do you ever stop to think?

-
Do you ever stop to think about how much God truly loves you? The Bible tells us to do this. The apostle of love exhorts us to, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God" (1 John 3:1).

The Apostle John, the one in whom Jesus loved (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2), is exhorting us to "behold", or to take notice of, to study, or to literally stop and place our focus upon the incredible truth that God loves us!

This past Saturday night I took my wife out to dinner to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary, and while we were out, I was given the opportunity to do just that, to "behold" how much our Father in heaven loves us. As we were at dinner (with a window-seat that came with a beautiful ocean view), we couldn't resist taking some pictures together at sunset.

It was while we were taking photos that God once again caused me to stop and think about just how much He truly loves us. One of the photos that I took was of this man, who was paddle-surfing in the sunset. As I was watching the silhouette of this man surf across the ocean, it reminded me of a quote from one of my heroes of the faith, R.C. Chapman. R.C. Chapman said, "When we would consider the love of God in Christ, we are as one approaching the ocean; he casts a glance on the surface, but the depths he cannot sound."

This quote is so profound, and yet so true. Any one of us can go down to the beach and look out at the ocean, and witness the ocean disappearing into the beautiful horizon. Comparing such a wonder as God's unending-love that is found in Christ Jesus, with the ocean going far beyond the horizon is a beautiful reminder of how God's love is unmeasurable for us, we will never truly understand how far-reaching His love is for us. Furthermore, even though we can look to the end of the horizon and still not see the vastness of how far and how wide the ocean spans across the world, we will never be able to fathom how deep the depths of the ocean truly is either, just as we will never be able to fathom how deep God's love for each one of us is.

I want to encourage you to do as the apostle John, aka the apostle of love, encourages us to do. I want to encourage you to "behold", which in the Greek literally means, "to take special notice of". The Bible is telling us to stop, and to take special notice of "what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us." We are His kids, and He loves us, whether we are in utterly-despicable sin right now, or whether we are walking in the heavenlies. Whether we are in the darkest storm, and deepest valley of depression, or standing upon the highest mountain-top, He loves us!

Why don't you purpose it is your heart right now, to stop whatever it is you are doing, and take some time to really "behold", or meditate upon how much God truly loves you. Maybe take a look at this photo and try to imagine how far and wide the ocean really is, and then try to picture how deep it might go. Why don't you consider what it might look like to experience more than just the surface of God's love (which if it is represented by the ocean, is all we can see in this photo), by diving into the deepest part of it, and allow God to completely immerse you in His never-ending, ever-present love for you. Because as the Psalmist proclaims, the lovingkindness of God "is better than life" itself (Psalm 63:3).

Popular posts from this blog

What is godless chatter?

-
Image
What is godless chatter? The term godless chatter is used by the apostle Paul when he exhorts Timothy to, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:16-18, NIV). In context, this passage of Scripture is dealing with the godless chatter of false teachers who were sneaking into the church and trying to corrupt the truth of God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:14-3:9). Paul clearly warns Timothy about them when he points them out by saying, “Their teaching will spread like gangrene” (2:17). Paul likens the godless chatter of false teachers to gangrene, which was a deadly disease that spread rapidly and ate away at a persons flesh. This Greek idiom truly emphasizes the repulsiveness of the ministry of the false
Read more

Knowing Jesus and Making Jesus Known

-
Image
Knowing Jesus and Making Jesus Known The primary vision behind the Christian faith can be simplified down to the following statement; "to KNOW Jesus and to make Jesus KNOWN."  Knowing Jesus and Making Jesus Known, that’s really what our Christian faith is all about.  The verse that has inspired the first part of this this saying “ to KNOW JESUS and to make Him Known”, is found in Philippians 3:10, which illustrates the apostle Paul’s heart for wanting to know Jesus more and more through pressing on daily in his relationship with Him. Paul tells us in Philippians 3:10, “that I may KNOW Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”  This was Paul’s greatest desire in life, to become more like Jesus... by being conformed into His image, and the only way that this could take place was if he continued growing in his relationship with Jesus. In fact, Paul would continue on in Philippians 3, by saying, “N
Read more

John 5:1-15 (Sermon Outline)

-
Image
Sermon Outline When Jesus is your only option; you’re in a good place! John 5:1-15   I.                 Introduction:  Jeremiah’s faith a.      The reason I have that slide up of a blue car, is because last October around Jeremiah’s 7 th birthday, Lyndsey was sharing a heartwarming story with me about a conversation she had with Jeremiah that day. You see, Jeremiah had asked her for a stamp, and when Lyndsey asked him why, he said, “I want to mail a letter to the car people.” Lyndsey didn’t think much about it, but then a couple hours later she found the envelope, and she asked what it was. She said to Jeremiah, “It feels like money is in the envelope.” Jeremiah said, “It is money. I am going to mail  the letter to the car people so that I can buy my favorite colored car.  I want to send them the letter with my money so I can get a blue car.” Jeremiah had found one of the car dealership mailers that came with the junk mail, and took it over to his desk and put it all together to send h
Read more