created to love Him...

I think this picture is funny! Lately I have found myself in several conversations concerning the judgment of God. I am realizing that there are many people who hold much fear concerning the "Day of Judgment" or the "Day of the Lord" mentioned in Scripture. I understand this...I remember as a little girl praying to God and asking Him to not let Jesus return to the earth while I was alive because I was afraid of what would happen to me. I have had many misconceptions of God's character and what "Judgment Day" will look like. So, a couple months ago I set out to see what Scripture actually has to say about God's judgment and how it was perceived by the original audience the Scriptures were written to. What I've found is changing how I view my Jesus and its giving me a new confidence in how I approach Him. GOD'S JUDGMENT IS AN OCCASION FOR REJOICING: There are several verses in the Old Testament that reveal this point. Psalm 67:4 says...

Today I was reading 1 Timothy chapter 1. Paul is writing to Timothy to direct him to handle people in the Church of Ephesus who were teaching false doctrines. They had wandered away from the truth of the Word to teach their own perceptions of it. Verse 7 says  they were " desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they were saying or the things about which they made confident assertions. " I'm caught on verse 1:5. Paul tells Timothy that " the purpose of our commandment is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith ."  In the verses previous (1 Timothy 1:1-4), Paul makes it clear that the Bible was not written to provoke philosophical debate nor to encourage the pursuit of theological bunnytrails. The purpose of Scripture is love.  They have been given in order to incite and perfect our love.  With this in mind, if my time spent in the Word does not increase my love for God, then I've missed the...