The Love of God

As I sat down to do my devotional today, I have love on my mind. I am going to sing at a wedding this weekend and "What can I say" love is in the air. I pray I don't cry! I have to be at the dress rehearsal at 5:30 p.m. this afternoon. It is about an hour drive away from my house. I am singing "Only God could love you more". Becca picked this song out of the wedding song's that I have.

Don't we all just want to be loved by someone? To have someone cherish us so much that we know it beyond everything else. Well, this is wishful thinking. Then I was reminded of God's love. He sent His only son into this world to die on the cross for our sins. He loved us before we loved Him.

So my devotional today is on the Love of God.

Daily devotional for January 4th, 2007

The Love of God

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4. who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Cor 1:3-4 NIV

For many years I was a Christian who, although knowing in my head that God loved me, did not actually feel anything. I know that feelings are subjective and considered unreliable and that as Christians, we have to stand upon the Word of God.

Nevertheless, God gave us our feelings and emotions for a purpose and He can use them to enhance our walk with Him. Using the example of marriage to demonstrate what I mean. I can know in my head that my husband loves me, but if I don’t feel that love, then my marriage is likely to go through some pretty hard times. I need to ‘know’ deep within me that I am loved. I also need to trust my husband. Without trust the relationship is on a collision course with disaster.

In the same way, to have a relationship with God, we have to be able to trust Him. If we do not know that He has our best interests at heart (that He loves us) then we will find it very difficult to trust Him to order our lives. So many of us either did not know a father’s love, or received a perverted idea of what a father’s love should be, that when it comes to receiving love from our Heavenly Father, we tend to put our earthly experience of fatherly love onto Him.

Unfortunately, our natural fathers were very human and, very often any love that was shown to us as children was flawed. My father moved away when I was 12 years old. I have seen him a handful of times since then. I love my father but he wasn't always there for me. He didn't always pay child support and he wasn't at anything that I was involved in. If your natural father was never there when you needed him; was angry or drunk; a strict disciplinarian; was unkind or uncaring; sometimes reliable but sometimes not, then your view of God is likely to be somewhat distorted. Another factor in our experience could be that your parents or grandparents used God as a threat in order to get you to behave; in which case you will tend to think of Him as some sort of ogre to be feared and avoided if at all possible.

God is a God of love! He wants us to turn to Him in our times of need. Will our lives be wonderful after we put our trust in Him? No, we live in a sin driven environment. I am glad that I have the Father's love.

Jesus said: "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24 NKJV

Open yourself up to God and ask Him to show you how much He loves you by the power of Holy Spirit.

Jesus told us that when He was seated at right hand Father, He would send the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth

"You may me for anything in my name, I will do it. “If you love me, you will obey what I command 16. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever 17. The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:15 NIV

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23. They are new every morning; is your faithfulness." Lam 3:22-23 I

If you were asked to give over your son to be killed in order that the people next door could be saved – would you do it? God loved us so much that he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for all of us. What more could He do to show you how much He loves you, just as you are?

4."We love because he first loved us."1 John 4:19

So before we knew Him, He loved us! Awesome!

Words to the song I will be singing at Jimmy & Becca's wedding.

ONLY GOD COULD LOVE YOU MORE

I ASKED THE LORD FOR SOMEONE
AND I ALWAYS KNEW
THAT IN GOD’S TIME AND IN GOD’S WAY
IT WOULD BE SOMEONE LIKE YOU
ALL MY HOPES AND ALL MY DREAMS
WERE SUDDENLY FULFILLED
IT’S ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE
OUR LOVE WAS IN HIS WILL

CHORUS
ONLY GOD COULD LOVE YOU MORE
FOR HE GAVE ME THIS LOVE I HAVE FOR YOU
WHAT A BLESSING TO KNOW HE’S YOUR LORD
FOR ONLY GOD COULD LOVE YOU MORE THAN I DO

I’M TEMPTED TO BE SAYING
THAT WE MET BY CHANCE
BUT GOD WAS THERE AT EVERY TURN
IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE
TO SHARE THIS LIFE GOD GAVE ME
SEEMS SUCH A FEARFUL TASK
BUT EVERY MOMENT WE HAVE SHARED
IS MORE THAN I COULD ASK

CHORUS
ONLY GOD COULD LOVE YOU MORE
FOR HE GAVE ME THIS LOVE I HAVE FOR YOU
WHAT A BLESSING TO KNOW HE’S YOUR LORD
FOR ONLY GOD COULD LOVE YOU MORE THAN I DO
FOR ONLY GOD COULD LOVE YOU MORE THAN I DO

ONLY GOD COULD LOVE YOU MORE BY NILES BOROP AND DWIGHT TILES
@WORD MUSIC AND BUG & BEAR MUSIC/ASCAP
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