Sometimes I've seemed to believe this "scripture": "God goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom He may devour." WHAT? The way I have seen God has often been as a mean God, looking for ways to punish me or cause me hardship. Yet God is Perfect Love, and Love "does no harm"! He would never want to harm us. The truth is that though "Satan goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour," Christ came to give us abundant life!
Here's another lie I've believed as if it were scripture: "Noone can pluck you out of evil's (Satan's) hand." NO, NO, NO! I have given far too much credit to the evil one and assumed there's no way to escape evil. Yet Satan is a defeated foe, and God has given us all authority over him, so that nothing will harm us! We're actually safe in God's hand. The truth according to Jesus is that "Noone can pluck you out of My Father's hand."
Does this "verse" sound familiar? "His mercy lasts only a moment, but His anger endures forever." THAT"S not Biblical! At times my prevalent view of God has been that of a disappointed and irritated sovereign, and it has been hard for me to sense His smile upon me. I seemed to focus more on the anger than the love, for I thought He was all about behavior, and since my behavior was so lacking, well, it was hard to imagine Him looking kindly on me. Yet the truth is that the anger of God against sin consumed that sin on the cross in one cosmic moment and He has only love and kindness for me, only grace! The truth then: "His anger lasts only a moment, but His mercy endures forever."
More to come in Part 2...
With love,
