September 7, 2015

All Are Wanted, All Are Loved


I've often read God's conversation with Jeremiah:

"Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.'


Then said I:

'Ah, Lord GOD!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.'


 But the LORD said to me:
'Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.


Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,' says the LORD.


Then the LORD put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me:
'Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.


See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”   


Jeremiah 1:4-10

Jeremiah was young at the time and God let him know he was wanted, even before he was formed. He was loved before he even existed.

God knew him. God had a plan.

And oh what a plan! A plan of redemption, a plan of forgiveness, a plan of grace.

I recently finished reading the book of Jeremiah and it was so beautiful the way God kept calling His children back, kept giving them another chance. (And they had done some horrific things, things like sacrificing their own children to other gods (Jer. 7:30-31), and though they had to suffer the consequences (Jer. 32:29-30), God continued to pursue them, call them back and keep His promises. (Jer. 4:1, Jer. 31:15-18, Jer. 24:5-7) Oh how I can relate! He calls me back time and again.

His love is unfailing and His promises are always kept. I am so grateful and love Him even more for this. : )

Have you ever deeply thought about how God wanted you? How He calls you and how much He loves you? I think about this sometimes and it is so overwhelming I can't even fathom it, but I know it is true.

I trust Him. He is good.

Each of these beautiful children, from Compassion International's programs, are also wanted by God. He knew them before He formed them and He has a plan for each of them.

All are loved by God.

Just look at their faces.

I see outgoing smiling kids, I see quiet thoughtful kids, I see goofy fun kids.

I see children made in God's image. All wanted, all loved by God.







 
I recently read a biography of a women named Hannah More, she was a poet, a reformer and an abolitionist in the late 1700's and early 1800's.

The biographer says of her:

"More had a conservative approach to reform (of the poor*) centered on expanding responsibility, not rights, and promoting duty, not democracy."

More said:

"Reformation must begin with the GREAT, or it will never be effectual."

This really moved me.

As Christians we are to give up our rights and live to obey the Lord, and in that obedience we do what is our responsibility, not our right.

One of our responsibilities is to help the poor. Feed them, cloth them, teach them and share the Gospel with them.

Will you give?

Would you consider sponsoring a child in need?

Here's an opportunity for you.

Check out Compassion's website here: Compassion International



*NOTE: Emphasize (*) mine.

22 comments:

  1. Powerful passage and message! Powerful to be reminded of God's beautiful Love for us, for me, for those beautiful children. Yes, each one is loved and wanted in God's eyes.
    I will be looking for the book on Hannah More. I am so interested in history of abolition, the Underground Railroad, Civil Rights, and so much more. I just read an historical fiction book based on the life of a Sarah, a daughter of John Brown who was hung for his call to abolish slavery. Sarah was very much involved in the UG Railroad, especially after her father's hanging.
    Well, I got off track from Jeremiah but that part of your post interested me too.
    Visiting from SDG.
    Caring through Christ, ~ linda

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    1. The book on Hannah More is called 'Fierce Convictions.' It was a little slow to start but as I read on it was very inspiring. I love reading about these brave individuals too. They make history come alive.

      Thanks for stopping by Linda!

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  2. Thank you for sharing this! Very encouraging verses from God.
    Found your post from Literacy Musing Monday :)

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  3. Thank you for your thoughts on Jeremiah - some of my favorite verses come from the conversations God has with him. I am also so glad you brought up the fact that the whole book is about Gods plan of redemption and calling His children back to Him. Very pertinent for days and times we are living in as well. Blessings, your neighbor at #Unite link-up

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    1. I love seeing God's plan unfold through Scripture and how it relates to us today as well. Thanks for stopping by Debbie. : )

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  4. I love this quote from you as well - - "His love is unfailing and His promises are always kept I" That is so true, I think sometimes we forget when things doesn't come when we think they should or we wait years to see the fruition of them, but He always - always - always keeps His promises. Oh and we are also neighbors at the #RaRaLinkup - how fun is that :) I guess God wanted us to meet. Blessings

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  5. Beautiful message here. The book of Jeremiah has so much to teach us. I see a little thread of continuity between Judith's (our host's) post and yours. God knows and loves each one of us--and sometimes calls us outside of our comfort zone.

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    1. Hi Carol, thanks for stopping by. Jeremiah definitely is a book filled with things to teach us!

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  6. I am reading through Jeremiah right now - some readings are so disheartening, so I love how you picked out that part about how God had called Jeremiah even before he was born and how He promised to deliver Him. I hear you about the poor - we don't sponsor through Compassion, but we do have a little boy in the Gaza Strip that we give to through another organization.

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    1. Hi Jen, I love hearing sponsorship stories. Glad to hear you have a little boy in the Gaza Strip! We have one little girl through Compassion and another little girl through an organization my daughter traveled with to Africa. So glad there are these dedicated workers to help these children and that we have an opportunity to sponsor.

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  7. Don't you love knowing this, "His love is unfailing and His promises are always kept."

    Thanks for these sweet reminders from the book of Jeremiah today.

    I came over on Faith Filled Friday, and I'm glad to find your post.

    Hope you have a blessed weekend~
    Melanie

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  8. What a beautiful post, beautiful pictures and a call to act. Thank you!

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    1. Thanks Denise and thanks for stopping by. : )

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  10. I love reading those verses from Jeremiah and I love Compassion too. Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday.

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  11. This is a fantastic post, as a fellow Compassion sponsor and blogger, I so appreciate your words here! Thank you for sharing it with us at Grace & Truth! You are so valuable to our community!!

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  12. Very powerful post. I actually thought it was going to be about abortion but it was also very applicable to Compassion's ministry. Gorgeous and moving pictures as well! Thanks for sharing this post at Booknificent Thursday!
    Tina

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Feel free to leave your own thoughts in the comments. I try to respond to all of them by the end of the week. : )