God's Love

[Shammu]

Deuteronomy 7:8-10 But because the Lord loves you and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.  Know, recognize, and understand therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, Who keeps covenant and steadfast love and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations, And repays those who hate Him to their face, by destroying them; He will not be slack to him who hates Him, but will requite him to his face.

Ezra 9:9 For we are bondmen; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended mercy and steadfast love to us before the kings of Persia, to give us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall [of protection] in Judah and Jerusalem.

Psalm 70:4 May all those who seek, inquire of and for You, and require You [as their vital need] rejoice and be glad in You; and may those who love Your salvation say continually, Let God be magnified!

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!

John 3:16 or God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

Romans 5:4-6 And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us. While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly.

Romans 8:39 Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 8:3 But if one loves God truly [ with affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, and grateful recognition of His blessing], he is known by God [ recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love, and he is owned by Him].

Please feel free to add another portion of Scripture that is the Bible Prescription for God's Love

[sincereheart]

God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous
creatures in order that he may love and perfect them. ~C. S. Lewis





I know, I know, it isn't Scripture - but it IS Scriptural.

[sincereheart]

Learning About God's Love

The following story was told by Carson Reed in Garnett's bulletin:

"Terri sobbed out her story. Nearly fifty years of living had netted only pain, heartaches, and disappointment. For the past three months she had come to worship, went to one of our women's ministry classes, and found herself as she put it-being "chased by God".

"She had a problem though. Terri's past cast such a long shadow over the future that she could not understand how God would really want to love her. The rubble of broken relationships, physical abuse, and alcoholism threatened to block out any possibility for the light of a new day. "How could God possibly love me?" she asked. "I am such a mess."

"Into the silence that followed I ventured a response, "The mess in your life has nothing to do with how God loves you."

"From deep inside her heart Terri cried, "But I'm not good enough for God to want to love me."

"All I could say was that God's love was completely different than the kinds of love she had experienced before. Often, with people, love rests on whether that love is properly returned. If you scratch my back, I will scratch yours.

"But God doesn't work that way. His love for every human is the same and that love never changes. God's love does not rest on who you are; God's love rests on who He is. We don't have to convince God to accept us; we simply have to let go of our false understandings about love and believe that God accepts us. Aren't you glad of that?

"Terri is. Two weeks later she was baptized."

I can't help but think of the last part of Romans 5:8. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Not only does God's love not rest on who we are, but He loves us in spite of who we are. In spite of the fact that we're sinners. In spite of the fact that we're the reason Jesus was nailed to that cross. We just have to accept His love.

by Jim Schinnerer
http://www.aworshipleader.org/CommunionTalks.asp?id=27

[Shammu]

1Co 13:4 Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

1Co 13:5 doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;

1Co 13:6 rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth;

1Co 13:7 beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

1Co 13:8 Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.

1Co 13:13 But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

[nChrist]

The axle!

by Spurgeon-

You know in a wheel there is one portion that never
turns around, that stands steadfast- and that is the axle.

So in God's providence, there is an axle which never moves.

Christian, here is a sweet thought for you--
your state is ever changing.
Sometimes you are exalted and sometimes depressed,
yet there is an unmoving point in your state.
What is that axle?
What is the pivot upon which all the machinery revolves?
It is the axle of God's everlasting love towards His people!

The exterior of the wheel is changing,
but the center stands forever fixed.

Other things may move, but God's love never moves.
It is the axle of the wheel, and will endure.

[nChrist]

The true spiritual Atlas

(John MacDuff, "Memories of Olivet" 1870)

"You shall make His soul an offering for sin."
    Isaiah 53:10

"Now is My soul troubled." John 12:27

Mark, it is SOUL SUFFERING that is the burden of
Jesus' anguish. "Now is my soul troubled" "My soul
is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.''

That 'cup' was filled to the brim with curses. His
holy soul was like a vast reservoir, into which the
transgressions of every elect child of Adam rushed
from every age, demanding satisfaction.

He was "filled with horror and deep distress"
at the fearful havoc sin had wrought, and at its
dreadful penalty, which He was now bearing.

The wrath of God; the terrible manifestation
of His displeasure at iniquity; was upon Jesus.

He was the true spiritual Atlas, bearing on
His shoulders the sins of a guilty world!

Jesus' sufferings were not calamities; they
were punishment judicially inflicted. There was
an eternity of woe was condensed into them!
Christ was the Sin Bearer, bearing not merely
the punishment of sin, but sin itself.

As we see drop by drop crimsoning the sods
of Gethsemane, we may well exclaim, "He was
pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed
for our iniquities; the punishment that brought
us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds
we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

[nChrist]

The astonishing, the marvelous love!

(From Winslow's, "Love at the Foot of the Cross")

The cross of Jesus inspires our love to Him.
It would seem impossible to be brought by
the Holy Spirit to the foot of the cross, and
not feel the inspiration of love.

Surely a believing apprehension of the amazing,
the unparalleled love of Jesus, bending His look
of forgiveness upon us from the cross, will thaw
our icy hearts into the warmest glow of affection.

Believe that Jesus loves you, and your heart shall
glow with a love in return which will bear it on in
a willing obedience and unreserved surrender, in
faithful service and patient suffering, enwrapped,
consumed amid the flames of its own 'heaven
inspired' and 'heaven ascending' affection.

The astonishing, the marvelous love, He
has exhibited in giving you His beloved Son
to die in your stead, are cords by which He
would draw your loving heart to Himself.

[nChrist]

I am astonished

(A Puritan Prayer)

O bottomless Fountain of all good,
I am astonished at the difference between . . .
  my receivings--and my deservings,
  the state I am now in--and my past gracelessness,
  the heaven I am bound for--and the hell I merit.

Who made me to differ, but You? I could not have
begun to love You, had You not first loved me.

O Lord, I am astonished that . . .
such a crown should fit the head of such a sinner,
such high advancement for one so worthless,
such joys for so vile a rebel!

Let 'wrath deserved' be written on the door of hell;
but the 'free gift of grace' on the gate of heaven!

Let Your love draw me nearer to Yourself. Wean
me from sin, mortify me to this world, and make
me ready for my departure hence. Secure me by
Your grace as I sail across this stormy sea.

[nChrist]

Things that even the angels desire to look into!

(J. C. Philpot, "Meditations on First Peter")

"These are things that even the angels desire
 to look into!" 1 Peter 1:12

To the carnal, earthly, debased, degraded mind
of man, the mystery of the Person of Christ, of
the cross, of the sufferings, blood-shedding, and
death of Jesus, whereby He put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself--is foolishness. He sees no
beauty, blessedness, or glory in the Person of the
Son of God, nor any wisdom or grace in atoning
blood and dying love.

But not so with these bright and pure beings!
They see in the Person and work of Christ not only
the depths of infinite wisdom in the contrivance of
the whole plan of redemption, and of power in its
execution and full accomplishment; but they see
such lengths, breadths, depths, and heights of love
as fill their minds with holy wonder, admiration and
praise. They see in His incarnation, humiliation,
sufferings, blood-shedding, and death--such
unspeakable treasures of mercy and grace as
ever fill their minds with wonder and admiration.

What shame and confusion should cover our face
that we should see so little beauty and glory in
that redeeming blood and love, which fills the pure
minds of the angelic beings with holy and unceasing
admiration--and that they should be ever seeking
and inquiring into this heavenly mystery, that they
may discover in it ever new and opening treasures
of the wisdom, grace, mercy, truth, and love of God
--when we who profess to be redeemed by precious
blood, are, for the most part, so cold and indifferent
in the contemplation and admiration of it.

[nChrist]

The amazing love of God!

Spurgeon, "THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING FEAST"

The gospel feast is an expensive business- the very heart of Christ
was drained to find the price for this great festival; but it costs
the sinner nothing, nothing of money, nothing of merit, nothing of
preparation. You may come as you are to the gospel feast, for the
only wedding dress required is freely provided for you.
The gospel is a river of love,
it is a sea of love,
it is a heaven of love,
it is a universe of love,
it is all love.
Words there are none, fully to set forth the amazing love of God
to sinners, no sin too big or too black, no crime too crimson or
too cursed for pardon.

[nChrist]

A special, personal, distinguishing love!

from Bonar's book, "The Night of Weeping"

It is sweet to realize the common love flowing
out of the Father's bosom to the whole happy
household of His saved ones; but it is no less
sweet, especially in the day of trial, to dwell
upon the personal love He bears so distinctively
to each of His children.

Jesus has a special, personal, distinguishing
love for each of His children; just as if He
loved no other, but had His whole heart to
give to us alone. His is a detailed and watchful
care, bending over each of His children, day
and night, as if He had no other to care for.

How sweet to think that each of us is the
special object of such personal affection, the
particular object of such unwearied vigilance!

What manner of love is this!

We are sure that we shall be fully cared for,
and not one need or sorrow will be overlooked.

We know that "all things shall work together
for our good," and that the end of everything
which befalls us here shall be light and glory
forever!

[nChrist]

YOU ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE!

from Spurgeon's, "BOUGHT WITH A PRICE"

If I had the power to do it, how would I seek to
refresh in your souls a sense of the fact that you
are "bought with a price."

There in the midnight hour, amidst the olives of Gethsemane,
kneels Immanuel the Son of God; he groans, he pleads in prayer,
he wrestles; see the beady drops stand on his brow, drops of
sweat, but not of such sweat as pours from men when they earn
the bread of life, but the sweat of him who is procuring life
itself for us. It is blood, it is crimson blood; great gouts
of it are falling to the ground.

O soul, your Savior speaks to you from out Gethsemane at this
hour, and he says: "Here and thus I bought you with a price."

Come, stand and view him in the agony of the olive garden,
and understand at what a cost he procured your deliverance.
Track him in all his path of shame and sorrow until you see
him on the Pavement; mark how they bind his hands and fasten
him to the whipping-post; see, they bring the scourges and
the cruel Roman whips; they tear his flesh; the ploughers
make deep furrows on his blessed body, and the blood gushes
forth in streams, while rivulets from his temples, where the
crown of thorns has pierced them, join to swell the purple
stream. From beneath the scourges he speaks to you with
accents soft and low, and he says, "My child, it is here
and thus I bought you with a price."

But see him on the cross itself when the consummation of
all has come; his hands and feet are fountains of blood,
his soul is full of anguish even to heartbreak; and there,
before the soldier pierces his side with a spear, bowing
down he whispers to you and to me, "It was here and thus,
I bought you with a price."

O by Gethsemane, by Gabbatha, by Golgotha, by every sacred
name collected with the passion of our Lord, by sponge and
vinegar, and nail and spear, and everything that helped the
pang and increased the anguish of his death, I conjure you,
my beloved brethren, to remember that you were "bought with
a price," and "are not your own."

I push you to this; you either were or were not so bought; if
you were, it is the grand fact of your life; if you were, it
is the greatest fact that ever will occur to you: let it
operate upon you, let it dominate your entire nature, let it
govern your body, your soul, your spirit, and from this day
let it be said of you not only that you are a man, a man of
good morals and respectable conduct, but this, above all things,
that you are a man filled with love to him who bought you, a
man who lives for Christ, and knows no other passion.

O! that REDEMPTION would become the paramount influence,
the lord of our soul, and dictator of our being; then were
we indeed true to our obligations: short of this we are
not what love and justice both demand.

[nChrist]

My beloved

(Octavius Winslow, "None Like Christ" 1866)

"How is your beloved better than others?"
    Song of Solomon 5:9

Does the world challenge– "How is your beloved
better than others?" Your answer is at hand–
"My beloved bore my sins, and opened in His heart
a fountain in which I am washed whiter than snow!
My beloved . . .
  sustains my burdens,
  counsels my perplexities,
  heals my wounds,
  dries my tears,
  supplies my needs,
  bears with my infirmities,
  upholds my steps, and
  cheers my pathway to the tomb.
My beloved will be with me in the valley of
the shadow of death, and with His presence
I shall fear no evil.
My beloved has gone to prepare a place for me
in the many-mansioned house of my Father, and
will come again and receive me to Himself, that
where He is, I may be also.
My beloved will walk with me in the gold-paved
streets of the new Jerusalem. He will lead me to
fountains of living waters, and will wipe every
tear from my eyes! He is altogether lovely!
This is my beloved, and this is my Friend!"