Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

Do you think it’s important to know how God feels about you and what He wants for you?  If so, why? Why do you think it’s important to know what God wants for you? Why do you think it’s important to know how God feels about you? Maybe this will help you answer those questions. If you had a spouse and you didn’t know if he/she loved you, would it affect how you feel about your spouse and marriage? Of course it would! Assurance of love and acts of kindness and good will toward each other are absolutely critical to the success in any marriage. Knowing your spouse absolutely loves you is the foundation of your trust!  

If you weren’t sure if you boss liked you or liked your work, would it affect how you feel and your performance? If you felt like your boss was critical of your work and was just waiting for an excuse to get rid of you, would it make you want to go into work?

How much more to do you think it would affect your relationship with God if you believed He didn’t love you? If you thought He was out to get you? If you thought He didn’t care about you and refused to play any role in your life except to punish you for wrong doing? This world is filled with people who have these very thoughts and unresolved questions about God. They really don’t know if He loves them. They really don’t know that He cares for them. Consequently, they pull back from God out of fear and doubt from their lack of assurance of His love. That coupled with a conviction within their own hearts over sinful things they do in their life will lead them to avoid God.

God wants us to stop our doubting over the fact that He loves us. Stop and think for a minute. The reason He sent Jesus into this world was for us! He became a human sacrifice for our sins. Jesus lived without sin and yet was punished and put to death accused as a sinner. The punishment Jesus received that He did not deserve is the punishment you and I deserved that we will not receive. He did this while we were still sinners. In other words His love reached out to us before our sins were forgiven and blotted out. How much more does He love us now? These scriptures speak God’s assurance of love for us.
1 John 3:16 NIV “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us…”

Romans 5:8 NIV “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

These declarations and assurances of God’s love started with Abraham and his descendants and reach into our lives through Christ Jesus!  Deuteronomy 7:7-9 NLT “The Lord did not choose you and lavish His love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the Lord loves you, and because He was keeping the oath He had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such amazing power from your slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love Him and obey His commands.” 

Did you read that? “Lavish His love on us…” Wow! He really loves you and I! Theses are only a few of the many assurances of God’s love and promise to you. They were spoken in the time of Moses, all the way through His apostles, and into our lives today! He spoke them to bring assurance to you today. You are one of the thousand generations that He speaks of above. It’s powerful and offers you your assurance!

Drawing closer to God with more of a confidence and assurance of His love is the only way to break the lies and doubts that He doesn’t love us. God wants us to draw closer to Him and not with apprehension, doubt and fear over whether He loves us, but with excitement over the fact that He does! As James 4:8 says, “Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.”  

Do what I do. Pray, “Heavenly Father, I thank you so much that you love me and desire to lavish your love on my life. I declare that I have confidence in your love. I declare your love over me today. I will celebrate your love for me by asking you to bless and help me as I live for you today. In Jesus name I pray. Amen”

Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV) “The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt

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