God loves you

Are you weary? Are you burdened?

Many of the things life throws at us can make us feel stressed out, wrung out, and weighed down. We can worry about our kids, how to pay the bills, or about the argument we had last night. 

We can feel rubbish about ourselves, like there’s a version of us we hope no-one will ever find out about. So we push it all down and are left feeling heavy, broken, anxious, lonely and full of regret for the things we’ve done and the decisions we’ve made that have hurt us and others.  

So if you’re feeling weary with life, take a look at what Jesus says to you;

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” 

Matthew 11:28 NLT

And if you’re feeling burdened by your mistakes; God sees you, (all of you) and he loves you. Not only that, he’s done something incredible for you that means there is hope. He has shown us His love by giving his life for us, lifting the burden of all our mistakes, once and for all. 

“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.” 

1 John 4:10 NLT

We’re all broken

God stands out from everyone else because He made everything. It was all His idea. You, me, the world - EVERYTHING. 

Eden wasn’t just a place, it was a way of living together with Him and it was all good! In fact, God looked at us and said we were

“very good!” 

(Genesis 1:31). But, instead of choosing to know and follow God, we chose to go our own way and our relationship with our Creator was broken. 

As a result, everything else falls apart. Our relationships with each other are broken; from world wars to family breakdowns to just getting on with our mates. Our relationship with ourselves is broken; we question whether we’re valuable and worthy of love. And our relationship with the world around us is broken; societies with a widening gap between rich and poor, the injustice of greed and lack; we struggle to manage our own finances, let alone change the systems that set the rules. 

Do you recognise any of this? 

But, He has saved us

You could think that it’s on you - that maybe, you need to ‘get it right’; be a good enough person or do enough to earn your way back into God’s good books. But, here’s the thing; God has done it all for us. His love is a gift, not a reward. The impossible way back to life with God, made possible through Jesus and why we call it ‘good news’ 

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God." 

Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

Because of His great love for us, Jesus gave his life on the cross and in doing so, traded all of our brokenness for a new life that he offers to us freely. He was raised back to life, defeating death itself, breaking the power of anything that controls or oppresses us. 

Our relationship with God has been restored, and it lasts forever. 

He promises to walk with us, so we’re not alone while we work out our relationships, discover our immense value, and learn to take part in the world in a meaningful way. Our fear, sin and even death traded for hope, forgiveness and life - this is the amazing exchange.

Walk with Him

The bible says that if you tell people, “Jesus is the one I trust and follow”, and believe in your heart that he rose from the dead, you’re part of God’s family and have a hope that goes beyond this life, into eternity. (Romans 10:9-10 paraphrased) 

God’s family is the church. The church has all kinds of different cultures, languages, traditions and people in it, but we’re all working it out together; discovering what it means to follow Jesus and his way of doing life. And here’s the mysterious bit - He is with us right now. God’s Spirit, His active power and presence, kind of like wifi, dwelling in us and walking with us each day, helping us through every situation. 

Choosing to walk with God in his direction, means we’re turning away from the ideas and stuff that we used to do that aren’t part of his way of living. The reality is that the things we turn away from were just the symptoms of our brokenness. Following Jesus is like a journey of healing where we learn to love God, love each other, love ourselves and the world around us. We don’t have to be afraid, ashamed or alone anymore. 

When you choose to follow Jesus, you are no longer a spiritual orphan, but a dearly loved child of God.

What’s next? Talk to God about it

Praying is talking to God and he’s always leaning in to listen to you. If you’d like to accept this incredible new start from God, and get to know the one who made you - experience his love and forgiveness - and know him walking with you every day, you just need to talk to him. If you’re not sure what to say, here’s a prayer you can pray. 

Father God, 

Thank you for loving me and sending Jesus to give His life on the cross so that I can be forgiven and become part of your family. 

I’m sorry for all the things I’ve thought, said and done that don’t honour you.

Please forgive me and make me new.

I say YES to You. Yes to Your love and forgiveness. 

Yes to Your hope and yes to the plans You have for me.

I choose to follow you with my whole life; You are my hope, my leader and my friend. 

Be with me by your Holy Spirit and help me to love you, myself and those around me. 

Amen 

What do I do now?

• Tell someone what you’ve done  - this isn’t a journey you go on alone. 

• Find a church near you. They’d love to help you take these first few steps. 

• Keep praying! You’ve already done it once, and I’m sure you’ve got loads to chat to God about - He’s listening and he’s for you. The best way to learn to pray is to pray! 

• Read the bible. It might be a bit daunting, but Jesus said in John 14:26 that the Holy Spirit would help us to understand his word. The book of Mark is a good place to start - it’s like a documentary of the life of Jesus and his first followers, just like you. 

• Consider baptism - Baptism is a powerful public sign of what God has done and is doing in your life.