For the past few days the Lord set something upon my heart to share with 2 sets of people in my life.
1) Those who are hurting and walking through a painful place right now.(Sickness, loss, unemployment, the death of a loved one, the betrayal of afriend, the ending of a relationship, etc.)
2) Those who feel that they are not, or can not be loved by God.(feeling unworthy, feeling not good enough, has opposed God in the past, wastold by someone that God doesn’t love them, etc.)
I want to really address the love, mercy, and compassion of God with you today. Having sat under the teaching of my pastor recently, and already having this desire to write about it, I feel the time is now….
* JESUS IS POWERFULLY COMPASSIONATE TOWARD PEOPLE THAT HAVE OPPOSED HIMOR CALLED HIM THEIR ENEMY*
*JESUS HAS COMPASSION FOR THOSE WHO FEEL THEIR FAILURES DISQUALIFY THEMFROM MERCY*
*JESUS HAS COMPASSION FOR EVERYONE THAT HAS BEEN LABELED AN “OUTSIDER” *
*JESUS LOVES THE BROKEN AND HURTING*
I want to share a story from the book of Matthew Chapter 15 (feel freeto read the actual text in the Bible):
An “unworthy” Canaanite woman, despite the godlessness of her people andlow status, boldly came to Jesus acknowledging Him as Lord, and begging for Himto have mercy on her and her daughter who needed healing. She compared herself toa dog, stating that she knew that she was not like the worthy people who ate atthe table, but a dog that would gratefully take a crumb that fell on the floor,if He would be so kind to offer it to her. Jesus saw and praised this woman’sgreat humbleness and faith, and because of this, He healed her daughter.
My, friends, I really want to encourage you to not exclude yourselffrom the love and mercy of God. We are ALL undeserving. Yes, there are alwaysconsequences for our bad actions, and there will always be pain in thisimperfect world…but hear me when I tell you that NOBODY is outside of thecircle of God’s love. NOBODY! Consequences of our mistakes can be MANY things,but they NEVER include losing God’s love.
And if someone has ever told youthat the bad things that have happened in your life is a result of Godpunishing you, or that God doesn’t love because you are a certain race orsexuality (gay), or that the things you have done in your life are unforgivable...THEYARE WRONG!
NOTHING CAN SEPARATE YOU FROM THE LOVE OF JESUS!
I don’t care who has told you otherwise….”Christian” or not. If theyare telling you that God doesn’t love you because of ___________...then theydon’t really know who
Jesus is.
“The single greatest cause of Atheism in the world today is Christians,who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, and then walk out the door and deny Himby their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
There are 2 types of people in the world. That’s it…just 2…
1) People who are obviously screwed up.
2) People who are just as screwed up, but hide it well.
It is not “us” against “them”….we are all the same.
God alone is our judge. And as you establish a relationship with Him,and study His word, HE alone will convict you of any changes you need to make,and He will help you make them. As you start to understand Jesus, your heartwill open more, and you will find your compassion for other people will alsogrow.
I know many of you wonder (as have I in the past)…If Jesus is compassionate,why is my life this way and why do bad things happen? You cannot look at thecircumstances of your life and judge God’s love for you.
I know that this planet and this life can be painful and hard….trustme, I do…
And none of it seems fair. I know that I can’t say I know what it islike to walk a mile in your shoes, but I do know pain. I want you to find comfort in the fact thatthis is not our HOME…this is a temporary place, and in the end, God will makeall things new. He is FOR YOU!
Heaven awaits those who believe, and there, there is no more painand no more suffering…only joy, peace, and happiness.
See, God loved you so much that he took all the punishment, andsuffering that we as sinners deserve…and He placed it all on Jesus, so thatinstead, we could receive the mercy and love that Jesus deserves. Jesus tookOUR place. That is how much He loves you!!!! God has such amazing compassionfor us, otherwise…He would have never sent Jesus to die for us.
Giving our heart to Him does not require our perfection….just ourwillingness. He is there to forgive us, and help us get up when we fall.
There is a song called ‘What if I Stumble’…
“What is I stumble, what if I fall?
What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
Will the love continue when the walk becomes a crawl?
What if I stumble, and what if I fall?
Lord, I hear you whispering my name (You say…)
My love for you will NEVER change”
What I wanted mostly to do today is leave you with a feeling and knowledgeof how truly loved you are by God…just as you are….through yourpain, and though your mistakes…and NOTHING can change that. Not even yourejecting Him.
And if you are going through a storm in your life right now and arehurting, I promise that allowing God into your life, will comfort you in waysyou never thought possible. Let Him love you through this.
“Everyone needs compassion
A love that’s never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations
So take me as you find me
All of my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender”
If anyone wishes to discuss any of this further with me, feel free toinbox me on Facebook or you can email me at that_kate@yahoo.com
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