God Know Us and Still Loves Us - Deuteronomy 30-31 and Mark 15:1-25
God knows that we are going to fail Him, even before He establishes a relationship with us, but He still chooses to love us. What a Wonderful, Loving Lord we have! As we read His Word today, we all should marvel at His boundless love and thank Him for all of the times that He has forgiven us and received us back into close fellowship with Him.
God extended the invitation for Israel to make a covenant with Him, knowing they would leave Him for other gods, and they would have to repent and turn to Him. He provided a way for them to return, and He promised to forgive them, when they did return. That shows us a lot about the love of God. He loves us with an unselfish love. He does not love us for what we will do for Him, but for what He will do for us. That is the essence of real love. Even as Moses was handing over the leadership of Israel to Joshua, God had shown him that they would rebel. The love of God must have been a great comfort to Moses, since he could not go with them. He still knew that God would love them, even more than he did. I pray that all of us can see the great love of God and not take it for granted. I pray that it causes us to love Him more and to love others as He loves us.
Think about Jesus going to the cross in Mark 15. God knew in advance how they would treat Him. He knew they would ask for Barabbas instead of Jesus. That was one of the reasons He loved them. They needed His love so much. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. He loves us even though He is constantly having to call us back to a close relationship with Him. He loves us even when He has to punish us. He is always ready to welcome us back to Himself. Do we really love others as Christ loves us? Are we ready to forgive people? Are we ready to have a close relationship with another person, even though we know there is a good chance they will turn against us? Can we love others because they need it, and not because of what we need? I pray that we can love in that way. That is what Jesus wants us to do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 32-34 and Mark 15:26-47.
God extended the invitation for Israel to make a covenant with Him, knowing they would leave Him for other gods, and they would have to repent and turn to Him. He provided a way for them to return, and He promised to forgive them, when they did return. That shows us a lot about the love of God. He loves us with an unselfish love. He does not love us for what we will do for Him, but for what He will do for us. That is the essence of real love. Even as Moses was handing over the leadership of Israel to Joshua, God had shown him that they would rebel. The love of God must have been a great comfort to Moses, since he could not go with them. He still knew that God would love them, even more than he did. I pray that all of us can see the great love of God and not take it for granted. I pray that it causes us to love Him more and to love others as He loves us.
Think about Jesus going to the cross in Mark 15. God knew in advance how they would treat Him. He knew they would ask for Barabbas instead of Jesus. That was one of the reasons He loved them. They needed His love so much. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. He loves us even though He is constantly having to call us back to a close relationship with Him. He loves us even when He has to punish us. He is always ready to welcome us back to Himself. Do we really love others as Christ loves us? Are we ready to forgive people? Are we ready to have a close relationship with another person, even though we know there is a good chance they will turn against us? Can we love others because they need it, and not because of what we need? I pray that we can love in that way. That is what Jesus wants us to do.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 32-34 and Mark 15:26-47.