by Pastor Joel Lawler

I remember growing up in a church where there were tons of rules to obey to please God. In order to avoid the "holy lightning volts" there were rules to be obeyed and never questioned. Some of the rules were: Don't go to movies. Don't listen to rock music Country music was okay even though the lyrics were just as questionable. It was the beat I guess or the distortion on the guitar that made it evil. Don't dress like the world. I had a hard time with this. Didn't the good and bad people both shop at J.C. Penny's? Don't dance. This was cool with me. I have always been clumsy so I kind of liked the whole "no dancing thing." Don't drink, don't smoke, don't chew and don't go with the girls that do. God gave the Israelites ten commandments. My church was that much better because they added thirty more.

Jesus was visited late at night by a religious leader named Nicodemous. He had followed all the rules and worked very hard to climb the ladder of power and prestige in his church organization. Despite all his success at being one of the best at following the very stringent rules, there was something missing. He was not bold enough to be seen in public talking to Jesus but he did have the courage to at least seek him out and ask Him what Jesus was teaching about.

Jesus answer to him was: "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his

Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him." - John 3:16-18(The Message)

Jesus also said about why He came: "A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." - John 10:10 (The Message)

The idea I got from the teachings of the church with all the rules was that God was angry and condemning. It is far from what Jesus said about not be accusing and that He came to bring life.

The Apostle Paul wrote this about how God feels about those who choose to

accept His gift of salvation:

"How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people -- free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need." -
Ephesians 1:3-8 (The Message)

It is too easy to get misled and not know the truth about how God feels about you. God loves you more than you can possible know. Pray to Him and ask Him.
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