Love

/
Love

Even in his last few days, Jesus reminded his disciples how much he loved them. Jesus’s love for his disciples was different than any love they had ever experienced before. The disciples might not have caught that prior to Jesus’s death; however, they quickly realized it upon Jesus’s resurrection. For many of us, we know God loves us, yet sometimes we have doubts. It seems as though God’s love isn’t tangible. We can’t demonstrate our love for God like we do with those we love most. Think about how you show love and affection to those closest to you. You hug and kiss them. You look them in the face and talk. While we know God loves us and he demonstrates his love to us, we’ve never been face-to-face with God. We’ve never hugged or kissed God. The disciples, however, tangibly experienced the love of God through Jesus. Jesus was God-in-flesh. He walked with them, talked with them, and demonstrated his love for them. Ultimately Jesus demonstrated his love for his disciples in the most profound way—by dying on the cross.

Read More

Because of His Love

/
Because of His Love

Why did God deliver the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt? Because he loved his people. Simple enough, right? God’s love is immeasurable and unfathomable. He chose the Israelites hundreds of years prior, heard the cry of his people, and remembered his covenant. A love like this is rarely experienced by humans. We let one another down. We hurt each other. We fail. Our love becomes broken. That’s why God’s love is so unbelievable. His love never fails. Just when we think he’s forgotten us or we’ve done something to lose his love, God reminds us once again of his love.

Read More

Giving Love

/
Giving Love

Over the past several weeks we have regularly been reminded of the ugliness and depth of our sin. However, we have also been reminded of God’s unsurpassable and unending love. Today we remind ourselves of an oft quoted verse: John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.” Think about those words. Read it again. “For God so loved the world . . . ” God is not a distant God who created everything and then left. He is a God who is so near that he loves his creation like a father. God’s love is also not all talk. He did something to demonstrate his love: “he gave his only Son.” The love that God has for the world is an agape love. The Greek word agape has the meaning of sacrificial love. God loved the world so much that he gave up something. He didn’t just give up anything; he gave up his Son. The Father knew how deep and dark our sin was and refused to leave us in that place. He sent his Son, Jesus, because he loved us.

Read More

Resting in God's Security

/
Resting in God's Security

Psalm 121 is entitled, “My Help Comes from the Lord,” which is very significant. Many believe that David wrote this Psalm as he was in the midst of traveling, and staying out of harms way from the battle around him. Although this could refer to physical protection, more importantly, it refers to spiritual protection. This Psalm refers to the security and protection that God gives to those who cry out to him and those who look upon him. When one’s posture is positioned toward God rather than themselves, there is a promise of security and protection. This promise, as the Psalm says, is that “the Lord will keep us.” “He will not let our feet be moved.” There is something special and significant about knowing that our life is secure and stable, regardless of the circumstances and trials that we face. This may not mean that things will always go our way and that trials will not come, but it does mean that we are not defined by those things and God can work through them.

Read More

But God

/
But God

The love of God is something that is absolutely impossible to wrap our minds around. Yesterday, we reflected on the reality of sin that we face as people in this world. It’s not until we fully recognize our sinful nature that we begin to see God’s love in a greater scale. The Apostle Paul writes to the church of Ephesus who were a group of Christians struggling with unity. Paul is actually in prison during the time of this writing, which makes the book even more powerful and significant, knowing that Paul is in chains, while encouraging Christians to strive for and maintain unity. In the beginning of this chapter, he reminds the church that they were once “dead” in their sins, and they literally had no hope in their current state. The key phrase begins in verse four, as Paul reminds them, “But God…” This is a remarkable miracle, that God came to us, in our current state of sin and depravity, and made a way for us to have life in him. Paul knew that the church needed to hear this truth because it creates the foundation that all Christians need established in their lives in order to be unified.

Read More

Too Good for Us

/
Too Good for Us

Lent is a perfect time to be reminded of God’s love. During Lent we anticipate God’s greatest demonstration of his love—the death and resurrection of Jesus. No other two events have more clearly shown the love of God. We cannot forget that God himself is the source of love. Love is not just an action or feeling of God. Love is actually his nature (1 John 4:8). In Psalm 86 we read of God’s love for us. The psalmist describes God in so many ways: good, gracious, abounding in steadfast love, one who answers, great, doer of wondrous deeds, merciful, faithful, helper, and comforter. No doubt, God is good to us.

Read More