Love Dare 20--Love Is Jesus Christ

While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly....
Romans 5:6

and today's dare:

Dare to take God at His Word. Dare to trust Jesus Christ for salvation. Dare to pray, "Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. But You have shown Your love for me by dying to forgive my sins, and You have proven Your power to save me from death by Your resurrection. Lord, change my heart, and save me by Your grace."

If you don't know me or haven't read this before, now would probably be a good time to skip back to here and read where I have been, where I have come from before God rescued me from what was surely a downward spiral into nothingness.

My previous day's post says exactly how I feel about Jesus--He came to seek and save me, forgive me by His crucifixion on the cross and His grace in my life.

When I read the following verses, this is impacted into my mind even more:

"God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him"......1 John 4:9

"Although He existed in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant.......He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross"......Philippians 2:6-8

"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed".......1 Peter 2:24

"One will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" .....Romans 5:7-8

"The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"......Romans 6:23

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast".....Ephesians 2:8-9

"If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation".....Romans 10:9-10

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers....This is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us"......1 John 3:16, 23

"The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love"......1 John 4:8

These verses are promises from God, truths from God. As I read over them again and again, I can see that God's love cannot be fully understood. I will never be able to do enough to earn this love. It is a gift--given freely to me by God.

But, in order to receive God's gift, I must open my heart, my soul and receive God's love into my heart, my mind, my body, my entire life.

I have received God's gift of salvation, His gift of unconditional love for me--even though I confess I do not understand this.

But, I know this much--I can never do anything that will make God love me more, and I can never do anything that will make God love me less.

God is willing to love me with all my faults and flaws, all my imperfections. He still chose to love me! He loved me and provided for me even when I didn't love Him back! This just astounds me!

How does this relate to my children and today's Love Dare? My children have not accepted Christ as their Savior. But, I know that they will--in God's time--not my time. God is waiting patiently for them to come to Him, just as He did with me.

And God still loves them, regardless of whether they are in love with Him or not. God has chosen them, just as He chose me.

I, today, make the choice to love my children--just as they are--not trying to change them to suit me--just as they are--just as God loves me. God is the only one who can change their hearts, and I am just an instrument, a trowel, planting seeds into their lives so that they can see God through me.

Tomorrow:

Day 21--Love Is Satisfied in God

The Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desires.....Isaiah 58:11

and the dare for this day:

Be intentional today about making a time to pray and read your Bible. Try reading a chapter out of Proverbs or reading a chapter in the Gospels. As you do, immerse yourself in the love and promises God has for you. This will add to your growth as you walk with Him.

Stop by Chelle's and read about all the participants of this Love Dare. I think we all are making great progress!!

Beth