because of God's love

God's love for you
Day 1

by Gini Crawford, MSW

9/30/2019

God's actions of love

When I first decided to do a study on God's love many years back, I was going to look up every Bible verse on love and go from there. However, the Holy Spirit made it clear to me to write about what God has done for us - this is His love for us.

In many instances, love has just become a meaningless word that we use to sound loving, because we fail to put our love into action. Even Christians who should be loving, can fail miserably. I think we would all agree with the old adage, actions speak louder than words. Sadly, right now, I would imagine you can think of a person in your life who has said, "I love you," but their actions do not show it.

God's love is filled with loving action. God says He loves you, and He proves it with the many things He does for you. In this daily devotional you will cover the many incredible, heartwarming, and miraculous ways that God shows His love for you - creation being just the beginning.

Knowing God and His love

Why is it so important as a Christian to truly know God and His love? It is because God asks you to have faith in Him and love Him (Mark 12:28-30; Hebrews 11:6). And how can you possibly have faith in and love someone whom you don't know? God also asks you to believe that He loves you. And how can you believe that He loves you if you don't know that He does? (1 John 4:16). As Christians, the more we get to know God, comprehend His love and what He has done for us, the more we will want to trust and love Him. In reality the more we trust and love God, the stronger and more mature Christians we will be. (Ephesians 3:16-20, 4:13-16).

...and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:19 ESV®

The foundation of God's love is Jesus Christ (Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 3:19, 5:2). So naturally, this devotional will paint a beautiful picture of God's love for us - being acted out through Jesus. You will learn about Jesus' love for you from eternity past, how He created you to love you, and how His love stood unyielding, even after the first sin. You will study why Jesus was born, lived on this earth and died for you. You will understand why Jesus pursues you to love you. You will find out He died for you when you were His enemy. You will discover how His love gave you eternal life and made you His Bride. You will be made aware of how He redeemed you from slavery to sin, to make you His Father's beloved daughter, and many more beautiful truths.

Did you know the foundation of God's love is Jesus Christ?

To know God you must know His Book, which just makes sense, doesn't it? God wants us to know the real Him, not a man-made idea of Him. The only place that you can truly learn of and understand the One True God is through His Word, the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, called the Bible. Other books can surely explain the One True God rightly if their understanding of God comes from His Word.

Do you know God through His Word?

Life Application

The Bible described

The Bible is a book filled with adventure, mystery and romance. The Bible conveys how the God of the universe is our King of Kings, Who is fighting for us, His Beloved. It even has dragons in it, and a special sword for us to fight the strongest Serpent of all. The Bible is full of God's mysteries - the greatest of all is Jesus Christ, and what He did for us. The Bible is a book that tells of the greatest romance of all - God giving His very life, so we could become His Bride. You should read God's Book like you would a book that someone you love and who loves you authored. (Job 40:15-18, 41:1-2, 18-21; Zephaniah 3:17; Ephesians 2:1-10, 5:25-27, 6:11-17; Colossians 1:26-27).

I think many people are curious about the supernatural and spiritual, because these themes are popular in a number of books and TV shows. I know I can enjoy a fascinating story on these themes. Yet, the only book that has the real storyline about the supernatural and spiritual is the Bible. It just makes sense that the God, Who created all things, including the spiritual world, would write a book that explains the real supernatural, the true spiritual reality and eternity. His Book also gets us ready to live in the far reaches of the universe or heaven, in victory and serenity; not in a battling existence where star wars and who has the strongest force wins (1 Corinthians 2:6-13).

The Bible is a non-fiction book. It's a history book that is filled with marvelous real life stories. It is a book that has the wisdom of the ages in it, so you can easily read it as a how to book. It is also God's autobiography, explaining Who He really is. I have read the Bible since I was a child, and can honestly say, it is a book that never gets boring or irrelevant. It is truly a living Book. (Isaiah 55:8-11; John 8:31-32; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

Do you read the Bible? I would guess so since you are doing this devotional.

The reality of God's love has literally changed my life from one of despair, to one of strength, peace and never-ending hope. So I guarantee taking the time to learn about God's love will not be a waste of time for you. If you are diligent to read and look up all the Bible verses in this devotional, it will give you a great start in getting to know how much our amazing God really loves you. If you think about it, it can only be a win-win situation for you.

Write a sentence committing to doing this devotional.

Reflect on Psalm 119:24 today.

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