Discover that God's love for you doesn't depend on your performance.
Today's critical lesson is simple:
**We can count on God.**
We've all learned the hard way that there are no shortcuts. If you want to succeed, it comes down to who you know and what you can contribute.
And that's how religion usually works. It's how companies operate. It's everywhere.
When I was a teenager, sometimes I felt like I needed to be perfect to get attention and love. Plus, I didn't want to cause any problems.
Unfortunately, I took this same attitude to God. I tried to keep all the rules, to the point of driving about two miles below the speed limit so that I would have some margin to keep me from breaking traffic laws.
I felt like God loved me, but it was conditional. So, I tried really hard to earn his approval.
Of course, the Bible affirms the practical wisdom of building friendships and working hard.
But it also offers a deeper message:
Instead of sin, we can be whole. Instead of foolishness, we can become wise. Instead of self-absorption, we can love others. Instead of living for the moment, we can live with purpose.
**Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins... God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.**
When we open the Bible, it isn't like we must shout to get God's attention.
It's a gift of grace: God is already at work in our hearts.
He's always prompting us to know him and to be strengthened by his guidance. His Word prepares us to serve him and love our neighbors. He's inviting us into an abundant life.
Sometimes, we're like the father in Mark 9: "I believe, help my unbelief!"
At other times, we're like Matthew in Matthew 9: "He got up and followed Jesus."
We each have our own journey to wholeheartedly trust Jesus.
**To sustain a lifestyle of meeting with God, we have to trust that God loves us.**
Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins... And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
Do you sometimes feel like God's love for you is conditional? Where does that feeling come from?
What helps you trust God? What are the barriers to faith?
How does knowing that 'God loved us first' change how you approach devotions?
Talk to God about your relationship. Share honestly - what helps you trust him, and what makes it hard?
Read 1 John 4:10 again slowly. Let the truth sink in: God loved you first. You don't have to earn it.
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