A Quote for Today: Looking through a vintage copy of Father van Breemen's book, Called by Name, I was inspired by the peace and deep spiritually from which he wrote.
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| Called by Name Fr. Peter G. van Breemen, S.J. |
When I read this sentence: Faith is the conviction that God loves us as we are, I was moved by how much God loves me, just as I am. Every person on this earth including those who say they don't need it want first and foremost to be accepted and loved. People who are not nurtured in love often have deep emotional scars, some to the point where healing is nearly impossible. Jails are filled with people who have been mistreated and not cared for properly.
There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God* where all who will come experience the warmth and peace of being loved without reservation for who they are. God will not like what you do that is against his will and Godly morality, and there may be consequences, but He loves you, always.
This is why Jesus told of searching for the one out of one hundred who is lost until found and brought back into the fold. Luke 15:1-7
This is why Jesus told the story of the prodigal son who was greedy, arrogant and disobedient when he left home but when he came back was welcomed with open arms by his father. Luke 15:11-32
This is why Christians can go through anything and everything, even die instead of denying their belief in the Savior Jesus Christ because they have confidence that the promises God who loves them are true without fail.
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| Today you will never walk alone. God is here. God is with you. Created by Mary Katherine May
God, the One True God is Love, and Love is God. Jesus taught about his love in the New Testament Gospel of John: For God so loved the world that who ever believe in Him shall not perish but will have life forever. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save it. --John 3:16, 17
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What God wants in return is what He gives us:
The First Great Commandment: Matthew 22:27
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.
The Second Great Commandment: Matthew 22:39
You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Believe it! Have faith in it!
If you are like me then there is or was a time when you didn't love yourself. It happens. I would ask myself, How can I love as God tells me to when I don't even like me? GOD is the answer. GOD, who is love, heals your troubled and broken heart over time when you read the Bible, pray, and take time to stop and listen to what He is saying, and when you find Christian friends who are growing in God's love as you are.
A Jealous God
In the Old Testament book of Exodus, chapter 34, God tells us to love Him only and love Him most because he is a jealous God. Some people don't like the idea of God being jealous, as in possessive, but it isn't that way. Think about this: God loves each of his children totally with full commitment, something like when a couple marries. If a man or woman cheats and gives love to someone else the one was cheated on is really hurt and angry, even jealous of what was taken. It is no different with God who gives complete love. We not only belong to Him, God also belongs to us. I like that God loves me to the point that if I give my devotion to someone or something else He will be jealous.
Here is what GOD is: God is loving, forgiving and accepting.
Here is what GOD is not: God is not overbearing, bossy, or threatening, and God never tells you to hurt or torture or terrorize or kill anyone who doesn't follow what He says.
Here is what Christians mean when they say to step into the Light or that God is light shining in the darkness. When you have experienced God's love you will know light that is filled with holiness, love and peace shining on you all the time, even when things seem so dark you can't see the way.
Faith is the conviction that God loves us as we are.
Father Peter G. van Breemen, S.J.
*There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God is the first line of the hymn Near to the Heart of God by Cleland Boyd McAfee.
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