"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whosoever
believes in Him, should not perish but have the gift of eternal life."
John 3:16 ESV
Earlier today I was thinking about God's perfect love...
believes in Him, should not perish but have the gift of eternal life."
John 3:16 ESV
Earlier today I was thinking about God's perfect love...
How He loves humanity as a whole, and how He loves the church as well, the latter being the body and bride of Christ himself. And He is overjoyed when those who have turned from their sins and have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus, and on His finished work on the cross of Calvary, have in turn been given the gift of eternal life.
For me, as a member of Christ's bride, it's amazing to think that the Lord knew me even before I was born. He was watching as I developed in my mother's womb. He watched with joy when I finally entered the world. Then, within a few days afterwards, He happily saw a loving mother handing over her child and putting me into the hands of a tenderhearted Jewish couple, Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz. They in turn would raise me, thankful to finally have a child of their own to love and cherish.
Even though I was born out of wedlock and my mother's getting pregnant was unexpected and unplanned, seeing the bigger picture from the vantage point of today, I know that my birth was not a mistake. It was a God-ordained event.
Just like billions of other births, mine was no different. The circumstances may have been different than most pregnancies, but I believe with every fiber of my being that God wanted me to come into the world. He saw me as I was growing in the womb. He saw my birth mother's tears, and felt her grief and anguish in knowing that she would be forced by a selfish paramour, to give me away.
Yet within the mix of all that was happening at the time of my birth, and all that would transpire as I grew up, God was aware of what awaited me. He knew of the hardships that were ahead, and how in the end I would be okay. That I would also go on to make my peace with Him. In truth, He knew the end from the beginning.
For me, and what I know today that I didn't know back then, was that in spite of my criminal past and my battles with insanity and the negative influences of actual demons, the Lord was watching over me.
God's plan and purpose for my life was set in eternity, and it's true for everyone. No one is here by accident. Life is a gift from God.
D.B
For me, as a member of Christ's bride, it's amazing to think that the Lord knew me even before I was born. He was watching as I developed in my mother's womb. He watched with joy when I finally entered the world. Then, within a few days afterwards, He happily saw a loving mother handing over her child and putting me into the hands of a tenderhearted Jewish couple, Nathan and Pearl Berkowitz. They in turn would raise me, thankful to finally have a child of their own to love and cherish.
Even though I was born out of wedlock and my mother's getting pregnant was unexpected and unplanned, seeing the bigger picture from the vantage point of today, I know that my birth was not a mistake. It was a God-ordained event.
Just like billions of other births, mine was no different. The circumstances may have been different than most pregnancies, but I believe with every fiber of my being that God wanted me to come into the world. He saw me as I was growing in the womb. He saw my birth mother's tears, and felt her grief and anguish in knowing that she would be forced by a selfish paramour, to give me away.
Yet within the mix of all that was happening at the time of my birth, and all that would transpire as I grew up, God was aware of what awaited me. He knew of the hardships that were ahead, and how in the end I would be okay. That I would also go on to make my peace with Him. In truth, He knew the end from the beginning.
For me, and what I know today that I didn't know back then, was that in spite of my criminal past and my battles with insanity and the negative influences of actual demons, the Lord was watching over me.
God's plan and purpose for my life was set in eternity, and it's true for everyone. No one is here by accident. Life is a gift from God.
D.B