God’s Sacrificial Love

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but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (ESV)

Paul makes a very important point in this verse. He highlights a point that we often take for granted. God shows His love for us. He does this every hour, every day, every month, and every year.    

Whatever the circumstance we find ourselves or our families are in, God reminds us of His love by directing our attention to the Cross.

God gave His Son. He did this without regard to how we may not appreciate His action. He did it for our ultimate benefit: that we would one day be able to enter heaven and live with Jesus.

We have been, and still are, sinners. We were sinners when He chose to carry out His plan for Jesus. At that time, the disciples didn’t understand the events that unfolded before them.  Present day, we don’t always understand what happens right before us. The disciples learned from the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ.

As we see things unfold in our world today, may we look at them through the eyes of Christ and learn from these events the lessons we need to incorporate into our lives.

God’s Everlasting Love

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I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you. Jeremiah 31: 3b (ESV)

 

Our Father God gives us three very important messages in these 16 words. Let’s explore what these messages mean.

The first thing He tells us is that He loves us. Do we realize what all that entails? God looks at us with eyes of love. No matter what we may have done, He always looks at us and sees us in the light of love. He may be disappointed by our behavior but He still loves us.

The second thing He communicates to us is that His love for us never ends. Said another way, His love for us has no end. He loves us because He made us. I remember a dear friend asking her Wednesday night children’s class, “Does God love. . .” and then she mentioned some people who had done some horrific crimes against society. Then, she answered her question to them. “Yes, God loves them because He made them like He made you.” Sometimes, when I hear of a dastardly act done by someone, I have to remember that God made him or her and loves that person just as much as He loves me.

The third message that God gives us here is that He is faithful because of the fact that He made us.  He tells us several times in His Word that He will never leave us or forsake us.  I remember a love song from the 1960’s entitled, “The Twelfth of Never” The last line of the song states, “I will love you until the twelfth of never . . . and that’s a long, long time.” 

God doesn’t quantify or limit how long He loves His children. He says he loves them forever. That tells me he will ALWAYS love us, His children.

Amazed At God's Presence

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Yesterday, at church, I discovered a friend of mine was ill. She had been diagnosed with mononucleosis. She is a young looking middle-aged woman. I was concerned due to her age; I had never heard of someone her age having this ailment.

I did some research and learned that anyone who has the Epstein-Barr virus in their system should not have mono again. However, if a person comes down with it again, it is due to a compromised auto-immune system.

Auto-immune diseases include the arthritis family and fibromyalgia. Dealing with various forms of arthritis and fibromyalgia myself, I actually wonder how many auto-immune diseases a person can actually have. (This would have saved me from back-tracking to the restaurants along the way between home and the agent’s office.) I found myself apologizing to God for making such a crazy mistake.

After I finished up at the insurance agent’s, I went to the bank and took care of that business. I decided to go to the Chinese restaurant to the north, near to the insurance office.

As I opened the inner door to the restaurant, I saw my friend’s husband. We greeted each other and I inquired about my friend’s condition. We talked a short while and I excused myself to go order my lunch. When I received my order, I approached him again and told him to “be blessed.” And departed the building.

After I ate my lunch, I called one of my close friends who happens to be a cousin to the lady who is ill. I related what I had found in research and what I found out during this ‘chance’ encounter which we decided was God-ordained.

Yes, I believe that God ordains the times we experience meeting someone ‘by chance’, especially when we pray about a need and then we ‘happen’ to see someone who can help us understand what we have concerns about.

1.   God was in my day: He allowed me to sleep in, although that wasn’t my plan.

2.   God directed me to get busy and do the paperwork to get ready for my outing to the insurance agency and to the bank.

3.   God guided me to the Chinese restaurant to get my lunch. (I actually thought about getting Chicken Mc Nuggets both they could have caused me problems.)

4.   God allowed me to see my friend’s husband. He confirmed what I was thinking about his wife’s condition.

We sang the following hymn at church yesterday. It speaks of God being with us and accepting us as we are. I can truly say that I do stand amazed at His presence with me.

I Stand Amazed In The Presence

God Makes All Things New

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He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:4-5a

I dearly love this description of the New Jerusalem. God is taking an active part in the lives of His people. He will minister to those who are sad. He will comfort those who are hurting. Death will not enter the scene. Ergo, mourning will not be a phase of life. Can we begin to imagine life without pain? For a lot of people, this will be wonderful.

The absence of these five realities of our lives will be no more because God will make “all things new.” Do we understand what God means here? Can we fully understand what He means?  As I sit her in my little home I cannot fully comprehend how this new However, I have these words to guide me until the day I see Him face-to-face. 

New Jerusalem

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And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:2-3 (ESV)      

Can you imagine the excitement of those who hear the announcement? Have we ever thought about what John must have felt as he took in this scene? God will be with His people; they will see Him, face to face. He will live among them.

The people will be in awe. Can we imagine what they feel as they as the words penetrate their hearts? They will feel thankful that they have made it through to see the beautiful city of God. They will be in awe of the majesty and splendor that surrounds them. This leaves me speechless.

John's Vision

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. Revelation 21:1 (ESV)

John the Revelator sees the aftermath of the judgment before the white throne that includes Death and Hades being thrown into the Lake of Fire (this being the second death.)

He sees a new heaven and a new earth. There was no more sea. Have you and I thought about this?

When we receive something new, we are excited. We remember our children’s wonderment on Christmas morning or on their birthdays. I believe the sense of awe of those who witness it will be far greater than anyone can imagine.

How do you think this new heaven and earth will appear? How will life be at that time?

New Heaven and New Earth

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For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. Isaiah 65:17 (ESV)

God calls our attention to the fact that He has made something new for His children. Could He be speaking of when we arrive in heaven? Yes, He is. Can He be speaking of the new heaven and new earth that we read about in Revelation? Again, yes, He is.

I recently had a special friend enter heaven. One of the thoughts I had about her being there was “She won’t remember the terrible things that happened to her when she was a child.” I do not feel free to share her story about her childhood except to say she suffered abuse.

While we live on earth we might have a memory or memories of which we cannot let go. We read where we can give them to God, but, because we are human, we sometimes take them back. However, when we enter His domain, heaven, he takes all our anxiety-causing moments and tosses them away. Those who enter heaven truly do not have a care in the world.

As believers, we look forward to the time when we will see Jesus, face to face.  Let us all practice giving our hurts to God and leaving them with Him. Following this habit will make our lives easier.