God's Love For Us - Rebecca U.

God’s love for us

Rebecca U.

You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented
by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…
Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications
© 1999-2014 www.FathersLoveLetter.com

As you read that, how did it make you feel? I know it really hit me when I read it the first time. God really loves me! He knows every single detail about me! Me, just little me in a huge world. One in 7 billion or so people in the world! He loves me, and He knows every single detail about me. Things that even the people who know me best don’t know. Even more amazing is God loves those who don’t even know about Him! Even the people who don’t believe He exists. God is love. God knew everything about us, everything we would do, even before we were born. Before anyone knew we were going to exist. God knew. And God had a plan for us. God isn’t mad at us when we sin. But He will forgive us, and He sent His Son to die so that we can be forgiven. God loves us that much. More than we can even comprehend. We can try to understand love that great, but we will never completely understand until we are in heaven with our Father God. We say we love our parents, our siblings, our friends, but we don’t love them even a fraction as much as God loves us. God is our comforter. He comforts us in our times of weakness. When we are going through hard times, when we are grieving the loss of a loved one, when nothing in life seems to be going right, He is there to comfort us. Even when we blame Him for our trials, He will still be there. If we are Christians, then when we get to heaven He will wipe away our tears. There will be no more pain. I don’t know about you, but that sounds good to me! No more pain, no more sickness, no more crying, no more death. That sounds absolutely amazing! Jesus death was God showing how much He loved us. So much so that He sent Jesus to die, so that we could be reconciled to God. Nothing will separate us from God’s love if we believe in Him. Nothing! God will always love us, no matter what. All He wants from us is for us to love Him back. He wants us to love and serve Him. He wants us to tell others about His great love for them. His only question? Will you be mine. Have you accepted Jesus as your savior, or do you need to do that? Why wait? God is there waiting for you to come to Him. If you are a Christian, but have strayed from God, why wait to return? Now is the time. He is waiting for you. It doesn’t matter how much sin you have committed, He is still there waiting for you to come back to Him. God loves you, and He will always be there for you to lean on!

Realizing Who You Matter To, By Christina V.

Realizing Who You Matter To  

 By Christina V.

You matter to God. No matter how unworthy you feel, He cares for you so much. He doesn't just care about all the big things. You might just be a regular person with average grades in school, have a boring job at a fast food restaurant, and have nothing exciting going on in your life but God still cares. As Christians, we can truly believe this by just reading His Word. "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered" Matthew 10:30 KJV. God knows how much hair you have! You were made completely unique, no matter how much you might look like a sibling or even act like they do. There has never been a "you" before in this world and there will never be another one after you die.

"For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs," Zephaniah 3:17 NLT. My favorite part of that verse is "He will take delight in you with gladness" because it shows us that He is happy He made us. We weren't just an accident when we came into this world. "I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well," Psalm 139:14 HCSB.

We shouldn't let other people discourage us by making us think we're not "good enough." There are lots of people out there who are not positive in the least bit and can wound others by what they say. You should have a Christian attitude and choose to not pay attention to what people like that say. Everything in your life boils down to what matters to God and He wants us to love and honor Him in our daily life.

Even though others bring us down and make us feel bad, we can do it to ourselves too.  Don't have a negative attitude about yourself! I used to be friends with a girl who always complained and pretty much hated herself at the time. Me and some other friends were concerned for her and prayed for her and offered advice. Unfortunately, she continued doing her own thing and kind of just drifted away from us. But through that circumstance I learned that you can't make someone be happy and positive, but instead that person has to decide to get things right in their life with the Lord on their own. You have a choice to rejoice in the life God has given you and be positive, no one else can make you do it. And remember that God will never let you down, no matter how hard life gets.

Smile! God loves you! By Karen Finn

Smile! God loves you!

By Karen Finn

Theme: God is Always with us
A Smiley … makes me recall a story I once read. An elderly couple had a custom of drawing the happy-face icon on small note cards with the letters “SHMILY” printed underneath. They would tuck their cards in various places (i.e. a sock drawer, a closet shelf, etc.), expecting the other to eventually discover it. The acrostic “See How Much I Love You” was an encouraging reminder of the warmth and happiness that still existed—after sixty years of marriage!
I like to think that God has placed SHMILY signs all around us too! His presence is manifested in the answers to prayer, the beauty of creation, and the fellowship we have with other believers—just to name a few!
I have a lot of favorite passages of Scripture, but whenever I begin to doubt God’s presence or power in my life, I turn to Psalm 139, which is full of promises I can claim. In fact, many times, after re-reading it, I feel overwhelmed. Not overwhelmed in a bad way; overwhelmed by the compassion and care that is infinitely mine!
Let me show you what I mean:
* Overwhelmed by His Intimate Knowledge
Psalm 139:1-4 states: “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.” (KJV)
In such a highly technical world of social media and internet access, we are able to keep in touch 24/7 with friends and family from all over the world; however, our Heavenly Father has that beat! God knows our thoughts, and actions and even the very words we are about to speak! When I begin to dwell on this truth, it stirs up in my heart the need to be much more accountable to Him with what I say and do….all the time!
* Overwhelmed by His Intimate Care
Psalm 139:5-10 says: “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (KJV)
This part of the passage mentions God’s hand several times. God’s protective, loving care knows no boundaries because, as His children, His Hand is always upon us. The choices we
make may take us places where God really would rather not have us be, but He doesn’t ever abandon us. I am reminded of God’s prophet, Jonah, who, in disobedience, tried to run from God. He was unable to escape from God’s presence, even after being swallowed by a “great fish”! God’s Hand was evident in Jonah’s life—it just took some time for Jonah to recognize it!
* Overwhelmed by His Intimate Creation
Psalm 139:11-18 proclaims “If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knowest right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” (KJV)
Don’t ever be discouraged or disappointed with your physical appearance. I saw this once on a bumper sticker: “God made me, and God doesn’t make no junk!” Although, this statement is improperly written (grammatically-speaking), it confirms that whatever God has fashioned, it is His workmanship, which is not trash, but treasure. Life is a miracle, and it is very valuable to God. Because you are His handiwork, He thinks of you constantly. And His thoughts about you are precious and plentiful. Wow.
It is my hope that this nugget from God’s Word sparkles today in your heart! You are not alone—ever. God’s presence is always with you. Perhaps you have grown somewhat indifferent in your attitude towards God’s knowledge, care and creation of you. Ask Him for forgiveness of that behavior, and praise Him today!

I need you to love me, By Marvina S.

I need you to love me.

By Marvina S.

"But I need you to love me,
And I, I won’t keep my heart from you this time.
And I’ll stop this pretending that I can,
Somehow deserve what I already have
I need you to love me"

"I need you to love me."  That is something we all feel sometime in our lives. We need to feel loved. These lyrics are from a song by Barlowgirl. They are a Christian girl rock band and they basically go where God tells them to go.

Here are some more of the lyrics and the chorus.

"Why, why are You still here with me
Didn't You see what I've done?
In my shame I want to run and hide myself
But it's here I see the truth
I don't deserve You
Chorus: But I need you to love me,
And I, I won’t keep my heart from you this time.
And I’ll stop this pretending that I can,
Somehow deserve what I already have
I need you to love me."

This basically says "God, don't you know what I've done? Why are you still with me? I really don't deserve your love."  God has unconditional love and even when you are far away from Him, all you have to do is cry and call out to Him, and He will hear you.  He wants you to know that He never leaves you... just like it says in Hebrews 13:5, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 

He wants you to understand that His love is unconditional.  We may not deserve His love because we are all sinners, but guys... He is there. That's what's so amazing about God's love... it never fades away.  So if you need God's love tonight, go to a quiet place, whether with a friend, a parent, or just yourself, and pray to God.  Say, "Lord, I need Your love right now... I need You to pour Your love over me, wrap me in Your arms and just help me feel the love I have never felt before." Say, "Lord, I know I don't deserve You, I know I don't deserve Your love, but I understand that Your love is unconditional, and You will never leave me or forsake me." Say, "Lord, I'm crying out to You tonight, today, I'm ready to let You in... I need Your love, Lord... I need You to love me." 

I hope someone really opens up their heart to the Lord and that they feel the love of the Father... it's an amazing feeling and it's something that will always be with you.

Love… or not! By Kaylee S.

Love… or not!

By Kaylee S.

My mom died when I was 4 years old.  Jesus knows how many nights I spend crying in my bed before I go to sleep.  Sometimes it takes me a long time to get to sleep because I would be praying and talking to my mom.
I would ask her how she is doing, and that I know she’s very happy being in heaven with Jesus.  She doesn’t have any more pain or sorrow, and she’s not infested with sin anymore!  I am so happy and sad at the same time when I think about her.  I’m happy that she's happy being at home with Jesus, but I am so sad because I miss her so much!  Sometimes I think that I’ll never be able to stop crying.
But I’m still here, in this sin infested world.  I pray so much that Jesus would take me home too, but I  don’t know… I might live to be a very old lady.  Me and my dad had a big talk yesterday cause I didn’t have school and I told him everything.  I did that!  I had to because I’m so tired of not saying anything to anyone… well I mean except Trish my BFF.  But I don’t tell anybody anything.
He told me I have to stop carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.  But I don’t think I can.  I mean when I go to school and see all the girls gossiping, and swearing and calling each other really bad names it hurts me.  I don’t know why it just does. 
But I was reading my Bible this morning before school and I read this verse:

Matthew 24:12  And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 

And the word lawlessness bothered me.  So I got my dad’s Hebrew/Greek dictionary and looked it up and it said “lawless, wicked, the lawless one.”  And I think there’s some place in the Bible where it says Satan is the lawless one and that really scared me!  And I was thinking that when we’re lawless we’re just like Satan. 
And since Satan is the opposite of God, and the Bible says that God is love, Satan is hate and that’s what I see a lot of in school… hate!
So if we’re Christians we should know that God is love, and if we are God’s children, we need to stop fighting with each other, and hating each other, and love everyone.  It just makes sense I think. 
I mean if God is love, and God lives in us, shouldn’t we be loving everyone too?  Like the song says “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love!”

God's Love Toward Us, By Chadia M.

God's Love Toward Us.

By Chadia M.

Many times we fail and many times we have regrets. As human beings, we cannot be perfect just as we would like to be. The apostle Paul expressed it better when he said that he wanted to do good but evil takes advantage of him. So are we. Personally, there was a time when I felt so unworthy of the love of Christ because of all the bad things I kept on doing. When I looked at my fellow Christians all around me, I fell into despair. They looked sooooo perfect! So I kept on wondering what was wrong with me. Was I meant to be sinful all of my life? Didn’t I believe enough? Or didn’t God hear my prayers? The only thing I knew was that I needed to change…
It was in that mess that the Lord showed me how much He loved me. Dear friends, Jesus doesn’t love you because you are perfect or because everybody else thinks you are nice. No. He JUST LOVES YOU. It doesn’t matter who you are (cute, tall, thin, fat, …), it doesn’t matter who people think you are (boring, not cool, lovely, funny, …) or your qualities and flaws. He loves you whether others do or not, He loves you when you do wrong and when you act good, because He knows your value. You are precious in his eyes. That is proved by the fact that He showed His love for you by spreading His blood on the cross when you were still a sinner. Now, you are made perfect in His eyes and when the devil tries to tell you that you are still a sinner, just confess that you’ve been washed in Jesus’ blood and that you are holy just like The Father.
You must know that your name is BELOVED in God’s heart and that nothing can separate you from His love so perfect (Romans 8:35-39). So do not waste your time in thinking about your failures and mistakes. Instead, believe in the God who loves you more than anyone else. You know what, He knows that you want to change and that’s what He also wants for you. But victory is in prayer and in faith. Pray for yourself and be sure that God’s unending love will provide for you and you will be amazed.
God’s love toward His children is perfect: it never changes. I saw that same love changing my life completely, breaking my chains, giving answers to my hardest questions and taking me out of my troubles. Today, you can see that same love acting in your life if you trust in it. It went nowhere; it is still there by your side. Just open your eyes and you will see.

God is love,
Chadia

The Love of God! By Kaylee S.

The Love of God!

By Kaylee S.

John 3:17  For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him.
 
When I talk about Jesus with other kids at school it seems like they have the wrong idea about Him.  They think that Jesus came here to say “bad girl” or “bad boy.”  It makes them think that a lot of things they are doing are wrong and that they are going to go to hell when they die.
I know sometimes it’s really hard to handle correctly the convictions of the Lord because He loves us  so much, and we can easily start thinking that He really likes swinging that paddle! 
When I told this one girl about Jesus she said the only reason she doesn’t follow Him is because of that.  She said she knows she can’t be good and she doesn’t want to always hear Jesus say “you are such a bad girl Gloria.”  I said to her “welcome to the human race!”  I told her everyone feels like that but we can’t go by our feelings, we have to go by Scripture.
We have to remember that Jesus loves us so much that He’s going to tell us every time we do something wrong, not to make us feel bad, but to protect us!  He tells us when we’re sinning because He loves us so much and doesn’t want us to get hurt!
A lot of times when I think that Jesus is telling me that I’m doing something wrong, I feel bad.  But I have to remember that He does that because He loves me!!!  He doesn’t want me to feel bad or think that He’s mad at me. 
So I told her this Bible verse and when I did it’s like Jesus was a big cheerleader yelling in my ear with a megaphone, “I didn’t come here to earth to judge you.  I came here Kaylee to save you because I love you.”  I keep hearing that over and over again and I never want to forget that!  My God, my Savior, my Wonderful Counselor always leading me in the way I should go.
So the next time we tell someone about Jesus we have to make sure that they understand that Jesus came here to save us… not to judge us!  

Made Her Because I Love Her, By Katie B.

Made Her Because I Love Her

By Katie B.

God doesn’t make accidents and he made you.  When he was done he kissed his fingertips and said Mwwah!! Another masterpiece!  He loves your imperfections because they are perfectly you.

We give our self such a hard time thinking we don’t measure up to others but we aren’t supposed to!  We are made with a purpose, made unique and made without error.  Here is a poem that has given me great encouragement.

Made Her Because I Love Her
Author: Unknown

I made her...she is different. She is unique.
With love I formed her in her mother's womb.
I fashioned her with great joy.
I remember with great pleasure the day I created her.
I love her smile. I love her ways. I love to hear her laugh
And the silly things she says and does.
She brings me great pleasure. This is how I made her.
I made her pretty and not beautiful.
I wanted her to search out her heart and learn that
it would be ME in her that would make her beautiful...
And it would be Me that would draw others to her.
I made her in such a way that she would need me.
I made her a little more lonesome than she would like to be...
Only because I need for her to learn and depend on Me.
I know her heart. I know that if I had not made her like this,
She would go her own chosen way
And forget Me...her Creator.
Because I love her, I have seen her broken heart...
and the tears she cried alone.
I have cried with her and had a broken heart too.
Many times she has stumbled and fallen alone...
Only because she would not hold my hand.
So many lessons she's learned the hard way
because she would not listen to My voice.
So many times I have sat back and sadly
watched her go her merry way alone...
Only to watch her return to my arms,
sad and broken.
And now she is Mine again.
I made her, and I bought her...
Because I love her.
I have to reshape and remold her
To renew her to what I planned for her to be
It has not been easy for her or for Me.
I want her to be conformed to My image.
This high goal I have set for her...
Because I love her.

The True Love of God, By Melodie Michelle

The True Love of God

 By Melodie Michelle

These words about love are familiar to most of us, but I can honestly say that living them has not always been easy for me. As a child, I was not always exposed to this (God's love) kind of love—in fact, I was  taught to be suspicious of everyone, including myself. I was told that the motives of other people were not to be trusted, and that I was not trustworthy, because I couldn't possibly know what I was doing. This instilled in me a a negative form of "love." My grandmother, Gladys, was the apple of my eye. She loved me unconditionally, but when she passed away, I was lost again, for she had taught me some about Jesus... After that, all I knew about Jesus was that our Baptist church that told me I was going to hell for wearing shorts, that were down to my knees, no less! To a young 14 year old girl, this was not a loving God. I didn't know then that people were telling me that because they believed that God said these things... I wanted no part of that at all.

It took me a while to overcome this, but I finally learned that the love of God was real. It took several years and many promptings of the Holy Spirit to show me the TRUE LOVE OF GOD - He doesn't care what attire we wear, or what we have done - He loves us ALL unconditionally - period. Drugs, alcohol, or people cannot fill that void inside you that is made for JESUS. When we LOVE HIM with ALL we are inside and seek Him first and foremost, that is when we can live the life with PEACE that He gives us and have a joy inside - no matter what we are "feeling" inside, and no matter what is going on around us. Focus on Jesus, my friends, and allow His love to shine through you, onto others.

Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious . . . it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it . . . does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything. . . . Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].
~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8~

God's Love, By Emily M.

God's Love

By Emily M.

I am an avid reader and recently I came across this statement: "God's love is a gift that gives to the poor and the rich and the needy and the full, to the ugly and the beautiful, to the maimed and the whole. In other words, it gives itself to everyone, not just those who seek and embrace it."

Sometime back, when my kids were younger, there was this time that we found it real difficult to pay school fees. I know sometimes you hear a word and it doesn't make sense but that day it did. I was crying out to God, asking Him to do something about this issue, seriously in my heart trusting that Psalms 139 would come true; He knows my every need, sees me, knows my book to the end. I felt a nudging of the Spirit somewhere within my heart to pass by the post office, which I had ignored for the last three weeks. Imagine what I found there - a bank statement that was indicating that I had money in an account that I rarely used, for the exact amount I needed to cover my debt. Now I knew for a fact God doesn't just love me, He knows my name. He cares, He knows...

How much more powerful can God's love get?! Sometimes I just wake up in the morning to thank Him because I am alive, I thank him because I have two beautiful children, I thank Him because through our little every day acts He has enabled us to to touch the lives of other people. I thank Him because in spite of what I am, what I have been, what I will become - He is the only constant that will never change. He loves me that much.

God bless,

Emily

Our Loving God, By Kaylee S.

Our Loving God

By Kaylee S.

Good morning ladies!  It’s 4:30 in the morning and I don’t know why I woke up so early, but I thought I would write something that’s in my heart right now.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

How wonderful to have such a loving God!  Our heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent His own Son to die for us.  To take death away from us all and transfer that death to Jesus, our Father’s only Son, is a love that escapes me in its beauty.  A love that is so far beyond and above our limited and sinful minds that is so wonderful, and beautiful, and graceful, and loving, and peaceful and so many other things… it really boggles my mind.
I’m sure I get this from my dad, but I get so far into the deep things of God, that sometimes in the summer at night I’ll go outside and sit in the back yard, and gaze up at the stars and just pray and think about Jesus.  What is heaven really like?  I’ll talk to Jesus for a while and then I’ll talk to my mom, and I know that one day Jesus will take me to go to heaven to be with Him. That’s exciting for me and I can hardly wait.  To think that one day I’m going to be with Jesus!

So, I know we live in a world where there is evil, but I try to think of the good things that Jesus does for me, like giving me my BFF Trish who I love so much and I know that she loves me a lot, and when I think about eternal life that Jesus gives me… I am so lost in His love!  But I was thinking what other Scriptures can you find that talks about how much God loves us? 

Write us what you think of at godlygirls@yahoo.com !
Remember to put the subject as, "How much God loves us."

God’s Love, By Sarah P.

God’s Love

By Sarah P.

What is real love? In today’s culture, love is a word tossed around that can mean many different things. Is it really true that love is only a feeling or emotion? The answer is no. True love, God’s love, is so much more-it’s a sacrifice. John 15:13 (NKJV) says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay one’s life down for his friends.” Jesus showed us God’s love for us when He came to die for people who hated Him. Can you even begin to imagine a love as great as that? How amazing, powerful, and wonderful God must be if He loves us sinners that much! 1 John 5:8 (NKJV) says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” For us to truly love God and others, we have to have Jesus in our hearts. Without God, we are so sinful that we can’t truly love others, because love is a sacrifice. When we are lost, we don’t understand true love because we are all so selfish without God. God’s true love-as a sacrifice-means that when loving others we should sacrifice our time, our energy, and our resources for the sake of others. Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life so that we could live. He tells us to love others, (John 15:17 & 1 John 4:9-12). So every time you say the word “love”, remember that true love is God’s love-and daily love others like God loves us!

The Love of God! Pt. 2, By Kaylee S.

The Love of God!  Pt. 2

By Kaylee S.
 

I am obsessed with Jesus!  He is life!  He is my reason for being!  He is my everything.  He is my love and He lets me cry on His shoulder almost every day.  He is my happiness and I laugh a lot at all the funny things that happen in my life.  He is my peace and helps me remember Him when bad things happen to me.  He is my Joy and makes me happy when I am sad.

So when I studied about Jesus crucifixion I was very very sad, but I am so thankful for what He did for me.  He died for me!!!  Well actually, Jesus let men kill Him for me, and for everyone in the world.  And His death was the most scary death I ever read about.

I really don't know why Jesus suffered so much when He died.  I mean couldn't the Romans just put Jesus to death very quickly?  I think they could have, but I don't know why they didn't.

Ladies, I have to say, that what I'm writing about is very scary and so sad, I cried when I was reading it and still cry about it.  But Jesus did this terrible thing for you and for me.  The love of God... what a marvelous and wonderful thing He did for us, but for Jesus, it was so very painful.

This is about Jesus’ death.

When I think about this first thing, I am just so bewildered how a person could let anyone do this stuff to them.  Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him! 

He knew exactly what was going to happen so when He went to the Garden of Gethsemane and He was praying to His Father in heaven, He was sweating blood!  That is so gross!  I can't imagine somebody doing that but that's what happened.  That's where the soldiers arrested Jesus.

But I looked at pictures of the garden of Gethsemane and it is so beautiful!  There are lots of beautiful flowers there.  So pretty for something that was so ugly it made me think of the love and hate that was there that night.

Luke 22:44  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Then I was thinking if I would do what Jesus did.  He knew the terrible death He was going to suffer, and He still did it... because of our sins!  Oh the beautiful love of God just amazes me!!!  So they took Jesus away and He was led around the city to see the chief priests.  With Jesus walking from here to there they think He walked about 2 and a half miles.  That is a really far ways to walk! 

So when Jesus was waiting to be put to death, there were soldiers there that were beating Him.  And they beat Him up so much He was bleeding because of them punching Him in the mouth and the nose.

Then they put a crown of thorns and His head and beat Him up some more.  I was thinking when I read this how many times I pricked myself with a needle when I was sewing something.  It really hurt!  But being pricked by a bunch of thorns ripping through His skin had to be extremely painful.

Then they made Jesus carry His cross.  And He carried it about one third of a mile, that's 1,760 feet.  His cross was in 2 pieces, the horizontal part and the vertical part.  The horizontal piece of wood weighed about 120 pounds.  They don't know how much the vertical piece of wood weighed but it was a lot, which is why Jesus fell one time.  He was so tired that He couldn't carry the cross anymore so the soldiers got someone else to carry it.

Then they came to the place where Jesus was going to be crucified.  Ladies I have to tell you that this part is so very ugly!  It is extremely violent so please check with your mom and dad to see if they'll let you read this.

First they stripped Jesus COMPLETELY!  I know we all seen a lot of pictures of Jesus crucifixion but I never knew that they did this.  Then they used a whip that was called a cat-o-nine tails.  It's a stick with 9 pieces of leather on it.  And they put little pieces of clay from pots at the end of the leather straps, then they whipped Jesus.  The cuts that the clay made were about 2 inches long.  They whipped Him 39 times because that's how many times they whipped all the prisoners.  Whipped with 9 pieces of leather with clay at the ends of them, 39 times... and each cut being about 2 inches long.  Jesus back was so torn up that the clay started hitting His bones.  After they did this they beat Jesus up some more.

The reason they beat him up a lot is because the soldiers didn't want people to live a long time when they were crucified.  That was their way of being merciful.  That is just so ugly and disgusting! 

Then they placed Jesus on the cross and pounded the nails into His wrists, not His hands.  If they put the nails in Jesus hands they would have ripped out because of how much He weighed.  That's why sometimes they used rope and tied the peoples' arms to the cross.

Then they pounded nails into Jesus feet!  After Jesus was nailed to the cross He would try to lift Himself up a little bit so He could breathe.  Because being crucified like that it was hard to breathe so He would lift Himself up a lot of times so He could take a breath.  So from the time he died on the cross until the time Jesus arose was about 36 hours. Doctors today say that Jesus died of suffocation. 

This next part just really bothers me so much.  After Jesus died, a soldier took his sword a stabbed Jesus in the side.  I'm pretty sure the soldier stabbed Jesus in the side to see if he had already died or not, and to fulfill certain prophecies (that his bones were not broken, as they had broken the others' legs to ensure a quicker death so they could no longer pull up to breathe).  The place where the soldier stabbed Jesus was in His side.  I don't know why I thought of this but, that's where God took the rib from Adam to create Eve.  I thought since Eve was the mother of all creation maybe that was the solder's way of killing every human being who loves Jesus!  

This whole thing is just so ugly and disgusting, but Jesus let this happen so that we could be forgiven.  Ladies Jesus did this for me… and for you!  I just can't imagine anyone letting people do this to them, but Jesus did, so that we could have eternal life!  When I was writing this I just started crying because I knew that this really happened.

I praise God so much!  Jesus love for us is so... unimaginable, so intense, so extreme!  Jesus loves us so much He let all these men do this to Him... so we could spend eternity with Him... forever and ever!  Such love totally amazes me, and I want that love so much!!!  Don't you?