By: "Laurie Ousley, ND, CNH"
Romans 5:1-8
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Before we know God, before we learn about His love, before we acknowledge Him, before we hear His name, while our allegiance is still to the one who claims the earth as his - Satan (for if we are not choosing to serve God in every aspect of our life, we are serving self which is ultimately serving Satan) - God's grace is there waiting for us.
God's love for us is real and His grace is there for us before we accept it - whether we accept it or not. He gives us the desire, He calls us from deep within ourselves, drawing us with a desire for a great love. He gives us the faith to accept His love and His grace. He gives us the hope of something better. He gives us the power to persevere when we are being bombarded with trials. He gives us Himself through the Holy Spirit, to dwell in us to be one with Him - if we will allow it to happen. His love is immeasurable, His grace is inconceivable, His power is awesome, and He directs His concern and His love and His compassion to you. What wondrous love is this!
May you experience the power of His wondrous love in your life today and may you truly say "I and Christ are one and He is the One"!
In His Service,
Laurie
The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving,
compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God
tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what
does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk
humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no
more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us
to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human
beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do
otherwise is not Christian.
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