This week I would like to say a word of encouragement to my brothers and sisters that are “in Christ”. Our economy today seems to continue to grow worse and worse. More and more contractors are having no work and many company workers have been laid off and no doubt more layoffs will come. As these things continue to happen, some of you may start to feel like God doesn’t love you. This will especially be true to those that have bought into the “Americanized version” of Christianity. That is, “if” the economy continues to fail, those that truly believe that Christianity is about having your best life now, materialistically speaking, are going to be confused and discouraged. The Apostle Paul wrote,

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39)”.

The early Christians surely needed to be comforted by these words and many Christians in other parts of the world cling to them today. However, to the modern American Christian today they don’t make much sense. We’ve never experienced famine, nakedness, peril, and persecution, so there has never been an association between these things and Christianity in our minds. But just in case some of these things come upon us here in America, we should think carefully about all these things that Paul said will not separate us from the love of God, which is “in Christ”. God has not “declared” His love toward us in giving us lands, large bank accounts, cars, houses, boats, 4-wheelers, motorcycles, etc. No!

God commendeth (showed, declared, and proved) His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).

God has forever declared how much he loves us in the cross of Calvary. There at Calvary He bore the entire penalty for our filthy rotten sins. He has redeemed us and delivered our souls from Hell. We must understand God’s love for us against the backdrop of the cross. If we don’t, every time things don’t go like we think they should we will feel unloved by God. A tire goes flat and you think; God’s mad at me. The transmission goes out or you get laid off and you think; God doesn’t love me. Someone in your family gets sick and you think; God doesn’t care about me. Sounds kind of silly when you read it; right? When we think like that we have a misunderstanding of God. If God does nothing else for us other than saving our souls from eternal damnation in hell, giving us eternal life with Him forever in heaven, He has displayed unfathomable love and is worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. All I am trying to say is that God loves you and never measure God’s love for you by things or circumstances, but by what He did for you on the cross. Just in case our economy does collapse, I’ll end with this set of scriptures.

“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content (1Tim 6:3-8).”

God bless you as you study His word.