Day 1: Jesus Loves Me, This I Know!

One scheme perpetrated for a long time by the enemy is putting doubt in God’s people whether or not He loves them. This was the case with what the devil did to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God has just created a perfect world for the first man and woman, and yet, the devil successfully placed doubt in their hearts, putting to question God’s love towards them.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:1-5

From this exchange, the enemy was able to cunningly question God’s motive for withholding the fruit that is in the middle of the garden to both Adam and Eve. But in hindsight, God withheld the fruit because He loves them; they are already in paradise and they are living like God. God knows that when they eat of the forbidden tree’s fruit, they will be cut off from His presence forever. And as a loving God, He did not want that to happen.

On a side topic: God created man with free will, because without it, it’s tantamount to creating a robot – a yes-person that would just obey whatever the creator commanded it to do.

The story of creation and man’s fall evolved around man’s betrayal of a loving God. Through Adam and Eve, we turned away from a perfect paradise created by God. Because of man’s fall, sin entered into man’s life, and through sin, death also entered – for the wages of sin is death.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.

Romans 5:12

And ever since man’s fall, God put into motion a way for man to be redeemed and reconciled back into His fold. However, God’s plan for redeeming and reconciling man to Himself meant having to give up His only begotten Son as a living sacrifice in man’s place.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Jesus, God’s beloved Son, took the form of man, in the likeness of sin, so that through Himself, He is able to carry the burden of man’s sin on the cross. He sacrificed and died the death that should have been for man, but because of God’s love for His people, He willingly gave up Jesus to take the penalty of sin – death – in His own body on the lonely tree.

Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.…

Philippians 2:7-8

Why then is this very important for anyone to know and believe? Because now, with the sin-debt paid by Jesus on the cross, man has a way out of the sin-penalty including the guilt and condemnation. The enemy loves to remind Christ-believers of their faults, failures and shortcomings, and unfortunately, religion loves to guilt-trip and condemn Christ-believers also for always missing the mark. But that should not be the case anymore! All because of Jesus, when individuals put their trust on Him and accept Him as their Lord, Savior and Redeemer, everything Jesus did is more than enough!

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…

Romans 8:1

So now, when the enemy puts doubt in your heart whether or not God loves you, the radical way to deal with these kinds of taunt is to flaunt Jesus and remind the enemy of His finished work on the cross. Know and believe that the cross is the best, greatest and grandest proof of God’s love towards His people – including you. There should never be a shadow of doubt in our hearts that God loves us, His people. We are highly favored and deeply loved, all because of Jesus!

Reflection Questions:

1. Were there times in your life that you question whether or not God loves you?
2. Before you’ve read this post, how do you usually deal when the enemy reminds you of your faults, failures and shortcomings?
3. Was guilt and condemnation an issue in your life? How is guilt and condemnation affecting your life?
4. Now that you’ve read this post, what should you do when the enemy reminds you of your faults, failures and shortcomings?
5. How is your life changed after knowing the truth of what Jesus has accomplished for you and in your behalf on the cross? Will you still feel guilty and condemned, after knowing the truth that Jesus did it all for you, so that the only thing needed from you is to believe in His finished work?

Radical Faith in Action:

Encourage yourself in the truth that God so loved you, that He willingly gave up Jesus to take your place of death and He sacrificed and died on the cross – all for you. Declare over and over again: “Jesus loves me, this I know!” And when the enemy reminds you of your faults, failures and shortcomings – point the enemy to Jesus’ finished work, and remind the enemy instead: “Jesus paid my sin-debt dearly by His blood and by His life; I don’t have to die anymore. Jesus’ victory is mine!”