Verse of the Day: Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt alove the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ... 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Memory of the month: Isaiah 41:13 For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”
Today's reading: EXODUS 39-40 MATTHEW 23:23-39
Only Time To Love
What must God feel when He knows we carry guilt for things He has already forgiven-and chooses to never again remember or even bring up-but we still carry guilt-what does God feel?
God has given us eternal life by sacrificing His only son, John 3:16. God has given us His peace, John 14:27. He has given us the Holy Spirit, John 14:15-31. He has marked us with His Holy Spirit, 2 Corinthians 1:22. He has done all this so our joy may be full, John 15:11. He has given us abundant life in Christ, John 10:10.
God has given us all we need to never be troubled or afraid because told us to not let our hearts be troubled and never be afraid, John 14:27. God is able to do more than we can ask or even imagine, Ephesians 3:20.
God forgives us when we confess, 1 John 1:9. He never brings up our past sins because He has chosen to never remember our sins, ever, Hebrews 8:12.
I want us to consider something. I have said before that I know God has forgiven me for all the dark stuff I did long ago and yesterday and this morning but that this does not keep me for being sorry I did them in the first place. After all, God works it all to our good as He conforms us into the image of Christ, Romans 8:29, and allows the lessons learned to keep us from repeating sin.
I suggest that we know there is a time of no regret. It takes some of us a long time. We have to admit that God is bigger than our imaginations and our regrets and we must learn to know that carrying regrets is one step back from carrying guilt.
Did Paul carry guilt for all he had done to persecute the early church before Christ knocked him off that horse? He said, "I have learned to be content", Philippians 4:11-key word: 'learned'.
Paul had learned that the longer he followed Christ obediently, the less all that stuff mattered in his own mind. It was done-gone and not forgotten in his own mind. But he had lived through the early church fathers not trusting him to the time when all of the real church trusted him and looked forward to his returning. He was living the realization that Christ had set him free-no troubled heart-no fear.
As far as I can see, Paul's only regrets were that he could not get to all the places and people with the gospel that he wanted to and that he could not return to all his friends for their personal fellowship and loving. He had no time for regrets nor did he let them hinder his freedom in Christ.
Paul had learned he had time only for seeking God and His kingdom and righteousness.
I always say that there is always loving to do, which is true, but, Paul knew there was only time for loving. Only time to love-
No time for guilt or regrets or feeling sorry for oneself or reaching for earthly pleasures or judging those who hate us- no time for our feelings to be hurt or losing our tempers or becoming again enslaved to sin...we have no time to fear.
We have only time to love God and our neighbors. We only have time to love the lost into the kingdom. We have only time to love our enemies...we only have time to love.
What did Paul know? He knew Jesus but was getting to know Him more and more and knew we all would need to love God more and more to love the people in this world the way only God can.
There is only time to love...
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
Forgive me for wasting time on regrets. They are gone and cannot be redone. Give me the sight to see I have only time to love.
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