Faith Matters Podcast

#598 - Everlasting Love; Day 3

Hero To ZeroHave you had someone cut into your traffic lane before? I have. And it was a motorcyclist. He rode into my side mirror and just took off. I’ve been done dirty.That experience changed my whole perception towards motorcyclists. After that day, I behaved like the poles of magnets – when they move near me, it repels me away from them.Until I met a guy on a motorcycle who was different from others. He did not try to cut corners.It’s fascinating how one person can ruin our experience with others, while another person redeems our experience with them.That’s what God has done for us. It took one man - Adam - to ruin humanity through sin and it took one man - Jesus - to redeem that experience for us.There is no greater love than to put your life on the line. Jesus shows us how it’s like to seek the best of others by putting Himself underneath. He humbled Himself to death and allowed the selfishness of His own people to kill Him.That’s how much He loves us. He let sin do the worst to him so that He could bring the best out of us. He shows us a new way to be human and opens up a whole new experience for us.The old way to be human is now gone. Don’t identify yourself with the past. Embrace your new self and allow His love to capture you!Reflection:With Jesus as our example, have you lived in a way that displays sacrificial love? If not, what is one small step that you can take to start doing so?

#597 - Everlasting Love; Day 2

Faithfulness Through FailuresMost romantic movies portray the story of young love. It creates the perfect scene where two individuals fall in love. It goes back and forth from when they fell in love, then fast forwards to the scene where they are old with kids, displaying love in its most mature stage. The trouble with this is that it only shows the beginning and the end of a romance.Everyone can experience young passionate love but not everyone can experience love that is fully grown. It is in the middle that love fights the hardest! In the process, it matures. This keeps the relationship together during difficult times.Faithfulness towards each other is bred through such challenges. God remains faithful even when humans are unfaithful.He is constantly rejected like a faithful husband of a wife who hasn't come home. He knows what she is up to. And He constantly grieves like a dad looking through an old picture of his son, remembering what it was like before his son cut himself off from the family.God never forces us back to him, yet he still lives up to His end of the bargain. He loves us the way we are, but He cares too much to leave us in a sinful state.He created us in love and His love continually reaches out to us - calling us and inviting us to stay within His love.​​Hosea 6:6-7 (CEB)I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God instead of entirely burned offerings. But like Adam they broke the covenant; then they acted in bad faith against me.The issue is that we fall in love as often as we fall out of love.Because of that, we’ve not experienced love that is fully grown. When someone is faithful, you can have faith in that person. When you have faith in that person, you move towards him.God has been faithful to you, therefore you can confidently move towards Him!Reflection:Have you been unfaithful in your walk with God? What inspires you to come back to Him?

#596 - Everlasting Love; Day 1

The Everlasting Love Of GodJeremiah 31:3 (NIV)“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness”The children of Israel repeatedly sinned against God. Even after many warnings, they failed to repent. But our God is a gracious God. Despite their stubbornness, He still initiated restoration.In Jeremiah 31, we read how God reached out to His people with kindness birthed out of a deep sense of everlasting love for them. This love is anchored in eternity past and it extends to eternity future.God is the source of this love. He is not motivated by what He sees or what has happened. It is simply who He is, His nature. There is nothing we can do to earn His love nor remove His love for us.And with His unfailing kindness, He patiently and lovingly draws us to Him. This is the extent of the magnanimity of His love, that God would wait for us to respond to Him.Come to think of it, who are we that God would do such a thing for us? I believe this only shows us who He really is.With the assurance of His love for us, it is important that we are secure. We are to love Him and serve others out of a place of safety.Let’s not get caught up in the acts of “doing” to gain God’s love, but rather allow ourselves to work from a place that we are already at. A place of love.Then we are not doing all these works to gain more of His love, but rather out of our love, in response to His.We do not live our lives as orphans, constantly striving for acceptance, but as children of God, we live in peace in the courtyard of our Father in Heaven.Reflection:Now that you know you are loved forevermore, how will it affect the way you live, love and serve?

Radical Truth; Day 1

Radical, by David Platt - A five day devotional from youversion. Read by Andi and Brian Hale.

Radical Plan; Day 3

Radical Treasure; Day 2