God's Heart Burns for You

God only wants the best for every person on earth. God created you for a good purpose, and his purpose is always good.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gen 1:27 NIV

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Gen 1:31 NIV

But the first man and woman messed up God's plan by believing the enemy's lies instead of trusting God.

You and I have also messed up God's plan. We, too, have given in to temptations and believed lies. We have all gone astray.

Nevertheless, God does not love us any less.

If we are not kind and faithful, that cannot change the character of God, because…

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 Jn 4:8 NIV

God is love. He created you because He loves you. He loved you before the creation of the world.

He loved you when you were conceived and when you were born, and he still loves you.

If you were conceived unintentionally in a car or hotel room, you were still wanted by God.

And if you were raised in the worst witchcraft imaginable?

That was nothing but a challenge for God's love, because God's heart burns for you. Nothing can extinguish the fire of his love.

If you were not only abused but also led astray as a child, it was not your fault.
God loves abused children.

In the Bible, we find a man with a terrible past. We don’t know his name.
 
Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.
He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” Mk 5:5–7 NIV

He was so confused that he could not distinguish his own thoughts from the voices of the devils, and he was possessed by hundreds of demons.

But the demons could not resist the command of Jesus. When the demons were gone, he trusted Jesus with all his heart.

For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” Mk 5:8–9 NIV

Not only was the man freed from the devils, but, amazingly, he was no longer mentally ill.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Mk 5:18 NIV

Then Jesus said something quite unexpected.

Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Mk 5:19 NIV

But the man did not just talk to his family.

So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them. Mk 5:20 NLT

Jesus healed a dangerous psychotic man and set him free to evangelise his entire region.

Before this man began preaching, the people demanded that Jesus leave their area.
When Jesus came back, crowds of people came to him. Many were converted.

It may be that you have experienced rejection and bullying for years. Perhaps your life is plagued by illness or depression. Even if you are cursed with witchcraft, sexual abuse or drug addiction, you are still important and valuable in God's eyes.

God wants to give you a future and a new hope.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:11 NKJV

Personal Love of God

 In the Old Testament we read how God loved Israel.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Is 49:14–15 NIV

Who is God talking about here? God speaks of his love for Israel, for the Jews. If you are Jewish, you can understand this declaration of love very personally.

But I am not Jewish and probably neither are you. Jesus loves us no less than the Jews.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

God loves the whole world, but what does that mean for you?

God loves everyone, but you are not just a specimen of humanity. God loves you personally.

God loved Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, John and Paul personally, but you are not a shining saint, are you?

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 Jn 3:1 NRSV

If all genuinely converted Christians are children of God, then as a follower of Jesus you are also a child of God.  

Then you can understand all of God's declarations of love in the Bible as His love for you.
Of course, when God explains how He loves the Jews, He is talking about the Jews.

But God loves you no less, because God is love.

It is often said that God has no favourite children.
Is that true? No.

Every child of God is His favourite child.

I am God's favourite child and you are also God's favourite child.

God also wants to bless you, help you, heal you when you are sick, because you are his favourite child.

Jesus took the punishment for all your sins on the cross. When we entrust our lives to Jesus, he no longer sees our sins.

For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God's goodness into us! 2 Cor 5:21 (Today's Living Bible)

Shortly before his death on the cross, Jesus told his disciples:

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. Jn 15:9 NRSV

And Jesus loves you with the same love.

God Loves You. Resist Negative Thoughts

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Jn 10:10 NKJV

Many negative and discouraging thoughts that torment us come from the enemy, known in the Bible as the devil.

• Your sickness must come from God.

• God no longer heals as in the Bible.

• Only some are chosen by God for salvation.

• If you are chosen for eternal life, you should be thankful, but you may also be chosen for the suffering of sickness and not for the grace of healing.

But God is very different. He sent his eternal Son Jesus into the world to do us good, not to torment us.

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 NLT

In the New Testament, Jesus fulfilled what God had clearly said in the Old Testament.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:11 NKJV

Our thoughts can be darkened by trials, but God understands our weak and flawed nature. Throughout the Bible you can read that God loves you and wants to bless you, not afflict you.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. Jas 1:16–17 NIV

God loves you dearly and tenderly. He wants to help you and bless you. You do not have to be afraid of God.

God Uses Broken People

Is there a God?

No matter what theories you have heard or read, there is one question that no scientist can answer.

Why does anything exist at all? Why is there something instead of nothing?

If you can read these thoughts, you are alive.

How did you come into the world?

Were your parents a loving couple? Maybe not.

Whether you were wanted by your mother or came from an unwanted pregnancy, there is a God who made that pregnancy possible.

If no one on this earth wanted you, there is a loving God who created you because he wanted you.

There are so many people who have only experienced rejection. Then they may hear from preachers that they are also rejected by God because of their sins.

A young Christian approached a young prostitute and threatened her with the flames of hell.

Jesus threatened the proud religious people with the flames of hell, but he was always kind and compassionate with the prostitutes and other broken people.

The self-righteous religious professionals scolded Jesus for keeping company with supposedly wicked sinners.

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Lk 7:34 NIV

Jesus was the Son of God who was in eternal fellowship with Father God before the foundation of the world. God saw broken people, ruined by their own sins, or by the sins of others.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Jn 3:16–17 NIV

When Jesus visited his hometown, he explained his mission of salvation by quoting the Bible.

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; Lk 4:18 NKJV

Jesus did not only want to forgive and heal broken people. He chose rejected people to proclaim God's new world.

Jesus chose despised women, and sent them out.

The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” Jn 4:18 NIV

This woman then believed in Jesus as the Messiah.

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” Jn 4:28–29 NIV

Jesus sent this woman to her village, and everyone came to believe.

If you are broken, Jesus doesn't just want to forgive and heal you. He wants to give you a new life. In this new life you can also help others.

God is at Work in Your Life

 I feel so imperfect, so flawed, so flawed, but God accepts me as his son. Only because of what Jesus did on the cross, paying for all my sins.

My guilt is cancelled.

I am a half-finished work, but God sees the end product.

I am a construction site, but God is the architect and master builder. He loves to see his beautiful house taking shape.

God delights in the work He is doing in my life.

As I wrote these thoughts on my computer, I felt moved by the Spirit of God and His love. Then I felt that I was allowed to reshape these words a bit so that God Himself was speaking directly to me.

"You feel so imperfect, so flawed, so lacking, but I accept you as my son. Only because of what Jesus did on the cross, paying for all your sins.

Your guilt is cancelled.

You are a work in progress, but I see the end product.

You are a construction site, but I am the architect and builder. I love to see my beautiful house take shape.

I delight in the work I am doing in your life."

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Cor 5:17 NRSV

God Wants to Help You Today

 God never stopped loving his unfaithful Hebrew people.

When they had to suffer under foreign rule because of their many sins, God's prophets did not just give warnings and rebukes. They told the suffering people that God would not abandon them in spite of everything.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lam 3:22–23 NRSV

The steadfast unfailing love of the Lord never ceases. So it is with us Christians today. No matter how far we have strayed, Jesus wants to bless and restore you with mercy and love.

We often need correction because without God's wisdom and loving guidance we are often unable to see our mistakes, but God does not want to humiliate or belittle you. That's what cruel people do in the world and unfortunately sometimes in religious communities.

God has something very special for you today, especially today and especially for you.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Jer 29:11 NRSV

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NIV

God has a good plan for your life, but not just for your whole life. God has a good plan to help you today.

For he says, “In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation. 2 Cor 6:2 NIV

God loves you. God is Love.

 I want my blogs to reflect not only my thoughts but to share what God wants to say.

One day I asked God, ‘What is on your heart today, dear God?

I heard the answer in my heart, I should write that God loves you.

‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’

You may have read in the Bible that God loves the world, and that God loves everyone.

But the love of God is not just a doctrinal truth. God feels love for you right now and every moment of every day.

God wants you to receive and experience His love. God is not a long-dead great-grandfather who left his fortune to his heirs because he loved his family.

Many preachers teach that God loves all people, but you just have to believe what the Bible says, live virtuously and hope that when you die you might fly to God's heaven.

God may have prepared a much better world for us in heaven, but God is not far away. God is here with you. He wants you to get to know Him personally here and now.

God not only loves all people. He loves every single person with the tenderness of a mother with her baby, with the holy passion of a loving bridegroom.

In God's eyes, you are not just a specimen of humanity. You are you. He loves you, especially you.

Here are some Bible verses that explain God's love.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 Jn 4:10 NIV

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 Jn 4:16 NIV

God is love.

God is Thinking about You

 Are you stuck? Are your thoughts going round in circles? Your repeated prayers of confession don't change anything. Have you asked God what he thinks about it?

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:11 NKJV

God is thinking about you every minute. God is the creator and author of all things. His thoughts rule the universe, but he is not overwhelmed by it all. He still thinks about you every minute.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

Perhaps you are already familiar with this verse. You know that God loves all people, but in God's heart you are not just a specimen of humanity. You are you. God loves you.

Have you already entrusted your life to Jesus? Maybe you still think of yourself as an unworthy sinner who seeks God's mercy from far away, but God thinks differently. Jesus hung stark naked on the cross. He endured the shame to abolish your shame.

Perhaps you have not yet surrendered your life into God's hands. You are still a sinner in God's eyes, but still dearly loved. God thinks of you with love. He wants to adopt you and love you as his own child.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NASB95

Are you stuck? Are your thoughts going round in circles? Your repeated prayers of confession don't change anything. Have you asked God what he thinks about it?

God wants to tell you his thoughts.

‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jer 29:12–13 NASB95

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NASB95

You are so Valuable to God

 Jesus wanted to explain how valuable every person is in God's eyes.

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?

And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Lk 15:8–10 NIV

This woman was poor. She had only ten silver coins, and one coin was lost. This coin would be a mere trifle to a rich woman, but to this woman it was enormously valuable. She searched desperately for her lost treasure until she found the coin.

This coin was of enormous value to the poor woman!

Not only is the lost sinner valuable to God, but also the believers who love God.

Jesus said to his disciples before his arrest.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. Jn 15:9 NIV

Jesus was and is immeasurably important to the Father in heaven. You are just as important to our heavenly Father. If someone really loves, the beloved is very important to them. Otherwise the word ‘love’ is empty and meaningless.

And was this immeasurable love of God only for the chosen apostles?

Jesus told a parable about God's judgement. The faithful and righteous believers gave food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty. They invited strangers into their homes. They cared for the sick and visited the prisoners.

… ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Mt 25:40 NIV

Who are the least of Jesus' brothers and sisters? Lost unbelieving Jews? Weak Christians? Jesus loves all Christians as himself, just as the Father loves his heavenly Son.

Whoever Jesus loves is infinitely valuable to God, and Jesus loves the weakest and least Christians.

Are you far from God? The heavenly Father sacrificed his eternal holy Son for you on the cross.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

That's how precious you are in God's eyes.

You have Potential. Failure is not Final.

 A young woman went to see a psychiatrist. She told him she was schizophrenic and hoped he could help her. After a long conversation, the psychiatrist realised that she was not schizophrenic at all. Her family had imposed this false identity on her as a child.

I had eczema as a small child. I always had to wear gloves and my parents tied my hands to the side of my cot. Otherwise, I would scratch and tear my skin terribly.

Gradually the eczema disappeared, but then I was nervous, hyperactive and clumsy, even though I was intelligent.

Years later, I often visited a school friend. He recently told me how I accidentally spilt a jug of water not just once, but often.

My father encouraged me and I became a good chess player and learnt to appreciate classical music. I studied English literature and German, but in practical matters I kept making silly mistakes. My father was then irritated and critical.

Later I wanted to learn how to use a computer, but with little success.

Then, nearly 30 years ago, I wanted to study the Bible intensively. A friend of mine was studying at a Bible school. He told me that I absolutely needed a computer. That was in 1996.
I bought a computer and resolutely dedicated myself to mastering Windows 95. It wasn't child's play for me, but I didn't give up.

I worked as a language teacher for years. Through diligent effort, I developed my computer skills to the point where I could help my colleagues.

The idea that I was a technical idiot was deeply rooted in my childhood, but I was determined to overcome it. I've been using my computer every day for more than 20 years. I am a blogger and communicate with many people in other countries.

Were you given a false identity from an early age? Did you always hear that you were a failure, an idiot or perhaps mentally disturbed?

At school and at work, we always find cruel people who sense our insecurities and want to exploit them. Maybe that's why you experience bullying and are constantly put down.

None of this comes from God. God created you in his own image.

My mother was always put down by her mother. She went to university but failed miserably. Years later, she found help from a therapist. When she was 60, she went back to university. A few years later, she graduated. She wasn't really a failure.

God is your creator. He has a plan for every person. He doesn't create failures, idiots, mentally disturbed people.

You may be repeating the same negative thoughts about yourself over and over again. Please stop doing that!
Instead, keep repeating God's truth.

God created me and God does not create failures!

God created you for a good purpose. Ask God to show you how He sees you. You have potential.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:11 NKJV

With God as your guide, your potential can become reality. Even your weaknesses can become strengths.

Failure is not final. A well known American writer said: I failed my way to success.

You can’t earn your salvation. Jesus paid the penalty for your sins on the cross.

But Jesus did not accomplish everything for you so that you could accomplish nothing.

GOD LOVES YOUR HEART

God loves you, every part of you. 

You have dreams and longings deep in your heart. 

• He created your heart with all your dreams and desires and He loves your heart.

But doesn’t the Bible say:

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT) 

It is true that you and I were born into a spiritually and morally damaged world. 

• As we grow older, we realise how our parents are full of faults. 
• If we are honest, we can see that we are no different, wanting a better life but so often disappointing ourselves and others.

But God made your heart, your hunger for love and truth, your desire for the goodness which always seems to be beyond you.

A man in Los Angeles owned a sex shop selling pornography.
A Christian wanted to help him make peace with God but it was no use telling the man he was a sinner. 

But God gave the Christian man a revelation. 

• This man had a divine gift of comforting people. 

(He was using it the wrong way, selling people the false comfort of sexual illusions.)

When the man saw himself through the eyes of God’s creative love, something changed inside him and he received the love and forgiveness of God. 

He began a new life with Jesus that day.

God loves your heart. He knows your longings and frustrations. 
The past, present and future are like an open book to Him. He created time itself.

Before the beginning of the world He saw you and He looked into your troubled soul ages before you were born.

• He has a wonderful plan for your life. 

• Ask Jesus to come to you and transform you from the inside.

When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (TLB) 

Many people consider themselves to be Christians but they don’t know Jesus. 

True Christianity is knowing God personally and willingly allowing Him to transform your life fromt the inside.

For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us! 2 Corinthians 5:21 (TLB) 

• God wants to do all of this for you and then to take you on a wonderful journey through a new life that never ends. 

• It all starts with a supernatural personal encounter with Jesus the Son of God. 

• He is here with you now. 

• He died but He returned to life and His love now fills the universe.

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Revelation 3:20 (NLT) 

A Muslim woman in Iran was watching a Christian TV programme and she heard this message.

• She  heard a knock at her door and when she answered, she saw Jesus standing there, a glorious man in a shining white robe. 

She invited Him inside and offered Him some food. Salvation came to her life that night. 

Whether or not you see Jesus with your natural eyes makes no difference to the spiritual reality of His presence and His love for you.

When Jesus offered His life on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins but He did not stay dead. As a real human man, Jesus sacrificed His life for us but as God He could not stay dead. 

God is eternal and His supernatural life is an unquenchable fire.

• When Jesus returned to life, He appeared to His disciples. Thomas was not with them and would not believe the story. 

Then Thomas saw Jesus and He believed.

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, 

• "Because you have seen me, you have believed; 
• blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:28-29 (NIV)