For the Love of God

For the Love of God

“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”  Jude 1:21

How do you recognize the ‘Love of God’?  “What does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”  Deuteronomy 10:12 (NKJV) When we follow the direction of God, we experience the Love of God.  When we go our own way and disobey God, we lose confidence in the love of God.

Did you ever wonder if God really loves you?  Maybe you think God hates you because he didn’t answer your prayer.  People who think this way generally have little understanding of God and so they pick and choose how they feel according to what he does for them.  When someone tells me they no longer believe in God, because he didn’t answer their prayer, I want to take them by their shoulders and shake them, because if they really looked back on what happened since, they are far better off now than they were.

I always go back to this scripture in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  I know without a shadow of doubt that God has a plan for your life and in His infinite way he causes the things in your life to work together.  You don’t know the future, but God does and he knows what you need even if it’s painful at the time.

I will never understand how God loves you and me so much that he sent Jesus to live amidst people like you and me in order to be put to death on the cross.  Then, Jesus, when was about die such a painful death said in Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” What a great truth he spoke and it was meant for every person.  To put it into words we all understand, He was saying, “I love you so much, if you believe in me, I’m going to die in your place so you don’t have to pay the price for the sins in your own life.  Believe in me and you will be forgiven and spend eternity in Heaven.

You do have another choice and that is to spend eternity in Hell.  God loves you so much he would never send you to Hell; you get to make that decision. The only thing you have to do to live in Hell for eternity is to deny the love of God; deny that Jesus Christ is the Savior and the son of God, and never repent for anything you ever did.  

When you were born your name was written in the “Book of Life” and God made a plan for your life if you follow him.  Revelation 3:5 confirms that your name was written there when you were born, because your name can be taken out, and here is what it says. “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”   

Now let’s talk about the God’s Plan for your life.  In Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  See how much God loves you?  These are His wonderful plans for you and your future.  If you don’t believe in him, I don’t know how you will live with no hope ahead of you. 

Now, it’s up to you, my friend.  The Love of God is an amazing thing; without it, you face a future of disaster and no hope.  However, it’s not too late to give him your life and your heart.  He still loves you until you take your last breath!