Earlier today on Bellshill Salvation Army Band’s Facebook page I shared some devotions. I’d like to share those devotions with you tonight.
What is the best news you’ve ever been told?
The best news you will ever hear is that ‘you are loved by God’.
We don’t have to do anything to make God love us more. His love for us will not lessen even if we mess up and make mistakes. God’s love for us is not based on what we do, it’s based on who he is, and his deliberate choice to love us, even though we are still sinners.
Sometimes, our wanting to be ‘accepted’ causes us to do and say things that we wouldn’t normally say or do – We may even agree with ‘the crowd’ even though our heart is telling us we shouldn’t. For example.
- we lie for fear that telling the truth will have consequences; or
- we spend time with people we don’t want to be with because we are scared of being alone; or
- we become threatened by other people because we spend our lives comparing ourselves with them.
Knowing we are loved by God removes our insecurities and deepens our own confidence. It makes us less concerned about what people think or feel about us, because we know how God feels about us – His love is unconditional, unlike the love we experience from so many others. Before we were even born, God knew each one of us and promised to love us always.
How Loved Am I (Lara Martin)
O Lord, you are my keeper,
I will never be in want;
You hold me close, so tender,
And quiet me with love.
And I hear You singing over me,
I hear You singing over me.
Songs of countless promises,
Like kisses from heaven they fall.
'How loved am I.'
Songs that take me to higher heights,
Such favour I know is divine.
'How loved am I, how loved am I.'
O Lord, You are my keeper,
My heart is safe with You.
Though in life there will be valleys,
You take my hand and lead me through.
The Distinct Dot 