Tag: GodIsLove

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So Much Better

Happy Valentine’s Day!

These are verses I always like to read on February 14th – Valentine’s Day. They are such a wonderful reminder of the greatest of God’s love for us.

I don’t normally include the footnotes with verses but this morning I did. You need to read it and absorb the meaning of grace – some much better than we deserve.

“3 Once we were also ruled by the selfish desires of our bodies and minds. We had made God angry, and we were going to be punished like everyone else.

4-5 But God was merciful! We were dead because of our sins, but God loved us so much he made us alive with Christ, and God’s gift of undeserved grace is what saves you. 6 God raised us from death to life with Christ Jesus, and he has given us a place beside Christ in heaven. 7 God did this so in the future world he could show how truly good and kind he is to us because of what Christ Jesus has done. 8 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.[a] This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are.” Ephesians 2:3-10 CEV

Footnotes

2.8 treats us much better than we deserve: The Greek word charis, traditionally rendered “grace,” is translated here and other places in the CEV to express the overwhelming kindness of God.

God’s gift to us!

“But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 CEV

When we seek the Father with all our heart, we will want to be like Him. Imitate Him. Then others will be drawn to Him like we were when we came to Christ.

Jesus wants us to have an abundant life. King David knew that when he wrote the Psalms, hundreds of years before Christ was born.

“A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so everyone would have life, and have it fully.” John 10:10 CEV (Jesus)

“Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, Lord.” Psalm 23:6 CEV (King David)

” God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23 All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:22-24 CEV (Apostle Paul)

Our heavenly Father isn’t looking to quench our lives, on the contrary, He has given us an abundant life filled with His love which is so much better than we deserve!

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No Greater Love

I’m sure you’ve all heard the expression “Take one for the team”. This can be used in the context of sports, military, family relationships, business experiences – in just about every walk of life. And nowhere is it more applicable than in our spiritual lives.

The very purpose of Jesus coming to earth was to take one for the team. Without his selfless sacrifice there would be no eternal life for any of us. He left heaven to live a heavenly example on earth. He became sin when dying on the cross so that we could live redeemed from sin. He took our sickness, our anxiety, our depression, our death so that we, through Him, could walk free!

Thank God for His marvelous provision through Jesus.

” 4 The fact is, it was our suffering he took on himself; he bore our pain. But we thought that God was punishing him, that God was beating him for something he did. 5 But he was being punished for what we did. He was crushed because of our guilt. He took the punishment we deserved, and this brought us peace. We were healed because of his pain.” Isaiah 53: 4-5 ERV

It’s impossible to look at the severity of the crucifixion and not see the love of God.

“We were sent to speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen to our message. We speak for Christ and sincerely ask you to make peace with God. 21 Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so Christ could make us acceptable to God.” II Corinthians 5:20-21 CEV

His death brings us life. His anguish was for our peace. His stripes are for our healing. His darkness moment of separation from the Father, brought us to the throne room where we find help in time of need.

“ Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 16 So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:15-16 CEV

There’s an old hymn we used to sing. “Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow”.

“ The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them.” John 15:13 CEV

There is no greater love than this!

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How Great Is God’s Love?

From that moment in the garden when Adam sinned, God the Father put His plan in place to restore us.

“But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:15-17 NLT

God’s love for us is so great that He gave His Only Son as the way for us to have eternal life with Him.

We look back to Christ’s crucifixion on the cross and we thank God for what He did to restore us in our relationship with Him. Those in the Old Testament looked forward to the promise that there would be a Savior to come.

David’s writings in the Psalms were filled with praise for God’s faithfulness and love. He was writing about that same hard-to-understand, incomparable love of God that the Apostle Paul wrote about in Ephesians.

“The Lord’s Wonderful Love

1 With all my heart I praise the Lord, and with all that I am I praise his holy name!
2 With all my heart I praise the Lord! I will never forget how kind he has been. 3 The Lord forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, 4  and protects us from death.
His kindness and love are a crown on our heads. 5 Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle.

6 For all who are mistreated, the Lord brings justice. 7 He taught his Law to Moses
and showed all Israel what he could do.

8 The Lord is merciful! He is kind and patient, and his love never fails. 9 The Lord won’t always be angry and point out our sins; 10 he doesn’t punish us as our sins deserve. 11 How great is God’s love for all who worship him? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth! 12 How far has the Lord taken our sins from us? Farther than the distance from east to west!

13 Just as parents are kind to their children, the Lord is kind to all who worship him, 14 because he knows we are made of dust. 15 We humans are like grass or wild flowers that quickly bloom. 16 But a scorching wind blows, and they quickly wither to be forever forgotten.

17 The Lord is always kind to those who worship him, and he keeps his promises to their descendants 18 who faithfully obey him.” Psalm 103:1-18 CEV

If you grew up thinking that God was writing down all your faults and frailties so that He could condemn you this Psalm should be a daily read. Yes, He knows our faults and our failings, but He has chosen to forgive them and forget them.

This Psalm answers the question in today’s title. How Great is God’s Love? Greater than the distance between heaven and earth!

Let His love embrace you!

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Such Great Love

I want us to stay with the writings of the Apostle Paul this morning. He shared the message of God’s love with so many people – Romans, Grecians, Turks, Jews. Face-to-face, he told them of the great love of God.

And because of those written words, we are also being taught by him.

“God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. 14 The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins.” Colossians 1:13-14 ERV

Jesus told his disciples that He was the Good Shepherd and He would give His life for the sheep. That’s exactly what He did when He died on the cross for us. His words from the cross, “It is finished” meant that the payment for sin, our sin, was complete. Nothing more was required for our forgiveness. No more sacrifice. It was done!

“Christ first said, ‘You don’t want sacrifices and offerings. You are not pleased with animals killed and burned or with sacrifices to take away sin.’ (These are all sacrifices that the law commands.) 9 Then he said, ‘Here I am, God. I have come to do what you want.’ So God ends that first system of sacrifices and starts his new way. 10 Jesus Christ did the things God wanted him to do. And because of that, we are made holy through the sacrifice of Christ’s body. Christ made that sacrifice one time—enough for all time.” Hebrews 10:8-10 ERV

When Christ came to earth the Jewish people were making the same sacrifices that had been made since they wandered in the wilderness. Animal sacrifice was required as an atonement or covering for sin. These sacrifices were made over and over again, year after year.

But when Christ came and offered Himself as the spotless, sinless lamb of God all other sacrifices were no longer necessary. One sacrifice was good enough for all time.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God. He takes away the sins of the world!” John 1:29 ERV

Our sins are gone and we have new life in Christ.

“ You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. 7 Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful…9 God lives fully in Christ. 10 And you are fully grown because you belong to Christ, who is over every power and authority…13  You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God’s people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins. 14  God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. 15 There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.” Colossians 2:6-15 CEV

I can only give you short pieces of God’s word in our times together each day. I would like to encourage you to read the whole book of Colossians. It’s a short book. Only four chapters but the wealth of God’s love is poured out in a powerful way.

” God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.” Colossians 3:12 CEV

There is no love greater than the love God gives freely to us!

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A Tradition of Love

Those of you in my age group remember the days of taking a shoe box to school, covering it with construction paper, cutting out hearts and pasting them to the box and then, fingers crossed, hoping that your classmates would put nice Valentines in it.

For the past number of years, I feel like I have done that in the month of February. I’ve shared Valentines from God’s word to brighten your day. So here we go again.

“ I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.” Ephesians 3:17-19 ERV

Our hearts, our lives, will be strong when we are filled with an understanding of God’s deep and amazing love.

The Apostle Paul, who wrote this letter to the Ephesian Christians, understood the depth of God’s love.

He had been a zealot. Arresting, persecuting and even responsible for the deaths of many Christians in the early days of the church. He thought the message of Christ, being the Son of God and raising from the dead was heresy and it needed to be stopped.

Then one day, with arrest warrants in his pocket, he had an encounter with the Lord. God spoke to him in a bright light from heaven.

“ So Saul went to Damascus. When he came near the city, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shined around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

5 Saul said, “Who are you, Lord?”

The voice answered, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. 6 Get up now and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.” Acts 9:3-6 ERV

In that one moment, Paul (formerly known as Saul), was changed. He went into the town and a godly man cared for him and taught him about Christ. God used him to be a missionary to the Gentile nations.

He spent the rest of his life traveling all across the Mediterranean preaching the gospel, telling of the risen Savior and the love that God has for everyone.

In these verses he says that he wants us to understand the depth of the love of God but then he goes on to say its greater than anyone can know but still he wants us to know it.

Seems like a contradiction but what I think he’s saying is that we are to be focused on the loving and forgiving nature of God and when we think we fully understand the amazing depth, length, height and width of God’s love for us we will realize that we are just beginning to comprehend it. It is so much greater; we will spend the rest of our lives going deeper and deeper into the love of God.

“ Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 ERV

Join me in this annual February tradition of exploring the depths of God’s love. He alone will fill that Valentine box to full and overflowing!

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XOXO

Yesterday we were able to spend a few hours with our oldest daughter, her husband, oldest granddaughter, her husband and our two great granddaughters.

I love family time!

Our daughter had decorated her home for Valentine’s Day. On her laundry room door she hung a beaded X and O. Our great granddaughter thought they looked like a fish and they did.

I told her the O was a sign for hugs because when you wrap your arms around someone to give them a hug it looks like an O and when you pucker up to kiss someone your lips kind of look like an X. Now that’s silly I know, but it was great to have her play it out as she gave me hugs (O) and kisses (X).

I love you very much we said.

I love you very, very much. Is that different than a simple “I love you”? True love is unconditional and sacrificial so can we really love someone more than we did say 6 months ago? I think we can express love better than we did before and we may be willing to sacrifice in a greater way but if it’s true love, it really can’t be more. Time will reveal the depth of our love, its enduring commitment but true love is just that – love.

We are often caught in the vicious cycle of trying to do the right thing so that people and/or God will love us. We also strive to keep from doing the wrong things, so they won’t stop loving us and walk away.

That’s a really heavy burden to bear. No matter how good we try to be, there will be times of failure and if we feel that love is based on our performance that can be devastating.

One of my favorite passages on God’s love is found in Romans 8.

“So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. 32 He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. 33 Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right. 34 Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died for us, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. 35 Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love? 36 As the Scriptures say, ‘For you we are in danger of death all the time. People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.’

37 But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us. 38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39 ERV

Nothing can separate us from God’s love! I just wanted to give you a few X’s and O’x from the Father. God loves you!

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Looking Forward

This year my January blog focused on God’s love for us. I hope you remember some of those blogs and that refer back to them from time to time, especially when you are feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated.

God’s love never fails.

I feel a good way to end the year is the way we started. Love and gratitude are the best way to start each day.

I like recording my thoughts and prayers in a journal. Physically writing down my first thoughts of the day. 99% of the time those writings start with “Thank You Father for loving me. I love you.”

As we look forward to 2025, I almost typed 2026, let’s not rush it. As we look forward to 2025 I’m sure we are beginning to make plans and set goals. A special vacation destination, something new for the home, start a new business or hobby, a visit with those we love, a new job, or maybe even losing a few pounds will all make it to the list.

I hope the resolve that tops the list is to be more loving.

“My friends, we should all love each other. It is God who makes us able to love other people. Everyone who loves other people has become a child of God. That person knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love other people does not know God. We know this because God’s own nature is love. 9 This is how God showed that he loves us: He sent his only Son to come and live in the world. He did that so that we could have true life with God because of his Son. 10 This shows what love is: It is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us. He loved us so much that he sent his Son to save us from sin. He sent Jesus to die as a sacrifice, to take the punishment for our sins.

11 My friends, this shows how much God has loved us. So we should also love one another.” I John 4:7-11 EASY

None of us deserved the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross. It was a complete act of His love. He provided forgiveness for all and with that forgiveness we can receive a right relationship with the Father.

“Jesus died as a sacrifice to take the punishment for our sin. Then God could forgive us. Jesus did that not only for us. He did it for all people in the world, so that God could forgive them for their sins.” I John 2:2 EASY

Our love for others should be an outward display of our love for God.

There is not one person born who God has not loved and offered forgiveness too. If God has deemed them worthy of love, then “we should also love one another”.

Looking forward my prayer will be “Father, I desire to show more of Your love to those I meet. I want to be like Jesus and follow His command to love one another.”

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The Gift Exchange

Yesterday we had a wonderful time with family. All three of our children were here and our three youngest grandchildren were too!

We were missing the older grandchildren, their spouses and our two great grands.

A neighbor came and took some pictures, Dave grilled burgers, and we sat around the fire laughing and loving. It was the best gift exchange ever.

There were no boxes to open. Everyone shared the same gift – the gift of love for family.

Isn’t that what God the Father and Jesus did that first Christmas?

“ God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” John 3:16 CEV

God loved and He gave his Son. Jesus loved and He gave his life.

“ Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you were healed. 25 You were like sheep that went the wrong way. But now you have come back to the Shepherd and Protector of your lives.” I Peter 2:24-25 ERV

This was an amazing exchange. He took our sins and gave us His life. He took on hell so we could have an eternal home in heaven. He took our grief and carried our sorrows so that we could have His peace and be filled with joy.

“This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him. 10 True love is God’s love for us, not our love for God. He sent his Son as the way to take away our sins.” I John 4:9-10 ERV

Let’s not lose sight of the importance of that first, most wonderful, exchange that God initiated on our behalf. He gave what was of greatest value – His Son.

“We love Him because He loved us first.” I John 4:19 NLV

So now let’s exchange gifts with the Father. Let’s give Him our undying love!

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Undone by Love

I’m sure you all have a favorite Christmas movie and/or book, It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Christmas Vacation, Elf, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Did I list your favorite movie?

I have several Christmas books that have wonderful stories but one in particular stands out from the rest, “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde.

I first read this story 51 years ago. I remember the exact place. It was December 1973. We were living in a small trailer on West Van Buren Rd in Phoenix. It was our first Christmas as a married couple. The Arizona Highways Magazine published it in their December issue. Since that year, I have reread it many times and recounted the story to groups large and small.

The story in a nutshell – is a selfish giant walls his beautiful garden so that children can’t come in and play. As a result, the garden remains in a state of winter all year round and the giant becomes grumpier. Then one day in the corner of his garden he notices that the birds are singing, and the trees are green…the children found a break in the wall and came in to play. The giant is so glad to see them that he runs out to welcome them.

All the children see the giant running in their direction and scurry out of the garden. All except one little boy who doesn’t see the giant coming because his eyes are filled with tears. You see he is too small to climb up in the tree and it makes him so sad. The giant lifts the little boy into the tree and the little boy rewards him with a hug and kiss.

On that day, the giant broke down the wall and the children were welcome to play there again. The children came to play with the giant in the garden but the little boy whom the giant had loved was never seen again and no one really knew who he was or where he lived. Years passed, the seasons came and went, and the giant became old and feeble and each day he looked for the little boy.

One winter’s morning, in the far corner of the garden the giant saw a tree covered in blossoms and underneath it stood the little boy, the giant could barely believe it eyes. He ran to the boy and as he got close to him the giant’s face filled with anger. He could see that in the boy’s hands and feet were the prints of nails. “Who wounded you, I will slay them he shouted.” But the child told him “No, these are wounds of love”. Then the child told him “You let me play in your garden once and today you shall come with me to my garden, Paradise.”

The giant gave love freely to one small child and it changed his life forever. Christ gave His love freely and He changes our lives when we accept it.

Today, we can share God’s love with someone, and it will not only change their life but ours as well. God’s love is the undoing of a selfish heart.

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Time to Celebrate

I remember years ago when our oldest daughter was just a toddler we had bands of sheep across the road in the fields. I would walk her across the road and she would watch the sheep.

My husband grew up with sheep herders and had the opportunity to watch their ways. Interesting people. One man with several working dogs could control a large band of sheep – protecting them and moving them from one field to another.

Shepherds care for their sheep. They live with them in the field. They don’t abandon them. They protect them personally and then leave the dogs with them to keep them safe from predators in the night.

The shepherd makes sure they have plenty of grass in the pasture and when it is eaten down they move the sheep on to the next field. Shepherds also make sure their flocks have plenty of water. They pay close attention to the weak and injured; nursing their wounds and seeing that they aren’t picked on by the stronger rams.

I have a good shepherd. He loves me, He cares for me, He feeds and protects me and He searches for me if I get lost and He brings me back to His fold!

” Jesus said: I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. 2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.

4 When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. 5 The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away…

7 Jesus said: I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. 8 Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. 9 I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.

10 A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. 11 I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd…

14 I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. 15 Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.” John 10:1-16 CEV

“Then Jesus told them this story: 4 If any of you has a hundred sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won’t you leave the ninety-nine in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? 5 And when you find it, you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder 6 and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, ‘Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my lost sheep.’” Luke 15:3-6 CEV

I am a loved sheep -> lost but now I’m found. It’s time to celebrate the Shepherd’s great love!!

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