Through it all

I remember when we were living in Royalton in the parsonage there. I was pretty young like 3 or so, so my memories sometimes are a bit fuzzy.

For example I remember we had this plastic horse and it was suspended by springs to a tubular metal frame. We kept it in the sun porch in the front of the house and I remember getting on that thing and I would get it bouncing so hard I could actually ride that thing the full length of that room.

A room that for whatever reason always smelled like play-doo. In fact as a teenager I went back to visit a friend in that house and the room still smelled like play-doo.

This was the house we were living in when I first learned to ride a bike. No thanks to my father who let go just in time to see me wipe out in the only mud puddle in our drive way.

It was at that time I decided to teach myself. I went to the back lawn and kept working at it, and within a day I had it. I was riding my little hand me down green bike with the banana style seat all by myself.

Most of my memories in that house were good ones. I remember the book mobile, a mobile library. I remember the rhubarb patch and giant apple tree which was easy climbing.

I remember the old pump organ in the attic of the garage, and I remember throwing all my stuff out the second story window with a girl who lived down the street.

Also the bunnies we owned and the ground hog that wouldn’t leave the garden alone so my father took care of it.

But they weren’t all good memories. I remember having to sleep on the pull out couch because I couldn’t walk because I had

henoch-schönlein purpura

A disease where all my joints became inflames and I broke out in an uncomfortable rash.

But I think the worst memory I have from Royalton NB involved my fathers deer call.

See my dad was serving at two different churches and so his office was at the house. And I knew I was not supposed to go in there when my dad wasn’t in there, but it was right off the living room and it called to me like the sirens call in the Homer’s poem The Odyssey. It was his fault he just had too much cool stuff in there.

Like his old flat tape recorder, which probably wasn’t that old at the time, but I loved playing with that. But the piece du resistance was an old game call. I think it was a deer call. It was made up of two small thin pieces of wood held together by a rubber band and I liked to blow in it and make the cool noise.

One day when my dad wasn’t home I snuck into his office and accidentally opened the desk drawer where he kept it and then I accidentally took it out and I was accidentally playing with it when it accidentally broke.

I was scared because I wasn’t supposed to be in there and I had broken my dad’s call, truth be told I broke the elastic but as a three year old I didn’t know it was fixable so because I didn’t want to get in trouble I hid the evidence in the garbage and I buried it under some garbage that was already in the can.

I was so scared my dad would find out, but not for the reason you might think. I was scared my dad might find out not because I was scared of being punished, I’d been punished before that, I could handle that, but this was my dad’s special possession, at least that was what I thought. So much so I convinced myself at three years old if my dad ever finds out what I did

He won’t love me anymore

Well I know it may not seem like it sometimes but I am not three anymore. In fact I have five children of my own, because anything my father can do I can do better.

Having five children of my own helps me to look back at that story and smile because of how ridiculous it is. The thought that my dad wouldn’t love me anymore because I broke something he liked.

Do you know how many things my children have broken of mine? Video game controllers, board games, shoot the last two van we had before this one both had broken cd players because my children thought that slot looked like a good place to stick pennies.

So looking back with 20/20 hindsight I know my dad wouldn’t stop loving me for braking a rubber band or even for throwing away his deer call, but when I was three I am telling you I was convinced.

Do you want to hear something really sad. That is how some Christians today live from day to day when it comes to their relationship with God.

It is true. Some Christians have convinced themselves they are just one broken rule away from

God not Loving them anymore

I am here to tell you, that is a horrible way to live your life.

To finish up our mini series on I want to look at the last section found in verses 31-39.

Romans 8:31–39 NLT

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

My question today is...

What can separate us from the love of God?

Nothing!!!

Me: Sometimes My kids will ask for food after the Kitchen is closed. It is usually a hassle and my daughter, who can be quite a drama queen sometimes usually jumps to the conclusion, If you don’t give me more snake you must not love me anymore. Like many children she views us saying no, and varies disciplines as us communicating we don’t lover her.

Well she is young and we reassure here, but here is the thing

We: Sometimes we jump to the same conclusions every time something bad happens in our life. Something bad will happen and we will assume God is made at us and therefore doesn’t love us anymore. But this is a very childish way of thinking

God: Scripture tells us the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike in Which means not every bad thing that happens to you is because of the wrath of God.

Matthew 5:35 NLT

And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.

Matthew 5:45 NLT

In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Scripture also teaches us that God chastises or disciplines those He loves in

Hebrews 12:6 NLT

For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

So even if God is disciplining us it is because He loves us not because He doesn’t but like many children God’s children sometimes listen to the wrong voice and we allow the enemy to convince us that God doesn’t love us anymore.

This is why I love todays passage. It serves as a reminder that God is for us, and although the enemy may try to accuse us of not really being saved or loved by God or try and convince us we are still condemned by our sins this passage teaches us not to listen to him.

I love verses 35 - 38 which read,

Romans 8:35 NLT

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?

Romans 8:35–38 NLT

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

Romans 8:38 NLT

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

;

God loves us no matter what. The gift of salvation is not determined by your ability to follow the rules. God loved you when you were completely lost to sin, He isn’t going to stop because you mess up sometimes.

Does that mean we should just keep sinning, well no that is just stupid when Jesus saved me my life changed I don’t want to live the way I used to but I also don’t have to be afraid that God will stop loving me if I screw up, but rather that He is there faithful to forgive and loving enough to help me to not do it again.

You: I guess what I want you to know above all else is God loves you, nothing will ever change that. Does that mean He won’t let bad stuff happen to you? No! Does that mean You can do whatever you want and He won’t discipline you? No. He disciplines because He loves and He wants the very best for you.

We: We may be children of God but we do not have to think like children. We can have the assurance of knowing no matter what happen in our life God Still loves us.

Next Step: Look at someone and say God still loves you