How Do You Know God Loves You?

Dr. Mike 2026 , , , , ,

“For the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” John 16:27

The Bible tells me so. But can you believe the Bible?

First, if God created the universe, how would HE communicate his purpose for us humans? Would not a historical journal of his interactions with people prove beneficial? The question one needs to determine is of all the books claiming to be from him, which one is really his. There are more ancient manuscripts on the Bible than any other known book. Over 3,000 writings that reveal 98% of the words are in total agreement. The other 2% are items that do not change the teachings of faith nor salvation.

When you read the Bible and all other religious documents, you will note the difference. The Bible is a collection set of over 60 books. Books written over a 1,500-year period, by 40 different authors, in three languages. All with a similar theme and story line.

It is not a book written by one person hidden in a cave. It is the most scrutinized book in the world.

But why all the different disagreements between denominations?

People from different denominations have different interpretations. This leads to personal preferences. But most are in agreement with the main essentials.

What are the essentials?

Mainline Christianity believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah, Son of God and Son of Man. He died, was buried, but resurrected, and ascended into heaven. He will come again to fully restore his Kingdom on earth.

God is Triune: Father-Son-Spirit. Three persons in One Being. His plan from the beginning of creation is to have an adopted family of humans to share life with the Triune God. From now and into eternity.

The Bible reveals God’s story and humanity’s involvement since the creation. Plus God’s plan to restore creation back to His original intent. The last book of the Bible shows God restoring his throne with a new heaven and earth merged together. Life will be restored to its peaceful habitat the way the Garden of Eden started before mankind divorced God. These are probably the top three fundamental common points. The details are where the preferences come into play.

Then what saves you?

Salvation is the work of Father God through Jesus Christ in the communion of the Holy Spirit. Humanity is the recipient of being adopted into the shared life of the Trinity because of the work of Jesus Christ. One does not earn salvation but God’s grace is bestowed upon us. One needs to accept that reality and reconcile themselves to Jesus. By placing our trust, loyalty, and allegiance to Him, the Spirit begins the work of sanctifying you. As the relationship grows, the bond matures into a deeper intimacy. You begin to experience the fruitful, graceful with-God life. Yes, even thru the tribulations caused by a sinful environment. You are his child being prepared for eternity with Jesus.

In other words, salvation is not a commodity nor a free ticket one acquires; but a covenantal relationship with God. A good metaphor is the adoption of a child. God has adopted us, and we now either engage in the process and share in his family culture or we rebel and do our own thing.

Why all the religious overtones?

Religion is mankind’s attempt to pursue and appease God. Christianity is God pursuing humanity with his love. The good news of Jesus is a declaration; not more advice how to solely live better. The message often gets distorted between the two.

What does God want from me now?

Repent is the Biblical word to get you started. It basically means to change your thinking. To turn away from being the center of your universe. Refocus your mind and priorities to worship God before anything else. It includes surrendering oneself under the Lordship of King Jesus.

Then learn and live out the Gospel. Another Biblical word that means good news. You become an apprentice of Jesus. Learn everything you can about him. Begin to hang out with him in prayer. Study his ways. Support him as your Lord and King. Practice his ways-His Kingdom ways. His Kingdom is the government for eternity. It will bring order and value into your world. Ask God to commune with you through His Spirit. May the Spirit fill you with His worldview. Allow your desires to experience and see what he does. Ask him to remove the sinful thoughts and cravings from your life. How? By enriching your soul with His presence.

Why does God want us to love him before anything else?

Because you were created in his image. You were wired to represent him before others. When you focus your heart and mind in worshiping Him, you are giving him the glory he deserves. As a byproduct, you will begin to reflect him. Like the moon reflects the sun at night, so will you. You will reflect him in your thoughts and actions during your daily routine. As you focus on his love and truth, you place his relationship the center of your life. You begin to reflect him before and with others. You will learn to emulate the Creator of the universe in your small corner of the world.

Conclusion:

God is love. He is the source and distributor of love. Everything was created by love, for love, to love. Love is the highest value to be experienced by humanity. The author of Love is the Triune God. Father-Son-Spirit are in love with each other and exude love with every one and every place they go. If you want to experience their love, draw near to them. They will draw nearer to you. God has been pursuing you all along waiting for you to catch Him. Now is always a good time to reach-up and reconcile yourself to HIM.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

Click Here for more Writings Neatly Bound in Book and Audio Formats Available at Your Favorite Bookstore.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9)

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Do We Really Love God?

Dr. Mike 2026 , , , ,

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8

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But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 1 Corinthians 8:3

How do you behave toward those you love?

If you are in a committed relationship, how do you act with your other half?

Are you truly in love with them or are you only using them until something better comes along?

Relationships are messy. We spend most of the time living them out in our minds. How well our thoughts match reality though may be a problem.

We may whisper I love you to the other person. But deep inside it only means I want something from you. Instead of thinking of ways to support the other person in their life adventures, we placate them. We are nice to them in exchange for what we want. We see this within the immature. I love you only means until I lose the feeling. Or I love you until you stop giving me what I want. The basis of I love you is ME.

In my early walk with God, I behaved the same way. I wanted a relationship with HIM because I needed HIS help to live my dreams. The basis of my love was centered around me. I may have stated in my head “I love you Lord,” but my heart was directed around ME. Like the mature parent, Papa God knew. HE continued to walk with me through life’s challenges. HE patiently showed me the difference between HIS love and my self-centered forgery.

I often state that my love for my wife didn’t really begin until some twenty-years into our marriage. That is when I quit seeking what she could do for me. Instead of living life thinking our relationship was a 50/50 split, I repented. That is when I started giving 100% of myself for her without expecting anything in return. Now over forty-years into our relationship, it has somewhat become a game between each of us. Who can out give the other without expecting anything in return?

What does all this have to do with loving God?

How do you know whether you love God for being God and not what is in it for you? Tough question. We are all human and fall short of measuring up in the mirror of Jesus. But our actions do show how well we are maturing. As we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our heart after our heavenly Papa’s desires, our actions follow.

Is it possible to hate your brother and love God? Not what the Bible states in 1 John 4:20. Is it possible to repeatedly desire breaking God’s commandments and love HIM? Not according to 1 John 5:3.

Can you deny Jesus’ claims after reviewing the evidence, and say you are in love of God? John 5:42 indicates otherwise.

When you love someone, you are willing to sacrifice your life for the other. You are open to serve and surrender your will for their sake. You do so without expecting anything in return. You do so because Papa God’s love resides in you. And you have learned over time that this love cannot stay silent in you any longer. It always needs to be expressed in the life of others. That includes Father-Son-Spirit. The love of our life.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

Click Here for more Writings Neatly Bound in Book and Audio Formats Available at Your Favorite Bookstore.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9)

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message! | Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

How Does God View Humanity?

Dr. Mike 2026 , , , , , , ,

“what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?  Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.”  Psalm 8:4-8

made in the image of God  

adopted within the Triune God circle

bond-servants of heaven and earth’s King

ambassadors of God’s Kingdom

engaged to marry Jesus

disciples of HIS

What is God’s view of humanity? And what is humanity’s view of God?

When God created the human species, He stated it was very good. He gave both the man and woman the responsibility to govern the land and make their world flourish. He also stated that HE created man and woman after His image.

Per Dr. Michael Heiser, this wasn’t solely about copying God’s attributes. But more along the way of their status in relationship to the entire creation. Humans are God’s prized creation. They were created to represent God Almighty on earth.

They are to reflect HIS character and ways in their relationships and judgements. So when we read from the Bible that we are to worship no other gods but the one true God, there must be a good reason. My non-believing friends would say God is a self-indulging Being who wants to be glorified for HIS ego. But the truth of the matter is just the opposite. Us humans need to worship God to refresh how we were created. For us humans reflect what we worship.

Worship money, you will reflect money. Worship the dark side of life, you will reflect it in your actions and demeanor. Worship love and truth, you will also reflect those attributes in your daily life. We humans were created to reflect the Creator God. But to properly do so requires our heart and soul to stay focused and centered on HIM.

When Jesus arrived, HE reflected HIS Father God throughout HIS actions. His short ministry included the announcement of God’s Kingdom is now open. He taught what life under HIS government looked life. HIS actions reflected the with-God life. He bore the fruit of freedom, flourishment, and fulfillment wherever HE went. HE demonstrated how much God loved all humanity. So much so, HE (the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Messiah) gave HIS life as a ransom to give freedom for all people through HIM and in HIM.

Salvation from the clutches of Satan, death and evil desires is now available through HIM. All because of HIS atoning sacrifice. He is not our gatekeeper, but now a step-brother who is also King of Heaven and Earth. Through HIM, we have been adopted into the inner circle of the Triune God. The question now hanging in the balance is whether we are going to accept our new identity? Are we going to learn and emulate HIM as little children growing up onto maturity? Are we going to accept HIS family culture?

In other places in the Bible, humanity is identified as being engaged to marry Jesus. But likewise, are we going to accept HIS hand in a marriage covenant? Are we going to be reconciled with HIM? HE wants to share HIS life with us. The question now is do we want to share our life with HIM?

In Jesus’ earthly ministry, he looked for disciples or learners to come and follow HIM. HE continues to make the same offer to his human brethren. Being HIS student, means hanging around HIM. The Bible calls it abiding. We learn how HE deals with the everyday circumstances of life by allowing HIS Spirit to live in us and through us.

The apostle Paul reminds us in many of his letters that we are now bond-servants of Christ. Jesus paid the price to ransom us and we are now indebted to HIM with our lives. As a bond-servant to the King of Heaven and Earth, we have a close relationship with the Power of the universe. Paul also stated that we are ambassadors of God’s Kingdom on earth today. We represent God’s Kingdom to the people around us.

God wants a family. Faithful and loyal siblings that will serve and reign in the family business – The Kingdom of God. The purpose of the entire universe is to prepare humanity for eternity. HE has gone out of HIS way to pursue each of us until we catch HIM. The entire Bible is a history of HIS involvement with humanity. From beginning to the end HE is working with people leading to the culmination of a new heaven and new earth. HE wants his children to be ready to take the mantle of serving and governing with HIM for all eternity. HE wants people to reflect HIM. HIS Spirit is now training and preparing them for a new future beyond the grave. Life is precious. HE wants to share HIS life with us forever. Life with HIM is the essence of a wholesome, blessed life.

Salvation is for all. But it requires being reconciled in relationship with the King. If one doesn’t want that relationship, your desire will be honored. But for those who want a deep, abiding relationship with Jesus, let HIM know you are committed. Ask HIM how HE wants you to share your life with HIM and HIM with you. As you find ways to support HIM, HE will support you. As you lean on HIM, HE will walk with you and assure you of your relationship with HIM.

We are being prepared for eternity by being trained through the Holy Spirit how God operates. We are learning to view life through HIS eyes. We are learning how to serve others in love and truth. We are sharing the good news of Jesus with others. Our view of God has changed. HE is no longer a stern dictator. HE is the benevolent Papa God who wants to share HIS life with you and others.

When you realize who the enemy is that prevents you from seeing the God who loves you, your life changes. Your surrender to God’s Kingdom is the most peaceful and rewarding act one can do for self and others. To be reconciled with Father-Son-Spirit is where the blessed life begins. When you begin to see eye-to-eye with your Maker, you are aligned and at peace with yourself and others. Heaven is with you. His name is Jesus.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Faith-Integrator, Encourager, Scribbler

Click Here for more Writings Neatly Bound in Book and Audio Formats Available at Your Favorite Bookstore.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” (Colossians 1:9)

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message! | Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved