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Category Archives: The Gospel

God’s Love and Giving

God’s Love and Giving

I’ve been posting about the love of God. In the last few articles, I talked about the Lord breaking the curse, sowing the Word, and His discipline. Today, I’ll move on to another important aspect of His love.

In God’s love we see the greatest example of giving. It’s not just any giving. He gave His very best. This is one of the most amazing aspects of His love.

But as I said, it should be an example to us.

According to the example of Christ, love knows no limits. There’s no holding back.

The world has no concept of this. Think about it. These days prenuptial agreements are very common. We’re basically agreeing that this is mine and that is yours.

The fact is that real love gives up all – there’s no “my” in true love. It reminds me of the parable of the Prodigal Son in Scripture.

In that story, the younger son took his inheritance early and left home. When he spent it all and became destitute, he returned home. At that point, the father welcomed him with open arms and restored him to his full status as a son.

The older brother wasn’t too pleased with this.

This older brother was upset because he never left the farm. In his mind, he acted like a slave, doing whatever his father asked of him.

Look at the words of the father to this son.

This son had no reason to be upset. He had everything he needed. He could have celebrated with his friends any time he wanted to.

It’s the same with us. Why do you feel so upset when things don’t seem to be going your way? Just remember how much the Lord has already given to you. More than that, there’s so much more that He has ahead of you.

There are some who think that serving God is such a chore. They begrudge doing anything for the Lord. They need to see the love of God in all of its beauty.

We need to meditate on His love as well. The Lord blesses and sows His Word in us. Yes, He disciplines us, but He also gives abundantly to His children.

We need to spend time in the presence of His Holy Spirit so we can walk in this amazing love.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on April 1, 2026 in Encouragement, The Gospel

 

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God’s Love Breaks the Curse

God’s Love Breaks the Curse

For the past couple of posts, I’ve been sharing about the love of God towards us. I want to continue this in today’s installment.

As I said, we’re looking at the love of God. We need to see that love so that we can truly love Him.

This verse shows us an important aspect of His love. This is the fact that God demonstrates His love – He exhibits it. We need to realize that true love can be seen.

It’s a positive participation in someone’s life. Real love is not just on the inside.

This verse is actually a poor translation of what the original Greek text says. John writes that we know by seeing what kind of love God has given us. In other words, God wants us to experience His love.

There’s a reason for this. He wants us to be recognized as His children. Because God’s love can be seen and experienced, we’re to show the family resemblance. How you see the world around you says a lot about how well you’ve experienced God’s love.

For instance, in the Old Testament there was a pagan spiritualist named Balaam who wanted to put a curse on Israel.

Because of God’s love, He turned a curse into a blessing. If we’re in God’s love, then we see blessing instead of cursing.

One of the greatest parts of love is the ability to bless someone. The verse says that God overturned the curse into blessing. Because of His love, God overturns curses.

I don’t have to worry about what someone says about me or my family. There is no curse that can touch us.

Because of God’s love I cannot be cursed unless I embrace it. It’s only if I believe what others say about me that it will affect me. It’s the same when it comes to my own thoughts.

I can’t let the lies of my mind, or the lies of the enemy, affect my future. Christ has redeemed me. He has overturned the curse into a blessing. That’s the only way I should be seeing my life.

Above all else, I need to be meditating on God’s Word. That’s where all of the blessings truly come from.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 

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God’s Unstoppable Love

God’s Unstoppable Love

In my last post, I started talking about the love of God towards us. It’s amazing and infinite. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we’ll never be able to fathom it. I want to continue with this today.

We’re told something interesting about the love of God in this verse. It says that God directs His love toward us.

That word, direct, means to command. It’s like a general giving orders to those soldiers under him. It literally says that God commands His love to reach us.

I think that there’s something incredible about it. The verse makes it clear that it’s by day that He commands his love.

I think about it this way…I have three daughters. When they were little, I remember seeing them while they were sleeping. The fact is that at night, while a child is sleeping, it’s very easy to look at them with love in your heart.

This verse tells us that He commands His love when we’re awake. It’s during the daytime while we’re doing whatever we happen to be doing.

These are great questions. What can possibly put a space between you and God’s love? Can pressure, hardship, or persecution? Can hunger, danger, nakedness, or the sword? Paul then answers his own questions.

The simple answer is – nothing! There’s no place or no one that God’s love cannot reach. Why? Because God commands it to be that way. The same command that created light, commands love to reach to you. When God commands it, nothing can stop it.

This is a prayer to God. It’s a prayer for power. This power can only come from God. That’s because it takes supernatural power to grasp God’s love.

I cannot understand His love, without His power to do so. I cannot love God without knowing God. (Because God is love) I cannot know God and His love without His power at work in me. He has to reveal His love to me.

This passage tells us why we need power to grasp the His infinite love. It’s because we need to grasp or literally lay hold of this love. With His power we can know this love that’s beyond knowledge.

How can you know something that goes beyond knowledge? How can something infinite fit inside something tiny? Only by the power of God.

We need a revelation of the love of God. The more time with Him – the more we know His love.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 

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Understanding God’s Love

Understanding God’s Love

Now that I’ve finished my study in the epistle of Jude, I’m feeling led to take a small break from the New Testament series. I want to spend some time talking about our relationship with God. Specifically, His love for us, our love for Him, and the levels of our relationship with the Lord.

So let me start by asking; do you love God?

You may respond with; why would you even ask that question? Of course I love God!

The fact is that we need to understand what it truly means to love God. This series of posts will spend a few weeks exploring this subject.

Where do we even start to understand what it means to love God? He’s so vast, so infinite. The Scripture says that it’s not about our love for Him, but His love for us. So, to understand love, I have to understand Him.

That’s the basis, the foundation stone. If I want to know love, I must know God. The world talks about love, but it’s not the real thing they refer to.

We go to a wedding and see a couple who say that they have a love that will last forever. Five years later, they’re in court seeking a divorce.

At one point I heard a celebrity say in an interview, that they had attended a beautiful wedding. The reason was that in the vows, the couple said that they promised faithfulness “…as long as we both shall love.” It’s obvious that the world has no concept of what true love is all about.

That’s why I believe that before we say that we love God, we had better know what love is. So I’m going to start by taking a few posts to look at the love of God. Because God is love.

There are many believers who love to study the names of God given in the Scripture. Here’s an important one we need to know. In this Psalm, David calls the Lord Elohiym-Checed. That name literally means the God who loves me. It’s important to understand that God and His love cannot be separated.

At one point, the Old Testament saint, Nehemiah, prayed the following about Israel:

God is abounding in love. This means that God has an over abundance of love. It’s comforting to know that God has more than enough love for us.

God is love. God is infinite. Therefore, His love is infinite. He will never run out.

Even when we blow it, God is there for us.

This verse clearly says that under no circumstances will God ever reject your intercessions or turn off His love for you. You will never go past the reach of His love.

God’s love is amazing. We will need the help of the Holy Spirit in order to comprehend it.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2026 in Encouragement, The Gospel

 

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Giving and Receiving Mercy

Giving and Receiving Mercy

We’re going through Jude’s short letter to the church. He’s now making some concluding remarks to help us in our walk with the Lord.

In these two verses, Jude is trying to get an important concept across to us. He mentions it three times in this short section. It’s the word, mercy.

I believe that in our generation we have no concept of what biblical mercy is all about. Most of the time we think it’s undeserved forgiveness.

We do something wrong. Then, when we’re caught, we want to get out of the consequences. So, we beg for mercy. That has nothing to do with the mercy of the Bible.

About ten years ago I did a series of posts on the truth of God’s mercy. To read these posts, click here.

For now, I’ll just summarize it. At one point in His ministry, Jesus told the pharisees…

Mercy is something God desires for us. It’s not a rule. Simply put, the Lord is saying that He would much rather reward our obedience than have to forgive our sin. Yes, He forgives our sin. But He really enjoys our obedience.

Our understanding of this is what matters. God’s mercy is His reward for us doing what He asks of us.

Notice that it doesn’t say “In view of God’s wrath.” It doesn’t say “In view of God’s promises.” Instead it tells us to keep God’s mercy in our sights.

Because God is “a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6), I want to fulfill His desires for me. I know I can live a sacrificial life, because it will not be in vain. I will be rewarded.

Here, Jude tells us to watch ourselves. Make sure we remain in God’s love. Then we can expect His mercy. But how do we remain in his love?

This just confirms that obedience brings mercy. But there is now an obligation on us that Jude talks about. We need to show mercy. We must reward those who are faithfully serving God.

Jesus said the same thing.

This is the walk of mercy. It’s a higher calling. It’s being obedient to God, while being a blessing to others.

Now, let me end this post with the closing words of Jude’s epistle.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on March 20, 2026 in Ministry, Revival, Spiritual Walk, The Gospel

 

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Repentance Breaks the Curse

Repentance Breaks the Curse

We’re currently going through the book of Jude. He’s writing about false teachers.

I’m posting about Cain’s experience. He murdered his own brother because he thought that it would allow him to worship God on his own terms. It didn’t work.

He found himself away from his calling, and hidden from God’s presence. He even feared that he would be killed for his actions. But God did something surprising.

God gave Cain the world’s first tattoo. It read, “Kill him and answer to Me – signed – GOD.”

Why would God do such a thing? Throughout His Word the Lord has said that murder is punishable by death. The answer is in His mercy.

This is a very strange statement for Eve to make. At this point she already had over 100 children. Why did she see the need to specifically replace Abel? The name Seth means to place in as a substitute.

Here’s where we see God’s mercy.

What this verse tells us is that something happened when Seth was old enough to have children. The Bible literally says that calling on the name of the Lord was opened up. (The word men is not in the original Hebrew)

Why did God not allow Cain to be killed? The Lord wanted Cain to see the day when a new prophet would rise up. Seth could now offer the sin-offering for Cain’s forgiveness. I’d like to think that Cain took God’s offer of a second chance. I believe that we’ll see him in Heaven.

Remember – Cain’s curse was that he would be a restless wanderer.

Do you hear that? Cain built a city. He’s not a wanderer anymore. It sounds like the curse was broken over his life. I believe it’s because he took God’s offer of forgiveness.

What can we learn from all of this – the way of Cain? I can’t worship God on my own terms. It’s an epidemic of our generation of believers.

Many people say that they’re pursuing God. The truth is that I can only pursue God the way God wants to be pursued. Anything else and I’m just a spiritual wanderer.

We must worship God the way He wants to be worshiped – in spirit and in truth. Anything else misses the mark.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
 

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Worship on My Terms

Worship on My Terms

As we go through Jude’s epistle, I’ve been posting about the offerings of Cain and Abel.

What we’ve seen is that Abel was God’s designated prophet. If Cain’s gift was to be accepted, he had to bring it to Abel. This would have required Cain to humble himself.

“You mean I have to go to my little brother for God to accept my offering?”

The truth is that there’s only one way to worship God acceptably – God’s way. Cain had a problem with that.

The result was that Cain killed Abel. Cain’s thinking was that God wanted him to worship through the prophet. But what if there was no prophet? Then God would have to accept an offering from Cain’s hand.

Cain wanted to worship God on his own terms. He thought that God would have to accept his offering regardless of how he brought it. But that wasn’t the case.

Cain became the world’s first murderer. He was cursed for this sin.

What was Cain’s response?

Cain said that his punishment would be unbearable. Why? Not only was he driven from the land, but he would be hidden from God’s presence.

Does that sound like an angry, hardened reprobate to you? I don’t see any of that as he stands before God.

He is starting to understand his situation. He can no longer fulfill his calling – being driven from the land. He can’t find forgiveness in the presence of God. The only advocate that he could have gone to – Abel – is dead. It even dawns on him that he deserves death.

His answer to God sounds sorrowful to me. He sounds more humble that Adam and Eve did when they sinned.

This shows the mercy of God. The conversation between Cain and God still sounds like the interactions of a father and a wayward son.

We serve a God who always desires restoration over judgment. The outcome of this event is no different. Cain was sorry for what he had done. God had a remedy.

In my next post you’ll see how the story ends. It’s probably different than you think.

© 2026 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on February 25, 2026 in Prayer, Worship, The Gospel, Spiritual Walk

 

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Saved Through Difficulty

Saved Through Difficulty

We’re continuing our walk through the epistle of 1 Peter. I’ve been sharing about trials and difficulties. In my last post I talked about how our right choices can bring glory to God.

Today we’ll look at another frequently misunderstood Scripture.

Some people look at this verse and use it as an excuse for their legalism. They have a list of rules that if any of them are broken, you’ll lose your salvation.

Jesus Christ went to the cross and gave His life to save us. I hardly think that it would then be God’s will for us to lose that salvation and end up in hell on a legal technicality.

Yes, this verse does say that the righteous are saved with difficult toil. This is the part that many use to teach that it’s harder to stay saved than it was to get saved. But it all comes down to the fact that they don’t understand what “saved” means. Scripturally, to be saved means to be delivered and protected. Understand this; because of Christ’s work on the cross, we’re not just saved from hell. We’re also saved form sickness, poverty, sin, depression, and all that would harm us.

The simple truth is that it’s difficult toil to bring salvation into my finances, my home, my mind, and my workplace. In saying this, Peter asks an interesting question.

It’s a very complicated question in the Greek language. But it all comes down to this: If we consider it painful toil to bring this salvation into our lives – how will non-worshippers and sinners become enlightened?

So, I will make the tough choices – in order for the world to see His light and glory. I base that upon the Scriptural context. This life is not all about me. The world needs me to be strong in the Lord so that they can see and understand this Good News.

As long as we have the attitude, “I’m not going to go to hell as long as I…” we’ll never be effective. The real question is “How many others around me will go to hell if I don’t live up to my salvation?”

I need to make sure that if I suffer, it’s according to His will. That means it’s God’s choice, purpose, and determination for my life. If that’s the case then I am presenting my soul in well-doing before my Faithful Creator.

When I make the choice to follow the Lord’s plan, I put myself on the altar. Paul says the same thing in his writings.

That word, granted, means given to you as a favor. God has done us a favor by letting us participate in His sufferings. It’s time to stop thinking all about myself and embrace the trials.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
 

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The Time for Right Choices

The Time for Right Choices

As we go through 1 Peter, I’ve been talking about suffering for doing right. We’ve seen that the suffering is knowing that you could take the easy way out but choose to do right anyway.

Peter continues with this thought.

There are wrong choices that carry severe consequences if you get caught. However, that’s not the suffering he wants us to focus on.

The right choice is to live as a Christian. That word means you’re a follower or representative of Christ. It may be a modern cliché, but the truth is we should always ask; what would Jesus do? Or, even better, what would Jesus say? The world will always judge Christianity by what we do.

This is a verse that’s frequently misunderstood. It’s all about understanding the season we’re living in. We’re in the last days before the Lord’s return.

According to this verse, it’s the set time for judgment to begin. That word, judgment, simply means decisions; specifically, the decisions made by God. In context, these decisions God makes are based upon our choices.

God sets up trials (faith experiments) for us. When we make the right choices, our faith is proved genuine, and God gets the glory. It becomes clear what we believe and is a witness to the world.

Now, those we share Christ with have to make the choice. Will they choose for or against the Lord? What will the outcome be? Hopefully, they’ll choose to obey the Good News they’ve seen and heard.

That’s the season we’re in right now. More and more, God is going to place us in the spotlight. Will we bring glory to God, or push our own political agenda?

We are not on this earth to promote a man-made philosophy, no matter how good we think it is. We’re here to lift up Christ and share His work of salvation with the world.

With the rise of social media, we have an unprecedented ability to share this Good News with masses of people. Yet what many believers get involved in is hatred, division, and blatant disrespect. God cannot and will not bless that kind of behavior.

It’s time for God’s people to make right choices. We need to be proclaiming Christ. That’s the season we live in. Choose to live as a representative of Christ.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 

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Our Righteous Witness

Our Righteous Witness

We’re continuing our walk through 1 Peter. He’s been teaching about having a change of attitude by the renewing of your mind.

Peter now appeals to our spiritual experience. He tells us that we’ve spent enough time trying to accomplish what the Pagans are doing. We found out that it doesn’t work. All of that sinful lifestyle leads nowhere.

He uses some clear descriptions that sound very close to home in our generation. Peter talks about out of control desires, too much wine, letting loose, drinking bouts, and unlawful image worship. That’s how the world views having a good time. I let loose on the weekend, destroying my body, then feeling like dirt on Monday.

It should be different for us as believers. If you remember from the end of chapter 3, we’ve cried out to God. Through baptism we craved and demanded a good conscience before God. Our life has been totally renovated.

The world thinks we’re crazy for not running after these things. He literally says that it’s alien to them. It’s strange that we don’t want to rush together with them into the same excess of unsavedness.

So, they speak evil of you. That’s because your lifestyle of radical righteousness convicts them. They realize that their lifestyle is only providing a temporary happiness.

This is what should fuel our evangelistic burden for the lost. Everyone will go before God in judgment. I believe that this knowledge is built into our DNA as humans.

And this verse gives us some insight into what Christ was doing while His body rested in the grave. First, Jesus went into hell and proclaimed to the unrighteous dead. Then, He preached the good news to the righteous dead. After proclaiming His triumph over death, Christ lead them out victoriously.

This is why the Gospel message is so important. The Lord wants no one to perish. He wants as many as possible to enter into the joy of His kingdom. We all have to do our part in accomplishing this mission.

© 2025 Nick Zaccardi

 
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Posted by on July 9, 2025 in Ministry, Spiritual Walk, The Gospel

 

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