The Heart of God :: By Rick Segoine

How big is the heart of our Heavenly Father, and how much does He love us?

One of the many scripture verses that answers this question is this one.

“It is not God’s will that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9).

That means that if His will were to be done by all, everyone who ever lived would be saved and redeemed and live eternally with Him.

He knows that because of the free will factor, many will choose to not be with Him for eternity, and yet it is not His will that it would be that way.

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have a huge heart full of love, amazing grace, and mercy.

Following are some of the scripture verses that reveal the love that God has for us.

Psalm 103:8 “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

Romans 5:8 “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”

Psalm 136:26 “Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His steadfast love endures forever.”

1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Romans 5:5 “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Psalm 36:7 “How precious is your steadfast love oh God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

Isaiah 41:13 “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'”

Isaiah 54:10 “For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

John 16:27 “For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

1 John 4:9 “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.”

These are just a few of the Old and New Testament scriptures describing the love our Lord has for us.

There are so many more, like when Jesus told the story of the shepherd who went to find the one sheep who was lost. Or the father who rejoiced when his prodigal son had returned. Or when Jesus, sitting upon the Mt. of Olives, wept over the people of Jerusalem and the people of Israel because of their hardened hearts and unwillingness to recognize the very one who was sent to save them and heal them, fill them with joy, and bestow on them eternal life.

Surely, one of the greatest demonstrations of God’s love was when Jesus, as He hung upon the cross, said these words: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” To forgive and to feel love and concern for those who had just mocked you, beaten you mercilessly, and crucified you is a huge kind of love indeed.

What a blessing it is to know how much God loves us.

What a blessing it is to trust God with all of our hearts.

What a blessing it is to have God create in us a new heart.

A heart like His.

A heart to love as He loves.

A heart to treat others as He would do.

A heart filled with graciousness and mercy and compassion and a will that none should perish.

“No ear has heard, no eye has seen, and no human mind has conceived of the things God has prepared for those who love Him. These are things God has revealed to us by the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

It won’t be long now until we begin to find out what the above promise actually looks like.

Perhaps just after the Rapture, we will begin to know, and when God creates a new heaven and a new earth after the millennium, we will know in full.

Won’t it be wonderful to live for eternity in a world that thrives on God’s amazing love and is appreciated by all?

The heart of God is indeed huge and filled with the most beautiful and the most perfect love.

Deep inside the heart of God is the safest and most secure place to call home in all of the universe and beyond.

If you have been lost in the ways of the world and have read these words about the love of God, and you would like to turn your life over to the only one who can save you and who loves you more than you could possibly imagine, then in a humble spirit of repentance, do the following:

Believe in Jesus. Believe that He is who He Himself says He is (the Way and the Truth and the Life) and that He, because of the boundless love He and His Father have for you, paid in full for your sins and died in your place on that cross at Calvary so that you may receive the free gift of salvation and become part of God’s forever family. Believe in Him, trust in Him, and believe with all of your heart that He was raised from the dead and rose again, and then tell someone that Jesus has become your Savior.

Romans 10:9-10 “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

May the steadfast love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit fill the hearts of many lost souls on this very day and call them to salvation.

Your friend in Him,

Rick Segoine

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