Does God Really Love Me?

My Pastor and friend Tim York and I were sitting
at a restaurant yesterday.

He was buying as a birthday present to me. Nice.

We were talking about Abraham and Isaac and the parallels
to Jesus.

One of us said, "If our people could see how much
Jesus loves them, it would radically change our church."

Later in the day, I came across a verse that will radically change my life. It will change yours.

And if you share it, it will change every life it touches.

The verse is written in red.
It comes straight out of the mouth of Jesus.

23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. John 17:23 NLT

Do you see that my friend?
The Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus!

Whoa. Wait. Really?
Yep. It's true.

And we know how much He loves Jesus.

When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan,
the Spirit descended as a dove.

Listen to what the Father said about the son.

"You are my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with you."

He says the same thing about you.
Not because of what you do, but because of what Jesus did.

When you accept His son, He adopts you into His family
and is very pleased with you.

He's pleased that you accepted His grace.
You are in. You are part of the family.

And what a family it is!

Read this very carefully.

After the Father said this about Jesus,
Jesus went into the desert to be tempted.

The first temptation from the accuser, that's what Satan means,
was, "If you are the son of God..."

Notice he left out 'Beloved'.

The Father didn't.
And the Father doesn't.

Satan distorts the truth and he attacks our identity.

He knows if we knew our true identity,
he would have no power over us.

The Father does know who you are.
He knows you by name.

When you accept His Son's grace and sacrifice,
He writes your name down and now YOU are 'Beloved'.

Get it?

He writes your name down.
And He doesn't forget it. Ever.

He loves you just as much as He loves Jesus.
Do you think He ever forgot Jesus or His name?

Do you think He will cast you aside when you fail?
That wouldn't be love now, would it?

Yes, my friend He loves you.

His love for you is not based on you.
It's based on Him.

Remember.
While we still sinners, Christ died for us.

He loved us first.
And He demonstrates His love for us through Christ.

Brothers and sisters. Please listen.

The veil was ripped from top to bottom
and God's Holy Throne was made wide open to us.

The table is ready and He longs to dine with us.
Not snack. Dine.

A great big gazillion course meal with ALL the trimmings.

Why would we not want to sit and dine with Him?

Because of His great love for us, He's done all the cooking.
All we need to do is accept the invitation and walk into the party.

Read the words of Jesus.
Open your heart to God's love for you.
Don't resist.

Life will be rich beyond measure, in every possible way,
when we believe and accept His love.

Love that is as deep, and wide, and long, and high
as His love for Jesus.

He loved us first, so now we get to relish in that love
like a puppy playing with a little boy.

RP