Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
Tomorrow is special, we add the Christ candle to our four advent candles. As your light your four candles, think about God’s perfect love.
God’s Astonishing Love
Christmas is a time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Families gather to exchange gifts just as the Magi brought gifts to the baby Jesus. Singing Christmas Carols that share the miracle of Christmas O Holy Night, Silent Night, Away in the Manager, and O Little Town of Bethlehem.
Listening to many sermons on the birth of Jesus, Insight for Living features Charles Swindoll and his sermon Divine Love and Grace challenge his audience to think why would God give his only Son? And why would Jesus leave his heavenly home? The answer according to 1 John 4:8 b, God is love.
God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Yes, God is love. Jesus is God in the flesh. Immanuel. Jesus is Love.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3: 16-17
God’s love is unconditional. I John 4:19 says, “We love God because He first loved us.” Once you accept Jesus as your savior, God’s love is unconditional. Love is an important part of His character. God does not love you more if you pray or love you less if you do not read your Bible. However, when you read your Bible and pray, one grows closer to God.
[Tweet “To you who have lost hope, who have shame, heartbreak, and a trail of wrongs: God loves you. Charles Swindoll.”]
God call us to love unconditionally. Romans 5: 7-8 says, that while we were sinners Christ died for us. We are to love people as they are and that God will work in their lives. At this season, is there someone you need to forgive? Someone to reach out and rekindle your friendship? Someone to offer an apology? Someone that you should call just because?
God loves sacrificially. He gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. God sent his Son so that the world might be saved through him.
God calls us to love sacrificially.We know love by this that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but indeed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him. 1 John 3: 16-19. Whom is God asking you to love that seems unlovable?
Beloved, Charles Swindoll shares. “Jesus came to this earth, but we didn’t deserve His visit. Jesus modeled mercy, but we don’t deserve His pardon. Jesus set aside all His glory, took upon Himself humanity, and suffered a death that we deserved. Jesus extends forgiveness, doesn’t hold our failures against us, and promises us eternal life. The grace Jesus gives stands in stark contrast to the dog-eat-dog world in which we live. This Christmas, let’s focus our attention on Christ’s audacious grace.”
Beloved, God loves you and I do, too……
MERRY CHRISTMAS.
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