The Covenant of Divine Love, Our First Love

Cross and two rings

The Covenant of Divine Love, Our First Love

Cross and two rings
Beula Igiraneza
Beula Igiraneza

Love unites different parties into a relationship of genuine commitment and sincere devotion to each other. Of note, there is a love that is above any other. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). This kind was here before you and I existed, long before the world of what is common to us came into existence. Divine love has always been there for us to enjoy and glory in, even before we could deserve it, not that we ever can. This is further expressed in John 15:13 when Jesus told His disciples that there is no greater love apart from that which is seen when one lays down his life for his own friends. By ‘friends’, Jesus meant you, me, and everyone who would believe in Him to receive His gift of salvation. This is without doubt the greatest kind of love that mankind will ever know. 

With this love that no mind can fathom, we have entered a brand-new covenant with Christ Jesus. I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him (2 Corinthians 11:2 NIV). You and I have become the Lord’s priceless and beautiful bride from that very day we confessed our faith in Him. And like a married couple is called to practice faithfulness to each other, so are we called to a life of absolute consecration to our first Love. This is a call to renew our commitment to the truest love we received.

"You and I have become the Lord’s priceless and beautiful bride from that very day we confessed our faith in Him."

Our beloved Groom, Jesus Christ, promised us that He went to prepare a place where we would eternally live with Him (John 14:3). While we wait for His glory to be revealed at His return, our lives should not be used to create ties with the evil one by allowing unrighteousness to multiply within us. We must refuse to indulge ourselves in sexual immorality, pride, anger, hate, and the like because this proves us unfaithful to our Groom. Truth is, we cannot choose to belong to Christ and yet continually give in to the lustful desires of our flesh (Matthew 6:24). On the contrary, let us strive to be like the five wise virgins who made sure that their lamps had enough oil while they waited for the bridegroom to come (Matthew 25:1-11). May we not resemble the foolish virgins who were rejected by the bridegroom because their waiting lacked readiness.

As we wait for our Beloved to return, let us not grow weary and turn our backs on Him for His love and what He endured for us is worth the wait. The nail marks on His feet and hands truly deserve that we remain watchful. Isaiah 40:31 promises us that we won’t faint as we wait upon Him because our strength will be renewed. To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy (Jude 1:24 NIV). As we eagerly await for our Beloved to appear to us from heaven (Philippians 3:20), we ought to be consistent in our quest for knowing what pleases Him (Ephesians 5:10) through our speech, thoughts, personality, and relationships, to mention a few. Let us therefore be clothed with unceasing prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17), hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6), and walking in the Spirit until the day He returns (Galatians 5:16). The life we live until then should be a platform to display our love for Him, who deserves our fullest attention. For we truly do not know when He is to appear, let us stay sober minded and ready (Matthew 25:13)! The groom will not tarry in returning to His pricelessly redeemed bride, behold, He is coming and soon (Hebrews 10:37).

Arise O bride of God,

clothe yourself with His holiness and crown yourself with the power of His Spirit

that your beloved will find you faithful and trustworthy to embrace His glory

for eternity at His glorious return.

"As we wait for our Beloved to return, let us not grow weary and turn our backs on Him for His love and what He endured for us is worth the wait."

This hope of dwelling in the presence and glory of God for eternity is strictly reserved to those who have accepted to die to self and let Christ reign in their lives. I invite you to pray with me if you are convicted that Christ Jesus isn’t the Lord of your life and would like to be counted worthy of reigning with Him when He returns: 

Jesus Christ,  

For a very long time I’ve lived a life of lies, 

A life where I fetched from wells that can never quench my thirst, 

A life that treasures darkness and honors wickedness.

A life that treasures darkness and honors wickedness.

Please forgive me. 

Please come into my life,

Take control of my existence,

Be my personal Lord and Savior. 

From today on, let it be no more of me but of You in all measures. 

In Christ Jesus I pray and believe, Amen. 

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Not Customizable

"Do Not" written in a frame

Not Customizable

"Do Not" written in a frame
Kevin Shimwa Gakuba
Kevin Shimwa Gakuba

Sometimes, the enemy deceives us to paint a picture of Christ who is unbiblical. We end up portraying Him as indifferent to sin, flexible, unoffended by unrighteousness. The enemy does so to soothe our conscience, saying that Jesus does not care much about our practice of sin. We can thereby end up living carnal, fleshly lives. Well, it is true that Jesus always seeks to save us, wants us to have a life in abundancethat’s why He laid down His life for us (John 10:10-11). On the other hand, He commands that we obey His guidance and not make ourselves slaves to the burden of sin He saved us from (Galatians 5:1) 

He promises to bless those who live obediently, laying treasures in heaven and not on earth. He also makes it clear that he will cut the unrighteous disobedient hypocrites into pieces and assign them a place of weeping and gnashing of teetheternal hell (Matthew 6:19-21; Matthew 24:51) This can sound intense; however, it shows the true nature of Jesus, Holy God, and how much He hates sin.  

"Sometimes, the enemy deceives us to paint a picture of Christ who is unbiblical...portraying Him as indifferent to sin, flexible, unoffended by unrighteousness."

A believer should surrender to the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit in the fight against sin. It is a choice of not welcoming or tolerating sin. The Lord Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell (Matthew 5:29). This is an analogy that might sound extreme, but it shows how serious the fight against sin should be.  

Our lives reflect whether we are born again of the Spirit of God or still live according to the flesh. Because no one who is born of the Spirit deliberately and habitually practices sin because that is purely of the devil (1 John 3:8-10). Born-again believers walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit as He transforms them by putting to death the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:25; Romans 8:13). 

"A believer should surrender to the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit in the fight against sin."

Jesus has not left His nature to our imaginative interpretation to comfort our sinful human nature (Ephesians 1:17). He is not customizable. May we humble ourselves to read the Bible to know Him with a blessed assurance of enjoying HimGodin this present life and life eternal (Hebrews 10:22-23).  

"Jesus has not left His nature to our imaginative interpretation to comfort our sinful human nature."

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, I realize that You are the only one who can give me life in abundance. I repent for steps I took in disobedience and comforting my flesh with false thoughts about You. Help me Lord to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

If you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior and the Lord of your life, this is the time to do so. Do not keep resisting Him. Open your heart, let Him inside, and you will find rest for your soul (Matthew 11:29). 

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Beyond Sensitivity

Man Walking

Beyond Sensitivity

Man Walking
Kevin Shimwa Gakuba
Kevin Shimwa Gakuba

It’s sad when someone, after initially embracing God, begins to move away from Him and keeps moving in that direction. This was true of the Israelites of the Old Covenant, who, despite being chosen by God and following the Mosaic law, kept falling away. It is also true of us, the chosen of the New Covenant, whose justification comes through faith in Jesus—a faith that should lead us away from worldly and unrighteous behaviors (Colossians 3:5) 

Backsliding is a reminder that sanctification isn’t something we can achieve by our passion or own works. Rather, we must submit to the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). It is the lack of submission that makes us believers live unchanged carnal lives pictured as a dog returning to its vomit or a washed saw returning to the mud (1 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Peter 2:22). The Bible shows that continued refusal to repent can make the individual lose sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, who is the only hope for the person to be convicted of sin and be led to repentance (Ephesians 4:19; John 16:8). 

"...continued refusal to repent can make the individual lose sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, who is the only hope for the person to be convicted of sin and be led to repentance."

A believer faces stronger temptations as they grow spiritually. They are more susceptible to falling into sin if they are not firmly rooted in Christ (Colossians 2:7). Matthew 12:43-45 says that when demons come back to a heart they once possessed and find it empty and clean, they bring more evil demons to wage war for dominion of that heart which would result in a worse evil state compared to the first. It’s imperative therefore for a believer to be rooted in the Word, be established in the faith, relying on the armor of God if they are to withstand the temptations (Ephesians 6:10-18) 

"It's imperative therefore for a believer to be rooted in the Word, be established in the faith, relying on the armor of God if they are to withstand the temptations."

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, thank you for saving me. I repent, my King, of the way I have grieved You through disobeying the Holy Spirit within me. I submit to you, take the throne of my heart again. May You magnify Yourself in me through the Holy Spirit that I may live a life that glorifies You. Amen.  

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