No fruit. Those in this level may be brand new Christians, or they may be Christians for many years, but have not begun to truly grow in Christ. There is a piece of them that continues to believe that they are not worthy of His Love. They sense this shame that sin produced in their lives and cannot let go of the gnawing guilt. They feel condemned, stuck and paralyzed. They truly believe God is very unhappy with them…but can I tell you, once and for all: God is not mad at you, He is mad ABOUT you! Thus He sent His Son, so that we could be His forevermore. Receive, without limits, the Salvation He longs to give you! This requires Faith. Faith that God loves you. Faith that Jesus took your sin away. Faith that God desires for you to have, enjoy and share the Abundant Life, now.
Praise God that our Salvation is secure in His Love! Listen to this amazing quote: “We can’t earn His Love because of our goodness, but we can’t lose His Love because of our wickedness.” I say this to help us let go of thinking that our Salvation depends on our performance. It doesn’t! We are not seeking to grow in our spirit so that God will Love us. He already Loves us! We are seeking to grow so that we may show Him that we are grateful for His Love. We desire to be more and more like Him so that others may come to know Him too. We choose to work with Him to do those good works God prepared in advance for us to do (remember Eph 2:10?), so that everyone may have a taste of the Victory Jesus won for us at the Cross, and moreover, displayed by His Resurrection. We grow because God loves us. Please get this deep on the inside or nothing else I say will bless you in a way that will help you bear fruit. Repeat after me: God…loves…me!
2023’s Got A Minute? Book Club
January: The First & Best Book Ever: The Bible
February: Love Is In the Air: “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts” by Gary Chapman
March: Spring Growth: “Secrets of the Vine” by Bruce Wilkinson
<>< Peace, Diane
