Does Jesus Still Love Me?

Many of us learned a children’s Sunday school song in our infancy and perhaps it still rumbles around in our memory.

  

Jesus love me this I know

For the Bible tells me so

Little ones to him belong

They are weak, but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus Love me

Yes, Jesus Love me

Yes, Jesus Love me

The Bible tells me so

Have you ever wondered if that lyric is still true?  Does Jesus still love me?

Just for the record, yes, Jesus does still love you. 

The natural follow-up question is this:

  How do you know? 

    Why should he love me? 

      What am I to him? 

From my understanding of the Bible, here is what I know.

God Loves the World    

Click here - John 3:16

I can hear you cry out:  “But you don’t know what I've done.”

Consider this:

Though your sins be like scarlet …

Click Here - Isaiah 1:18

But God showed his love for us …

Click Here - Romans 5:8

Let me remind you of a couple of people in the Bible.

David was a young lad when God destined him for greatness.  He grew and became well liked by many people.  He became a king. 

And then he blew it.  He had an affair and to cover it up he had the woman’s husband put in harm’s way so he could have her all to himself.  Yet God redeemed him and forgave him.

Click Here - 2 Samuel 11 - 12:14

And then there is the story of the woman who was caught in adultery.  Read this and see how Christ dealt with her.  You’re gonna love this one.

Click Here - John 8:1-11

Once a great theologian named Karl Barth was asked to summarize his life’s work in theology in one sentence.  He responded, 

“Jesus loves me this I know, 

for the Bible tells me so."

This great love of God shown through Christ is constantly reaching out to us.  It is offered with love and grace to any who will receive it. 

Of course, none of us deserve it.  No one can do enough good and righteous acts to be counted worthy of this kind of grace and forgiveness. 

It is spread before us as on a banquet table and all we have to do is step up and partake.  Get a plate and fill it full of God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness.

You don’t even have to wash your hands first, or clean behind your ears. 

Receive the gift. 

          Receive the love.

And then … let the healer, the forgiving one tell you what to do next.  

Does Jesus still love me and you?

You bet.  The Bible tells me so, and His words are still reliable.

Please watch this

God Loves Me

(From the Veggie Tales Series

Not just for kids)

My Prayer for All of Us

God:

The mere concept of your love is a mystery.  We so glibly say the “I love you” words, and in the Christian world we hear the phrase “God loves you”.

Is this really true?  Even in spite of what I do and where I go?

Did you really redeem a guy like David, and the woman who committed adultery?

I want to experience your love too. 

I think I need a huge dose of accepting your acceptance of me regardless of my past.

Here I am God.  I’m jumping into your love. 

Catch me.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

A Reliable Love

We depend on things and people to be reliable in life.

We expect our automobiles to start.

We expect the lights to turn on and off.

We expect people to be reliable.

We like reliable!

And when life turns unreliable, it gets ugly.

A personal story:

I once was married to a woman who had a drug problem and I thought it was well behind her.  At seven years of sobriety she relapsed and my life turned upside down overnight.

Once, in the early days of her relapse she asked if I could get her a hamburger.  I was gone less than ten minutes and when I returned she was not in sight. 

Another time she called and said that she had a flat tire at a certain intersection in Waco, TX and asked that I come and help her.  Of course she was not there, and later I discovered that this was a ploy to get me out of the house so she could come and take some things to a pawn shop to finance her drug habit.

I wanted to be a trusting soul, yet time and again she proved unreliable.

People sometimes prove unreliable.

And that brings us to God and thoughts about his reliability.

God is reaching out to us with a tender and intense love.   Do we need proof of the reliability of God?

Listen to this:

I will never leave you or forsake you.  

~Hebrews 13:5

The steadfast love of the Lord never fails. 

~Lamentations 3:22

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.  He rescues those whose spirits are crushed. 

~Psalm 3:18

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.  Plans for your good, and not for harm.  I have a future and a hope all mapped out for you.

~Jeremiah 29:11

Can anything ever separate us from the love of Christ?  … Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, the one who loves us.

~Romans 8:35-37

Here is what I gain from all of this.

~God is always there for us. 

~God loves me as I am and not as I should be.

Brennan Manning in The Furious Longing of God asks this most probing of questions.

“Do you honestly believe God likes you, not just loves you because theologically God has to love you?” 

That is an amazing example of the reliable side of God.  He’s there for us at every turn, every downturn, and every nuance life throws our way. 

He is reliable.

He never changes.

He is God.

Only believe

Please Watch this

Brennan Manning

The Reliable Love of God

A Prayer for All of Us

God

In a world of so much deceit and hypocrisy, we want to know ‘are you reliable?’

Your word says you are.

The words of others tell us you are.

Good and meaningful books and authors say you are reliable.

And so we reach out

We take small steps toward you

We test the waters

We need a reliable God.

Amen

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Who Am I?

This is the question asked by philosophers, psychologist, therapist, and ministers and their patients and parishioners. 

The great search for self-discovery is one that leads us down various paths, into many conversations and on daring adventures.

I've asked this of myself on many occasions, and when I put pen to paper and make a list I can come up with some interesting descriptors to define myself.  You can as well.  

But in the end, the only real discovery that matters in this search for self-identity is this:

“Who am I?  I am one loved by Christ.”

~Thomas Merton

It all comes down to an awareness of this one fact.  God Loves Me.

ME!

Say that a few hundred times per day – “God loves me.”

That means that God is the great lover.  Ever known a great lover?  Now you do. 

There is one more principle you need to hold on to.

God is the lover who keeps no score.

He does not mark his chalk board with goody points when you are exceptional nor with black marks when you screw up.  So, if God doesn't keep score, maybe we should stop keeping score on ourselves.  We just need to surrender all of our sinfulness to the God who sees neither the score nor the scorekeeper.  All He sees is his child, redeemed by Christ.

God’s love for you and his choice of you constitute your worth.  Accept that and let it become the most important thing in your life. 

~B Manning

The Rabbi’s Heart

The grand day of our lives is the day we begin to accept the fact that God honestly likes you and me, not just loves us because He theologically has to love us. 

God likes us! 

That is an amazing discovery. 

I rest my case.  I’m pretty cool in God’s eyes, and so are you.

Please watch this

Jesus Loves Me - Gaither Vocal Band

 My Prayer for All of Us

God

Oh for grace to trust your great love for me, even as I am and as I want to be.

Amen

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

A Furious Love

In order to properly understand our talk this week we must go back to English class and get a proper understanding of the word “furious”.

The noun “fury” is commonly associated with extreme anger; however, in the Oxford Dictionary of Current English the meaning morphs into “intense energy”.

Intense Energy.  I like that.

So what is this love of God all about? 

Why it is intense energy. 

We often quote John 3:16

“For God so loved the world 

that He gave His only begotten Son …”

And as we breeze through that one we glide right past the whole idea of God’s love.  We are on cruise control and sail on by this great truth sometimes. 

Let me borrow from Brennan Manning.

“His love is never, never based on our performance, never conditioned by our moods – or elation or depression.  The furious love of God knows no shadow of alteration or change.  It is reliable. And always tender.”

~The Furious Longing of God

Can you picture God standing with arms outstretched in an inviting pose.  This is a profoundly accurate concept to hold onto. 

When I take the idea of this picture to the next level here is what I see.

There are no "keep out" signs.  No one is excluded.  No race is left out.  No visa is needed, and there is no language requirement. 

Who is included in this invitation of the outstretched arms?

-The drunk in the doorway

-The addict smelling of filth, with bad breath, rotten teeth, and unkempt hair

-The prostitute with a torn blouse, bruised knees and smeared lipstick

-The church goer who sleeps through every Sunday sermon

-The self-righteous man who sings in the choir on Sunday and looks at porn on Monday

-The struggling single mother feeding three kids and working a less than prime job

-The dishonest business owner

And the rest of us

We are all included in the invitation.  The arms are outstretched for you and for me. 

The love of God embraces all without exception.

That is astounding news. 

The final incredible statement I want to leave you with is this.

God loves you as you are – not as you should be.

What have you done?

What are you doing?

How do you smell?

Where have you been?

What is your worst thought?

What is your most lofty idea?

Regardless of the goodness or badness of your life, God loves you right this moment, as you are. 

That is furious love - Intense energy all for you – and all you have to do is receive it.

Please watch this!

(Use headphones to capture the moment 

of awe, worship and revel in God’s love.

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

My Prayer for All of Us

God:

Do you really, really love me as I am and not as I should be?  That just seems so wrong.  How could you? 

Help me to rise above my pride and accept your outstretched arms that offer this intense energy we call love.

Thank you God.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Courage to Accept Acceptance

When I go people-watching I often focus on groups of teens in the mall.  I try to pick out the group leader and then figure out the pecking order.  The one I always spot quickly is the one who is lowest in the pecking order of the group.  It seems I can read their body language and mindset.  They just aren’t as accepted into the group as other members, and they know it.

Our struggle to be accepted is a universal and life-long adventure.  

And then we come to grips with the God side of life.  We read and hear on every hand that God loves us and accepts us just as we are, but do we really embrace God’s love? 

Can we trust that God means what he says? 

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

Jeremiah 31:3

Paul Tillich, one of the most recognized and profound theologians of the 20^th century, says this:

“Trust is the courage to accept acceptance.”

The words “accept acceptance” are more than a play on words.  They become a mindset, a lifestyle of living. 

In John 15:15 we find these words:

“I call you my friend.”

What?  God calls me his friend?

Unheard of. 

And we are quick to respond:  “But he obviously doesn’t know where I’ve been … what I’ve done.”

See the problem? 

Trust!

We put up defenses.  We engage in dangerous self-talk.  We put ourselves in bad light – we do everything except Accept Acceptance. 

We don’t trust God and we don’t believe he wants to be our friend.

Allow me to borrow a paragraph from my favorite author Brennan Manning.

“It there anyone I can level with?  Anyone I dare tell that I am benevolent and malevolent, chaste and randy, compassionate and vindictive, selfless and selfish, that beneath my brave words lives a frightened child, that I dabble in religion and pornography, that I have blackened a friend’s character, betrayed a trust, violated a confidence, that I am tolerant and thoughtful, a bigot and a blowhard, that I hate hard rock?”

Anyone who would dare express the above sentiments runs a great risk of being tossed aside.  Talk about acceptance … this kind of confession would be the fodder for all kinds of reasons to avoid acceptance. 

Yet God comes to us again and again and offers friendship, love, forgiveness, justification and yes, acceptance. 

ACCEPTANCE!

Read that stunning declaration again.

“I call you my friend.”

John 15:15

I don’t see any qualifiers there.

  I see no rules and regulations.

    I see no “keep out” signs.

      I see no dress code.

        I see no behavior code.

Just an offer of friendship. 

Do we accept it?

Do we embrace the friendly hand of grace and love offered from God himself?

I hope we do.  I pray we do.

Please watch this.

 I Am a Friend of God

Phillips Craig & Dean

My Prayer for all of Us

God:

What an amazing concept – you want to be our friend. 

How can this be?

I mean, you are GOD – the BIG one.  The man upstairs.

And me … I’m … me.

What am I to you? 

Yet you find it important enough to send us signals from a dozen sources, and they all say the same thing:

God loves you.

God cares for you.

God wants you.

God longs for you.

What an amazing concept, that I can be in that kind of intimate relationship with you God.

Whatever and however you want to make this happen, I am available to receive your friendship. 

Enlarge my capacity for you God.  Enlarge my concepts to embrace your great love that includes being my friend. 

Thank you.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Who Does God Love

Do you think God is partial?  Does He like some of us and others He brushes off as unimportant or uninteresting? 

Does He love certain nationalities more than others?

Are there some occupations God favors over others?

Does He like the way some people dress better than others?

Let me encourage you with these words.  In my book The Letters, due out in September, you’ll find these words in Letter Fifty-Five.

Dear Child:

How many different people do you think I reach out to?

Let me tell you.

I reach out to …

Office workers

 Corporate executives

  Tax accountants

   Toll booth collectors

Waitresses and waiters

 Street cleaners

  Street walkers

   Those with jobs and those without

IRS agents

 Military personnel

  People who sleep under bridges

   People who sleep in church services

Farmers

 City dwellers

  Parents

   Grandparents

Addicts

 Former addicts

  Drunkards

   Recovering drunkards

Newly weds

 Never weds

  Recently divorced

   Twice and three times divorced

Americans

 Asians

  Ukrainians

Europeans

 Eskimos

  South Africans

  And all other nationalities

Married couples

 Men who love men

  Women who love women

I call to you wherever you are, whatever your color, regardless of your economic lot in life, and no matter if you are good or bad, right wing or left wing, I call to you.  

I want YOU.

Come be with me.

God

This is a pretty amazing concept about God.  He really, really loves us.  And as my favorite author Brennan Manning said, “He not only loves us, but he is very, very fond of us.”

And that includes all of us.

Can you believe that? 

I do.  I embrace the love that God has for me personally. 

Will you embrace His love for you?

Watch this.

God Loves You - Brennan Manning 

My Prayer for You

God:

To think you love me, just as I am, as I look, as I dress, as I speak, and as I think.

My head says “Impossible.”

My heart says, “Really?  You love me?  But you don’t know …”

And you say, “I love you.  Yes you.” 

Thank you God.

Amen

Pastor Mike

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Is God an Ogre?

Allow me to let Anne Lamott set the stage for our thought this week. 

“The longer I live, the more my God concept allows me to see God in a kinder, gentler, more gracious God-way.  He’s not the ogre we were once taught as children.  He’s not ready to zap us at the first miss-step or the first foul word that comes from our lips.  He won’t put us in time-out.”

This has to be some of the best news I could share with you this week. 

“He’s not ready to zap us …”

Sometimes I meet people who feel exactly like that.  They fear God so much and have such a distorted view of Him.  Their constant thought is God is mad at me.”

Let me set the record straight.

Remember the story of the woman caught in adultery?  She was pardoned right on the spot.  His words were … “neither do I condemn you.  Go and sin no more.”

John 8:1-11

That’s not the response of an ogre.

And this very specific invitation:

“Come unto me all ye who labor with heavy burdens.  I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

Often we find little children to be  good judges of character.  Christ was often seen with kids tagging along.  His great words ...

“Let the little children come to me” are welcoming and cherished words. 

Matthew 19:14

Most kids have an amazing sense of whom to trust.  No sign of an ogre here

So if God is not an ogre, then where do we pigeonhole him?

Check this out.

“For God so loved the world …”

John 3:16

“See what great love God has lavished on us.”

I John 3:1

“But you O God are merciful 

and gracious, slow to anger …”

Psalm 86:15

Do these passages sound like a God who is mad at you?

     Do you see an ogre-type God here?

Not at all.

I do see an inviting God

  A Loving God

    A Caring God

      A Compassionate God

        And a Merciful God

What a concept … God is full of mercy and grace and patience.  He loves us with a furious kind of love, and He likes us a whole lot too.

I can relate to a God like that.

Please Take 2 minutes 

and watch this important video.

Brennan Manning on God's Love

  

A Prayer for all of Us

By Anne Lamott

Hi God

I am just a mess.

It is all hopeless.

What else is new?

I would be sick of me, if I were you,

But miraculously you are not.

I know I have no control over other people’s lives,

and I hate this. 

Yet I believe that if I accept this and surrender,

you will meet me wherever I am.

Wow.  Can this be true? 

If so, how is this afternoon – say two-ish?

Thank you in advance for your company and Blessings.

You have never once let me down.

Amen.

P Michael Biggs

Pastor Mike

Internet Church

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time