Daily Devotional

The Love of God

By Dr. Marvin Moss
This week's topic: God's Love

It is in the book of Isaiah that we find as many chapters as the Bible has books -66. It is Isaiah-- a major prophet-- who has an assignment from the throne room of heaven to call the nation of Judah back to God and to tell of God’s salvation through the Messiah. In other words, Isaiah is prophesying or foretelling of the coming of the one who would be called Jesus. He is charged with delivering this message at a time in the life of Judah where all they know and have known is pain and misery.

The setting is one where the Jews have been in continuous captivity and now find themselves with some time to go before they are restored. But, the good news is that they will be restored. It is the LOVE OF GOD that will restore the nation. It is the LOVE OF GOD that can restore you today.

Three things we can see that describe the love of God: consoling; consistent; and Christ in action through us.

Consoling

God desires that His people understand that He has made a way for us to go from ruin to restoration; from pain to praise, from doubting to dancing even though it hasn’t happened yet. Delayed does not mean it’s not coming. God wants to use your life, your mess, your stuff, everything about you to help prepare the way. There are sometimes that we will find ourselves in places where can’t nobody but God comfort or console us. It’s only God who can console us in the midst of the challenge.

Consistent

God’s word establishes the order for His love to prevail. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His word is from everlasting to everlasting. God is consistent in that He makes provision for us to always have a way back to Him when we fall away. His love for Jerusalem let them know that the challenges they were facing right now would not last always.

We can’t just love Him when everything is good.

We can’t just love Him when it’s convenient for us.

We can’t just love Him when it’s popular to do so.

We must be consistent in our love for God.

In the face of adversity, love Him.

In the face of challenge, love Him.

God’s love is Christ at work in us

Don’t let the enemy hold you in a place that God has already released you from! The enemy is anybody who’s not preparing the way for your release but ensuring that you remain captive. They’re not preparing the way; they’re just in the way.

When God has moved in someone’s life he or she can’t forget that it was God and only God. They recognize that God didn’t have to, but He did. They recognize that there was not anything so special about them that would have made God answer their prayer instead of someone else’s. They recognize that because the Lord was on their side, they didn’t lose their mind when by all rights they should have. You know this if you have ever been in a place where couldn’t nobody but God bring you out. You had given up, or others had given up on you. It didn’t look good. It didn’t feel good. It just wasn’t good.

But somewhere between weeping enduring in the night, joy came in the morning,

You remembered that God loves you.

Someone had prayed for Jesus to come into your life and they reminded you that Jesus was bruised for your iniquities and died for your sins.

So don’t be reminded of where you’ve been, look at where you’re going-- because of God’s love.

Scripture of the Day: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” - Isaiah 53:5-6

The Reverend Dr. Marvin Anthony Moss is Senior Pastor of Cascade United Methodist Church. As a “Light in the Community,” Cascade places an emphasis on developing quality programs which nurture children and youth, and teaches the principles of giving time, talents and resources. Since his arrival in June 2006, more than 50 ministries perform…

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