Wednesday, August 1, 2018
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I just don't understand why this beautiful girl at college didn't have love at first sight. I mean, when she met me, you know? I mean, it wasn't even love at second sight, or tenth sight. We met at college, and it wasn't as if she was holed up in her room studying all the time. She was very active socially-especially in dating some of the most sought-after guys on campus. I knew getting her wasn't going to be easy. So I carefully planned my comings and goings so I would be places that I thought she would be. Don't you dare call it stalking - no. I thought about things I could say that might impress her, and I ultimately let her know that I had more than a casual friendship in my mind. There were challenges, but there was no way I was going to lose this girl. I loved her, I relentlessly pursued her, and I got her! And what a wonderful life it's been together!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Love that Will Not Let You Go."
I have loved someone enough to pursue her with everything I had. There's someone who loves you like that whether or not you know it. In fact, He's been pursuing you for years, determined to give you every chance to begin a personal relationship with Him. And while you've been giving yourself to other pursuits, He's just been relentlessly pursuing you. But one day your time to experience His love will run out. So He's pursuing you one more time today.
I'm talking about Jesus Christ. In our word for today from the Word of God, there's a memorable picture of where you are spiritually and where Jesus is in relation to you. The Bible describes our spiritual condition this way: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). That's hard to argue with. When you look at what the Bible says about how we're supposed to live and then you compare your life to God's 100% holy standard, there's no doubt we're His lost sheep-lost because we've gotten away from Him.
Now here's that beautiful picture from Luke 15, beginning with verse 4: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'" There it is-Jesus' loving pursuit of one person that He does not want to lose-Jesus' loving pursuit of you.
In the words of the Bible, "God is not willing that one should perish." You could put your name there. "God is not willing that (There's your name.) should perish." That "perish" refers to the death penalty, the eternal separation from God that's our destiny because of our sin. But Jesus stepped in and He went to the cross to absorb all the guilt and all the hell of all the wrong things you and I have ever done, and then He came back from the grave so He could give you eternal life. He died so you don't have to. He pursued you all the way to a cross, and today He's still pursuing you right to the place where you are right now. That tug you might be feeling inside-that's Him drawing you to Him. And you have to come when He's drawing you.
He's preserved your life so you wouldn't die without Him. He's brought people into your life so you could find out about Him. He's brought things into your life that would show you how much you need someone beyond yourself; how much you need Him. And now you have this one guaranteed opportunity to open up to the love that you were made for. Your relationship with Him begins the moment you give yourself to this Man who gave His life for you.
You can tell Him right where you are, "Jesus, I believe when you died on that cross you were paying for my sin. And I believe you're alive, and I want you to live in me. Right now, Jesus, beginning now I pin all my hopes on you. I'm yours." Boy, if that's where you're at and you finally want to experience His love for yourself, go to our website It's there for you to help you be sure you belong to Jesus Christ as of this day. That website is ANewStory.com.
Today the awesome love of Jesus Christ is still within your reach. He's come so far to find you. Don't miss Him.