Zephaniah 3:14-17
Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel;
be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.
The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy:
the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee:
thou shalt not see evil any more.
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not:
and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.
The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty;
he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;
he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
All Jesus wants to do is love you. His wrath and judgment are holy filled and not hate filled. He loves you so much that he died instead of you. Did you hear that? He died instead of you. You and I were the ones who deserved death. You and I are the ones who deserve punishment. But instead, He loves you.
Even when Israel was at their worst and sin prevailed in the followers, Jesus still loved them. We want to look at how Jesus called them hypocrites and say that he didn't like them. We look at how He ran them out of the temple with a whip and say that Jesus was cruel and mean. But the reasons for his discipline is because he loved them. He said in one scripture, "How many times I would have gathered you up as a mother hen would gather her chicks but you would not let me". In other words, "I wanted to love you, but you wouldn't let me".
God rejoices over you! He loves you so much! Even while we were in our sins He loves us! (Romans 5:8)
Listen to the words of this song an old Gospel group I knew used to sing...
When you're all alone and blue, no one to tell your troubles to,
I know One, He really loves you
When this old world has let you down, and not a true friend can be found,
I know One, He really loves you
His name is Jesus, He Really Loves You
Are you letting him love you?
