What happens when you open your heart to God’s love? In this episode of A Few Minutes with God, we will discuss the grace of God’s love and how it can empower you.

Open Your Heart To God’s Love 328

God’s love is amazing; it is such a blessing, and His love is unconditional, and yet we often turn from His love because we feel unworthy. Yet we should recall this verse, which is listed as the Greatest Commandment. Matthew 22:34-40 (read on air).

 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sad′ducees, they came together. ³⁵ And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

Can we embrace that, and can we open our hearts to love the Lord totally?

Recently I’ve reread C.S. Lewis’ popular book, The Screw Tape Letters. This was in preparation for attending the play, which I am looking forward to seeing. This book is excellent if you want to know how the evil one works. One of the ways is by allowing us to doubt that we are worthy of an Almighty and loving God. But we know that is not true.

Romans 3:10-12 states:

as it is written:“None is righteous, no, not one;¹¹     no one understands;    no one seeks for God.¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;  no one does good,not even one.”

If we don’t believe, we have difficulty doing good. Or, as the verse states, we have turned aside altogether.

Psalm 14:1-3 says a similar thing, but we should take heart because later in Romans, we see there is hope for us.

Romans 3:22-24 states: the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Faith is a grace, a gift from God. And with faith, we can see through the eyes of love. Faith opens up an entirely new world for us, and the way we develop it goes a long way in how we can grow in faith. Opening our hearts gives us the capacity to love God more and to love others.

The first step is to open your heart to the Lord through surrender. We have to “let go and let God.” We must believe in faith and trust that He loves us and that His love is available for us, no matter who we are or where we live. God loves you, and yes, if we are in sin, we should repent, but by opening our hearts to God, we will see the sin in our lives. We can be blinded or ignore sin, yet God waits for us.

Proverbs 3:5 — it takes trust. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.”

This takes vulnerability. Be honest with God about your fears, struggles, and desires. God knows, but in doing this act, we show our willingness to grow in faith. 

Next, open your heart to God with prayer. We thank God and praise Him for all He has done for us. When was the last time you thanked the Creator of the Universe for the gift of life? Sometimes, we have to look hard to find something to be thankful for, and other times, it is easy. By praying and quietly reflecting on the Lord, we can prepare our hearts for a deeper love.

—>Thanks to our sponsor, NowPrograms.com, whose philosophy is to remediate instead of accommodate. Something I’ve been saying for years!

How do you further your relationship with the Lord? Through scripture study, reading the Bible, and listening to faith-filled podcasts or videos. In this way, we make an effort to know more about the Lord. How can we love someone we don’t know? How can we expect to open our hearts to the Lord if we don’t understand his mercy? (Podcast on God’s Justice and Mercy.)

When we open our hearts to the Lord, we will find areas or people we need to forgive. Sometimes, we need to forgive ourselves or forgive others. In doing so, we are released from the burden of unforgiveness, and this allows us to give to the Lord freely.

Create a list of Scripture verses that discuss God’s Love.

1. 
   
2.  John 3:16:  For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
   
3. Romans 5:8: But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
   
4. 1 John 4:19 : We love, because he first loved us.
   

This leads us to the last point. When you open your heart to God, you will be flooded with gratitude. You will see with new eyes, and you will become a thankful person. And you will see that God’s love has always been present. You just never saw it in the same way! Your life will bear fruit.

And what will you do with this knowledge? Who will you tell? How will you share the good news? That is the challenge we all have, and we can once again ask God for the ability and opportunity to share his love with others!

May God be blessed.

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