John McCallum

Okay, I’m going to start with a quick question.
Have you ever experienced the love of God? Do you know about it? Or better yet, do you believe in it?

Okay this is what I love about God, no matter how long or how short you have been a Christian. No matter where you have been, what you have done, or what you will ever do, can separate you from the love of God. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The apostle Paul was probably a bit more poetic in saying this. [Romans 8: 38-39]

So I’ll start there. Nothing in this world or the supernatural world can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Hopefully you have all read or heard about Psalm 1.
Psalm 1: 1-3 (NLT, my italics) reads,

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

Sounds good.

Okay, verse 2 says that they delight in the law, but let’s go back a few thousand years. When David wrote this, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the law was all they had. It’s called the Torah which comprises basically of the first five books of the Bible. The law was basically God’s commands to the people of Israel.

Jesus did a lot through coming and dying and then rising. But what he did allowed the free gift of grace to abound and overflow for the benefit of many [Romans 5:15]. I found a really good description of grace.
God’s Reward At Christ’s Expense.

Grace has succeeded the law and we now live under grace and not the law. [Romans 6:14]
Thank God.
If you still need some convincing then Paul sums it up neatly by saying that all the commandments are summed up in one single command, you shall love your neighbour as yourself. [Romans 13:9]
And then he says that love fulfills and meets all the requirements of the Law. [Romans 13:10]
So God’s new law is simply this; love.

So Psalm 1: 2
But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.

So if God’s law is now love you get,
'But they delight in the love of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.'

Imagine if you did that. God’s love changes us. The way we act and talk and feel. Imagine the people around you. Imagine if they noticed that change. Then surely your prayer times and when you read the Bible, those times would be different, deeper. Surely you would be different. You might even become like what it says in Psalm 1:3. It would change something in you and your relationship with God. It would lead you into intimacy. The amazing thing about it is that it’s there for you, right now, just as you are.

I realise that this might be a pretty basic thing in Christianity and some of you probably have heard this all before, but it is such a crucial thing. Just read 1 Corinthians 13.

I encourage you to come to God separately and ask Him to show you the truth of His love. I can guarantee you will be amazed. I also pray that you will enter into a deeper relationship with God this holiday and realise that He is holding you in His hand.