Standing Strong on God's Extravagant Love

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Standing Strong on God’s Extravagant Love By Rick Warren — Mar 26, 2015 “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love … he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10 NLT, second edition)         Everything in life changes — relationships, jobs, fame. One minute you’re a hero; the next minute you’re a zero. There’s only one thing in the entire universe that won’t change: God’s love. Knowing that God still loves you, no matter what happens — your failures, your brokenness, your sin — provides a rock solid foundation in your life. Consider the small word “so” that goes before “loved” in the Bible’s most famous verse: John 3:16. The verse says, “God so loved the world …” God loves you with an extravagant, lavish love that can never be taken away. It’s beyond comprehension. He loves you on your good days and your bad days. He loves you when it’s raining and when the sun is shining.              God says he doesn’t want you to just recognize this lavish love intellectually. He wants you to recognize it emotionally. Love is God’s nature. God created the universe — and everything in it — for no other reason than so he could love it. And God created you so he could love you. In fact, in Jesus, God shows us what real love — his love — looks like: “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love … he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (1 John 4:9-10 NLT, second edition).          Many people say they love you. God showed you how much he loves you. He loved you so much it hurt. He sacrificed his Son. When Jesus died for you, he was saying he loved you so much he’d rather die than live without you. And the Bible says that’s what real love — the kind of love that you can build your life upon — looks like. Real love makes sacrifices. Real love endures to the end. Real love gives all. That’s the kind of love only God has for you. And he’s waiting with open arms to show you. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick>> Talk It Over How does it make you feel when you read, “God loves you with an extravagant, lavish love that can never be taken away”? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuargQgY7GA When are you most likely to doubt the love of God? What does God’s self-sacrificing love demonstrated in Jesus tell you about how you should love others? Be Delighted

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

(Psalm 37:4, ESV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Have you ever noticed that people will go to great lengths to do things that make them happy? They will work hard towards their goals or achieving a desired result. The delight themselves in their accomplishments. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying your work but God wants us to delight ourselves in Him. He wants us to find joy in serving Him. That word “delight” actually means “to make soft and pliable.” It gives the picture of clay in the hands of the Potter. God wants us to be flexible with Him and allow Him to mold us and make us into His image. That’s when He can use You and that’s when He will give you the desires of your heart!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, thank You for your many promises and blessings. I yield myself to You, I delight myself in You and thank You for giving me the desires of my heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.