His hope is that all of Creation knows him. Our heart for the wandering souls around us changes when we realize that God is for us. He did not make us for destruction, he made us to know him and make his love known all over the Earth. Thankfully, the God that we meet in the Bible is described as being merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love ( Psalm 103:8). Many of us live as though the God we serve can’t wait to condemn us for our sins. A God that is eager to bring destruction on his creation. Sometimes we get this picture that God is an angry judge in Heaven, counting our wrongs like Santa. Remember that God loves them and desires for them to find freedom and redemption even more than you do. Show them how much the Father cares for them with your own caring words and kindness. Continue to stand in the gap for those that God lays on your heart. The only step we have to take to embrace Jesus’ gift of eternal life is ask him to be ours.ĭon’t give up. None of us can be separated by God’s love. There is no set of circumstances too bleak that God cannot rewrite our stories for his glory. God promises that the light is always able to overcome the darkness when our hearts are willing to reach out to him ( John 1:5). His ears are open to your prayers and hasn’t stopped working in our lives. He has not forgotten about your loved ones. He goes after the lost! There is rejoicing in Heaven every time a soul is adopted in the family of God. Jesus told this story during his ministry to illustrate God’s loving heart for humanity. In Luke 15 we read about how the Shepherd left his 99 sheep to find the one lost lamb. Yet, his word tells us that when we ask for anything according to his will he hears us! His will is for all to be saved so he hears our prayers for the salvation of those we love. We begin to doubt his power and question his plans. Have we given up on God as we wait for the hearts of those we love to open up to the Lord? So often we grow weary as we wait on the Lord. Even in the most dark situations God’s desire is that each and every one of us come to know the truth and to be saved from the powers of sin and death. These verses affirm that God has not given up on the lost and broken. Whatever stories we see happening in our unbelieving friends we can stand confident that God loves them and desires that their hearts soften so they can accept God’s free gift of salvation.ġ Timothy 2:3-4 states, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Some of us have trauma that makes accepting God’s love difficult, others of us let pride tell us that the mystery of an unseen God is not an acceptable answer to the big questions life offers, and others are too entrenched in our their sin to see God. There are so many reasons why people’s hearts can grow cold toward the Lord. We all have people in our lives that we love dearly but we know that their hearts are far from the Lord. Notice that what were attributes before the Fall became needs after the Fall.“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” - 1 John 5:14 But after the Fall they felt rejected, experiencing a need to belong. So He gave Eve to Adam-and Adam to Eve-to enrich his experience of belonging.īefore the Fall, Adam and Eve had a sense of belonging. Then God said it was not good for man to be alone ( Genesis 2:18). Adam apparently enjoyed intimate, one-on-one communion with God before Eve was created. We have the riches of His kingdom at our disposal and His promise to supply all our needs.Īdam and Eve also experienced a sense of belonging in that perfect garden. Safety and security is another facet of our inheritance in Christ. The first emotion expressed by fallen humanity was fear. After, he wanted to hide from God and cover up. When Adam sinned, he lost that sense of safety and security. He could eat of the tree of life and live forever in God's presence. He had plenty to eat and there was plenty for the animals. Adam was completely cared for in the garden. All his needs were provided for ( Genesis 1:29). Not only was Adam given a significant, authoritative role at creation, he also enjoyed a sense of safety and security. BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
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