Embracing God's Transformative and Personal Love

Devotional

Day 1: God's Love is Unconditional

God's love is not an abstract concept, but a concrete, active force that is embodied in Jesus. This love is so profound that it led God to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be reconciled with Him. This love is not dependent on our actions or our worthiness, but is freely given to us because of who God is ([47:00]).

1 John 4:9 - "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you felt unworthy of love. How does it feel to know that God's love for you is not dependent on your worthiness?

Day 2: God's Love is Transformative

Experiencing God's love is a life-changing event. It affects every area of your life and changes you from the inside out. Once you have experienced this love, you cannot help but overflow with it, sharing it with others ([01:07:25]).

Ezekiel 36:26 - "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

Reflection: How has experiencing God's love changed you? How can you share this transformative love with others?

Day 3: God's Love is Persistent

God's love is not passive, but actively pursues us. He is constantly chasing after us, desiring to be in relationship with us. Nothing can separate us from this love, not even our own failures or shortcomings ([48:28]).

Psalm 23:6 - "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you felt far from God. How did you experience His persistent love during this time?

Day 4: God's Love is Healing

God's love has the power to heal us from our past traumas and hurts. He can handle our anger, our blame, and our pain, and He desires to bring healing and restoration to our lives ([57:47]).

Psalm 147:3 - "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

Reflection: What hurts or traumas do you need God's healing love to touch? How can you open yourself up to this healing?

Day 5: God's Love is Invitational

God's love invites us into a deeper relationship with Him. He desires for us to experience His love in a profound and personal way, and to let this love become the core of our being ([01:09:56]).

Revelation 3:20 - "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."

Reflection: How can you respond to God's invitation to experience His love more deeply? What might be holding you back from opening the door to Him?

Sermon Summary

In my sermon, I emphasized the profound love that God has for each of us, and how this love is not just universal, but deeply personal. I highlighted that God's love is active and concrete, embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. I stressed that God's love is so immense that He made the ultimate sacrifice to reconcile us to Him, and that nothing can separate us from this love. I also discussed the joy God derives from being in our presence, just as a parent finds joy in being with their child. However, I also addressed the barriers that often prevent us from fully experiencing God's love. These include past hurts, distorted views of God's love due to painful events, unconfessed or ongoing sin, idolatry, and the lies and doubts sown by Satan. I encouraged the congregation to lay down these barriers at the foot of the cross and open themselves up to the transformative power of God's love.

Key Takeaways

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Sermon Clips

1. "God is the source of all love. His very nature is love. And then in verse 9 it says, this is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. So God's love is not some abstract concept. It's concrete, it's active and it has a name. Jesus." - 47:00

2. "God is for us. God sent Jesus to die for our sins so that we could be saved and do life with him. And he says, is there anything that can separate us from God's love? No, absolutely not. Nothing we do, nothing we don't do, nothing we say, nothing that's done to us, can separate us from God's love." - 48:28

3. "God is constantly chasing after us because he wants us to be in his presence. He wants a relationship with us. So, I know many of you have kids, not all of us, but many of us in this room of children, young children, teenage children, grown adult children. So you know that no matter how old they are, I'm learning. Having a kid is kind of like your heart walking around outside your body, right?" - 49:56

4. "God wants His perfect love to flow over and into you. I want you to just visualize God's perfect love flowing over you and into you. He wants it to be the core of your being so that you can be the person that He's created you to be. Until His love is like the core of your being, you will not be the person He's created you to be." - 01:07:25

5. "God loves us. God sent Jesus to die for us. God is for us. God is doing all He can to draw us toward Him so we can be in relationship with Him. He so badly wants us to be in His presence. So why is it we choose not to love God with our whole heart? Why is it?" - 53:06

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