Real Love!

I John 4:10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Meditate on God’s Word! On this day in 1971 Sue and I made a commitment to love each other until death parts us. We have had our share of struggles and neither one of us would admit even being close to perfect, the love has continued. We certainly are closer to that date than we were 47 years ago but the glue that kept our relationship together was when we both met Jesus in a personal and powerful way.  I met Jesus by reading the Bible and shared everything with Sue that I was learning. Our dear friends Mark and Dorothy showed and lived the love of Jesus in their lives and were ready to help us when they saw how God was moving in our lives. I found Jesus after reading this scrpture over and over again, honestly asking God to show me how to find Him because I worried so much. So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[e] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:31-33. 

I was lost inside and was searching for the love and forgiveness I found in God’s Word by reading the Living Bible daily devotional. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. I John 4:9-10 It was only when I gave up trying to find peace through meditation, eastern religion and good works that the Bible opened up to me. When I realized that if Jesus was really God and died on the cross for the sins of all mankind that I needed to accept and believe by faith. If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile[f] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13 

The beauty of this offer is that it is available to anyone and everyone who accepts Jesus by faith. So we both went to a Billy Graham Rally in Detroit to verbally make our commitment to Jesus in 1976. We absolutely and positively would not be together today if we had not found and accepted Jesus in a personal way as we did so 42 years ago. It truly freed us to love, accept and forgive each other in a way that only Jesus can do. That is the real story of our walk in faith. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. I John 4:9-10 Be open to the call of Jesus speaking to your heart today. It will truly change your life!