The next chapter I want to point out is all about one of our most anxious topics: do we really mean anything to God? After all, He is the Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing God who created everything that is seen and unseen…as King David asked, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps 8:4) As one of my favorite songs says, “I’m just a whisper; And You are the thunder” (“Much of You” by Steven Curtis Chapman). Our experiences in life too often make us wonder if God really does care. Mr Lucado adds, “In the great scheme of things, do I count for anything?…All our wrestlings, I suppose, are merely asking this question: ‘Do I matter?’” (p119 & 120) The answer to these questions is vital because our lives, literally, depend on it. Thankfully, God never let’s us have to guess at the answer.
This is the one topic that the Bible is most clear about, yet how many Christians go about life not believing that they have any worth. Thinking that God does not see them. Feeling like they have no part in God’s Plan for Humanity. Wanting to fill this gaping hole with things of this world that will never satisfy. My Friends, if this is you, please hear me: For God so loved YOU, that He sent Jesus to die for YOU! It is because of God’s greatest Love that He has given His greatest gift, His Son. We are adopted into His Forever Family and become co-heirs with His Perfect Son. Not because we are anything special on our own, but because God chose to Love us, to pour out His Grace upon us, to fill us with Himself and change us into His Image. This is our confidence about our worth: we are more than Loved by the God who created us, saves us and sustains us! And moreover He loves us just the way we are. God does not love St Paul anymore than He loves YOU. Can we believe that!?! It is not what we do or do not do that makes God Love us. It is His desire to Love us. I will leave you today with this author’s inspiring words: “God saw our entire lives from beginning to end, birth to hearse, and in spite of what he saw, he was still convinced ‘to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.(Eph 1:5 NLT)’” (p120) Trust The Cross, God loves YOU!
2023’s Got A Minute? Book Club
January: The First & Best Book Ever: The Bible
February: Love Is In the Air: “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts” by Gary Chapman
March: Spring Growth: “Secrets of the Vine” by Bruce Wilkinson
April: Living the Resurrected Life: “The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life” by Dr Charles Stanley
May: My Spiritual Mom: “Making Good Habits Breaking Bad Habits” by Joyce Meyer
June: Spiritual Dad: “It’s Not About Me- Rescue from the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy” by Max Lucado
July: Financial Freedom “Complete Guide to Money” by Dave Ramsey
August: Summer’s Soul Restorer “A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23” by W Phillip Keller
September: Covering Our Children: “Prayers for the Prodigals” by James Banks
October: Reformation of Our Hearts: “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine” by Max Lucado
<>< Peace, Diane
