Because He Loves Me {Chapter 7}

Because of Who We Are (God's adopted children) we can do what we are called to do (follow God's commands)

Last week's chapter was focused on Being Who We Are, acting out who we are in Christ.  It worked perfectly to connect the realisation of our identity in Christ with the actions for our daily life.

Elyse describes those people who lean too far one way or the other towards the focus on our idenity in Christ or our obedience to His commands.  She describes the perfect balance between the indicative and the imperative (that which has already been done and that which we are commanded to do).  Elyse says that "the wonderful pronouncements God has made about us cannot and must not be disconnected from the wonderful expectations He has of us" (p.112)

Our understanding of who we are in Chirst, our salvation and God's great love for us leads us to the desire to obey His commands.  "We must hold firmly to the truth that God's command to 'work' is impossible to obey unless he has already worked in us the desire to work - the willing- and the ability to work - the doing - but the command to work is there nonetheless" (p.116)
Elyse used a great example a couple of times in the chapter of God planting the seen in our hearts.  Our obedience is the result of this seed that he has planted when we first began to understand who we were in Christ.  Being fed by the Spirit it grows and shapes us into Christ's image as the Word begins to embed itself in our lives.

It is important for me to acknowledge this as I make attempts to do good works.  I have a tendency to want to do for others without thinking about the motivation behind it.  Am I doing it to look good?  Am I doing it because I think I should?  Am I doing it because I think it will earn me more friends/good favour/popularity? I need to acknowledge that my good works are for nothing and are entirely motivated by the fact that God loves me and commands me to do them.  I obey Him only because He enables me to do so.


“The grace of God trains us to renounce ungodliness, live temperate, godly lives, and be zealous for good works. Yes, God rules sovereignly, and in the life of his beloved ones he rules with sovereign grace, mercy, and love. But we mustn’t assume that his grace trumps the expectation that we should be holy, for he is holy and his Holy Spirit indwells us. Yes, God is sovereign over our sanctification, but recognition of that truth doesn’t excuse us from zealously pursuing it.”

Mandy @ mandylynncarpenter said it beautifully:

If we could fully understand the Fathers great love toward us. If we could fathom the reality of what we have truly been saved from. Then we would indeed be motivated to do whatever He asked of us. No longer would we have to beg people to step up and serve, no longer would we have to  guilt people into doing the things of God, no longer would we have such a small amount of people leaving houses and lands to go to the mission field. People would be lining up to go, lining up to serve.

Our glorious new identity in Christ, all the wonderful indicatives in scripture, must always remain the catalyst, motive and ground for our transformation.

What a great chapter and start to Part 2 of this wonderful study!!

Read along with us as Gracelaced and GraceFull Mama

Because He Loves Me {Chapter 6}

All he asks is that we look away from ourselves and towards him.

Is it really that simple? Shouldn’t I have to do something else, move towards him, make some kind of public announcement, I don’t know…something. 

And yet the answer is no.  I don’t have to do anything but look at him and believe that He is and can.

I have struggled with ‘strength of faith’ issues.  I think that I am not good enough, that I have not done enough.  I wonder if the number of times I doubt myself or Him counts against me.  I am not worthy because I have had doubts.  My faith is not strong.

I love the way the Bible connects, how God repeats himself and uses the same imagery throughout just to help us understand better.  Somehow in my studies I had missed the story of the Israelites in the desert, or if I had heard it I had not held onto it with the understanding that Elyse has given me.  To understand that Jesus is that Bronze serpent that has come in living form is a wonderful revelation for me.  I can be that Israelite child, who, with God’s help, can look to the serpent upon the wood and trust that He will heal me.  It is like a weight off my shoulder.

Oh I ‘knew’ that there was nothing I had to do, that I was saved by grace, not by any works… and yet somehow, I didn’t know…

There were a number of quotes that Elyse wrote that stood out for me this week:

“Faith is simply believing that there is a God who loves us , in spite of the poison of sin coursing through our soul” p 97

“Whether we are overly introspective and excessively aware of our failures or blindly proud and self sufficient, the gospel dares us to look away to Another in faith” p 100

“He doesn’t frown at you when you recognise your neediness and cry out for his help” p 101 – and didn’t I need to hear this.  I am so caught up on not being a burden on anyone else.  My depression has caused me to want to call on people so frequently that I am left feeling like I am a burden to my friends and family.  I often feel that God doesn’t need to hear me ask yet again for something to feel better, for an answer, for anything.  To read this from Elyse is wonderful.  I might actually have to put it up on my wall or put it on the fridge to remind myself over and over… I am not a burden to him when I admit that I need him.

“The pride and arrogance that once commandeered our souls will be crushed beneath Golgotha’s blood soaked mount, as we perceive who we really are and what we truly deserve.  Anger and bitterness will be put away because we’ll remember that we’ve been forgiven by God for Christ’s sake so that we don’t have to fight for our rights.  As we pursue an ever growing understanding of the Lord, his gracious character and our need to rely completely on him, the motivation to respond in grateful obedience will grow within us.” p 104

Turn your eyes to Christ. Believe in His love. Rejoice.

Join me in reading Because He Loves Me and read what others have written over at GraceLaced.

Because He Loves Me {Chapter 5}

We have an Inheritance.

This chapter had me writing pages of notes, quickly writing down quotes and musing on what others mean for my life.

One of the big concepts that stood out for me was that I am adopted into God's family, and therefore have the inheritance of a 'real' daughter of God.  Now this shouldn't be a new or amazing revelation to me, and it isn't.  However when I started to think about adoption versus foster care, I realised that I am living as though I am fostered into God's family, at any time I can be moved or removed, which is NOT true!  This is the real revelation, I need to correct my attitude.  God isn't going to let go of me, he isn't going to give me up, no-one can come along and claim me back, denying me the love and inheritance of the Father.

This brings me to the next concept that hit me like a ton of bricks, comparing God to the eye of Sauron in Mordor.  It may seem silly but when I sit down and ask myself "Am I scared of Him searching me afraid of what He will find?" (as if he didn't already know the answer) "Do I really accept that when His all-seeing eye judges me that He will see Christ?"  These are hard truths to accept.  Something that I need to meditate on an pray about.  I know that I am scared that I continue to sin and I know that Jesus has taken every punishment that I could ever need and yet I still fail to believe that I am forgiven and cleaned and ready to take on the inheritance that God has for me.

If God is able to forgive me all my sins, why can't I?

Elyse says that "If you are in Christ, no matter what your day has been like, no matter how many ways you blew it, his life is yours." (p84)  This is a joyful thought.

If I know that I have this inheritance because of my secure adoption, then therefore I should act like it.  I should be living as though I have this inheritance as though my life in him is secure as though He has saved me from death.

"{Our} Father's generous desire is that {we} fight for {our} inheritance with all {our} strength because this brings Him glory." (p.81)

This is my final quote that has been helping me though this week:
"Only our constant meditation in Christ's love will make us eager to be with him.  Without it, we'll be too afraid to be that close to him and, although we will seek to serve him, we won't ever really let him in" (p.89)  I think this is the quote that scares and motivates me the most.

Father God, please help me to meditate and remember your love and the sacrifice your son made so that I may welcome you into my heart without fear of your judgement secure in the faith that when you look at me you see Christ and His work on the cross.

Amen