Tag: So Loved

We Are Called to Love Extravagantly

Good morning, Beloved!

I want to share something the Lord has placed on my heart. Let’s start by reading this verse:

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40, NIV)

A Stirring from the Lord

Recently, He has been bringing discomfort to my heart regarding how His children are treating others. Even in Church families, we are not living out the Second Greatest Commandment.

I asked the Lord, “Why aren’t we doing as you commanded?”
And He responded: “My children are too busy, too distracted, too exhausted.
You are carrying the full weight of responsibilities that I never meant for you to carry alone. You should be leaning on me and on each other.”

We are overwhelmed by the demands of life—our jobs, our families, our schedules. So much so that we don’t have time or energy for anyone else.

Even worse, sometimes we wear our “busyness” like a badge of honor. As if the more we “do”, the more others will be impressed and the more pleased the Father will be. But busyness is not a Holy excuse.

The Lord does call us to steward many things, but His expectation is that we look to Him for wisdom, strength, and strategy. That we consistently cast our cares on Him and spend enough time in prayer and in the Word to be strengthened and recharged.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV)

We should also be able to look to our community, other brothers and sisters to love us, encourage us, and pray with us in our daily walk.

“As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)

A Word from Ephesians

Then, Holy Spirit caused me to stumble (literally, I happened to flip to this page) upon Ephesians 5.

1-2 Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5: 1-2, MSG)

And the Lord spoke again:

“My children are loving too cautiously. You want to support people from afar—without becoming too involved. You don’t want to share their burdens, give your time, or your attention.”

We fear that giving to others and loving others will mean less time and energy for our “priorities”. And when we try to do everything in our own strength, we give from a limited supply.

We need to look to the Father for supernatural strength and unlimited supply for stewarding our responsibilities and for the capacity to extravagantly love others.

Love from His Abundance

When He calls us to do something, He always provides the resources. He won’t lead us to do what He won’t see us through. We just need to ask. Spend time with the Father. Sit with Him. Pray. Read the Word. Let Him fill you. And then love others with the Love of Jesus—not from your lack, but from His abundance.

Loving others may be listening, encouraging, spending time in fellowship, helping financially, offering physical assistance, or simply being present. As we step out in obedience, may the Holy Spirit guide each moment so we can discern and love as needed.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. So my heart is full of joy. I will thank Him with my song.” (Psalm 28:7, NLV)

Jesus Loves You Extravagantly,

Alexis

Jesus’ Death Was Our Gain

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”  (1 Peter 2:24)

Beloved, I hope you are having a blessed day! I am so glad you’re here. In my last post, I discussed how Jesus’ death ended the separation between Man and God. We can now draw near to God with no fear. We aren’t judged based on our actions, but by the actions of our High Priest.

Jesus’ death also provided us with gifts for soul and body; eternal salvation and perfect health and wholeness. Jesus’ death used to be so hard for me to think about. It was heart-breaking. Every Easter, I was in tears because I had to remember all of the awful pain he endured. So, I tried to block it out. Not to think about it. Then from listening to sermons, including Pastor Joseph Prince, reading the bible, and diligently praying, I started to understand that Jesus’ death on the cross was exactly what he wanted. He knew what he was doing and he did it for me and you. Beloved, do you know that Jesus’ suffering before and at the cross gives you a path to Heaven, but also divine health? “By his stripes, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

When Jesus went to the cross, he suffered immensely. Not only was it very physically brutal, but he also had to take our sin and the results of that sin upon himself, to be our sacrifice. Can you imagine? He who knew no sin. He knew that he was born to die, but became extremely distressed when his hour had come. In Matthew 26:38-40, it says, “Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” To say he wasn’t looking forward to what was ahead, is the understatement of the millennium. He asked the Father to give him a way out; to please provide another way. Nevertheless, he agreed to do the will of God and it was the only way. It was the only way to win back what was lost by Adam’s sin and Jesus was willing to pay the price because he SO loves you.

When the self-righteous Jewish Pharisees called for his crucifixion, the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate asked the crowd, “What evil has he done?” (Matthew 27:23). He did no wrong, committed no crime, and yet agreed to die for us. Before Jesus went to the cross, he was beaten, humiliated, and scourged. Jesus was lashed 39 times with a whip called a cat o’ nine tails. This was a long, leather whip that had many sharp objects woven within. This would include broken pieces of glass and broken animal bones. It was exceptionally good at separating flesh from bone. Tendons, veins, and muscles were exposed. There was hardly a sliver of skin left on his back. This is why Jesus could not carry the cross all the way up to Calvary. “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

That was just the beginning. Death at the cross was a popular method of Roman execution at the time because it was painfully slow. The true cause of death during crucifixion is suffocation. The way the hands were nailed made it very difficult to breathe. Essentially, they were stuck in a way that only exhaling was possible. The legs were nailed in a way where the knees were slightly bent, so to inhale, the person would have to push themselves up and take a breath. Once the Romans became bored or had other business to attend to, they would use a club to break the knees of the person, so that they could no longer lift themselves up to inhale. This caused suffocation and death within half an hour. It was prophesied in the bible that no bones of Jesus would be broken and that came to pass. It was the day of the Passover and the executions had to come to a close, so the Romans got the club and approached Jesus and the two thieves. “But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear and immediately, blood and water flowed out” (John 19:33-34). Medical professionals have studied this verse and they say that the only way blood gets mixed with water is if the heart breaks/tears.

His heart had to break, so that ours can be made whole. Every punishment he endured was to give us something better. Just as he received our punishment, we are worthy to receive his reward. The wages of sin is death. Sin is also the cause of disease and suffering. Since Jesus had no sin in him, he deserved perfect health. However, he traded places with us in that divine exchange, so we are now owed perfect health. Once I realized this, I started to meditate on his suffering and saying, Lord, I accept this gift you have given me. I don’t honor you by refusing to acknowledge it. In fact, I dishonor you and I don’t want all your suffering to be in vain. If acknowledging and accepting your suffering and death provides me with health, then I will reflect on it. With every lash he was given, he saw a cure for cancer, for heart disease, for migraine headaches. Since he physically suffered, we no longer have to. We can remember his suffering and declare that by His stripes, we are healed! Amen. Beloved, if you are suffering some illness or disease in your body, remember Jesus’ sacrifice. Declare out loud that you are healed by his scourging and that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. Jesus has provided us with a righteous foundation to stand on.

Even if you have been believing for healing, don’t give up! Even if the condition seems worse, keep believing! Speak what you want to see, not what you see now. That is how God works. In Genesis 1:3, it says, “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” He first spoke what he wanted to see and then it became reality. Right now, I am believing for healing of my hands. I have a severe case of eczema that goes from bad to worse, then back to bad, then to worse. It causes many cuts to form between my fingers and on top of my hands. When it’s really bad, washing my hands feels like I am squeezing lemon juice in the wounds. It also looks terrible! Everyone mentions it and I hide them a lot. It’s been very difficult for the last two years, but I am going to keep declaring that by His stripes I am healed. Beloved, I encourage you to do the same! If you have any prayer requests or questions, please feel free to reach out. I would love to hear from you!

Jesus loves you,

Alexis