“Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” I John 3:1

God loves us so much that He became our Redeemer and paid a ransom for our lives with His own. We are valuable not because of who we know or what we have accomplished. We are priceless because of who He is. Understanding that we are created in His image and precious in His sight will forever change our perspective on love, life, and living free from the awful burden of sin.

There are battles that take place in the arena of our mind and these battles affect our spirit. Doubt, and unbelief and fear, create uncertainty and cause a lack of confidence and often a feeling of despair. Arrogance, pride, and an unwillingness to change our closed mindedness is destructive. These negative emotions are debilitating and cause us to suffer great losses of productivity. They also rob us of joy because they keep us from the realization of how precious we are to God. Knowing how much He loves us is an empowering and liberating discovery.

Many times when we battle feelings of insecurity, intimidation, inferiority, inadequacy, we do so because our thoughts are often undisciplined and focused totally on ourselves. The same can be said of pride and arrogance. We must be centered on God’s Word and on His plan and purpose for our lives. There is so much more to life than living selfishly. Our goals and the energy we expend to achieve them are very important. If our ambitions are Christ centered we will pursue God and love others. We will experience a reason for living, and we will be determined to make a difference in our world.

God wants to sanctify our lives for His glory. Jesus taught this in John 15, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love and live on in it.” When we have knowledge of God and an understanding of His word, our actions will be governed by integrity. Our sinful nature is changed by the presence of God in our lives and the work that He does in us. Our knowledge of God and our love for Him causes us to honor him with our lives. If our actions and our decisions do not honor Him, we must ask ourselves some honest questions, and be willing to examine our hearts. As believers, when our behavior is inconsistent with the teaching of Christ, there is a lack of understanding, and an absence of Godly character in us. We must remember that God knows who we are. Nothing is hidden from Him. He is fully acquainted with all of our ways and He sees and knows all things. Justifying sin and disobedience will only bring heartache and trouble. Dishonesty and misrepresentation to others, as well as lying to ourselves, this can only bring heartache and ruination. Be sure your sins will find you out.

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and said, “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are His” (II Timothy 2:19). God knows if we are truly sincere. He is aware of our thoughts and our motivation. The Lord knows who you are and He loves you. Allow His truth to touch your heart. Let Him teach you His ways. (Psalm 23). His will for our lives and our willingness to receive instruction and accept His word as truth determines how we will live. A sincere and pure life before the Lord requires surrender and repentance and also obedience. We cannot say with honesty and conviction that we love God if we do not keep His commandments and follow the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Today, make the decision to follow Him. If you sincerely desire it, He will “lead you in paths of righteousness for His name sake.”