My Daily Pause

The Love of God is Powerful!

The Bible says, “God is love.” (I John 4: 8, 16)

Love is much more than an attribute of God – it is the ultimate description of the Divine.

God is omnipotent – all powerful!

God is omniscient – all knowledgeable!

But nowhere does the Bible say, “God is power,” or “God is knowledge.” These are attributes, wonderful and incomprehensible to be sure…

…but what God is, is love.

After all these centuries no better definition of God can be found than to say along with John, “God is love.”

Nobody can explain the spark of life, apart from God.

Our very existence, our very life, is due to God’s infinite love and His “breath of life.” The atheist does not deny God so much as he denies himself.

Life demands the God of heaven to explain it.

1. God’s Love is Incomprehensible

The apostle Paul prayed that we “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth” of God’s love that surpasses all knowledge. (Ephesians 3:18-19)

The love of God and Christ cannot be fully fathomed. Probably because we could never possess that kind of love. It is difficult to understand how God could do what He did.

Would you die to save the worst sinner you have ever known?

Christ did!

2. God’s love is unconditional

God’s love predates any performance on our part.

…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

He will still love us even if we do not respond to that love in order to be saved.

God waits.

3. God’s love is constant

No matter what happens, God loves you. Look at what Paul said about the strength of God’s love:

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am sure that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present nor things to come,
nor powers,
nor height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8: 37-39

4. God’s love is sacrificial

The greatest verse in the Bible on the subject of love is also the greatest verse on the subject of giving.

Combine the greatest gift of love with the greatest example of love and what do you have?

For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son….. – John 3:16

5. God’s love is compelling

Here is Paul’s instruction and personal testimony:

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all… – 2 Corinthians 5:14

And John’s:

“We love because He first loved us. – 1 John 4: 19

This is the greatest reciprocal relationship of life!

No wonder John says, “God is love.” (I John 4:8, 16)

If we can stipulate a perfect world for a minute, a father wants his children to be like him. He opes they believe, act and love the same way as he does.

It’s no different with God. He made us in his likeness and wants us to imitate him. He even made a huge sacrifice so that we have a better chance. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

That pang of guilt that you feel when your child makes the wrong decision? That’s what the Father in heaven feels when you do the same thing. If you’re worried about that – that is a walk of love.

Daily Bible reading for May 1

Psalm 120
Leviticus 27
Isaiah 36-37
Ephesians 5:1-21

I have heard, often it seems, that a loving God wouldn’t condemn someone for (Fill in the Blank).

When I read my Bible, I find that God will display his wrath on those who are sinful. (See Genesis 6) God is righteous, and holy and pure. (1 Peter 1:15-16) What is sin? Unrighteous, unholy and corrupt. The very nature of each opposes the other.

Paul told those in Corinth that he was worried about them because they fell for a different gospel. (2 Corinthians 11:3-6) When one starts accepting a “gospel” without doing their due diligence, they become easy to trick out of their salvation.

God has given to us a list of things he finds good. We have to be careful not to in turn, try to tell him what we think is good enough.

Daily Bible Reading for April 17

God outlines the ritual for declaring a leper clean. Isaiah professes about Moab. Paul writes about the false apostles.

Psalm 107
Leviticus 14:1-32
Isaiah 15-16
2 Corinthians 10:13-12:13

God is Great,
God is Good,
Let us thank Him for our food.
By His hands we all are fed,
Give us Lord our Daily Bread.

Adults tend to forget the simplicity and core truth of this children’s mealtime prayer.

Like the author of Psalm 73, we might question the prosperity of the ungodly. Many stumble completely away from God because of the question.

The writer wants us to remember that this life is not about this life. It is ALL about the next life and the preparation to get there. If we remember the prosperity enjoyed by many in this is temporary, we can focus on the real reward waiting for us after the judgment.

Just like the lovely ending of the Psalm says, (Psalm 73:28) our time here is to tell others about him:

But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.

Paul said a lot of loving things to the addressee of his letters. I wish we were all ready with the words to comfort those facing difficulties like Paul was.

The closing of Romans 8 (Romans 8:38-39) may be some of his best work:

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.