How Can You Know God Loves You?

 

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Daring Faith

How Can You Know God Loves You? By Rick Warren — Dec 26, 2015 “The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation.” (Psalm 145:9 NLT, second edition) One of my pet peeves is water-saving shower heads. I can’t stand them! It’s just a tiny stream coming down. It’s not a shower; it’s a dribble! I’m a pretty big guy, and it takes me a long time to get wet with one little dribble. Don’t call it a shower unless it’s a shower! That’s why I think it’s so important what the Bible tells us about God’s love. The Bible says, “The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation” (Psalm 145:9 NLT, second edition). God’s love for you is no dribble. The Bible says God showers his love on us. He isn’t stingy like water-saving showe heads are with water. Psalm 42:8 says, “Each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me.” When I use salad dressing, I’m not one of these people who dips the fork in the salad dressing for a little bit of taste. I pour it on! In fact, sometimes it looks like I want more dressing than salad! That’s how God loves you. God pours his love on you all the time. He doesn’t approve of everything you do, but he loves you unconditionally. How can you know God loves you? God pays attention to every detail of your life. He watched every point of your life from conception. He’s seen every up, down, good, bad, and ugly moment, and he’s never had his eyes off you. God pays attention to all the details. That’s what love does. You pay attention to what you love. God took action on your behalf. Love is about giving. When you love people, you make their problems your problems. Jesus did that. He made your problems his problems before you even knew you had them. In fact, he solved your biggest problem by dying for you on the cross before you were even born. Love is action. And Jesus takes initiative on your behalf before you even know you need it. He came to be your Savior. In the Christmas story, the Bible says, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11 NIV). You need a Savior! If you didn’t need one, God wouldn’t have sent Jesus. If there was any other way you could get into Heaven except God’s way, believe me — God wouldn’t have wasted the effort. He wouldn’t have sent Jesus to die for no purpose. And that is the greatest example of love — one person giving his life for another. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick>> Talk It Over How have you seen God shower his love on you? God pays attention to every detail of your life, and he takes action on your behalf. How can you apply those same two principles to your relationships? What does it say about God that he sees every detail of your life and still loves you unconditionally?       Nothing Can Separate Us Today's Scripture: "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39, KJV Today's Word: People may come and go from your life, but God is always with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. His love goes way beyond any human love you have ever experienced. Human love may be conditional, but God’s love is supernatural; it’s unconditional and knows no limits. There’s nothing you can do to earn His love and nothing you can do to stop His love. The scripture tells us that His love is patient and kind; His love believes the best. His love redeems and restores you. No matter what you’ve been told or what you may think about yourself today, you are His most prized possession. There’s nothing that can separate you from His love! Remember, faith is activated by love. As you allow Him to flood you with His love, your faith will be ignited, and you’ll be empowered to live the abundant life He has for you! Prayer for Today: "Father, thank You for loving me and setting me free. Thank You for working in my life and restoring the broken places. Everything I have I surrender to You. Fill me with Your perfect love in Jesus’ name. Amen."