Based on “The Church—Why We Do What We Do, Part 4” by Pastor Mark Balmer;
2/27-28/10, Message #MB409; Daily Devotional #6 - “Perfect Love Fills the Gap”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12-13) This passage used to scare me. I thought of God as the most skilled of CIA agents. He monitored my every communication. He knew my every movement. That’s when I was scared of God. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:17-18) I was scared of God because I didn’t know God. I didn’t love God. This all changed one night in my living room.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): If I look back at my life, I see several important events. I was born into a Catholic family. I learned all about Jesus, God, prayer, confession, etc. in St. Henry’s church. I also learned that confession was a pretty scary thing. The priest knew me by name by the time I was 13, which was rather unnerving. I still remember leaving church one day after the priest told me to say several things for penance that I had never heard of before! I just knew that an alarm would go off and the nuns would come after me if I didn’t comply. By the time I was 16 I had gotten far away from God, and the gap just kept getting larger. I no longer went to church and really didn’t want anything to do with religion in general. At this particularly painful time in my life I no longer wanted to keep going the way I was going. God hadn’t given up on me though. Just as David sang about, Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:6) God saw the hole in my heart, and He knew how to fix it. So, He decided to meet me in my living room. That’s right, God revealed Himself to me on the television in my living room. I sat and prayed to receive Christ and be forgiven for my sins while watching an episode of the 700 Club and closed the gap regarding my salvation.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): You may ask yourself why I am telling you all this. The reason is that as a member of the body of Christ, we all have a second birthday—to close the gap between our sinful self and the One True Holy God. This spiritual birthday comes at the point when we are willing to hear and respond to God as He speaks to us through a variety of methods, calling us to Himself. He knows us from the inside out and still wants to grow in us until we no longer look like the person we were before. After we say “yes” to Jesus, we begin growing until the process is complete. The Bible says that we will one day be like Jesus! You and I have the privilege of being changed and groomed by the Master so that others may come to know Him as we have. Now we are known by Him and know Him. We can truly say that there is no fear of judgment because His love has overwhelmed us. Have you closed the gap regarding your eternal life and accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior? If not, today is the day!
Cultivating (Additional Reading): Luke 6:46-49; Romans 10:9-10
TCH
Calvary Chapel of Melbourne; 2955 Minton Road; W. Melbourne, FL 32904; 321-952-9673
All Bible references are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.