Have you ever messed up so bad that you felt as if God couldn’t love you? The good news is it’s impossible for a Christian to ever be separated from the love God. To believe otherwise is to believe a lie straight from Satan. Satan would love for you to believe that it’s impossible for God to love you. He wants you to live defeated. He wants to steal your joy. He wants you to waller around in guilt and shame rather than living a victorious life in Christ.(Click to tweet) Why? Because then you are not winning others to Christ. But Paul tells us in the second half of Romans 8 that there is nothing that can separate us from the love God.
In Verse 31 of Romans 8, Paul starts out asking, “If God is for us, who can be against us? We can have a sure reality that God is on our side. He is for us. Sometimes it seems that everyone and everything is against us. The world, political people who try to stamp our Christianity, Satan, secularist, false religions, our enemies, and even our own sinful nature flesh. But God is sovereign and He loves us and through Him we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) and there is nothing that can separate us from His love. Jesus conquered death and Satan on the cross and in doing so we have assurance that nothing can change God’s love or purpose for us. (Click to tweet) 1 Peter 1:5 tells us that we are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” In Jeremiah 31:3, God says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you.”
God’s love is forever. He loved us even while we were yet sinners and sent Jesus to die for us (Romans 5:8). And in John 15:13, we find that there is no greater love than to lay down ones life for their friends, which is exactly what Jesus did for us. Psalm 36:5 says, “Lord, Your faithful love reaches to heaven, Your faithfulness to the clouds.” There simply is no greater or deeper love than what God feels for us as His children. Because of His love, how could we not love Him in return with all of our heart, soul, and might?
So be assured, my friend, that no matter what you are going through or how much you might have messed up, (Yes! Even that thing your thinking of!) God loves you. Not convinced yet? Look at this long list of Bible people who messed up, but God chose to use them anyway:
- Saul, before his Damascus Road experience, persecuted and killed Christians. Yet once He encountered Jesus, God used Paul to spread the gospel to the Gentiles.
- David, was guilty of murder, lying, adultery, and coveting and stealing a neighbor’s wife. Yet he confessed His sins and God forgave him. God called David “a man after his own heart” and it was through David’s ancestral line that Jesus was born.
- Rahab was a prostitute but it would be through her ancestral line that Jesus would be born.
- Moses was a murderer and had a stuttering problem, but God used him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the promised land.
- Tamar dressed up as a prostitute and coerced her father-in-law, Judah, to have sex with her and she bore twin sons. One of these sons was the ancestor of King David, a direct lineage to Christ.
- Peter denied knowing Jesus when Jesus was on trial, but Jesus chose Him to be the rock that He would build His church on and Peter spent the rest of his life leading others to Christ.
- Jonah ran from God, but after three days in the belly of a fish, the fish spat him out and Jonah went to Nineveh as God had told him to – as a result the city repented and God spared them from His destruction.
- Jacob was a cheater but God would change his name to Israel his 12 sons would become the 12 tribes of Israel.
- Noah, who was the only righteous man left on earth and God saved from the flood got drunk and slept naked, but through him the human race survived.
- Paul, murdered and persecuted Christians before His Damascus Road encounter with Jesus. God used him to spread the gospel to the Gentiles.
- Gideon was insecure and had to test God with a fleece rather than just trusting what God said. But God used him to defeat Israel’s enemies.
- Martha was a worrier, but she, along with her brother Lazarus and sister Mary, was one of Jesus’ closest friends
- Thomas was a doubter, but he was still one of the 12 disciples
- Sarah was impatient and tried to help God out with the promise of child and gave her maid to Abraham so that he could father a child through her. Then she ended up hating her maid out of jealousy. But in God’s timing, Sarah had her own child, Isaac and from them the entire nation of Israel.
- Abraham was old and guilty of taking part in Sarah’s solution to God’s promise, but he became the father of the nation of Israel.
- Elijah was moody and had a problem with depression – even to the point of wanting to die, but God did many miracles through him.
The one thing that all these people had in common was the God loved them and chose to use them as part of His plan to redeem the lost. There is nothing we can do to separate us from the love of God and regardless of what sins are in your past, God can redeem and use you too. In1981, Evie Karlssen wrote a beautiful song called “Unfailing Love” Take a moment and listen to the song on YouTube as you read the lyrics and contemplate the love of Christ.
Unfailing love flows from his heart and heals my soul,
In spite of who I am, he loves and makes me whole.
I almost can’t believe its true,
Unfailing love and yet I know
He gave his life to give to me unfailing love.
If the highest mountains turn to ashes,
If the mighty rivers should run dry
Should sun and moon grow dim,
I still will trust in him,
He’s watching from above,
I’m resting in his love.
Unfailing love flows from his heart and heals my soul,
In spite of who I am, he loves and makes me whole.
I almost can’t believe its true,
Unfailing love and yet I know
He gave his life to give to me unfailing love.
We have a new product line of Christian apparel and gifts available in our Teespring Store and our new Spreadshop Store. You’ll find tee shirts, hoodies, tanks, socks, leggings, tote bags, mugs, iphone cases and more. All proceeds go to the advancement of Wellspring Christian Ministries. Thank you for helping us grow!
Click here to view the Teespring store.
Click here to view the Spreadshop Store which has a 15% discount through August 9, 2019
God, Love and Marshmallow Wars: This book contains 365 daily challenges for couples to strengthen their relationships to each other and with God. Couples will complete activities such as Scripture memory, conversation starters, relationship builders, learning about Biblical marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. Click here to purchase your copy. (This link will open a new widow and take you to Westbow Press’ bookstore.) It is also available at Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel
Looking for a speaker for your next ministry event? Julia is now booking for 2019 and 2020 Christian events for women’s and couples’ ministries for both small and large events.
Book with us now.
Julia is CEO of Wellspring Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people and couples develop a passionate relationship with God. A public speaker, conference trainer, event planner, and blog writer, Julia is a two-time graduate from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor in Psychology and a masters in Professional Counseling. Saved as a child and raised in church and in a Christian home and private Christian School as a Pastor’s kid, Julia has taught Sunday school, led music, played the piano, served as Children’s Director, and engaged her gifts in many other areas of church life. Previously employed with the Florida Baptist Convention, Julia organized events and led conferences for church ministry assistants.
Julia enjoys sharing her journey as a growing Christian with others looking for a deeper connection with God. Through Bible study and her own life experiences, God has given Julia a passion to help couples understand God’s design for marriage while they learn to place God first in their marriage, cultivate meaningful relationships, build intimacy, and address the tougher issues that come in every marriage so that they can experience a marriage that honors and glorifies God. Julia also loves mentoring, teaching, and working with women to help them learn to live as Godly women.
With her history and experience growing up in both small and large churches, Julia enjoys bringing top level quality events to churches of all sizes. Her father largely pastored small churches and therefore she understands that these vital parts of the believing community need to be good stewards of the resources God provides them with. This knowledge inspires her passion for being available with a fresh perspective for those who want to provide their congregations with meaningful spiritual growth opportunities.
To request more information or a booking,
fill out the online form here.
Or call us at 904.524.8073
by Frank E. Peretti
