Do you REALLY believe that God loves you?

[josh987654321]

When it comes to my parents for example, if I really felt their love, understanding and approval (I don’t mean nagging, manipulating or unsollicited advice but geniune appreciation), if I had their blessings, their fundamental approval and appreciation of who I am, of my core being, there is nothing I would not do for them or would not give them, and I would be very reluctant to misbehave and wouldnt even be attracted to sin. I would gladly die for them. And these are my imperfect parents! What would it be if I believd God himself loves me?

I cannot help thinking that if you sin, it is because the hole in your heart that only God’s love can fill is still empty, you can intellectually believe that God loves you, but you don’t really experience it, so a part of you, the part that is attracted to sin doesn’t buy that god loves you…

Quite true isabella,

however -
Peter’s Promise:

31 Jesus said to his disciples, “During this very night, all of you will reject me, as the Scriptures say,

‘I will strike down
the shepherd,
and the sheep
will be scattered.’

32 But after I am raised to life, I will go to Galilee ahead of you.”

33 Peter spoke up, “Even if all the others reject you, I never will!”

34 Jesus replied, “I promise you that before a rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” 35 But Peter said, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never say I don’t know you.”

All the others said the same thing.

“Strength of the spirit does not remove weakness of the flesh.” Thus St Peters down fall here was the presummption of his own strength.

You are right isabella, however I believe it’s one thing to say you will die for your loved ones in the comfort of your own home and it’s another to actually do it when your looking down the barrel of a gun all loaded and ready to go. Thus we pray for the strength and when we fall, we trust in His love and mercy and we rise again with greater strength than before.

*“Remember that it is not the habit [the clothing] that makes the religious, but rather the virtue practiced.” *

May I ask isabella what prompted you to ask these questions?

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[isabella_123]

May I ask isabella what prompted you to ask these questions?

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh

I am not sure what prompted me to ask these questions. I don’t feel much loved, neither by God or by my parents, and I imagine it would be much easier for me to be a good person if I recieved love. I feel like a discharged battery trying to charge itself. Even if I’m not recieving love I can still give love, but it’s very tiring, and I feel like a discharged battery.

 

[sallybutler]

I am not sure what prompted me to ask these questions. I don’t feel much loved, neither by God or by my parents, and I imagine it would be much easier for me to be a good person if I recieved love. I feel like a discharged battery trying to charge itself. Even if I’m not recieving love I can still give love, but it’s very tiring, and I feel like a discharged battery.

I do not mean to sound pretty or simplistic, but do you have a pet? Dogs are a better example of how God loves us than most people are.They have very little ego when it comes to showing love.( Cats are more standoffish.) God is more like a dog than a cat. He has no ego when it comes to loving us. He loves us whether we love Him or not.

I’m sorry for using parental love as an example.

 

[kristos]

Depends on my state of mind, but I’m basically like Gollum in Lord of the Rings, thinking God loves me one sec, then doubting he does the next sec. But my general idea is that he doesn’t love me. I wish the Christian thing was simpler: God would be like a sun, getting closer means you get more energy and heat, moving away means less energy and less warmth. I’ve neevr really known God other than intellectually. I know he exists, I am convinced thta he exists, I may or may not be wrong, I heard it said that he loves everyone, which would include me. Just like faith without works is dead, love without action, deeds to back it up or to manifest it is dead. Of course one could quote the famous “God so loved the world” verse, but a more current manifesattion of that supposed love is necessary. Unanswered sincere and worthy prayers seem to argue against God’s love for me (or everyone, for that matter).

 

[josh987654321]

I am not sure what prompted me to ask these questions. I don’t feel much loved, neither by God or by my parents,

and I imagine it would be much easier for me to be a good person if I recieved love. I feel like a discharged battery trying to charge itself. Even if I’m not recieving love I can still give love, but it’s very tiring, and I feel like a discharged battery.

Oh, if only you knew how much God loves you!

“If you knew how I love you, you would die from joy.” – Jesus to Blessed Maria Pierina De Micheli
Jesus to Katya:

The Stations of The Cross - loveandmercy.org/Eng-SOC-Reg.pdf

**I say again, My children, poor sinners! Do not distance yourselves from Me. I wait for you night and day at the Tabernacle. I will not reproach you for your crimes; I will not throw your sins in your face. What I will do is to wash you with the Blood of My wounds. Do not be afraid, come to Me. You do not know how much I love you.

Come now, My children. Come to Me. I am your Lord Who awaits you in the Tabernacle. I am completely present in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Do you want to know Me? Then come and spend time with Me. I love you, dear children.**

Jesus to Katya:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

**"Contemplate My wounds and see if there is anyone who has suffered as much as I, to show their love…

"Contemplate for a moment these bloodstained hands and feet… This naked body, covered with wounds, with urine, and blood. Dirty… This head punctured by sharp thorns, soaked in sweat, full of dust, and covered in Blood…

"Contemplate your Jesus, hanging on the Cross, without being able to make the slightest movement… naked, without fame, without honor, without liberty…

"Contemplate Me in the image of the Christ who cries and bleeds. There and in this way the world has Me**

Jesus to Katya:

I Have Given My Life for You - loveandmercy.org/Eng-IHG-Reg.pdf

**To redeem all of mankind, a child’s cry, a moan, a single tear of Mine would have been enough… Would you have understood My Love in the same way? If with so many great proofs you still take so long to accept it, what would have caused you to believe in My Love, if I had limited Myself to what seemed paltry?

Only by going beyond the limit of “what is necessary” would many eyes be opened to My Love.**

Jesus to Katya:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

**11) For love of souls, I remain a prisoner in the Holy Eucharist, so that in their sorrow and grief they are being consoled by the most tender of Hearts, by the best of Fathers, by the most loyal friend. But that Love, which is consumed for the good of mankind, is not going to be returned.

1. I live amongst sinners to be their salvation and their life, their doctor and medicine; yet they, in return, in spite of their sick nature, distance themselves from Me. They offend Me and scorn Me.
2. My children, poor sinners! Do not distance yourselves from Me. I wait for you night and day at the Tabernacle. I will not reproach you for your crimes; I will not throw your sins in your face. What I will do is to wash you with the Blood of My wounds. Do not be afraid; come to Me. You do not know how much I love you.
3. And you, dear souls, why are you cold and indifferent to My love? I know you have to attend to the needs of your family, your home, and of the world that constantly demands of you. But, can it be that you do not have a moment to come and give Me proof of your love and gratitude? Do not allow yourselves to be carried away by so many useless worries; reserve a moment of your time to visit the Prisoner of Love. If your body is sick, can you not find a few minutes to seek the Doctor who must cure you? Come to He who can restore strength and health of the soul. Give alms of love to this Divine Beggar, who calls you, wants you, and waits for you.**

Please continue to next post -

 

[josh987654321]

Continue from above post -

http://s9.postimg.org/zfi92u8lr/Christ_9.jpg

Diary of St. Faustina -

"My daughter, know that My Heart is mercy itself. From this sea of mercy, graces flow out upon the whole world. No soul that has approached Me has ever gone away unconsoled. All misery gets buried in the depths of My mercy, and every saving and sanctifying grace flows from this fountain…" (Diary, 1777).

"Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy. Oh, how much I am hurt by a soul’s distrust! Such a soul professes that I am Holy and Just, but does not believe that I am Mercy and does not trust in My Goodness. Even the devils glorify My Justice but do not believe in My Goodness" (Diary, 300).

**“How very much I desire the salvation of souls! My dearest secretary, write that I want to pour out My divine life into human souls and sanctify them, if only they were willing to accept My grace. The greatest sinners would achieve great sanctity, if only they would trust in My mercy. The very inner depths of My being are filled to overflowing with mercy, and it is being poured out upon all I have created. My delight is to act in a human soul and to fill it with My mercy **(133) **and to justify it. My kingdom on earth is My life in the human soul” **(Diary, 1784)

"My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. Who can measure the extent of my goodness? For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy" (Diary, 1485).

"My Heart overflows with great mercy for souls, and especially for poor sinners. If only they could understand that I am the best of Fathers to them and that it is for them that the Blood and Water flowed from My Heart as from a fount overflowing with mercy. For them I dwell in the tabernacle as King of Mercy. I desire to bestow My graces upon souls, but they do not want to accept them. You, at least, come to Me as often as possible and take these graces they do not want to accept. In this way you will console My Heart…" (Diary, 367).

"From all My wounds, like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the fountain of unfathomable mercy. From this fountain spring all graces for souls. The flames of compassion burn Me. I desire greatly to pour them out upon souls" (Diary, 1190).

**“I desire to unite Myself with human souls; My great delight is to unite Myself with souls, Know My daughter, that when I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay any attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things. Oh, how sad I am that souls do not recognize Love! They treat Me as a dead object” **(Diary, 1385).

"Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not perish in such great numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach Me; speak to them of My great mercy" (Diary, 1396).
Jesus to Katya:

The Great Crusade of Love - loveandmercy.org/Eng-CL-Reg.pdf

**I would like to be presented like the prodigal son’s father who, aged by the pain of his son’s absence, keeps watch from a window with a small light of hope for the return of his beloved son. I live among all of you in the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the bread you eat, with all the grandiose work of creation that never ceases. In this manner I am among you all, alive, real, with the perpetual sacrifice of the Cross and the glory of the resurrection in each Eucharist.

I want the world to know that God is unchanging, that He never lessens His love for men; I need for man to know that I never set limits to my forgiveness and that I do not ask the prodigal son how he has squandered my estate, nor do I ask for an account of his wickedness. It is a new Mercy that I want to give freely to this new generation.**

For more infromation regarding the messages from Christ to Katya, please read the following - youshallbelieve.com/A-plea-to-humanity.pdf and for more of Katya’s writings, please go here - youshallbelieve.com/jesus-messages/english-2/

Science Tests Faith - youtube.com/watch?v=-kuxEJXgGSI
Signs From God - Mike Willesee - youshallbelieve.com/home-2/watch-amazing-video/

God Bless you

Thank you for reading
Josh

http://s30.postimg.org/3kdn56c0x/Christ_7.jpg

St. Faustina

"Come and confide in your God, who is love and mercy…My child, listen to the voice of your merciful Father" (Diary, 1486).

St Margaret-Mary Alacoque

"Behold this Heart which has loved men so much that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself in order to testify to them it’s love. In return I recieve from the greater number nothing but ingratitude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges and by the coldness and contempt which they show me in this sacrament of Love."

There is so much more Isabella_123!

 

[InspiritCarol]

…
There is so much more Isabella_123!

Thanks, Josh. Well done.

 

[josh987654321]

Thanks, Josh. Well done.

Thank you.

 

[josh987654321]

.

Jesus to Katya:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

**"Contemplate My wounds and see if there is anyone who has suffered as much as I, to show their love…

"Contemplate Me in the image of the Christ who cries and bleeds. There and in this way the world has Me**

s22.postimg.org/hi95885wx/Crucifixion_Small.jpg

 

[josh987654321]

.

Jesus to Katya:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

**"Contemplate My wounds and see if there is anyone who has suffered as much as I, to show their love…

"Contemplate Me in the image of the Christ who cries and bleeds. There and in this way the world has Me**

http://s15.postimg.org/s9fu5lkbv/Crucifixion.jpg
Jesus Is Nailed to a Cross:

Luke 23:32-43

32 Two criminals were led out to be put to death with Jesus. 33 When the soldiers came to the place called “The Skull,” they nailed Jesus to a cross. They also nailed the two criminals to crosses, one on each side of Jesus.

34-35 Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They don’t know what they’re doing.”

While the crowd stood there watching Jesus, the soldiers gambled for his clothes. The leaders insulted him by saying, “He saved others. Now he should save himself, if he really is God’s chosen Messiah!”

36 The soldiers made fun of Jesus and brought him some wine. 37 They said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!”

38 Above him was a sign that said, “This is the King of the Jews.”

39 One of the criminals hanging there also insulted Jesus by saying, “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and save us!”

40 But the other criminal told the first one off, “Don’t you fear God? Aren’t you getting the same punishment as this man? 41 We got what was coming to us, but he didn’t do anything wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into power!”

43 Jesus replied, **“I promise that today you will be with me in paradise.” **

Jesus to Katya:

The Passion - loveandmercy.org/Eng-TP-Reg.pdf

**6) On the other hand, there are souls, and not few, who, moved by their desire for salvation but above all, by the love inspired in them by the vision of what I have suffered for them, decide to follow Me on the path to Calvary. They embrace the perfect life and give themselves to My service, not to help Me carry just a part of the Cross but all of it. Their only desire is to give Me rest and to console Me. For that purpose, they volunteer for everything that My Will asks of them, searching for how they can please Me. They do not think about the merits or the reward that awaits them, or the tiredness or the suffering that will result for them. The only thing that they have in mind is the love that they can show Me, and the comfort they give Me…

1. If My Cross is presented as an illness, if it is hidden under a job contrary to their inclinations and of little agreement with their abilities, if it comes accompanied by the thoughtlessness of people surround them, they accept it with total submission.
2. Oh! These are the souls that truly carry My Cross; they adore it. They make use of it for obtaining My Glory with no interest or payment other than My love. They are the ones that consider Me and glorify Me.
3. If you do not see the result of your sufferings, of your self-denial, or if you see it later, be certain that they have not been in vain and fruitless but, on the contrary, the fruit will be abundant.
4. The soul who truly loves, does not keep count of how much it has suffered or labored, nor does it expect this or that reward, but it seeks only that which it believes glorifies its God… For Him it spares neither labors nor weariness. It does not become agitated or restless, far from it, for it does not lose its peace if it finds itself thwarted or humiliated, because the only motive for its actions is love, and love abandons the consequences and the results. Therein lies the purpose of souls who do not seek rewards. The only thing that they hope for is My Glory, My comfort, My rest, and, for that reason they have taken My Cross and all the weight that My Will desires to place upon them.
5. My children, call Me by My name, for Jesus means everything. I will wash your feet, those feet that have trodden a slippery path and are now wounded by the blows against the rocks. I will wipe away your tears, cure you, kiss you, and you will remain healthy and know no other path but the one that leads you to Me.
6. We are now at Calvary! The mob is excited because the dreadful moment is near… Exhausted by fatigue, I can hardly walk. My feet bleed because of the stones on the way… Three times I have fallen along the way: once to give sinners used to sinning the strength to convert; another to give encouragement to souls who fall because of being frail and to souls who are blinded by sadness and restlessness, encouraging them to rise and embark with courage upon the path of virtue; and the third time, to help souls depart from sin at the hour of their death.**

Jesus to Katya:

The Great Crusade of Salvation - loveandmercy.org/Eng-CS-Reg.pdf

4) When the cross of suffering weighs heavy on you, remember that you are but pilgrims on this earth. Beyond the tomb, lies a wonderfully, more beautiful world, which God has prepared for His faithful children.

 

[isabella_123]

Thanks Josh!

 

[DMC12]

Our mothers love us, yet in our young days how many times did we disobeyed them? or felt embarrased by them?

 

[ffg]

What you are feeling (or not) can be summed to emotion.

Love is not an emotion.

It’s action.

A common confusion.

God ‘high’s’ (or any emotional high) will always be followed by lows emotionally, that’s normal.

It’s in those low points that we can have confidence because God loves.

 

[fhansen]

What you are feeling (or not) can be summed to emotion.

Love is not an emotion.

It’s action.

A common confusion.

God ‘high’s’ (or any emotional high) will always be followed by lows emotionally, that’s normal.

It’s in those low points that we can have confidence because God loves.

But love is not without emotion. and that emotion, in its pure form, is the direct sense or knowledge of the virtue and its goodness. We know what faith, hope, nobility, courage, fortitude, wisdom, etc, “taste” like, each individually, rather than simply know them by the choices and acts acts they compel us to carry out. I’d suggest that emotions, while they can be abused and contaminated, just as any good thing can be, are not simply fleeting, peripheral non-essentials but that the emotion of love may be the driving force, itself, in our choice to act.

 

[ffg]

But love is not without emotion. and that emotion, in its pure form, is the direct sense or knowledge of the virtue and its goodness. We know what faith, hope, nobility, courage, fortitude, wisdom, etc, “taste” like, each individually, rather than simply know them by the choices and acts acts they compel us to carry out. I’d suggest that emotions, while they can be abused and contaminated, just as any good thing can be, are not simply fleeting, peripheral non-essentials but that the emotion of love may be the driving force, itself, in our choice to act.

Well my point is that Love is not an emotion - which is a HUGE confusion. Different from your above, but I still disagree…

To say love is ‘not without’ emotion. Ties the two.

Easy test…

Next time you pick something up for someone who drops something, afterwards - evaluate if you were emotionally charged to do the action.

Or if it was done simply because it was helping another, the right thing to do.

We are not asked to love by feeling it, we are asked to love by doing it.

If God needed to feel good to love us, that would indicate the possibility for Him to have a bad day.

The two can align, and do especially early in relationships. (remember for love to exist, there needs to be at least 2 ‘free to choose’ sources with at least 1 acting with love.)

Thus love is not an emotion and does not require emotion as it is an action.

I suppose a second example would be the times when we do things that we don’t want to do.

Consider Jesus’ action on the cross - the greatest act of love this world will ever know - Consider His feelings on the matter prior to the act, they did not align with what we would consider loving emotion.

He wa sweating blood with worry and concern, praying the act might be avoided, if possible.

 

[Charlemagne_III]

So my question is: how can a Christian who (claims to) believe that God loves him still be unkind, greedy, unchaste, or struggle with what God is asking from him ? It just doesn’t make sense.

When you get to the point of really believing it, that’s when you get to the point of rejecting sin.

 

[isabella_123]

What if Jesus said to me “I never knew you” ? (Mt 6:23)
If Jesus can say that to people who drove out demons and did mighty deeds in his name, and call them “evildoers” too (Mt: 22-23), what reason do I have to hope to be treated any better (I who have not done might deeds nor driven out demons)?

 

[josh987654321]

Thanks Josh!

It was my pleasure

 

[josh987654321]

What if Jesus said to me “I never knew you” ? (Mt 6:23) If Jesus can say that to people who drove out demons and did mighty deeds in his name, and call them “evildoers” too (Mt: 22-23),

I believe that passage is reffering to those who have the Lord on their lips but not in their hearts.

These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. (Isaiah 29:13)

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, **“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” **(1 Samuel 16:7)

15 But Jesus told them: You are always making yourselves look good, but God sees what is in your heart. The things that most people think are important are worthless as far as God is concerned. (Luke 16:15)

what reason do I have to hope to be treated any better (I who have not done mighty deeds nor driven out demons)?

The Voice of Christ -
The wise lover regards not so much the gift of Him who loves as the love of Him who gives. He regards the affection of the Giver rather than the value of the gift. (Extract from the book ‘Imitation of Christ’)
A Widow’s Offering:

Mark 12:41-44

41 Jesus was sitting in the temple near the offering box and watching people put in their gifts. He noticed that many rich people were giving a lot of money. 42 Finally, a poor widow came up and put in two coins that were worth only a few pennies. 43 Jesus told his disciples to gather around him. Then he said:

I tell you that this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 44 Everyone else gave what they didn’t need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had. Now she doesn’t have a cent to live on.

God Bless

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[josh987654321]

.

I forgot to add this parable for you in my previous post
A Pharisee and a Tax Collector:

Luke 18:9-14

9 Jesus told a story to some people who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else:

10 Two men went into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood over by himself and prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not greedy, dishonest, and unfaithful in marriage like other people. And I am really glad that I am not like that tax collector over there. 12 I go without eating for two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all I earn.”

13 The tax collector stood off at a distance and did not think he was good enough even to look up toward heaven. He was so sorry for what he had done that he pounded his chest and prayed, “God, have pity on me! I am such a sinner.”

14 Then Jesus said, “When the two men went home, it was the tax collector and not the Pharisee who was pleasing to God. If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.”

Thank you for reading
Josh