Do You Know That God Loves You? Its true! He knew you before you were born and He knows you now. The good news is that He loves you just the way you are. But this isn’t just another religious message. Jesus didn’t shout at folks, “Repent for damnation is at hand!” So why should we? He said, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” That’s the good news! The bad news is… The old kingdom we were born into is fatally flawed. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now…2 steps forward and 3 steps back, right? No matter how hard you work, it never seems to be good enough. We can’t find any true satisfaction. We lie, cheat, steal and many times even murder each other to get what we want. The system spawns fear of one another so we do unto others before they do unto us. We are heartbroken by our pain in life. We are in bondage to physical, mental and emotional addictions. Just look around, the world is angry, afraid and sad. We must be wary of the predators who would dominate, enslave or destroy us. Everyone is out for number One. We live lives of desperation, sorrow and grief . Poverty and lack abound. As you read this page, more than 50 precious children have died from disease and hunger. There is no peace . The only thing certain is death and taxes. Sounds like a cursed kingdom, right? We look at the world around us and we’re angry and confused. Some ask “How can these things be if God really loves us?”. What we don’t realize is…this is the kingdom we built…not God. In the beginning, we were deceived and in our deception, we rebelled against God. This is the kingdom our sin made. It is cursed, and God hates what it is doing to us. He hates it so much that He made hell for the Deceiver and his followers. And He will avenge us and put them there! He hates it so much that He paid an overwhelming price to free us from it. The bad news is that we were born subjects of this kingdom. The bad news is that we will suffer under its curse all the days of our lives. The bad news is that in the end, this kingdom’s subjects will meet the same fate as the Deceiver. BUT… The good news is that we don’t have to be deceived anymore! The good news is that despite our rebellion, God loves us with an everlasting love! The good news is that we don’t have to live in the stranglehold of this old kingdom! The good news is there’s a new Kingdom! The good news is the King of Kings is empowered to… Bind our broken hearts… Break our chains of bondage… Comfort our mourning… Give us beauty for our ashes… Pour out His oil of gladness… The good news is the King of Kings saw us where we are and met us there. He was despised and rejected… He knows our sorrow and grief… He knows our rebellion and sin… But He was wounded for our rebellion… He was bruised for our sin… He was punished so we could have peace… He took our oppression… He took our affliction… And by His stripes we are healed! The good news is He defeated every part of the curse of our sin. And then… He was cut off from the land of the living and He was buried with the wicked. But… The good news is… The grave couldn’t hold Him…He even conquered death! The good news is…He Lives! He did it because He loves you. He did it because He wants to hold you in His arms and make everything new again. He did it because you are precious to Him. He did it so you could escape from the dark kingdom we have created. When Jesus says, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”, it is an open invitation for us to leave that old kingdom behind. To repent is to abandon our rebellion and turn our back on all of the bad news. To repent is to come to Jesus just as we are and let Him open our eyes to His Kingdom, to learn His ways and His thoughts. He didn’t come to start a new religion, He came to restore our relationship with Him. If you haven’t accepted His invitation, what are you waiting for? It isn’t just about “Heaven or Hell” somewhere in the sweet bye and bye… Its about a living and loving relationship with Him here and now! Why spend another day under the oppression of a criminal that hates you and and wants you to suffer when the King that loves you has paid the ultimate price to set you free? How do we escape? “Salvation that comes from trusting Christ - which is the message we preach - is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scriptures say, “The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NLT It isn’t about our works or behavior, there’s nothing we can do to earn His love and the blessings of His grace. Its a simple step of faith, just accepting His work for us and humbly receiving the mercy we don’t deserve! When we take that simple step of faith in Him, He graciously gives us the precious gift of His love and… A Brand New Life!!! I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:17-19 NLT Have you received His gift? Just call on His Name and give Him your heart.
Do You Know That God Loves You?
Its true! He knew you before you were born and He knows you now. The good news is that He loves you just the way you are. But this isn’t just another religious message. Jesus didn’t shout at folks, “Repent for damnation is at hand!” So why should we? He said, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” That’s the good news! The bad news is… The old kingdom we were born into is fatally flawed. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now…2 steps forward and 3 steps back, right? No matter how hard you work, it never seems to be good enough. We can’t find any true satisfaction. We lie, cheat, steal and many times even murder each other to get what we want. The system spawns fear of one another so we do unto others before they do unto us. We are heartbroken by our pain in life. We are in bondage to physical, mental and emotional addictions. Just look around, the world is angry, afraid and sad. We must be wary of the predators who would dominate, enslave or destroy us. Everyone is out for number One. We live lives of desperation, sorrow and grief . Poverty and lack abound. As you read this page, more than 50 precious children have died from disease and hunger. There is no peace . The only thing certain is death and taxes. Sounds like a cursed kingdom, right? We look at the world around us and we’re angry and confused. Some ask “How can these things be if God really loves us?”. What we don’t realize is…this is the kingdom we built…not God. In the beginning, we were deceived and in our deception, we rebelled against God. This is the kingdom our sin made. It is cursed, and God hates what it is doing to us. He hates it so much that He made hell for the Deceiver and his followers. And He will avenge us and put them there! He hates it so much that He paid an overwhelming price to free us from it. The bad news is that we were born subjects of this kingdom. The bad news is that we will suffer under its curse all the days of our lives. The bad news is that in the end, this kingdom’s subjects will meet the same fate as the Deceiver. BUT… The good news is that we don’t have to be deceived anymore! The good news is that despite our rebellion, God loves us with an everlasting love! The good news is that we don’t have to live in the stranglehold of this old kingdom! The good news is there’s a new Kingdom! The good news is the King of Kings is empowered to… Bind our broken hearts… Break our chains of bondage… Comfort our mourning… Give us beauty for our ashes… Pour out His oil of gladness… The good news is the King of Kings saw us where we are and met us there. He was despised and rejected… He knows our sorrow and grief… He knows our rebellion and sin… But He was wounded for our rebellion… He was bruised for our sin… He was punished so we could have peace… He took our oppression… He took our affliction… And by His stripes we are healed! The good news is He defeated every part of the curse of our sin. And then… He was cut off from the land of the living and He was buried with the wicked. But… The good news is… The grave couldn’t hold Him…He even conquered death! The good news is…He Lives! He did it because He loves you. He did it because He wants to hold you in His arms and make everything new again. He did it because you are precious to Him. He did it so you could escape from the dark kingdom we have created. When Jesus says, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”, it is an open invitation for us to leave that old kingdom behind. To repent is to abandon our rebellion and turn our back on all of the bad news. To repent is to come to Jesus just as we are and let Him open our eyes to His Kingdom, to learn His ways and His thoughts. He didn’t come to start a new religion, He came to restore our relationship with Him. If you haven’t accepted His invitation, what are you waiting for? It isn’t just about “Heaven or Hell” somewhere in the sweet bye and bye… Its about a living and loving relationship with Him here and now! Why spend another day under the oppression of a criminal that hates you and and wants you to suffer when the King that loves you has paid the ultimate price to set you free? How do we escape? “Salvation that comes from trusting Christ - which is the message we preach - is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scriptures say, “The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NLT It isn’t about our works or behavior, there’s nothing we can do to earn His love and the blessings of His grace. Its a simple step of faith, just accepting His work for us and humbly receiving the mercy we don’t deserve! When we take that simple step of faith in Him, He graciously gives us the precious gift of His love and… A Brand New Life!!! I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:17-19 NLT Have you received His gift? Just call on His Name and give Him your heart.
