Tuesday, November 22, 2011

I am greatly loved by God.

http://youtu.be/W2ZQDidDDss - You are Loved by Josh Groban

Psalm 94:18
I cried out, “I am slipping!” but Your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.

Do you ever wonder if God really loves you? 

I don't think it's uncommon for the Enemy to use that lie to make us feel
alone and hopeless.  But we don't have to listen to the lies.  Instead, we can find strength and courage to face each day by listening to God's Truth.

I found just many passages in the Bible that speak of God's love and faithfulness.  These scriptures remind me of one thing:  I am loved!

My list here is just a tiny fraction of the verses that God included in His inspired Word, and they are promises we can hold on to when times are tough, and we wonder if He cares.

Holy God, thank You for Your love and faithfulness. Thank You for always hearing when I call out to You. Thank You for sending Your Son to earth, to become man, so that He could fully understand my trials and temptations. Thank You for being my Savior. Thank You for covering me with Your righteous, for without that, I could never stand before You.  Thank You for choosing me to be Your child.  Thank You for faithfully drawing me to Yourself, even when I was so far away.


Your faithful love endures forever. Thank You, Lord Jesus! Thank You, Father! Thank You, Holy Spirit! I praise Your Holy Name!

Ephesians 3:19-21
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.


Exodus 20:6
But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love Me and obey My commands.


Exodus 34:6
The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,“Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.


Psalm 5:12
For You bless the godly, O Lord;You surround them with Your shield of love.

Psalm 31:7
I will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul.


Psalm 33:18
But the Lord watches over those who fear Him, those who rely on His unfailing love.


Psalm 34:17
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.


Psalm 36:7
How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings.


Psalm 56:8
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle.You have recorded each one in Your book.


Psalm 59:17
O my Strength, to You I sing praises, for You, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.


Psalm 86:5
O Lord, You are so good, so ready to forgive,so full of unfailing love for all who ask for Your help.


Psalm 94:18
I cried out, “I am slipping!” but Your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.


Psalm 138:8
The Lord will work out His plans for my life—for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.


Psalm 145:19
He grants the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries for help and rescues them.

Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.


Isaiah 49:15-16
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!
See, I have written your name on the palms of My hands."


John 16:27
for the Father Himself loves you dearly because you love Me and believe that I came from God.

1 John 5:15
And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we
ask for.

Romans 8:34-38
34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.


35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.


38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness..."

I love the imagery this next passage brings to mind.  It's that of a loving Father reaching down to help his child learn to walk, gently holding him by the arms with tenderness.  Does this Father seem indifferent in anyway to the needs of his child?  NO!  Notice the last sentence:  "I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them."  That is how a parent, a loving father, cares for his child.  Because I am His child, I know He loves me with this tender, caring love.

Hosea 11:3-4
It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize it was I who healed them.
I led them with cords of human kindness, ith ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.
 
In the past, I had trouble identifying with any old testament passage that referred to God's love for His Chosen people.  I could see clearly how much He loved the Israelites; after all, He had forgiven them so many times, and even when they turned their backs on Him, He was always ready to welcome them back with open arms.  But how does the verse in Hosea which describes how God gently reached down to Ephraim relate to His love for me?  Why does this verse make me feel loved?  I'm not a Jew, right?
 
But then I read the following passage in Galatians.  Paul answers my concern.  Just because I'm not a descendant of Abraham doesn't mean I'm not chosen to be in God's family.  Because of what Jesus did, I, too, am chosen to be in God's child.  God's chosen people are not just those who were born into a Jewish family.  God's chosen people are those who believe in His Son, who is the true SEED of Abraham.
 
Galatians 3:16-26 ESV
16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.


19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.


23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

God’s Children through Faith!  Good news for me!!!
Just like the Israelites were called to be God's people, I have been called, too.  How do I know?  Because God has put a desire in my heart to know Jesus, to belong to Him, and unless He called me, I wouldn't feel that desire, that yearning.

When anyone longs to know Jesus, that person can be know without a doubt that God is calling him/her to Himself.

John 6:44
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day."

 What does all this mean to me?  Every verse in the old testament that refers to God's everlasting love and faithfulness towards His children, I can claim, because I am His child, called by His love, saved by His Son,
sanctified by His Spirit. 

I am are greatly loved by GOD.

http://youtu.be/vjj2kZ1qoqw - The Love of God - Mercy Me

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