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We know that we have all heard people say "God is love!" or "Jesus loves you just the way your are!" But when do we talk about God's wrath? What does the Bible actually say about it all?
Psalms 136:3 says, "Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever." What a wonderful thing we can hold onto as Christ's children. Despite our sinful and wretched selves, He still loves us. He still holds us in the palms of His hands. God's love is never ending, faithful, forgiving, and just. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love in which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved,"
Paul echoes this same grace (a gift we don't deserve) in Romans 5:8-9, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." So what we see here in Romans, is that while God is loving and full of mercy and grace, sin does not go unpunished. That through God's justice, the Father laid upon His Son, Jesus, the sins of all those who would believe. As the song "Amazing Love" says, "Amazing love, how can it be? That you my King would die for me!?"
Of course this act of love and grace does not give us the permission to keep on living in sin, but instead gives us the ability to turn from it. God is love, but He is also just, and He has a standard! He expects you to repent of your sin. To repent doesn't mean to just admit our sin, but also to turn away from our sin. Matthew 3:8 "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance." and Acts 3:19 "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out."
As believers, we have this great hope... that "if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. If you're reading this, and you have never experienced this perfect love, call out to Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you of your sin, and ask Him to change you from the inside out. No sin is too great for His love and forgiveness. Also, please reach out by contacting paisleyschmidt@icloud.com. I would love to provide you with resources as you begin your new life in Jesus!
To conclude todays devotional, God shows His love for us by having grace toward us. He wants us to repent, and follow Him. While He shows us His love through common graces like the breath in our lungs when we wake up every morning, the beautiful morning sun as we sip our fresh brewed coffee and the ability to read His Word; we see His love even more through His wrath poured out on His Son, in our place. So when God seems silent, let us all remember this truth!
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