When I was thinking about the theme for the meeting, and thinking what God wanted me to say, I seen this sticker on a car, saying:
"God loves you! And I am trying"
Then I thought, just for interest, I would see if I could find any more on the internet.
"God loves is being enough for all of us!"
"God loves you whether you like it or not."
There is some truths in these saying and we are going to examine those now…
You see an earthly father’s love can let us down at any time, they can forget important days, they can say things that hurt and upset us, a father may not even have anything to do with their Childs life. At any point, anything could go wrong. Gods love for us is the total opposite, he is there at any and every minute of our lives, knows us each one by name, would never do anything to harm us, he watches over us with a mighty and powerful love. And we’re going to take a look at that love a little later on.
My Dad died when I was 4 years old. And I always thought there was something missing, there was that person missing in my life, someone to guide me, someone else to pick me up when I fell, I missed that someone to just give me a hug when I was hurting. As I grew older, I became more aware of Gods presence in my life, and then things were clearer. It became clearer that even though I no longer had my dad around, that God was my heavenly Father, and he would always be around, no matter how badly I hurt him.
Nothing can compare to the Love of that of Christ Jesus.
John 3: 16 say’s this “For God loved the World; that he gave his one and only son. That we may not perish but have everlasting life”
For the ones who have children, could you imagine having to sacrifice your child? Could you do it?
Abraham went through with sacrificing his son, brought him to the alter, but as God saw how Abraham didn’t hesitate to do as god wished, he let Isaac go. God told Abraham that he would bless him; he would let his children flourish.
Is there anything that God wants you to sacrifice to show how much you love God, or to show God’s love to others? And if there is something you know you have to sacrifice to God, are you ready to do so?
Yes, in the end he didn’t have to, but he was willing. God was willing to give his only son for us, so that we might live.
God won’t cut us off, he won’t give up on us, he could never stop loving us. It says in Lamentations 3 v22: that “The faithfulness of the Lord never ends!” It’s everlasting, ongoing, all sufficient, all-powerful, all that we need.
There’s a song by Brenton Brown that simply says:
“You are the everlasting God
The Everlasting God,
You do not faint,
You won’t go weary.
You’re the defender of the weak,
You comfort those in need,
You lift us up on wings like eagles”
As we were shown earlier in the drama: “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance” So, When things are tough and you feel like giving up, God is there, to lift you up again, he says “Don’t be afraid!” He is with you.
God told us as a child in Hebrews 12:5-6...”My child, don’t make light of he Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves and he punishes each one he accepts as his child”
When we were younger, we were maybe told not to leave a certain area when we were out playing, to stay away from certain areas in the house, the cooker for example. The reason we were told these things, the reason for these instructions is to keep us safe and away from any danger.
God’s Love is like that of a Father, an earthly father corrects a child when doing wrong, and always wants the best for their child, and loves them, The same as God, yet he loves us with a more Unconditional Love, nothing we could do could make God love us any less, and nothing can ever separate us from the Love of God.
Unconditional love, but does it really cost us anything? We are told in Lamentations 3::27, that it is best to give yourself to God at an early age, to the yoke of his discipline. So, really, God wants us to give ourselves back to him, to accept him into our lives, and to let him work in us. In Jeremiah 31:3, the lord said to
But, is it enough to say that we love each other? We need to accompany those words with actions. As the old saying says; “Actions speak louder than words!” Verse 30, says “Let them turn the other check to those who strike them, and accept the insults of their enemies” Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so when we stand before God we will be confident.
The song by Celine Dion - Because you love me says these words:
For all the love I’ve found in you,
I’ll be forever thankful,
You’re the one, who held me up,
Never let me fall,
You’re the one who saw me through it all.
You were my strength when I was weak,
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see,
You saw the best there was in me,
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach,
You gave me faith cause you believed,
I’m everything I am,
Because you loved me.
Celine Dion // because you loved me
This song was written about Celine’s dad, and how much of a part he played in her life. She wrote this song after he died, and was just so grateful for his love. These lyrics are true about God too, his love lifts us up, it’s our eyes when we can’t see, he is our strength when we are feeling weak. God saw the very best in us, and he uses us, he uses us for his glory. Everything that we are is all because of God, and his precious gift of Love.
“God Is love, and all you live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.”
We will never be perfect, but we can strive to be like our heavenly father, and learn from him. God’s gift of love is given to us, and we need to receive that love and give back to him what he deserves, to give our lives back to him, and live for him.
Coming back to our car stickers…I did find another one which sums up all that we have been looking at about God’s love. God the father, sent his only son into this world, because he loves us so much, and God wanted the world to see how much he loved us. The sticker says this:
"Jesus did not come to make God's love possible, but to make God's love visible"
I want to leave you with a few questions this morning..
Have you experienced this love from God?
Have you received God’s love in your heart for yourself?
We are going to listen to Christine as she brings us a solo entitled how deep the father's love for us. While Christine is singing some pictures will appear on the screen showing how God made his love visible through Jesus." In this time, I would encourage you to respond to that love. Maybe at our place of prayer - here at the front of the hall. Maybe where you are... But respond and receive that love again today..
1 comment:
Go you =]
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