Experiencing God - Unit 3

Unit 3 - God Pursues a Love Relationship

Verse to Remember
Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.


Day 1 - Created for a Love Relationship

The following quotes from the workbook say it all.

From page 43 - He created you for a love relationship with Himself.  That is the very purpose of your life.
From page 45 - He wants you to love Him with all your being.  Your experiencing God depends on your having this relationship of love.  A love relationship with God is more important than any other single factor in your life.

God is Love!  He shows us how to love! In the workbook, the task was to emphasize the word love in the following scriptures.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.



John 3:16 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 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.

Romans 8:35-39 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.


1John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

1John 4:9-10,19 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. We love because he first loved us.


 
 
Day 2 - A Love Relationship With God
 
Matthew 6:31-32 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 

My mom worries about everything, I have even given her scriptures like this to put in her pocket to remind her not to worry. (p.s. mom, quit worrying about whatever you are worrying about!!) I suppose in a way, I learned not to worry because she worries so much. 
 
 
Matthew 6:19-21,33 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
 
The more we seek after God the more we come to know Him, to love Him, and become more like Christ.  Rather than spending time worrying about things we have no control over we should instead spend our time in those things that are lasting through to eternal life - enriching our relationship with God!
 
 
 
Day 3 - Walking with God
 
Any relationship requires time spent together. My hubby and I spent very little time together before we were married. We did however, spend many, many hours on the phone for several months. In those months before we were married, that time on the phone was top priority!  That time gave us a strong foundation.
 
So if my relationship with God is the most important thing in my life, then I need to make spending time with Him my top priority.  Every moment I spend with Him I come closer to Him.  The closer I get, the more I love Him, the more I love Him the better I can hear and understand Him when He speaks to me.


Day 4 - God Pursues a Love Relationship

Revelation 3:20 Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.

No relationship with God begins without Him making the first move.  He calls to us and we respond.  As He draws us close to Him, He then begins to open our hearts and minds to understanding. 


Day 5 - A Real, Personal, Practical Relationship

If your relationship with God is the most important part of your life, how much of your day and thoughts is He a part of?  Is He only there when you open your bible or devotional?  Is He only there when you need help and we call on Him in prayers of desperation? 

This is the opposite of where we should be.  God is a constant presence so shouldn't He be a part of every aspect of our lives - the good, the bad, and the ugly!  Perhaps if we seek Him more, pursue the relationship more then we can have joy even through those bad and ugly moments.