Jeremiah 31:1-14
Friday, 26 January 2024
“…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” -Jeremiah 31:3 [NRSV]
The Lord called Jeremiah to be a prophet at a very young age (Jeremiah1:4-19). He was one among the great prophets during the exile of Judah. The Lord used Jeremiah to pronounce judgment on his people for their idolatry for which he was despised, persecuted, ignored like other prophets; but he loved the people of Judah despite their sins. The Lord spoke through Jeremiah that he would bring a far-off nation to destroy them which He did (Babylonia). However, God promises to gather them and bring them back into the promised land of their forefathers because of His everlasting love and continued faithfulness. He is the same yesterday, today and forever; even now He is restoring those who are lost and wandering!
GOD is continually speaking to us about his love in manifold ways. In all these He wants us to draw near to Him and experience Him so that our lives will be centred in Him and we will have fulfilling lives. Listen to what GOD tells you today:
· I loved you before you were born
Psalm 139:16&17: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. ….I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;…”
· I loved you even when you continued in your wickedness.
2 Peter 3:15 And remember, our Lord’s patience and longsuffering gives people time to be saved.
· I loved you when you were a sinner
Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Jesus Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
· I love you that is why I want to take your cares and give you rest
Matthew 11:29-30 "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls…."
· I love you that is why I want to spend eternity with you
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God is love and in Ephesians 3:18-19, Apostle Paul wishes for us to have the power to understand, how wide, long, high, and deep the Love of God is. He wants us to experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. His Love is His continual faithfulness to us, manifested in His goodness and mercy towards us. If we have wandered away from Him, He beckons us to His love and forgiveness.
The loneliness and emptiness we feel in our soul is its cry to have a fulfilling presence that is eternal—not temporal. Anyone who has tried to fill that emptiness with all sorts of thoughts, actions, flitting from one pleasure to another must know that it is completely unsatisfying. The thirsty soul can only be filled by God alone; only He can satisfy. God will continually send His Word, His servants to invite those that are seeking, to have a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ.
It is entirely up to us to accept this free Gift of His Love as we have been given a free will to choose. How do you accept this free gift? Acknowledge that Jesus Christ paid for your sins on the cross and accept Him as your Savior and Lord. Jesus Christ endured the cross because He had us on his mind; hence He saved us from the wrath of God so we could have eternal life. If we reject this free gift from God through Christ, we are actually rejecting SALVATION OF OUR OWN SOUL and the LOVE OF GOD.
Thought for the Day: “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, "I love you. Heaven is real and hell is real, and eternity is but a breath away.” ~Billy Graham
Listen: 'I HAVE LOVED YOU'