I feel that the Lord wants me to tell everyone of you how much he loves you! That it doesn’t matter what you have done, or how many times you have stumbled. He loves you and wants you to come home! He is ready and anxious to forgive you and He has a special plan for your life – just as He has for each of His children.

You are never too old to turn to God and start again. You may have been very successful throughout life or you may have failed at every turn. Most of us are somewhere in between those two extremes. We’ve been successful in some areas and have failed in others. All of us have gone through heartaches, disappointments, and hurts. And some have lived through unspeakable difficulties.

It could be that you never felt close to God before. He was close to you all the time but perhaps you didn’t know it. All you had to do was reach out and call His name. He saw all of that anguish and loneliness and pain. He cried when you cried. He longed to give you the answers you were seeking.

God Loves You!

God loves the little children, each small child is precious in his sight, but He loves His big children just as much. We never stop being his children. Scripture tell us to cry out Abba Father which is to call him Daddy.

His plan for each one of us is the best! For us older folks, he has been grooming us ALL of our lives for service to him. He didn’t cause our heartaches – the devil did. But God can use ALL of our experiences in life and ALL of our talents and training. How can we help others if we haven’t been through the same difficulties?

God’s Word – in His Holy Bible – contains thousands of promises to his kids – those who believe in His name. He has come into our lives to do the following plus more:

Show us His love
Forgive our sins
Give us peace and everlasting life
Teach us His ways
Heal our bodies and wounded souls
Supply our needs
Use us to reach out to others

God wants to be our constant companion. Through His Holy Spirit He is seeking to be the friend who is always there – one you can talk to during happy times or in your darkest despair. Scripture says that if you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.

Daily we face challenges. God wants to help us with each one. He is the friend who is closer than a brother.

Most of us have lots of people around us every day. Even so we can be very lonely. As we start listening to God, and seeking His answers from the Bible, that loneliness disappears. As we get our eyes off of ourselves and our problems and onto Him, we are happier, more fulfilled. Life starts to change for the better.

We will always have trials, the Bible tells us that. But we have new strength to face them – new resources from God’s Word and a stronger faith to get us through.

Let’s say a prayer together:

Dear Heavenly Father –

 I give You all of my burdens –
worries about my children, my health, my parents,
every financial worry.

Please forgive my sins and help me to forgive others.
Help me defeat every bad habit
and resist the temptations that come every day.

Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Your strength, Your peace.
I want Your direction, Your plan for my life!

I ask these things in Jesus’ name.

AMEN!

 

Scripture References:

Matthew 19:14, Galations 4:6, James 4:8, Proverbs 18:24

DLH – October 8, 1995
Evergreen Methodist Church, Laity Sunday
Long Island, ME