God’s love Archives • Knowing God and His Ways

March 22, 2021March 1, 2021

Three of God’s Delights (part two)

Right and wrong truly matter.

This is part two of a two-part series. Read part one.

As we saw last week, God wants us to know how much he delights in steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. Last week we talked about his steadfast love; we continue now with his justice.

“I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

—Jeremiah 9:23-24

Justice (Hebrew, mispat)

God’s delight in justice is perfectly seen in his commands to Israel about how they were to treat one another. Notice in the following commands in Leviticus God’s concern for the needy, for fair business dealings, truth telling, how the powerful treat the powerless, justice in court, neighbors treating each other well:

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.

“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:9–18)

All this is summed up in one word: justice. God hates unfairness, hurtful relationships, and falsehood. He delights in justice. To please him, you will likewise love justice in all your dealings.

Righteousness (Hebrew, sedaqa)

Two of the most powerful words and ideas in any language are those for right and wrong. That is because we care dearly about right and wrong. We tell others to do the right thing. In any situation, if we feel we have been wronged, we feel it acutely. Tales of right and wrong compel us to read and watch the daily news. We talk about who we think is in the right and who in the wrong. And we applaud those who do right and shame those who do wrong because we know intuitively that right and wrong truly matter.

We want teachers to do the right thing for children, politicians to do the right thing for the country, employers to do right for employees, citizens to do right for their country, drivers to do right for other drivers, doctors to do right for patients, insurance companies for customers, neighbors for neighbors, workers for the company. Heaven on earth would be if every person in every situation in every role did what is right.

The welcome testimony of Jeremiah 9:24, and the Bible from beginning to end, is that God is infinitely more concerned than we are about right and wrong. Scripture exalts God for his righteousness: “Your righteousness is like the mountains” (Psalm 36:6). About one thing you can be certain, that God will always do what is right, never, ever what is wrong. People and organizations may wrong you and others, but God never will.

The reason God gives his commands to us is that we might know and do what is right. Those who keep his commandments walk in righteousness and are counted righteous.

Referring to the commandments he received from God for Israel on Mount Sinai, Moses said, “It will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.” (Deuteronomy 6:25)

Isaiah 48:18 says, “Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

God loves doing right and takes delight in people who want to do right, who want to be righteous in his sight be keeping his righteous commandments.

To please God, we need the cross of Jesus

God’s uncompromising commitment to steadfast love, justice, and righteousness are what led Jesus to the cross.

In our minds, the cross was unnecessary. God can punish the most outrageous evildoers and simply forgive the rest of mankind for their sins.

But in his persistent love for sinners, God wanted a way to forgive even the worst sinner. And in his perfect justice and righteousness, he could not just overlook human wrongs.

The solution was the death of the holy Son of God as a substitute for sinners, so that God’s justice could be satisfied, and he could do what is right when he forgave our sins. (See Romans 3:10–26)

Therefore the greatest revelation of God’s delight in steadfast love, justice, and righteousness is the cross of Jesus. And the only way to be saved from final condemnation for your sin is through faith in Jesus.

“Thus says the Lord…Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me” Jeremiah 9:23-24

March 15, 2021March 31, 2021

Jeremiah 9:23-24 on Three of God’s Delights (part one)

Jeremiah 9:23-24 tells three things that please God.

“Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom,
let not the mighty man boast in his might,
let not the rich man boast in his riches,
but let him who boasts boast in this,
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD
who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’”
—Jeremiah 9:23-24

Did you notice how many times God uses his covenant name LORD (Hebrew, Yahweh) in these verses?

Imagine eating lunch with a friend named Mark, and after finishing his hamburger he states: “Here is what Mark says, ‘Let’s do something fun this weekend, maybe go golfing or play tennis, because I am Mark, who likes golfing,’ declares Mark.”

As you munched your french fries, you would probably ask yourself, Why does he keep repeating his name? Did I call him the wrong name without realizing it?

God’s name

Clearly God’s name is extremely important. He repeats it here for a holy reason. It is important to him because it is his identity, and if we know him well it is important to us.

In Jeremiah 9:23-24, God defines himself. This is my name, this is who I am, this is what I stand for, this is what I delight in.

Anyone who wants to know God well, as he truly is, pays extra close attention when God talks like this. If you are distracted, if your mind is wandering, you perk up and realize, This is an all-important moment, because God is making it as plain as one can make it.

When a guy who has romantic interest in a girl named Lisa overhears her gush to her friend, “I like yellow roses. Lisa can’t get enough yellow roses. Lisa loves it when people give her yellow roses,” he pays attention. You can be sure what he is going to give her the next time he takes her on a date.

That is how people enthralled with knowing God hear Jeremiah 9:23-24.

God’s delights

The LORD defines himself by saying there are three things he “delights” in. God has delights. He is not a computer. He is not Spock. God is not an impersonal force. He is a person who feels infinite pleasure, enjoyment, and satisfaction in certain things. According to Jeremiah 9:23-24, what God delights infinitely in are steadfast love, justice, and righteousness.

Steadfast love (Hebrew, hesed)

God delights in steadfast love, in the loyal kindness and faithfulness that lifelong friends, longtime business partners, and persevering spouses show one another. The opposite is betrayal and abandonment. God delights in showing steadfast love to his people, and he delights when people show steadfast love to each other.

Two of the great examples of God’s steadfast love to people are the covenants he keeps with Abraham and David.

Great examples of steadfast love between people are the relationships of David and Jonathan, Sarah toward Abraham, and Ruth toward Naomi.

David and Jonathan remained loyal to one another despite the murderous hatred that Jonathan’s father Saul held toward David and despite Jonathan and David each having a claim on being king after Saul.

Sarah showed steadfast love to Abraham by remaining true to him despite Abraham twice letting her be taken by covetous kings. Scripture never records that Sarah had any negative words or attitude toward Abraham as a result.

Ruth showed steadfast love to her mother-in-law Naomi when she clung to Naomi as she returned to Israel, speaking the words that perfectly express the virtue of steadfast love: “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17)

God delights in such love. If we want to please God, we will show steadfast love to people.

This is the end of part one. Read part two next week.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

November 16, 2020October 28, 2020

Psalm 91:4, Finding Refuge Under His Wings

God’s instinct is to protect his children.

Psalm 91:4 (ESV)

“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.”

In this statement we find another metaphor, a comparison between some concrete thing in this world and our relationship with God.

Picture this. A mother duck and her six, week-old ducklings leave their nesting place for an awkward waddle to a nearby stream. Halfway there, a hawk circling overhead spots them. One of those tender ducklings would make a tasty breakfast. The hawk dives.

But the wary mother spots him. She quacks an alarm to her ducklings, and they hurry to her side, where she spreads her wings, her pinions, over them for protection. For the hawk to seize one of the ducklings, he must first deal with the mother. Her wings provide refuge.

Motherly protection

This is what God does for you. He has given you a picture that reveals his heart for you. The metaphors in the previous verses of Psalm 91—of a fortress and military refuge—have emphasized the strength and invincibility of his protection. That is not the intention of this metaphor, because bird feathers are not invincible, and a mother duck or robin does not pose much of a threat to a hawk. No, the purpose of this metaphor is to show God’s heart, the heart of a mother who protects her small, helpless young.

Parental love is fierce, instinctive, selfless, uncalculating.

Instinctive protection

The Bible tells the story of two mothers who appeared before King Solomon with one live baby. The two mothers lived in the same house, and each claimed the baby as her own. The true mother explained to the King:

“Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” (1 Kings 3:17–21, ESV)

Back and forth the two mothers argued. Finally King Solomon called for a sword and commanded the baby to be cut in two, with half going to one mother and half to the other.

The lying mother looked at the true mother vindictively and responded, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.”

The true mother, however, “because her heart yearned for her son,” said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.”

Motherly love instinctively protects.

Protection that covers

Parental love is a covering love. “He will cover you with his pinions.” You are “under his wings.” Although God is an invisible spirit, he is real and he is covering you. Picture that—believe that—rest in that whenever you go to the grocery store in this season of coronavirus.

March 23, 2020March 10, 2020

God’s Compassion for the Lost

God seeks and saves the lost.

Imagine a man who doubles as a judge and social worker. By day he wears a black robe and dispenses justice. By night he wears blue jeans and walks the sidewalks of his crime-ridden city, befriending as many gang members and drug addicts as possible, hopefully to redeem their lives. On weekends he visits prisoners in the penitentiary, giving life-coaching and helping convicts care for their families and prepare to return someday to society as upstanding citizens. On holidays he volunteers at the hospital emergency room counseling with people experiencing drug overdoses.

Although he judges criminals according to the requirements of the law, he also loves criminals. In love he seeks criminals to help them. In love he saves those willing to be saved.

In a similar way, God is both Judge and Savior. Because of his love, he does not want to condemn sinners. Because of his love, he does not want anyone to perish, but all to be saved. And so, because of his love, he seeks and saves the lost.

God’s compassion for the lost

This is what we learn about God from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus both taught it and lived it. He went from town to town preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, delivering people from demons. Thereby he demonstrated God’s love. He did not come to judge, but to save.

Seeking and saving one notorious sinner

One incident especially brought this into perfect focus. As Jesus walked with his disciples and a crowd of people through one town, Jesus suddenly stopped, looked up into a tree, and spoke to a man who had climbed it to see Jesus as he passed by.

The man was a notorious sinner, one of the hated Jewish tax collectors who in greed had betrayed his people in order to work for the Romans and cheated his own neighbors by demanding more than they were required to pay.

Lunch with scoundrels

Well, Jesus invited himself over for lunch, and the tax collector cheerfully brought him home. He not only brought home Jesus and the 12 disciples, he invited all his tax collector friends. In no time, the man, whose name was Zacchaeus, believed in Jesus and was ready to repent of his evil. He stood up and announced, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

Like a perfectly ripe apple ready to be picked and eaten, Zacchaeus had been a sinful soul just waiting for a Savior.

One lost soul does an about-face

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:8–10 ESV).

In this story Jesus demonstrated his gracious, uncondemning love for sinners, and then as some in the crowd complained about it, he explained God’s love unequivocally: “The Son of Man [Jesus] came to seek and to save the lost.”

This was the purpose of Jesus and this is the purpose of the Father. When you see Jesus, you see the Father (John 14:9).

The compassionate heart of a savior

Elsewhere Scripture says, “God our Savior…desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3–4).

Stated another way, the Lord is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Scripture specifically attributes God’s soul-saving desire to his love: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16–17).

Jesus’ mission of compassion

In the early stage of Jesus’ ministry, he stood up in a synagogue to read Scripture. He chose a text that was a prophetic description of the ministry of the Messiah. Jesus read it as a statement of his mission. It reveals the loving sympathy God has for sinners. Even though they have brought suffering on themselves through their wrongdoing, they are truly experiencing all manner of torment, and the God of love cares for those who suffer. So, Jesus reads:

“‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

“And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:18–21).

In other words, Jesus said, that’s me. That’s who I am. That’s who the Father is. That’s what we’re about. We care about the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed.

God’s compassion for Satan’s victims

God has compassionate love for suffering sinners. He wants to save them from what destroys them.

Scripture says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Jesus demonstrated this with a crippled woman who for 18 years had been unable to stand up straight. Scripture says, “She had had a disabling spirit”; that is, a demon had caused this affliction. Jesus laid his hands on her and healed her instantly.

When the synagogue ruler objected because it was the Sabbath, Jesus said, “Ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” (See Luke 13:10–17).

This woman was not perfect. She had sinned in many ways as all people do. Yet God had compassion for her suffering inflicted by Satan. In love he wanted to set her free.

Three parables of love that saves

On another occasion, “the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him,” and the religious leaders again objected to Jesus’ welcoming them. Jesus defended his actions with three parables that emphasize the love of God that seeks and saves the lost.

The first parable told of a shepherd who lost one of his sheep and therefore left the ninety-nine to hunt for it until he found it.

The second parable described a woman who lost a coin and therefore swept the house thoroughly until she found it.

The third parable told of a father whose son took his inheritance and left the family. After the son ruined his life and decided to return, Jesus emphasizes the love of the father, which he demonstrated by his joy over the salvation of his son:

“The father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’” (Luke 15:22–24).

God acts as both judge and savior

The Old Testament Scriptures frequently show God acting as first the righteous judge and afterward the compassionate savior of people from his very judgment. This is the plotline of the books of Judges and all the prophetic books from Isaiah to Malachi.

One prophet wrote, “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1).

The prophet Jeremiah lived through the judgment God brought on Israel when he brought Assyria to conquer the nation and carry them into exile. In the wake of all the sorrow that entailed, Jeremiah wrote of the Lord: “Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love” (Lamentations 3:32).

Our way and God’s way

Our way: In a world of suffering and evil, fallen people often question God’s love.

God’s way: God’s heart is moved with compassion for suffering people, even when they are suffering for their sins against God. The gospel perfectly reveals God’s love as a seeking and saving love for lost sinners. His love does not want anyone to perish, but for all to be saved.

The great irony is that God compassionately seeks and saves sinners from his own judgment. God saves sinners from God’s wrath! He is both Judge of those who are not willing to be saved and loving Savior of those who are willing to be saved.

Life principle: When you feel completely unworthy of God, he loves you still. He seeks you as you are in your sins and wants to save you from them. He will certainly receive you if you will turn from sin in repentance and trust in Jesus Christ.

March 16, 2020February 28, 2020

Four Common but Erroneous Views of God’s Love

Does your view of God’s love agree with the Christian gospel? If not, do you still think you’re right? How can you be so sure? Have you ever been wrong about anything? What happens if you’re wrong about God?

If you are not a Christian, the good news of the Christian gospel is that God loves you. Scripture says, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV).

But there may be a problem. He loves you in a way that is probably different than you think.

In this article I contrast four common assumptions about God’s love with what the gospel teaches.

1. The common view of God’s love is that it is unconditional. In fact, God’s love is both unconditional and conditional.

If God’s love is unconditional, that means no matter what you do he feels good about you, puts no conditions on you, and requires nothing from you. He loves like the stereotypical mother who loves her son even if he has done horrible things and is sitting in prison.

The truth is God both loves us no matter what and requires a response from us if we are to know him.

Scripture teaches this fact in the most famous verse in the Bible about God’s love: John 3:16–18:

“¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Here we see the unconditional side of God’s love: he gave his only Son to save the people of the world from perishing.

Still, the conditional side of God’s love is, he requires that people believe in Jesus. Whoever refuses to believe in Jesus is “condemned” (verse 18 above).

2. The common view of God’s love is that it is not judgmental. In fact, God’s love is both non-judgmental and judgmental.

No one enjoys feeling guilty. No wrongdoer wants to be held accountable. No one wants to be judged by others. In particular, no one wants to be judged by an all-knowing, perfectly righteous God.

Consequently it has become popular in our time to think of God as someone who loves us so much that he does not judge us. He doesn’t tell us we’re doing wrong, doesn’t make any rules, doesn’t punish anyone, especially in the areas of sexual practices, marriage and family choices, and pleasure-seeking.

There is truth to the idea that God has a non-judgmental side. Jesus said, “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (John 12:47). John 3:17, quoted above, says, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Matthew 11:19). Jesus said he came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

And since the time of Jesus, those Christians who have properly understood the Lord’s teaching have related to non-Christians in the same way.

However, we take this truth completely out of context if we assume it is the whole truth on the subject. John 3:16–18, quoted above, says that those who persist in unbelief will be “condemned.”

Jesus continually warned people about God’s coming judgment. (For example, see Matthew 7:21–23; Matthew 12:37; Matthew 25:31–46; Mark 9:43)

What we find when we read the whole New Testament is that humanity is living in a window of opportunity when God is offering grace and mercy to sinners through faith in Jesus, but this season will someday end. The Scripture says, “‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). God is the righteous and just judge of his creation, and he has not done away with calling all people to account for evildoing. Rather, he is largely delaying judgment to the day called the Final Judgment (see Revelation 20:11–15; Romans 14:10–12; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

3. The common view of God’s love is that he is not angry. In fact, God is both patiently gracious and rightfully angry with non-Christians.

No one wants to be around an angry person, especially if he is angry at you. Therefore it is not pleasant to think that the almighty ruler of everything is angry. When we think of the God who describes himself as love (1 John 4:8), we might assume that he is continually quiet, peaceful, benign, gentle, humble, comfortable to be around no matter what you think, say, or do.

And God is in fact the “God of peace” (Romans 15:33). He hates violence (Genesis 6:11–13). Jesus said, “I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). In one of the most important revelations in the Bible, God described himself to Moses as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6–7). He is rich in “kindness and forbearance and patience” (Romans 2:4).

But the fact that God is “slow to anger” (see above) does not mean he never gets angry. There would be something wrong with a God who did not feel anger at the sort of evil people do to each other in this troubled world. (Do you ever get angry at evildoers, especially those who wrong you?)

The Bible says, “Whoever believes in the Son [that is, Jesus] has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).

There we see the phrase “wrath of God.” The wrath of God is real. The Bible speaks of it repeatedly in both the Old and New Testaments (for example, Nahum 1:2; Ephesians 5:6; Romans 1:18; Revelation 6:15–17; 19:15). Jesus can remove God’s wrath from us, but if we refuse to submit to Jesus, God’s wrath “remains on” us (John 3:36), and someday we will experience it in full, unending measure.

4. The common view of God’s love is that he accepts everyone. In fact, he accepts everyone who accepts Jesus, but he rejects those who persist in rejecting Jesus.

We all want acceptance. Rejection is extremely painful. And so, in our culture we value inclusion and bristle at exclusion. We pass laws to ensure equal opportunity for all.

One of the most attractive truths about God is how accepting he is of those commonly rejected. He turns the world upside down, gladly receiving the poor, the weak, the failures, the sick, the old, the young, the people of any color or religious or family or sexual background, the ignorant, the uneducated, the marginalized, the helpless, the powerless, the needy, the meek, the unattractive, the awkward, the undeserving, the people with a criminal record. These are God’s kind of people because they are often humble and grateful for the Lord’s gifts.

Scripture says, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:27–29).

And one of the astounding truths of the Christian gospel is that the holy God who judges all people will gladly accept anyone who will turn to him in repentance and through faith in Jesus Christ, no matter what wrongs they have committed or how they have broken bad. Scripture says of Jesus, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:11–12).

God will accept all who receive—accept—Jesus as their Lord and Savior, turning from their evil ways and believing what he says.

However, God also rejects people. He rejects those who reject the gracious gift of his beloved Son, whom the God the Father lovingly gave to an evil world, whom he mercifully gave to suffer and die for our evil thinking, evil speaking, and evil doing. We deserved only condemnation; he gave a way to have forgiveness.

But he limits this gift to those who will turn to him in repentance and believe in his Son.

Those who reject God’s gift have chosen the alternative, which is to get what they deserve, which is holy justice. So, every person has the choice to receive mercy or justice.

Scripture says, “Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:10–12).

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Our way and God’s way

Our way: We want God to love people in a sentimental way.

God’s way: He is love, and he is God. He has revealed in the gospel how his perfect love works. God’s love is not sentimental, but holy and righteous and entirely good.

Life principle: Those who are not God, those who are imperfect themselves in love, those who are morally and spiritually broken, those who often fail to love the people around them, should not presume to tell God how to love. We need to humble ourselves and acknowledge that God is infinitely greater in every way than we are, and be grateful for his sacrificial, merciful love. We don’t deserve it, but God has graciously offered salvation, at the cost of great suffering to himself (his torture and death on the cross). If we want his mercy instead of his justice, then we need to accept his love on his terms. You can’t come to your Creator, Sustainer, and Lord on your terms.

January 6, 2020December 17, 2019

Week Seven of 47-day Immersion in God’s Love

Meditating on God’s love will fill you to the fullness of God.

Day 43

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in the fatherly Abba love that DELIGHTS IN ME.

You find pleasure in me as I walk in your holy ways. As a believer in Jesus, I am clothed with him, justified and sanctified in him, and therefore you can delight in me even as you delight in Jesus.

I praise you, Lord, that I am your beloved child, with whom you are well pleased, in whom your soul delights, over whom you rejoice with singing. (Matthew 3:17; Isaiah 42:1; Zephaniah 3:17 personalized)

Day 44

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in the fatherly Abba love that wants me to CARRY YOUR IDENTITY.

When you infused your identity into my human nature, it was an act of love. In love, you want to pass your glory on to me and see your own glory in me.

I praise you, Lord, that you created me in your own image; in the image of God you created me. I can put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. I can be holy, for you are holy. Someday I will be perfect, as my heavenly Father is perfect (Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 4:24; 1 Peter 1:16; Matthew 5:48 personalized)

Day 45

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in the fatherly Abba love that DISCIPLINES ME.

In love you seek my good even when it requires temporarily bringing me pain. You know that temporary pain saves me from eternal pain, that some pain saves me from far greater pain, that much good can come from some bad. In love you discipline me with long-term wisdom.

I praise you, Lord, that you discipline me for my good, that I may share in your holiness. You are treating me as a beloved son. So I choose to endure hardship as discipline, to be subject to the Father of my spirit and live. (Hebrews 12:6, 7, 9, 10 personalized)

Day 46

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in the fatherly Abba love that PROTECTS ME.

You carefully watch over your children. You are my refuge, my shield, my fortress, my security. So I can trust in you and never fear.

Glory to you, Lord, for I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus my Lord. (Romans 8:38–39 personalized) You are faithful to strengthen me and protect me from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3 personalized)

Day 47

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in the fatherly Abba love that LEAVES ME YOUR INHERITANCE.

You want to give me all you own. As your child, I have a rightful claim to my heavenly Father’s kingdom and possessions, and you will ensure I receive what is rightfully mine.

I give joyful thanks to you, Father, for you have qualified me to share in the inheritance of your holy people in the kingdom of light. (Colossians 1:12 personalized) I praise you, heavenly Father, that all things are mine, whether the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are mine, and I am Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. (1 Corinthians 3:21–23 personalized)

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December 30, 2019December 17, 2019

Week Six of 47-day Immersion in God’s Love

Meditating on God’s love will fill you to the fullness of God.

Day 36

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in TEACHING LOVE.

In love, you offer the priceless gift of knowledge and wisdom in all the subjects that matter most. To receive your teaching is to get counsel from the wisest, best-informed person in the universe on how to live my life in the best possible way for the greatest possible happiness and everlasting glory.

I praise you, O God, that you will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go; you will counsel me with your eye upon me; for your steadfast love surrounds me as I trust in you. I determine that I will not be like a horse or mule, animals without understanding that must be curbed with bit and bridle. (Psalm 32:8–10 modified and personalized)

Day 37

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in RIGHTEOUS LOVE.

You never relate to anyone in a way that compromises or violates righteousness and justice.

I praise you, O God, for you practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things you delight (Jeremiah 9:24 personalized). I praise you that Scripture says of the Messiah “A throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness” (Isaiah 16:5).

Day 38

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in FELLOWSHIPPING LOVE.

You enjoy being with me. You enjoy simply being together.

I choose to walk with you, O God, as child with Father, as friend with friend, (Genesis 5:24 personalized) for truly my fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ and with his Holy Spirit. (1 John 1:3 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 personalized)

Day 39

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in the fatherly Abba love that HOLDS ME TO YOUR BOSOM.

With you I enjoy the intimacy of absolute trust.

I praise you, Heavenly Father, that you hold me close. You embrace and kiss me (Luke 15:20 personalized).

Day 40

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in the fatherly Abba love that GIVES MY DAILY BREAD.

You gladly provide me with money, the ability to work, and the revenue streams that sustain me with food, shelter, clothing, and more.

I praise you, Lord, that you will supply all my needs according to your glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19 personalized)

Day 41

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in the fatherly Abba love that ANSWERS MY REQUESTS.

You delight to answer my prayers in accordance with your will. You want to give me what I ask. Answered prayer is central to how you want me to experience your love.

I praise you, Lord, that when I ask you for bread, you will not give me a stone, or if I ask for a fish, you will not give me a serpent. I praise you that you know how to give good gifts to your children who ask you. (Matthew 7:9–11 personalized)

Day 42

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in the fatherly Abba love that is ALWAYS CONCERNED ABOUT ME.

You care about every aspect of my life, large and small. Every good thing that matters to me matters to you, and much, much more. You feel sympathy, compassion, and a willingness to help in whatever way fits your benevolent purposes.

I praise you, Lord, that I can cast all my anxieties on you, for you care about me. (1 Peter 5:7 personalized) I praise you that “you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.” (Psalm 139:1–5)

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December 23, 2019December 10, 2019

Week Five of 47-day Immersion in God’s Love

Meditating on God’s love will fill you to the fullness of God.

Day 29

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in HOLY, SANCTIFYING LOVE.

Your love purifies me and makes me holy both in redeemed status before you in Christ and in my actual conduct. Because you love me, you keep purifying me in my thoughts, motives, words, and actions. You love me too much to leave me in moral filth.

I praise you, Lord, because you loved the church and gave yourself up for her, that you might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that you might present the church to yourself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25–27 personalized)

Day 30

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in GRACIOUS LOVE.

I am the unworthy beneficiary of a generous-hearted God. You gave me your love not because of my merits or loveliness, but solely because of your desire to do good.

Glory to you, for you are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. (Exodus 34:6 personalized)

Day 31

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in COVENANTAL, COMMITTED LOVE.

You will never leave me or forsake me if I will not forsake you. You have promised your love to me in countless, generous ways.

Thank you, Jesus, that you entered a new covenant with me through your blood. (Luke 22:20 personalized)

Day 32

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in DISCERNING LOVE.

Because your love is discerning, you know perfectly what brings the greatest goodness to me. You know what is best for me.

I praise you, O God, that your love abounds with knowledge and all discernment, so that you approve what is excellent for me, making me pure and blameless for the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:9-10 personalized)

Day 33

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in CHERISHING LOVE.

You treasure your children more than any mother cherishes her child or than people cherish their own human body. Your love is a spa for the soul.

I praise you, O Lord, that you nourish and cherish me. (Ephesians 5:29 personalized)

Day 34

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in SATISFYING LOVE.

The greatest satisfaction my soul can have comes from experiencing your love. You made me for yourself, for divine love, so my soul is thirsty until I feast on you fully.

I praise you, O Lord, that your steadfast love is better than life. (Psalm 63:3 personalized)

Day 35

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in TRUTHFUL LOVE.

I praise you, God, that you are a truth-seeker, a truth knower, a truth teller. You are light and bring all things into the light. You hate lies and love truth. You are the truth.

Thank you, Lord, for enabling me to know you in truth, as you really are, and love you in truth. Thank you that your truth abides in me and will be with me forever. Thank you that your grace, mercy, and peace are with me as I hold to both truth and love. (2 John 1:2–3 personalized)

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December 16, 2019December 4, 2019

Week Four of 47-day Immersion in God’s Love

Meditating on God’s love will fill you to the fullness of God.

Day 22

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in PRIOR LOVE.

You chose to love me before I had any interest in loving you, in fact, when I was your enemy.

I love because you first loved me. (1 John 4:19 personalized)

Day 23

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in EMPOWERING LOVE.

In love, you meet my need for strength, ability, and skill.

I praise you that I can do everything through you who gives me strength, that your power is made perfect in my weakness. (Philippians 4:13 and 2 Corinthians 12:9 personalized)

Day 24

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in CONDITIONAL AND UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

Your unconditional love graciously gives me what I do not deserve. Your conditional love rightly requires everything I have in response, which is the best, most worthwhile life I can possibly live.

You died for me, that for the rest of my life I might no longer live for myself but for him who for my sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:15 personalized)

Day 25

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in ROMANTIC LOVE.

You created me for a love relationship with you marked by mutually intense delight and desire. You love me with affection, emotion, union, with eyes that see beauty in me.

You rejoice over me with gladness and delight in me with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17 (CSB) personalized)

Day 26

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in KNOWING LOVE.

As an act of love you have chosen to know me in a special way.

I have found favor in your sight, and you know me by name. (Exodus 33:17 personalized)

Day 27

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in SERVING LOVE.

Just as you humbled yourself to wash the disciples feet, so you humble yourself daily to watch over me and provide for all my needs.

I praise you, Jesus, because you came not to be served but to serve, and to give your life as a ransom for me. (Matthew 20:28 personalized)

Day 28

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in SAVING, REDEEMING LOVE.

I could not save myself. The power of sin in me, and the power of Satan and demons, and the power of evil in the world, were more than I could overcome. I was completely powerless to erase my guilt before God my Judge. But in my helpless place, you had more than enough power to come in love and rescue me.

I praise you, O God, because day by day you save me in your steadfast love! (Psalm 31:16 personalized)

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December 9, 2019December 4, 2019

Week Three of 47-day Immersion in God’s Love

Meditating on God’s love will fill you to the fullness of God.

Day 15

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in FORGIVING LOVE.

If I have sincere faith in Jesus, you wipe away all my wrongs, covering them, atoning for them, forgetting them, making them white as snow, separating them from me as far as the east is from the west.

You forgive my iniquity, transgression, and sin. (Exodus 34:7 personalized)

Day 16

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in BURDEN-BEARING LOVE.

You carry me, my burdens, and my problems.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears me up. (Psalm 68:19 (NIV) personalized)

Day 17

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in ADOPTING LOVE.

Though I once was a child of the devil, you chose to adopt me and make me your dearly loved son or daughter.

My Father, I see what kind of love you have given me, for I am now a child of God. The day is coming when I will be like you, Jesus, and see you as you are. (1 John 3:1–2 personalized)

Day 18

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in LIBERATING LOVE.

You set me free from what oppresses me and puts me in chains. You rescue me from slavery to the world, sin, and the devil.

You set the prisoners free. You open the eyes of the blind. You lift up those who are bowed down. You love the righteous. And since I am righteous through faith in Jesus, you love me. (Psalm 146:7–8 personalized)

Day 19

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in REBUKING LOVE.

You tell me the truth about my sin and error, so they will not destroy me.

Those whom you love, you reprove and discipline, so I will be zealous and repent of my sins. (Revelation 3:19 personalized)

Day 20

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in COMFORTING LOVE.

To me you are like a blanket in the cold, like food when I am hungry, like reassuring music in a fearful time. You relieve life’s pain and torment.

Blessed be the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. You comfort me in all my affliction. (2 Corinthians 1:3–4 personalized)

Day 21

I thank you, O God, that you are with me in SACRIFICIAL LOVE.

You have loved me in ways that cost you dearly.

Heavenly Father, I thank you that you so loved me that you gave for me your only Son so that I might not perish but have everlasting life. Lord Jesus, I thank you for your gracious sacrifice, that though you were rich, yet for my sake you became poor, so that I by your poverty might become rich. (John 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 8:9 personalized)

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