinking cause me to question God’s love for me?
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
Wait, that is me, I have made that confession and God is abiding in me and I in Him.
And there it was that God’s living, acting, mighty and powerful word spoke to me.
It was no longer about what I needed to do, but what God has already done. We love because He first loved us. (v19) and He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. (v4)
These truths about love were not warnings and condemnation for my failure to love but instead a reminder that I am born again by His Spirit to love as He does(v7) and that as He is, so also are we in this world. (V17)
He reminds me His love will be perfected in me, (v12 and V17) and His love will cast out fears that are against His love. (v18)
His grace and faithfulness revealing His love as His prophetic word now answers my longing soul:
16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
Thank you Jesus that You are Love. May we continue to abide in love, love as You loved, and know and believe the love God has for us. Amen
“My name is Mike Fricano, I am 62 years of age. I was raised in the Catholic faith and have always considered myself a Christian. My core values were instilled at an early age in my life: work hard and you will prosper, success will follow. The harder I worked, the job promotions came quickly, as did the rewards. Finance wise, I have lived a comfortable life, good health, and a stress free life, married over 40 years to my wife, Janet, admitting that I was fine without God. I happened to be channel surfing one day, and ran across an evangelist preaching about what happens after you die, and eternity. I spent some time and did some serious soul searching. That night, I prayed to God and ask the Holy Spirit to come in my heart and to change my life. My prayer was answered. I never read or understood the Bible, until now! I have a clear vision on God’s plan for me. Before, there was considerable doubt in my mind about where I was going to spend eternity. There is no doubt in my mind now, because I trust Jesus. I believe that Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross for our sins and rose again. I believe that we will have everlasting life if we believe and trust in him. It’s simple, ask yourself where do you want to spend eternity? I found Redemption church by doing research about a Christian-based church here in Delray Beach Florida. What a blessing it has been. I really enjoy the church members and the teachings that Pastor Daniel shares on Sundays.”
“So this happened to me during a therapy session a few months back - my own therapy session; I was the client, not the counselor. I was feeling downcast and discouraged and it became clear it was frustration about myself and the way I was handling things, thinking about things, responding to things etc. I was explaining to the therapist how discouraged I felt and overwhelmed. I was going back over how I was feeling and explaining to her that the worst part of the discouragement was that I didn’t like who I was, which felt even more discouraging. But the Holy Spirt then said to me that I needed to yield to Him. It’s as if the Gospel became real again, front and center, in that moment. It’s quite true - I don’t like who I am in my flesh; in fact there’s nothing good there, but I do like the new creation Christ has made me to be, which is reflected most clearly when I am yielded and obedient to Him.”
We had a wonderful time celebrating our Risen Savior with everyone today! We wanted to shared the special video we played during our Easter service today featuring many members of Redemption Church sharing why THEY have chosen to worship Jesus! We are excited for all the things God continues to do in our hearts as we pursue and proclaim Him together.
