Dear Friends,
Jesus loves me! This I know, Yes, Jesus loves me!
For the Bible tells me so. Yes, Jesus loves me!
Little ones to Him belong; Yes, Jesus loves me!
They are weak, but He is strong. The Bible tells me so.
Do I really know that Jesus loves me?
Sometimes things are so familiar that we miss the truth: They are meant for us. For instance, when we hear “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” do we accept that we are part of the world that Christ died for, or do we secretly wish that God would help us internalize that life-giving truth?
A few months ago Bonnie was longing to hear God’s voice. “I know he loves everybody else, she confessed, “but I want to know that he lovers ME.”
A few days later we attended a church service. The pastor approached the pulpit, paused for moment then began, “Someone here tonight wants to know that God loves them. I’m here to tell you that he does! You may leave now.”
Bonnie turned to me with her radiant smile and asked, “Should we go?”
It gets even better. This past Sunday our neighbors knocked on our door, excited to tell us about something that happened during their church service. “Our head pastor was on vacation, so the assistant pastor gave the sermon,” our neighbor explained. He began to tell us that he had had a very troubling week, and he started to question God’s love. ‘Then’, he said, ‘I saw a white Prius with a license plate that completely changed my attitude.’
’The two video screens on each side of the platform were filled with the image of a license plate. ‘To anyone else, the license plate offered the message, Jesus loves ewe (you). To me,’ the pastor explained, it was far more meaningful… my initials are E.W.E.
I was reminded that Jesus loves Edward W. Ewart.’”
Stories from the Bible confirm God communicates in a myriad of ways. First, He communicates with us through nature. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” Psalm 19:1.
He has been reported to make personal visits: “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.’” Genesis 17:1.
God caught Moses attention when “the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.” God got Pharaoh’s attention with plagues. God allowed Gideon to test him with dew on a fleece: “Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” Judges 6:39
God spoke through his prophets to Saul and to David, and used writing on a wall with King Belshazzar – “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace.”Daniel 5:5.
Then there are dreams. “The Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 1 kings 3:5. Dreams are prominent in the lives of Joseph, Daniel, Job, and Joseph -the earthly father of Jesus – and Pontius Pilot.
Caution: Several scriptures warn against placing too much trust in dreams. A vivid dream may be as likely the result of a bad burrito as a message from God. “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.” Ecclesiastes 5:7.
Angels serve as God’s messengers. “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them…” Luke 2:8-9.
Of course, God speaks to us through his Holy Word. You can tune into God daily by reading the Bible. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)
The most mysterious way God communicates with Christians is through the power of the Holy Spirit acting within us. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13
God surely speaks in a myriad of ways. We believe He even may use a license plate, a letter, or an e-mail you send to someone who needs to know for sure, “GOD LOVES YOU!”
Blessings,
Your friends in Christ
Because He Loves Us Press 