Atlanta Bethel Community Church

> The Lord your God is with you

The Lord your God is with you

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Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is with you, the mighty warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love, he will longer rebuke you, but rejoice over you with singing.

1 John 3:1

See what great love the Father has lavished on 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.

Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

In the Old Testament, we see many figures of might and power come out. People such as the likes of Samson, King David, Joshua. These are the figures the Jews looked for when Jesus arrived. But we see that Jesus was very different. But in the end, “the mighty warrior who saves”, we know him best as Jesus.

On the cross, he slew sin and death through death- his death. He spoke of this great delight that he takes in us in his love when he says there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous ones who don’t need to- Luke 15:4-7

The spirit of God, it prays for us in wordless groans. I bet it sounds like the most majestic singing, a captivating howling of the wind. And when we finally see the lord on Judgement day, he will sing to us too, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.Come and share your master’s happiness!”- Matthew 25:23

Your master, your one true leader, the good shepherd who longed for you and ran after us seeking you, the lost sheep, he is the great love lavished on you for the purpose of making you a child of God. The world may never recognize you for what makes you truly excellent- that is God’s love- but that’s fine. The world is lost at this point, don’t run after it for its acknowledgment. The Lord knows you and loves you.

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.”- Timothy J. Keller

We already have that true and complete love from God who foreknew us in our deepest sin, our deepest brokenness, ugliness, and wounds. So work on standing strong in this,”fortified” by the faith God has given you. This love is indeed everlasting, unfailing, yet we often misunderstand and weaken it. But repent, for the kingdom of God is here- in your midst, in your heart. The hardness, the rocks, the thorns. The ignorance, hurts, worries, give them to God in this day and in all days and retain this love, his word, his son. He’s appearing to you daily, not just in the Past, but each and every day. Even in this humble devotional made by him and a son who struggles just like you. God is appearing to you to save you even in this day. So Pray confident to your savior, seeking all you need. Amen