Tag Archives: God’s love

July 28 – The Bible Tells Me So

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Isaiah 40-43

My heart is blessed this morning after reading these chapters in Isaiah. There is so much promise, so much hope and love pouring out to me through those words. Yes, I know they were written to the physical nation of Israel long ago. But I miss out on what God would say to me today if I don’t realize that what He said to them applies to me, too, as His child through the blood of Jesus.

He is my strength, my Living Water in the dessert, the One who levels those mountains I have to climb. He is my protector, the One who gives me the Bread of Life to sustain me. He is my Savior, My God.

And I am His.

There is no one on earth whom He loves more, is more invested in, or longs for anyone more than me. I am truly blessed.

The same can be true for you, if you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior.

It’s true.

The Bible tells me so.

July 23 – God Feels Pain

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Hosea 8-14

When I read Hosea’s words this morning I was struck by God’s emotions toward His children. Often I’ve read about God’s anger. Today I see Him a bit differently.

My youngest nephew is going off to college. Even though I’m not his mom, I’m pretty close to this crazy teenager. And it’s not easy letting him go. So many memories rush back as I think about him getting in that car and driving away toward adulthood. The first time I held him in my arms, his first wobbly steps, the funny way he rolled his r’s when he was learning to talk, his first soccer game, playing catch in the backyard, watching Space Jam and laughing over The Great Race (MMMMAAAAAAAAAXXX!!!), Indians games, Disney, Chuckie Cheese. If only I could just hold him in those innocent years forever.

I have tears in my eyes just thinking about my nephew leaving the nest. It’s a natural progression of life, but I am still sad that he’ll be going away.

And that’s how I saw God this morning as I read Hosea 11. He’s like a daddy watching His baby walk away. He loved His children. He nurtured them, held them, taught them, protected them. But God’s children aren’t just going off to college. They have turned their backs on God and rejected him.

I am God’s child, too. He’s like the daddy who loves me completely. He’s held me, and taught me to walk, He’s protected me and guided me. It’s those times when I disobey, when I ignore Him, when I make choices that dishonor Him, that He yearns for the days when I totally belonged to Him. I can almost see Him reaching out to me as I take a step away.

I don’t want God to see my back. Ever. I want to be always moving toward Him, arms open wide, eager to receive everything He is. I don’t ever want to be a source of sorrow for my Lord. I don’t want my choices to cause Him pain.

If I feel sadness because of the new chapter in my nephew’s life, and mine, then God’s sadness must be so much greater when He watches His children turn and walk away. May I never be the source of His pain.

June 14 – Lovingkindness That Lasts Forever

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2 Chronicles 6-7, Psalm 136

It’s kind of hard to read about God’s lovingkindness after the murder of 49 homosexuals in Orlando over the weekend. It’s understandable that people who don’t know God might look at Him as cruel in situations like this. And sometimes Christians say things that really don’t help.

I’m taking a chance here. Not wanting to make matters worse, I think we need to look at God’s lovingkindness, especially in light of this tragedy.

The 136th Psalm is like a congregational reading. The leader reads a phrase, and the people respond with, “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” But look at some of the phrases that received that response:

Verse 10: To Him who smote the Egyptians in their firstborn

Verse 15: But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea.

Verse 17: To Him who smote great kings

How can God’s lovingkindness be seen in the deaths of babies and kings, or 49 homosexuals?

I think God’s lovingkindness is revealed in the fact that we all haven’t met the same fate. There isn’t a one of us who deserves ANY good thing from God. He is holy. He has given us rules to live by, and we’ve broken every one. We’ve ignored Him. We lie about Him. We serve other gods, and have placed ourselves as gods.

We deserve God’s wrath. But His lovingkindness has me still breathing today. And His lovingkindness wants to use this Orlando tragedy to speak to your heart, to draw you to Him.

Some of you will step further away from  Him out of anger. Don’t do it. God didn’t kill those people. An evil man did. Satan would have you focus on the situation, and ignore God’s love to you, personally.

Here’s a picture of God’s lovingkindness: It’s Jesus, bruised and beaten, hanging on a cross because YOU sinned. He died because YOU deserve death. He offers Himself to YOU today because of His everlasting lovingkindness.

I heard someone say those 49 people got what they deserved because of their sin. But wait. If that’s how God works, you’d be taking a bullet, too. And so would I.

Here’s another example of God’s lovingkindness: It’s found in 2 Chronicles 7:14. It says if we repent, God promises to heal our land. It’s the same promise we find in I John 1:9. If we confess our sins, if we repent, He WILL forgive. He WILL cleanse us.

And that’s a lovingkindness that lasts forever.

Dearest God, Thank You for who You are. You are good. You are kind. You are full of grace. You love us with an enduring love that sent Jesus to the cross. I pray for the families and friends of those who were killed in Orlando. Dear Father, wrap your arms around them. May they be drawn to You, find strength in You, recognize Your lovingkindness even in their pain. I pray that many people will come to Your saving grace because of this tragedy. May we who know You represent You in a way that honors You. I also pray that we who know You will humble ourselves, repent of sin in our lives, and open the path for You to heal our land.

June 13 – The Holy Spirit In Us

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I Kings 8, II Chronicles 5

When Solomon dedicated the new Temple, the glory of the Lord filled the House. Oh, to have been one of the thousands who witnessed that cloud filling the Temple! That would be a sight you’d not soon forget. God’s glory, present, and visible.

Church yesterday was almost that for me. First we sang, “Blessed Assurance,” “And Can It Be,” “Victory in Jesus.” The special music was a quartet singing “He Touched Me.” All of it old school. And all of it prepared us to hear a message about the unfailing love of God.

God’s Presence was as real yesterday as it was in Solomon’s day. The same Spirit that filled that temple, filled our hearts in Bellville, Ohio.

In light of the most recent Muslim terrorist attack on our country, I am hearing a lot about “love.” One person even said that if we stopped considering Muslims as the enemy, and loved them like God loves them, none of this would happen.

In a sense, that’s true. But not in the sense this person intended. Love is not acceptance. God’s love, which is a blanket that covers the whole world, is not salvation. God’s love sent Jesus to the cross because He is that serious about sin.

If we loved Muslims with the same love God has for them, we would stop at nothing to introduce them to the Savior. Love is not the answer. Tolerance is not the answer. The Person of Jesus Christ is the only answer to our world’s unrest.

Talk about Amazing Love. How can it be that God would love me so much He’d die for me? The victory is in Jesus who seeks each of us, who bought our salvation with His precious redeeming blood. We can have the Blessed Assurance that this same Jesus whose Spirit filled Solomon’s Temple thousands of years ago, is ours when we are born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

What does it mean to love like Jesus loves? What does it mean to have His Holy Spirit in us? It means we look at the world through His eyes. We see all people as individuals He died to redeem. It means we realize the truth that, without Him, they have no hope. It means allowing Him to live and speak through us so that those who don’t know Him, will recognize their need and fall on their knees in repentance.

Holy God, thank You for wanting to fill my heart with Yourself, like you filled Solomon’s Temple so long ago. Thank You for loving us so much You’d die to save us. May we who know You allow You to fill us, to strengthen us, to make us bold and obedient servants, so that all people will come to You. I pray for the families touched by the deaths in Orlando. May Your Spirit minister, may Your children reach out, and may hearts be drawn to the Savior, for their good and Your glory.

June 2 – Everything

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Song of Solomon

When I read Solomon’s Song I can get caught up in the flowery words between the lovers. Their’s is an intense, consuming love. But I have to admit I often chuckle at the imagery. Hair like a flock of goats? Teeth like ewes (but thankfully none are missing), a belly like a heap of wheat, and a nose like the tower of Lebanon? Not very flattering if you ask me.

If I get caught up in the details of this beautiful book, I miss the point. It occurs to me that the things the lovers used to describe each other are valuable things, expensive things. They are things needed to sustain a person, to bring comfort, to provide for every need and pleasure. The things they used to describe each other are, well, everything.

That’s what God wanted me to see today. The love these two share means everything to them. Literally everything.

God loves me like that. He loves me with every fiber of His being. He sees me as beautiful, and treasured, adored. He loves me with all his strength, nothing is held back. Not even His Son.

Can I say the same about my love for God? What makes Solomon’s Song so beautiful is that the lovers feel the same about each other. That love is the most important thing to both of them.

I am convicted as I consider what I might be holding back from God. Do I open myself up to Him and offer Him everything? Or do I hide a relationship behind my back, keep my finances out of His reach, hold on to my pride?

I want a relationship with God as intense and honest and complete as Solomon’s was with his bride.

My Loving Bridegroom, I am Yours. I recognize that You love me completely, totally, intensely. And I want to love you like that, too. So here I am, Lord. My arms are open. My heart is open. Nothing held back. It’s all Yours, and I give it with all the love I have. My family, my future, my past, my today, my finances, relationships, dreams, my health… everything I have or hope to have, everything I am or hope to be. It’s all Yours, Lord. I love you with everything.

 

May 3 – Lovingkindness

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Psalm 106-107

I’ve never really thought much about the word, “lovingkindness.” I know what it means, I suppose. I think I have a pretty good picture in my  mind what it looks like. But as I sit here this morning, I can’t think of an example I’ve read or heard where “lovingkindness” is used to describe anyone but God.

The psalmist uses the word a lot. Even when speaking about God’s discipline of His disobedient children. On one hand he tells of Israel’s struggles in the wilderness, their worship of idols, their constant whining. Then he tells them to thank God for His lovingkindness.

So here’s what I want to take away from these Scriptures today. God is perfect in love and in kindness. He’s like a nursing mother who gazes into the face of her child, heart bursting with love while she holds him close, touches his cheeks, examines his tiny fingers. God is like that daddy who puts those tiny shoes on his daughter’s Barbie because her little fingers can’t do it herself. He’s like the parent who plays catch with the kids in the backyard, even after an exhausting day at work. God is like the grandparent who kneels by the bed ever night to pray for grandchildren through tears of joy or sorrow.

God’s perfect love and perfect kindness cannot be separated. And His lovingkindness is directed toward me. It envelopes me.

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so… (Psalm 107:1-2a)

March 24 – When The Walls Fall Down

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Joshua 5-8

I remember when I was in college, someone tried to convince me of the scientific principle behind the collapse of the walls around Jericho. It went something like this:

The Jewish parade around the city once a day for six days began to weaken the foundation of the wall because of the vibration of their footsteps on the ground. Then, when the people marched around the city seven times in one day, and shouted, and blew the trumpets, the already weakened foundation was unable to handle all that vibration. And the walls came tumbling down.

Whatever.

What I see in this story is a loving God who gave the people of Jericho multiple chances to repent. They had heard about Israel’s God, the miracles that accompanied the Jews on their travels from Egypt, including the parting of the Jordan River only days before.

They could have bowed their knees and accepted God. They could have been saved. Rahab and her family believed, and they were saved. But the rest of the city didn’t bow. And they were the ones who paid the price.

God, maybe like a child blowing out a birthday candle, blew on those walls and they fell. Yes, He used the children of Israel to get the attention of the people within the city. But it was God who caused the walls to crash to the ground.

God tries to get our attention every minute of every day. He doesn’t exact punishment on us the first time we sin. He is slow to anger. He is patient and kind. He is not willing that any of us should die in our sin.

So he continues to use people and circumstances and nature and guilt and peace and war and health and sickness… to draw us to Himself. It’s not until we take our last breath that His attempts to win our souls stop, until the walls we thought would protect us come tumbling down.

So, Christian, keep praying for that loved one who still resists the Lord. Keep circling, keep reaching out. I mean, Rahab was a prostitute and she was saved. God is not done with your loved one no matter how far you think they’ve fallen. Neither should you be.

And if you are one who is still inside those walls of Jericho, surrender. Those walls can’t withstand the wrath of God. Get out while you can and run to the God who loves you and gave Himself for you.

On which side of the walls will you be when they finally fall down? You have only this lifetime to make that decision. And it’s the most important decision you’ll ever make. It’s the only decision that will matter in eternity.

March 14 – Our Awesome God

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Deuteronomy 8-10

Now Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? (10:12-13)

Moses has been reminding the Jews all the things God has done on their behalf. Now he wants to remind them WHO God is. I hope you read Deuteronomy 10:12-22 today, and let yourself worship this awesome God of ours.

God created the heavens and earth, yet set His affection to love us. God who loved us so much He sent Jesus, so that anyone who believes in Him will live forever with Him. (John 3:16)

God is the God above all Gods, Lord of lords, great, mighty, and awesome.

He is our praise and He is our God.

Amen!

Feb 1 – Plagues and Purpose

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Exodus 7-9

If God wanted the Israelites to move to Canaan, why didn’t he just kill Pharaoh and his army? Why didn’t God just turn the Israelites invisible and let them walk right past the enemy? Why bother with all the plagues? Does God like to play games?

The answer is in Exodus 9:15-17:

For this time I will send all My plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth. For if by now I had put forth my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth. Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go. (I added the bold)

Yes, God used Pharaoh’s response to the plagues to fulfill His promise to Abraham, to free the Jews and send them toward the Promised Land. But, according to the verses we just read that’s not the only reason God sent those plagues.

God gave the Egyptians, including Pharaoh, multiple opportunities to bow down to Him. He demonstrated His power through every plague so the whole world would recognize He is the One True God. God, who is not willing that any should perish, put those plagues out there because of love.

I know because we read what happened after the fact, we might come to the conclusion God orchestrated the events, pulled strings to make Pharaoh reject Him. But that implies God wasn’t interested in Pharaoh’s soul, and that’s not consistent with God’s nature.

Had Pharaoh believed in Israel’s God after recognizing God’s power, we would be reading a different account. And someone would assume God pulled strings to make that happen, too.

Reading about the plagues today reminds me that God will stop at nothing to reveal Himself, to draw people to Himself. And I am also reminded that everything that happens in this life happens for the sole purpose of saving souls.

That’s the message here. It’s not in the details of the plagues. It’s in the love of God who is in the business of showing Himself to a world that needs Him.

I pray none of us will miss His purpose in the events of our own lives.

Jan 14 – Answers From Questions

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Job 38-39

When I was getting my Masters Degree in School Counseling, we had to study many different counseling theories. Some I liked and used. Some I didn’t. But I learned to ask questions of the person sitting in front of me to help them find the answers they were often looking for.

In the chapters we read today, God finally speaks to Job. The very thing Job wanted to happen happened. But instead of getting answers, Job hears God ask dozens of questions. Questions like: Were you there when I laid the foundation of the earth? Have you ever in your life commanded the morning? Have the gates of hell been revealed to you? Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Who can count the clouds by wisdom…? Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars?

There must be about fifty or so such questions in these two chapters. And, of course, none of them are answerable by Job. But in the asking, God is helping Job understand some things about himself, and about God.

God laid the foundation of the earth. He can tell you the number of clouds in the sky. That’s the reality Job is learning. Our Creator is not our equal. Our Creator has rights we don’t have. Our Creator can do what He wants without your permission or approval.

I hope you read the chapters in Job today. You will come away feeling pretty small in light of who God is. As you should. But hear me when I say, if you keep reading God’s Word you will find that this great God loves you, died for you, and wants you close to Him.

Let’s keep reading! This is good stuff.