Tag: God loves you

Morning Musing: 1 Samuel 16:7

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“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I’m away chaperoning camp again this week. That means posts will be on a slightly different schedule and will run a bit shorter than the norm. And, instead of plunging ahead into the plagues in Exodus, we’re going to reflect together on some of what the kids are learning. The theme for the week is Beyond the Surface. All week they will be learning about how God sees beyond the surface of our lives into our hearts. Because of that, what kind of a heart should we have? Let’s dig in beyond the surface today.

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Digging in Deeper: Exodus 3:11-12

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“But Moses asked God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ He answered, ‘I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I am the one who sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever felt unworthy of the situation you are in? Every now and then I’ll have one of those out-of-body moments when everything is going really well, and I’ll suddenly be struck by the feeling that I’m really just an actor playing a part written by somebody else to make a really compelling story. Who am I that I should be experiencing all of these good things? Who am I that I should get to have this position or to enjoy these blessings? When God told Moses what He wanted him to do, this is how he responded to it as well. Let’s talk about what’s going on here.

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You Are Loved

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In this final installment in our series, Hard to Love, we land with both feet on the biggest and most consequential truth there is: God loves you. Read on and marvel with me at how great our God is that though we didn’t want Him, He loved us still. Let this love fill you to a fullness you’ve never known before and pour out of you onto the people around you…even the ones who are hard to love.

You Are Loved

Have you ever watched somebody get something they didn’t deserve?  How’d you feel about that?  Did it inspire you?  Did it sicken you?  Were you pretty well ambivalent about it?  I would guess that most of us, depending on the exact details, would tend toward feeling inspired by such a story.  This becomes especially true when the person goes on to live up to the expectations of the gift.  Perhaps the most classic example of this is from the beloved story by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, which Lisa and I actually got to see on stage back at the beginning of the month.  It was absolutely amazing.  The hero of the story, Jean Valjean, is set down the path of righteousness he walks all the way to the end of his life by the wildly unmerited gift of a Catholic priest.  The 2012 film adaptation starring Hugh Jackman captures this scene really well.  Take a look. 

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