| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Carl" |
| Date: |
16 Jun 2007 09:21:00 PM |
| Object: |
God's Amazing Love |
God loves us. It's a Biblical truth. It's also a truth that has no
boundaries since God's love is infinite. Dr. Charles Stanley touches upon
God's wondrous and perfect love for us.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
God's Amazing Love
by Dr. Charles F. Stanley
http://www.intouch.org/
We can imagine feelings of panic sweeping through the woman's mind. Heavy
footsteps outside the door announced the entry of her intruders even before
they crossed the threshold. The woman knew she was caught. Why had she not
seen this coming? There was no place to run now. Instantly, she recognized
the men who entered the room. They were from the temple, and if they had
their way, she would face much more than a few revealing questions raised in
a civil court. In fact, her fate was sealed unless there was a miraculous
intervention.
The woman caught in adultery had been living without true love for so long
that she no longer dared to dream that one day she would find it. More than
likely, she begged for mercy, but her captors only tightened their hold. She
would not gain freedom at their hands, nor did she expect it. She knew who
she was. She was aware of her sinful state and often had overheard the
whispered comments of others.
The fact was, she had often rehearsed their words in her mind. Truly, she
was despised and hopelessly lost. Sin had captured her heart, her being, and
it was not about to show her any mercy-not now, not ever. That was until she
met the Savior-the God of love and the God who cares deeply about each one
of us.
Without Love-Without Hope
John tells us that Jesus was teaching in the temple the morning this group
of scribes and Pharisees entered, bringing with them the woman caught in
adultery (John 8:1-11). At first the scene was chaotic. There was a rush of
words and quick accusations. Then their captive was delivered at the
Savior's
feet. "Teacher," one Pharisee offered, "this woman has been caught in
adultery, in the very act" (John 8:4).
Sin always isolates. It prevents us from enjoying God's fellowship, while
creating an unbearable sense of loneliness and fear within our lives. What's
more, it divides our minds and changes the focus of our hearts. Instead of
turning in God's direction, we follow after the very things He deems
sinful-things that bring unspeakable heartache and sorrow to our lives.
No one could have felt more isolated and fearful than this woman. However,
this experience of extreme shame and brokenness ultimately led to her
salvation. As horrible and repulsive as the scene was, it became a place of
awesome wonder and grace because Jesus was with her. One look into the
Savior's eyes and she realized no matter what came next, she could face it.
The temple leaders stepped back and waited for the Lord's reply. They were
all in on a scheme, and Jesus knew it. Everyone present was watching to see
if He would convict a person who was obviously guilty or allow her to go
free.
The temple rulers' religious clamor was meant to ensnare Jesus, should He
deny His commitment to the Law of Moses. But instead of falling into their
trap, Jesus offered this woman exactly what every human heart longs to
receive-love and forgiveness.
The goal of God's love is not to approve of our sin. It is to transform our
lives through faith in His Son. The Lord knew the Law demanded this woman's
death. Yet He would not condemn her (John 8:11). From a human standpoint,
she was guilty as charged. However, from God's perspective, she was a sinner
who was about to become a person saved by His grace.
Therefore, He issued an invitation: "He who is without sin among you, let
him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7). No one came forward.
Those present had sinned and were in need of God's grace for their own
lives. Yet they were blinded by their pride and did not realize they also
needed God's love and forgiveness.
Like these men, you may be thinking you have lived your entire life without
becoming involved in sin of this nature. However, all sin hurts the heart of
God. A careless remark, a prideful thought, an angry word spoken in haste, a
bitter and unforgiving spirit are all as deadly as the sin this woman
committed. The reason: sin committed at any level prevents us from
experiencing the goodness of God's fellowship. It robs us of the inner
peace, contentment, and joy that He offers every-one who comes to Him. It
also creates division between us and those we love.
While Jesus was saddened by the way this woman came to Him, He saw the
potential her life contained. And that is also how He looks at us. No matter
how great our sin appears, God is not ashamed to offer us the greatest gift
we could ever receive-His eternal love, which is far greater than even the
worst sins we could ever commit.
Our heavenly Father loves us, even when we fall short of His plan and
purpose. His Spirit convicts us of our sinful actions (John 16:7-8), and His
infinite love leads us back to the place He wants us to be (2 Corinthians
5:14). Never be frightened to stand before His throne of grace and mercy.
Since you have sinned, you need to know that you have a Savior who loves you
with an eternal love. And there is no love greater than His.
However, many people have never opened their hearts to the Savior or to the
possibility that He loves them even though their lives have been riddled
with sin. They struggle through life, battling feelings of guilt and shame.
We can tell by the way this woman addressed Jesus that she was now ready to
leave behind her old way of life. When the Savior asked if anyone was left
who accused her, she answered, "No one, Lord" (John 8:11). She was
addressing Him as her Lord and Master.
The Goal of God's Love
There are people who spend a lifetime searching for love but have never
experienced it because they fail to realize it has been available to them
all along. Many times, God allows the consequences of our sin to catch up
with us so He can gain our attention and bring us to a point of confession,
where we cry out for His forgiveness. You do not need to spend another day,
hour, or even minute living without love. The moment you lift your eyes to
look into God's and confess your sin, He will forgive you. The Lord will
save you and transform your life while giving you a sense of hope that will
never fade. In fact, no one will ever love you more than He does.
God's love is eternal.
Long before you were born, the Lord had already determined to love you. No
sin is strong enough to deter His love.
His love reaches out to the lost and to those who are hurting and alone in
sin.
God pursues us with an everlasting love. He knows the times we struggle with
temptation and the loneliness we face as a result of our actions. When we
cry out to Him, He hears our prayers and answers our call for help (Psalm
107:13; 1 John 1:9).
Divine love does not condemn us.
Jesus said that He came to earth to save those who are trapped in sin. We
are set free from the slavery of sin when we follow Him and learn to live
our lives according to His principles (Romans 8:1; John 15).
God's love is incomprehensible.
It has no beginning or end and is beyond anything we can imagine. It is
greater than our greatest sin. Therefore, no matter where we have been or
what we have done in the past, His love toward us remains consistent,
committed, and unrestrained.
His love never changes.
It is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not wait for our lives
to straighten out before He loves us; He proved His love even while we were
lost in sin (Romans 5:8).
The Lord's love covers.
After Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from the Garden of Eden, God
made garments for them out of animal skins (Genesis 3:21). This was the
first time blood was shed as atonement for sin. The last and final time was
on Calvary's cross.
God loves us without restriction.
There are no limits to divine love. If God loved us on the basis of our
performance or conduct, then His love would be conditional, but that is not
the case. The love of God is unconditional and indefinable.
God's love is sacrificial.
Jesus died for your sins-every single one, including the wrongs you
committed years ago and those you will commit in the future. The goal of His
love is not to approve of your sin, but rather to change the way you live
your life. He never keeps score of how many times we have fallen or failed.
He wants us to learn to love Him so much that we would desire to leave sin
behind and follow Him in love and purity. This is His invitation to you. It
is the same one He gave the woman who was caught in adultery: "I do not
condemn you . . . Go. From now on sin no more" (John 8:11).
One of our greatest needs is to know we are loved-to feel certain deep down
that someone loves us, cares for us, and has our best interest at heart.
That is how God designed us. He wants us to know He loves every single one
of us with a passion-ate intensity too deep for words. And we experience His
love when we willingly surrender to His call to receive Him as Savior, Lord,
and Friend.
God seeks our surrender because:
He loves us and desires our fellowship and worship.
As long as we hold anything back from God, we cannot know Him completely or
fully experience His love. When we surrender to Him, we get all of Him.
He wants our service for His kingdom to be fruitful.
The more we get to know and love Jesus, the more effective our service will
be and the more impact our lives will have.
He waits for the freedom to bless us.
God is omnipotent but will not violate His own principles. He draws us to
Himself so we can experience His love and forgiveness. He asks for our
willing surrender so that He can give us the best blessings He has to offer.
So why does anyone resist surrendering to God?
Pride is the key reason most people resist surrender. They think they know
better than God and can handle their life in a more fitting way than He can,
so they keep Him at arm's length.
Others do not surrender because they fear what He will do (or not do) for
them. They think that if they give Him control, He'll make them do exactly
what will make them most miserable. Still others refuse to surrender to
Christ because they believe Satan's lie, which tells them that God is
judgmental and will punish them for their mistakes.
All of this is completely false! God always has our best in mind. He will
refuse us no good thing when we gladly submit to his will (Romans 8:32). It
simply makes sense to surrender to God, because when we do, we grow close to
Him-His highest priority for us-and we begin to have an impact on our world.
.
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| User: "RedFox" |
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| Title: Re: God's Amazing Love |
17 Jun 2007 06:08:47 PM |
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In article <f525qe$pl8$1@news.utelfla.com>, "Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote:
God loves us. It's a Biblical truth.
There is no such thing as a BIBLICAL truth - Something is either true or
it is not
The Bible only contains theology and assertions. All assertions need
proving and theology is mere speculation
You are abusing the Bible by treating it in this superstitious fashion
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| User: "Ted J L" |
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| Title: Re: God's Amazing Love |
17 Jun 2007 10:35:49 AM |
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In article <f525qe$pl8$1@news.utelfla.com>, says...
God loves us. It's a Biblical truth. It's also a truth that has no
boundaries since God's love is infinite. Dr. Charles Stanley touches upon
God's wondrous and perfect love for us.
C. Stanley's 'all about you' ministry get's tiresome to me. I think the most
descriptive snippet from the intro to his program is him saying "God has a
plan for your life."
--
..
"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
2 Timothy 3:12
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