CONSTANT AND BEYOND MEASURE

DEAR DR. GRAHAM: I like to read books that help me understand myself better, and one of the interesting facts I've run across is that if you grow up not liking yourself, then you'll always have a hard time liking other people. Does this mean someone like that can't love God, either? -- Mrs. A.N.


DEAR MRS. A.N.: No, it doesn't -- not at all. Admittedly, some people may have a harder time than others learning to love God; if you grew up thinking everyone disliked you, for example, you may end up falsely thinking that God doesn't like you either.


But no matter who we are or what our background has been, the greatest discovery we can ever make is that God loves us just as we are, and He wants to welcome us into His family just as we are. Others may fail us or even abuse us -- but God never does, because His love for us is constant and beyond measure.


How do I know this? I know it for one reason: Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, was willing to give His life so you and I could be forgiven of our sins and spend all eternity with Him in Heaven. Listen: If you had been the only person on earth who needed to be saved, Jesus Christ still would have been willing to die for you. God loves you that much! The Bible says, "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 John 4:10).


Don't let your feelings of worthlessness, or anything else, keep you from Christ. Down inside we all yearn to be loved, and even when others don't love us -- or even if we don't love ourselves -- God still loves us. Respond to His love today by asking Christ to come into your heart and life -- and He will.


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Jesus loved us so much that HE made the supreme sacrifice for us. He left Heaven, became a human, and died a cruel death on the cross so that we might be lost... once and for all.



Jesus shed His precious blood so that our sins would be forgiven and we would be "justified" with God. It would be " just as if I'd" never sinned.



When Jesus came into my heart, HE forgave all my sins... past, present, and future. HE gave His life as a sacrifice so that my sins would be taken from me. HE has removed them from me "as far as the east is from the west"... and even when I can't forgive myself, HE still forgives.


God's specialty is taking the guilty, the unloved, the undesirable, and the rejected... and using them for really important assignments in His work here on earth. Where ever we are today, God can make it better, God can take a "nothing" life and make it into a "something" life.



When God uses the regular everyday people like me and you to accomplish His plans, the praise that comes from a successful mission is sure to go to Him. There will be no doubt that you and I couldn't have done these great and mighty works in our own power.


I can tell you these statements are facts because I have experience with God. Over the last 35 years, HE has done miraculous things for me... Big things like protecting me from a tornado or healing the massive blockages that were found in my heart... all the way to little things... like showing me a sunset and filling my heart so full of love that I thought it would burst. Sunsets have become my own personal "love letter" from God each time I see one.


Time after time, God has shown His love and proven Himself faithful. He has met my financial needs when there seemed to be no way. He has touched my body, strengthening me and relieving my pain more times than I can remember. He has healed torn relationships and restored a lost daughter to me after 35 years apart.



Even when I have failed Him, He has continued to pour out His love on me... constant and beyond measure... always waiting for me to reach out to Him once again... and His love for you is just the same.


If you haven't made God part of your life, turn to Him today. Ask Him to forgive your sins and to come into your heart. He can take a messed up life and make it "clean and shiny".... transforming it into something entirely different. Experience the Love of God for your self. Reach out to Him. You have nothing to lose.... and EVERYTHING to gain.



And if you do know Him, make yourself available to Him. He can use you to accomplish the miraculous. All you have to do is be willing.