“In
the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of
God over one sinner who repents." – Luke 15:10
God knows everything about
us. We are individuals, and unique in Him. He loves us and makes a difference in our life. He knows when we sit down,
sleep and rise up. He is familiar with all our ways (Psalm
139:1-3). He knows the exact number of
hairs on our head, even when our brush has more than we can count (Matthew
10:29-31). We depend on Him more
completely as each day passes, because we learn more about Him and grow closer
to Him. In fact, eventually, when we become one with Him, we actually live and
move and have our being in Him (Acts 17:28).
God made us in His image (Genesis
1:27). He is Father, Son and Spirit. We
are body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:25). We are fearfully and wonderfully made. He knit us together in our
mother's womb. He brought us forth on the day we were born (Psalm
139:13-14, 71:6). We are His offspring.
He knew us even before we were conceived (Jeremiah 1:4-5). He chose us when He planned creation (Ephesians
1:11-12). He determined the exact time
of our birth and where we would live and when we will die (Acts
17:26; Job 14:5). None of us surprised
Him with our birth and none of us are a mistake, because all of our days are
written in His book (Psalm 139:15-16).
Those who do not understand His ways, malign God. He is not distant and angry, but is the complete expression of love. And it is His desire to lavish His love on us, simply because we are His children and He is our Father (John 8:41-44; 1 John 4:16, 3:1). He offers us more than our earthly father ever could, because He is the perfect Father. Every good gift that we receive comes from His hand. He is our provider and He meets all of our needs (Matthew 7:11, 5:48; James 1:17; Matthew 6:31-33).
His plans for our future are
filled with hope and a promise. He loves us with an everlasting love. His
thoughts toward us are as countless as the sand on the seashore. He rejoices
over us with singing (Jeremiah 29:11, 31:3; Psalms 139:17-18; Zephaniah
3:17). He will never stop doing good for
us. We are His treasured possession. He desires to establish us with all of His
heart and soul. He wants to show us great and marvelous things, which we cannot
even envision (Jeremiah 32:40, Exodus 19:5, Jeremiah 32:41, 33:3).
If you seek Him with all of
your heart, you will find Him. Delight in Him and He will give you the desires
of your heart. He is able to do more for us than we could ever imagine. He is
our greatest encourager (Deuteronomy 4:29, Psalm 37:4, Philippians 2:13,
Ephesians 3:20). Jesus gave up
everything He loved and died on the cross so that we might come to know Him. If
we receive the gift of Jesus’ righteousness, He comes to reside in our spirit,
and nothing will ever separate us from His love again. (Romans
8:31-32, 1 John 2:23, Romans 8:38-39)
He is also the Father who
comforts us in all of our troubles. When we are brokenhearted, He is closer to
us than at any other time. Just as a shepherd carries a lamb, He has carries us
close to His heart (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Psalm
34:18, Isaiah 40:11). One day He will
wipe away every tear from our eyes, and take away all the pain we suffered on
this earth. For now, He is keeping every tear we shed in His bottle and records
them all on His scroll. He will bring revenge on our enemies and give us His
everlasting life (Revelation 21:3-4; Psalm 56:8; Hebrews 10:30).
Prayer:
Father God, You love us as
much as You love Your son, Jesus. In Jesus, You revealed Your great love for
us. Jesus is the exact representation of You. You are in Him and He is in us;
therefore we are one with You also (John 17:23, 17:26, Hebrews 1:3;
John 17:21). Jesus came to demonstrate
that You are for us, not against us. You do not count our sins against us. We
condemn our self through our unbelief. Jesus died so that we can be reconciled
to You. His death is the ultimate expression of Your love for us (Romans
8:31; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Jon 3:18; 1 John 4:10)
Thought for the Day:
”Will you draw near to Him? He is waiting for you.” - James 4:8; Luke 15:11-32Thank you, Marianne Lordi, for the use of your photo.
