The Bible is a love story

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “What the world needs now”

Our Bible verse for today: “Now this is what the Lord says – the one who created you, Jacob, the one who formed you, Israel – “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1-2 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “The Bible is a love story”

The Bible is a love story. It’s all about God’s love for us and His intense desire to have us there in heaven with Him forever. From start to finish – from the moment He created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden until the day the New Heaven and the New Earth have been formed and put into place and populated with the people of God for all eternity – all of it is about God drawing us to Himself in love.

Isaiah 43:1-2 is just one example of that – a beautiful example. In that specific case, He was speaking directly to the nation of Israel but the truth being articulated applies to us too. God created us (Psalm 139:13-18); He formed us (Jeremiah 18:1-7); therefore, we should not fear (Joshua 1:9); He has redeemed us (Revelation 5:9-10 / 2 Corinthians 5:21); He has called us by name (Jeremiah 1:5); we belong to Him – we are His (John 10:27-28 / Romans 14:8).

From start-to-finish the Bible is all about God calling to, reaching out to, drawing, embracing, redeeming, saving, and blessing the children He loves so much and for whom Jesus died.

People all around you are longing for this love, but most of them don’t realize this is what their hearts are searching for. “He has placed eternity in the heart of man.” “You have created us for yourself, oh God, and our hearts are restless, searching, until we find our rest in you.” “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of man that can only be filled by God.” Those insights from Solomon, Augustine, and Pascal remind us that people all around us have been confused and misled by the enemy of their souls and they are therefore looking for love in all the wrong places. Their hearts are longing for God even if they don’t realize it.

It’s up to you and me to tell them about how Jesus meets this great need we have deep in our hearts to know God and to be in a love relationship with Him. It is very, very true that life with Jesus is always better than life without Jesus, and that is true regardless of any other circumstances regarding that life. It is true for the person living in a mansion in Beverley Hills, and it is true for the impoverished family living in a hut in a remote region of Africa. It is true for the young single mother struggling to make ends meet in small-town USA, and it is true for the man sitting in a prison cell looking at years of incarceration ahead of him. Life is always better with Jesus rather than without Him because Jesus leads us to discover the great love of God which our hearts have been longing for all along. This is the story of the Bible.

People need to know this. We need to tell them. I encourage you to tell someone today about the love of God they will experience when they let Jesus bring them into the Father’s heavenly family.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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