“When we are at our worst, He is at His best.”

A thought by Mark Batterson, Richard Foth, and Susanna Foth Aughtmon (2015-04-28) from their book, A Trip around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure of a Lifetime (p. 87). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

The whole thought here by Mark is, “One of our core values as a church is, love people when they least expect it and least deserve it. That is the kind of love Jesus shows to us. When we are at our worst, He is at His best.”

Wow. That is so true of me. He loves me, He loves me and He loves me. No matter what I have done He loves me. That is more love that I give to myself.

I love the Psalms. I read one every day. I have done it for years. Today’s Psalm was the 92^nd Psalm and starting with verse 1 it says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the most high.” That is a good way to start each day but then verse 2 says, “It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening…” No matter what I am going to be doing good or bad God is not going to fail to love me. You and I no matter what are going to be loved today by God.

Mark then says, “The ability to love someone because they do what you want them to do is common. The ability to love someone despite what they have done, simply because of who they are, is rare. Yet Jesus shows us over and over in the Gospels that He loved people not because of what they did or didn’t do. That wasn’t the focus of love. He kept reaching out to the people who didn’t expect to be loved— the outcasts, the misfits, the sinners. He didn’t love them because of who they were. He loved them because of who He was. There is something profound about a love that is not performance based. True love doesn’t give grades. If it did, we’d all fail. But on the cross, we got a pass. Jesus took the test for us... He loved us when we least expected it and least deserved it. And that’s what sets us free.”

He loves you.

Why don’t you accept His love today and share it with others?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident. In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose. In other words you are not an accident. I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth. In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man. And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ” Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like? Like that characteristic is a curse or something. Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God. Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Je...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog