Love others

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In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:10-11 I was speaking to a young mother some time ago who ten months prior, had found herself with an unwanted pregnancy. She told me her first thought when she became pregnant was to have an abortion. So she shared the news of her pregnancy, as well as her plans, with some close friends and family members. But one of her friends, who was a member of our church, encouraged this young lady to talk to someone before she made the decision to have an abortion. So she went to a church-run crisis pregnancy center and she heard about God’s love for her and her little baby. As a result, she chose to keep the baby and committed her own life to Christ as well. Today, that woman has entered the Kingdom of God and has a healthy child thanks, in large part, to the encouragement of a friend. I’m amazed as I hear story after story that are very similar… no awkward conversations or deep theological questions, but genuine love, care, and encouragement. Helping others and showing them Jesus doesn’t have to be a well-prepared five-point presentation. It can be as simple as loving them and encouraging them to seek Christ with our words. Love others to Jesus and you’ll lead many straight into His loving arms! Love others with the love of Christ and you’ll lead many Straight to him.

The God Who Loves Sinners

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
John 3:14–17

Dr. H. A. Ironside told of a missionary who visited the church he attended when he was a little boy. After he showed them artifacts that he brought back from Africa the missionary asked, “How many good boys have we here?” Ironside said, “A lot of us thought we were good, but our mothers were there, and so not one of us dared hold up his hand.” The missionary said, “I have the same message for you that we have for the heathen in Africa; God loves naughty boys.” Ironside said he thought, “He is all mixed up. If you are good God will love you. That is what I had heard, but that is not true. God is not waiting for you to be good so He can love you; God loves sinners.”
Whether we have been saved for a few days, a few years, or for decades, we must never lose sight of the fact that God reached out in His boundless love and compassion and offered us salvation. This offer was not made because we deserved it, but because we needed it so desperately. So many religions are based on what people do or do not do. Christianity—true Christianity based on what the Bible teaches—is different. Instead of our efforts, salvation is all about what God’s love has provided to us, despite our sinful enmity against Him. What amazing love!
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

There is no place for pride in the hearts of those who remember that God’s love was freely given.