Whoever
does not love does not know God, because God is love.
ومن
لا يحب لم يعرف الله لان الله محبة.
1 John 4:8
Meditate on the following Bible
verses that illustrate God's love for you. (For Arabic verses scroll to the end)
Make it a
project to grasp how much God loves you. Read the following verses slowly and
prayerfully and ask God to make them real to you.
The LORD appeared to us
in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have
drawn you with loving-kindness"
(Jeremiah 31:3).
For God so
loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Greater love
has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
As the Father
has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love (John 15:9).
Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face
death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in
all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am
convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the
present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is
in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans
8:35-39).
But because of his
great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even
when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Christ loved us and
gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2).
But when the kindness
and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous
things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing
of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit
(Titus 3:4-5).
This is how God showed
his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might
live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and
sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:9-10).
I invite you to join me in my prayer and to repeat the following prayer
for yourself:
Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and Your deep,
everlasting and inseparable love. LORD, I pray that You strengthen me
with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith and I can feel Your love for me,
and to follow Your commandment to love others as You have loved me. Help me Father God to feel as a
conqueror over all things that displease You through Him
who loved me. Help me to be convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate me from Your love God that is in Christ Jesus my Lord and
Saviour. I pray that I, being
rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp how wide and long and
high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses
knowledge--that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. In Your holy name Jesus, I pray. To
You be the glory, the power, and the dominion forever and ever and unto
ages of all ages. Amen.
Jesus loves you,
In Him,
Wagdi Henein
16 لأَنَّهُ
هكَذَا أَحَبَّ اللهُ الْعَالَمَ حَتَّى بَذَلَ ابْنَهُ الْوَحِيدَ، لِكَيْ لاَ
يَهْلِكَ كُلُّ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ، بَلْ تَكُونُ لَهُ الْحَيَاةُ الأَبَدِيَّةُ.
13 لَيْسَ لأَحَدٍ مَحَبَّةٌ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ هَذِهِ: أَنْ يَبْذِلَ أَحَدٌ
حَيَاتَهُ فِدَى أَحِبَّائِهِ.
9 مِثْلَمَا أَحَبَّنِي الآبُ، أَحْبَبْتُكُمْ أَنَا، فَاثْبُتُوا فِي
مَحَبَّتِي.
35 فَمَنْ سَيَفْصِلُنَا عَنْ مَحَبَّةِ الْمَسِيحِ لَنَا؟ هَلِ
الشِّدَّةُ أَمِ الضِّيقُ أَمِ الاِضْطِهَادُ أَمِ الْجُوعُ أَمِ الْعُرْيُ أَمِ
الْخَطَرُ أَمِ السَّيْفُ؟
36 بَلْ كَمَا قَدْ كُتِبَ: «إِنَّنَا مِنْ أَجْلِكَ نُعَانِي
الْمَوْتَ طُولَ النَّهَارِ. قَدْ حُسِبْنَا كَأَنَّنَا غَنَمٌ لِلذَّبْحِ!»
37 وَلكِنَّنَا، فِي جَمِيعِ هَذِهِ الأُمُورِ، نُحْرِزُ مَا يَفُوقُ
الانْتِصَارَ عَلَى يَدِ مَنْ أَحَبَّنَا.
38 فَإِنِّي لَعَلَى يَقِينٍ بِأَنَّهُ لاَ الْمَوْتُ وَلاَ
الْحَيَاةُ، وَلاَ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ وَلاَ الرِّيَاسَاتُ، وَلاَ الأُمُورُ
الْحَاضِرَةُ وَلاَ الآتِيَةُ، وَلاَ الْقُوَّاتُ،
39 وَلاَ الأَعَالِي وَلاَ الأَعْمَاقُ، وَلاَ خَلِيقَةٌ أُخْرَى،
تَقْدِرُ أَنْ تَفْصِلَنَا عَنْ مَحَبَّةِ اللهِ الَّتِي لَنَا فِي الْمَسِيحِ
يَسُوعَ رَبِّنَا.
4 أَمَّا اللهُ ، وَهُوَ غَنِيٌّ فِي الرَّحْمَةِ، فَبِسَبَبِ
مَحَبَّتِهِ الْعَظِيمَةِ الَّتِي أَحَبَّنَا بِهَا،
5 وَإِذْ كُنَّا نَحْنُ أَيْضاً أَمْوَاتاً بِالذُّنُوبِ، أَحْيَانَا
مَعَ الْمَسِيحِ، إِنَّمَا بِالنِّعْمَةِ أَنْتُمْ مُخَلَّصُونَ،
2 وَاسْلُكُوا فِي الْمَحَبَّةِ عَلَى مِثَالِ الْمَسِيحِ الَّذِي
أَحَبَّنَا وَبَذَلَ نَفْسَهُ لأَجْلِنَا تَقْدِمَةً وَذَبِيحَةً لِلهِ طَيِّبَةَ
الرَّائِحَةِ.
4 وَلَكِنْ، لَمَّا ظَهَرَ لُطْفُ مُخَلِّصِنَا اللهِ، وَمَحَبَّتُهُ
لِلنَّاسِ،
5 خَلَّصَنَا لاَ عَلَى أَسَاسِ أَعْمَالِ بِرٍّ قُمْنَا بِهَا
نَحْنُ، وَإِنَّمَا بِمُوجِبِ رَحْمَتِهِ، وَذَلِكَ بِأَنْ غَسَلَنَا كُلِّيّاً
غُسْلَ الْخَلِيقَةِ الْجَدِيدَةِ وَالتَّجْدِيدِ الَّذِي يُجْرِيهِ الرُّوحُ
الْقُدُسُ،
9 وَقَدْ أَظْهَرَ اللهُ مَحَبَّتَهُ لَنَا إِذْ أَرْسَلَ ابْنَهُ
الأَوْحَدَ إِلَى الْعَالَمِ لِكَيْ نَحْيَا بِهِ.
10 وَفِي هَذَا نَرَى الْمَحَبَّةَ الْحَقِيقِيَّةَ، لاَ مَحَبَّتَنَا
نَحْنُ لِلهِ، بَلْ مَحَبَّتَهُ هُوَ لَنَا. فَبِدَافِعِ مَحَبَّتِهِ، أَرْسَلَ
ابْنَهُ كَفَّارَةً لِخَطَايَانَا.
