BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US
1 JOHN 4:19




 

 

HOW much does Jesus love us?  Are we worthy of that love?  John 3:16 tells:  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son; that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”.

"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger,
(but) abounding in love."
Psalms 103:8

JESUS came to earth as a precious baby.  Colossians 2:13 tells us we were on the road to hell because of our sins.  But God made a way for all sinners because He loves us and made us come alive because of Jesus Christ Who, with Eternal Love, would forgive all sins if we accepted His Precious offer of erasing our evil-doing, and promising never to sin again.  He came with a mission of hope for all, and He tells us in John 6:38: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”    He came as a tiny baby to save lost souls and call them to repentance.  As Jesus grew into manhood, He would lay down His life to pay the price for mankind's salvation. 

Imagine God watching Jesus growing to adulthood on earth, mindful of what His precious Son would do for the salvation of mankind.  Many would not listen to His guidance, rejecting Him, turning away from what He taught, spending their lives in earthly sin and trepidation.  But those who would one day sit at His feet and accept Him would find their faith growing strong as they listened to His Word.  Others would simply laugh out loud and turn away. 

TODAY, those of us who believe in Almighty God, must continue to pray and look up to our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ our one Mediator before the Father, for only the Father through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit can free us from this sin-filled world.  Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came from heaven to show is the way to everlasting life.

CONSIDER Jesus Christ Who left His Father's kingdom, coming to "shake" the world with heavenly truths, gathering souls who believed and accepted His teachings, His words of wisdom, with some receiving His precious gift of Salvation.  He had come from eternal light into the darkness of sinfulness and Satan's evil; yet He gave hope to the hopeless.   And as the months sailed by and turned into years, He gave us the final sacrifice by paying with His blood on the cross at Calvary for all the sins of repentant souls.  “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.” - John 6:38
 

"O HOW I LOVE JESUS;  BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED ME"

THE above is an old hymn written by Frederick Whitfield in the year of 1855 and it expresses exactly the way we feel as Christians.  We don't have to be afraid of the turmoil and the guilt of this world. In the face of such crippling and bone crushing realization of a sinful, wrongdoing  world, Jesus taught all who would listen that the wages of sin would be forever if, without repentance, we died in  sin.  It would be too late to enter the Golden Gates of Heaven.

SOME of us may ask, "Can a sinner get beyond their wicked past and find reconciliation with Jesus?  Is there a remedy for rectifying immorality or iniquity or a way of pulling away from willful or deliberate sin-filled yesterdays once and for all, in order for us walk in the freedom that Christ offers?  Can He do this?"  Yes, He can if we can accept His sinless gift of eternal life that He holds in His hands for us all. 

EACH year we celebrate Christmas, and it is a precious reminder of our Savior.  Today, we imagine that beautiful baby, God's Son, Who came down to Earth for us.  Why did He come?  Because of the love God gave to unworthy us.  And today, God gives us all a chance to know His only Son Who cared so much for us that He gave up His life for you and for me.  We, as believers, know that the price of entering Heaven was paid in full by Christ for all of us over 2,000 years ago.  And we know His offer still stands forever!  

WHEN Jesus comes back again, we will find Him standing before us in judgment.  Like the stewards in the Gospel who gave an accounting of their stewardship, we must give an accounting to God.  The final scrutiny will center around our faith and our love.  Jesus, when He first came to us, left a graphic description of the Last Judgment in Matthew (25:31-33).  “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.  Matthew 25:41 also reads, "Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  And again in Matthew 25:46, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous (will go) to eternal life.”

MOVE forward with strong faith, knowing one day Jesus Christ is coming back to take us to His Eternal Home where we will live in happiness and joy forever!  No more pain, no more suffering, no more dying!  Thanks be to God!
 

    

And there with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sorrow free,
I’ll sing the new eternal song
Of Jesus’ love for me.    
Written by Frederick Whitfield - 1855

Piano & instrumental  - Tammi Yates - Piano Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, There's just something about that Name. Master, Savior, Jesus, Like the fragrance after the rain. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Let all heaven and earth proclaim, Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, But there's something about that Name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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