Thursday, 27 February 2020
"How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender."
God's love does not change!
Some people refer to "the God of the Old Testament", as though God changed when the New Testament started. But God did not change. When you read the Old Testament stories of God's relationship to Israel, they show God relating to that nation just like he relates to us as individuals today.
God loved them. He forgave them time and time again as they continually went through a process of returning to him, then falling away, then returning again in repentance. Each time they turned back to God, he was waiting to restore their relationship with him, waiting to bless them again.
Romans 8:35 asks, "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?" And the answer-"Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord!" (vv. 35-39, NLT).
That same kind of persistent love as God expressed to Israel, he has for you today. Are you one of God's children? His heart is full of compassion for you. Stop worrying that God will stop loving or receiving you, and focus on loving him back!
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