This is His good pleasure!

It’s vital that we catch the powerful truth that God is a loving Father. If we don’t receive that in our hearts, we will always struggle with guilt, shame, condemnation and fear. The enemy of our souls uses fear, doubt and condemnation to make us feel like God is angry at us and wants to punish us. Yet, it is the enemy that want to destroy us. God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross to save us and to adopt us into His family. Luke 12:32 says: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom”. Did you just read that? It is His pleasure! He rejoices to see us as part of His family. He loves to converse with us and walk with us. He loves when we relate to Him as our Father. He is the one who taught us to call Him Father. His Kingdom is awesome! In His Kingdom, there is healing (Matthew 4:23). The poor in spirit are blessed in His Kingdom (Matthew 5:3). The persecuted are blessed in His Kingdom (Matthew 5:10). His Kingdom belongs to those who obey His commandments (Matthew 5:19). His will is done in His Kingdom (Matthew 6:10). All of our needs are met in His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Spirits of evil are cast out when His Kingdom is present.(Matthew 12:28). In Christ, we are now kingdom citizens, and all things are new. We do not have to struggle any more. We are part of His Kingdom and its His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.

Do the opposite instead!

God is the God of love, unity, peace and restoration. As His ambassadors, the Spirit of God within us will lead us to walk in love and forgiveness. In Romans 12:17, it says that we are not to pay back evil with more evil. This is not honorable in the sight of God. We are to leave revenge to the Lord. He will repay people for the evil that they commit (v19). Instead, we are to do the opposite. We are to bless those who we would consider our enemies. The Lord reminds us today to NEVER let evil conquer us. Instead, we are to conquer evil by doing good, thus revealing the love of God to those who would do us harm. Matthew 5: 9,10 says: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.

Romans 12: 17- 21 “Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.  If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good”.