Day 324: God Wants the Best for Us

2 Peter 3:9 
“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
‭‭There is a common misconception that God want us all to perish. That God made hell for us “sinners”. That holds no truth whatsoever. It is not God’s will that any of us should perish. I remember a pastor saying to the congregation, “God does not send us to hell, we send ourselves there.” When we decide that we want to live in sin and not walk with God according to His word, we condemn ourselves. We do that ourselves, that’s not the work of God.  If God wanted us to perish and die in our sin why would He provide a way for us to be freed from the life of sin. It’s says right there in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. That’s the God we serve. A God who wants the best for His people. We serve a God who does not delight in punishing us but delights in blessing us and drawing us near to Him.
I think sometimes when we read the Bible and we see that there is punishment for our sins we interpret that as God just wanting to punish us. We tend to see God as this mean old grandpa in the sky casting damnation upon everyone. When in truth He is a loving father who only wants the best for us. He is a caring father who will correct us when we are wrong. He will put on the right path when we go astray. He is not sitting on a throne judging and condemning us, but the exact opposite. He is sitting on a throne with Jesus at His right hand loving and leading us. God calls us to repentance not to point out our sin and judge us for it but He brings us to repentance so that we may have a relationship with Him. He calls us to repentance so that anything blocking us from Him can be removed and we can have freedom to dwell in His presence. God could condemn us, He could smite us for all of our wrong. But He doesn’t because His Love for us is so much greater than His anger. His love covers our sin. It is His love that gives us grace.
God wants us to have a good life. He wants us to enjoy our lives with Him. Sometimes we think that sin is fun, but that fun only lasts a moment. God wants to give us eternity. He wants to shower us with His love.
All this to say, God wants only the best for us. When we decide that we want to live apart from God we are throwing ourselves into the lake of fire. God wants to save us, He is not like satan walking among the Earth to see who he can destroy. But God sents His son to walk the Earth to save us from destruction and damnation.
Reflection
1. Have you ever vied God as a mean old grandpa?
2. Do you think that it is God’s will for us to perish?
3. How has God changed how you view who He is?

Prayer Time 
Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. Have a conversation with God about what we discussed today. Whatever is on your heart talk to Him about it. Take the time to dedicate your heart and life to Him.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 325!

Day 200: For God So Loved the World

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Recently I watched a sermon by Rich Wilkerson Jr. where he said something that really resonated with me. To paraphrase it, he basically said don’t exclude yourself from God’s love. The scripture says God so loved the world, we are part of that world, you are part of that world, I am part of that it. Sometimes I feel like we exclude ourselves from the world when we talk about how much God loves us, we are under that umbrella too and no one is barely under it. It’s big enough for all of us to fit under it comfortably. He loves each and every one of us individually. He loves you so much. I want you to really know that today, get it in your spirit, know it, breathe it. Because His love is breathing in us, His love is pumping blood to our hearts. His love is allowing us to move freely and enjoy life.

I have had moments in my life where things have happened or I looked back over my past and just say, “God really loves me”. And he does, so much! My life is proof of that. Your life is proof of that. Sometimes we have to apply scriptures to ourselves personally and make sure we include ourselves in the word of God. God  loves you, yes He loves the world and you know that, but you need to know that He loves you. The person reading this devotional, that person. You. He loves you!

Another thing Pastor Rich said was, “If we didn’t get the message that Jesus loves us through His words, look at His body language.”

What he meant by that, is if Jesus telling us He loves us wasn’t enough. Look at what He did to prove it, to show it. Look at the cross, look at what He went through on behalf of love. God sent Him to die because He loves us. This seems like beginner’s teaching but it is so imperative that we go back to where it all started. It’s important that we constantly return to the cross because that’s where everything changed. We can get so caught up in the theological aspect of it all that we forget the simple yet profound aspect of it. Jesus loves us, so much that He took on our sin and died in our place. And you can take that and ascribe i to yourself personally. Jesus died for you, He died for me, He died for the world. Make it personal, we forget that a relationship with God is personal. Yes being a Christian is about community, and fellowship, and outreach. But the foundation of that is a personal relationship with God. That starts with understanding that God loves us, and then we can allow Him to lead us, and I’ll leave you with one quote.

“Until you understand how God loves you, you’ll never be able to let God lead you.”

-Rich Wilkerson Jr.

Reflection    

1. Do you tend to exclude yourself from God’s love?
2. Whatever your answer was to the above question, why? Explain.
3. Do you believe that God loves you?
4. Repeat to yourself, “God loves me.”

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Take the time to think about God’s love for you, think about how much He loves you and rest in that love. Talk to Him about it. He loves you so much. Just have a moment with Him.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 201!