Have you enjoyed this season of Christmas so far? To me, the celebration of Christmas is a potent declaration of God’s love for us and his desire to bless us! Your willingness to receive that truth will determine your future! Do you ever find it hard to wrap your mind around the idea that the Creator of the universe is in love with you and longs to bless you? The prophet Isaiah spoke about this by saying, “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:18

Though God longs to bless us, there is an important part that you must play to realize that blessing. Look at what Isaiah said at an earlier time. Isaiah 1:19-20  “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

You may ask, “But how can I obey God?  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” John 14:15

You may ask, “But how can I love God enough to obey? And, how will I know when I have obeyed good enough? The answer is found in the statement from the apostle John. “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19   

Do you see it? Our relationship with God and receiving his blessing is never about our performance but our willingness to receive. The sacrifice of Jesus paid for all sin, for all time. Therefore sin is not our issue; instead, it is our willingness to fully receive who God has declared us to be. Hebrews 10:14 says, “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” 

Our greatest mistake is thinking that, in our own strength, we can live the obedient and righteous life God requires! Understand this; the obedience that God is looking for is a byproduct of receiving the undeserved love of God! Please understand this most important truth – you can only live in and give away what you possess.

1Jn 4:7a Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Love comes from God – he is the source of all love. Therefore, receiving the love of God is a prerequisite to a life that displays His love. As discussed, righteousness comes from love, love comes from God, and you can only give away what you possess. All of the righteous laws of God can be summed up in the word love.

Romans 13:8-10 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”  and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  10Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Christmas is a declaration of God and his love! Living in the blessing of God is a byproduct of God living through you, not you living for God. May the revelation of this truth sink deeply into your heart! May it empower you to receive his love because only God’s love can empower you to be willing and obedient and therefore eat…

The Best of the Land