Dear Friend,

When we talk about the God who made the universe, who gives us the breath of life, who can part the Red Sea, and yet chose to come to Earth and die for us, it brings a sense of profound humility. It’s truly amazing, but that’s how much He loves us. While many people say, “I love you,” repeatedly, love is truly shown through our actions.

In my letter to you this month, we will discuss the ways God displays His amazing love for you. Jesus’ actions were absolutely complete, showing us beyond a shadow of a doubt that He loves us, that He chose us, and that we are important to Him. You are so important to Him that He died for you.

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Galatians 4:4 says:

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.

There was a time when God said, “It’s time — it’s time that I come. It’s time that I rescue them Myself because they’re not getting it. They have already sinned against Me. They have already rejected Me. They can’t fulfill My law. I’m coming Myself.” There was just so much love in this action for you and me. We should wake up every morning and say, “God help me know how much You love me today, and help me love others with the love that You’ve put inside me.”

The book of John has this to say about the magnitude of God’s love:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

— John 1:1-5; 10-12

Notice verse 1 begins by saying, “In the beginning….” This phrase indicates God’s eternal plan. Verse 1 continues, “…was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus was there with the Father and the Holy Spirit, planning this great rescue for you and me from eternal damnation.

Verse 2 states, “All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made.” In other words, everything in existence is because of Jesus. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Friend, this means that there is no darkness so deep that God’s light cannot overcome it. Have you ever noticed that in a very dark room, the moment you turn on the light, the darkness is expelled? That is what Jesus did when He came into this world. And it was at just the right time. There was a lot of darkness in the world then, but when Jesus came, He brought His light into the world! That is amazing love.

Have you ever poured out your love to someone, only to have them reject it over and over again? I remember many years ago, I tried to be a friend to this girl, but time and time again, she rejected me and hurt my feelings. I didn’t have another friend, so I kept forgiving her. However, my love wasn’t like God’s love. Eventually, there came a time when I said, “I’m not going to forgive this person anymore because I don’t want to be hurt anymore.” But that’s not how God operates! He came to rescue us.

Jesus came whether the people rejected or received Him! That is the love of God — the heart of God being expressed through Jesus. Hebrews 1:1-3 says:

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Jesus was the very expression of God! What Jesus did on Earth was exactly what His Father would have done. What Jesus is doing today to rescue, save, and heal is exactly what His Father would do today.

John 1:14 says:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The phrase “…full of grace and truth” describes exactly who Jesus was and is.

Now, look at Psalm 22. Keep in mind, this teaching is about love being displayed. Love doesn’t just talk — love acts. Jesus didn’t just say, “I love you,” and then wish us the best! No! He displayed His love in the greatest act of selflessness and compassion by sacrificing Himself to save us from an eternity separated from Him.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” When God says, “I love you,” He always backs it up with a display of action, as He did by sending His Son, Jesus.

Let’s circle back to Psalm 22. When you read Psalm 22, you can see the things Jesus went through on the Cross — the feelings He had and what it was like for Him while He bore our sins, sicknesses, diseases, poverty, guilt, and shame. Psalm 22 provides a close-up picture of the ordeal Jesus endured on the Cross.

Psalm 22:6–8 reads:

But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

The word “worm” here is actually referring to maggots. Most everyone gets grossed out at the mere mention of the word “maggot.” The phrase “no man” in this verse means “an unimportant man.” Jesus — the creator of the universe — lowered Himself to such a place that when He was hung on the Cross, He compared Himself to a lowly worm, a man of no importance.

Verses 6 and 7 continue, “…A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me….” Can you imagine a time in your life when those around you ridiculed or made fun of you? Can you remember how small and insignificant these actions made you feel?

Take those feelings of shame and torment you’ve experienced in your own life and multiply them by ten billion trillion times. The ridicule that Jesus endured came from the demonic realm — blaspheming, mocking, and putting Him down. Jesus submitted Himself to this so that you and I could be free from ridicule and accusation. The very God of this universe lowered Himself so far that He compared Himself to a worm and a man with zero importance — a man full of sin — so He could rescue us from an eternity without Him.

Matthew 27:41-43 shows us what the religious leaders and onlookers were saying as Jesus suffered on the Cross. It reads:

Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

This is what the crowd yelled at Jesus as He was suffering — His hands and feet hanging on nails for them, for their forgiveness, for their salvation, and for you and me. They mocked and blasphemed Him, yet He didn’t come off the Cross. He continued to pay the price for our salvation.

The Bible says in Matthew 26:51-54:

And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”

Jesus could have let Peter and His disciples defend Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, but He didn’t. He could have called on His Father to send legions of angels to stop His arrest, but He didn’t. The chief priests, elders, and temple guards didn’t take Jesus’ life — He gave His life up for you and me. This ultimate act of sacrifice was the love of God on display. Psalm 22:9 says:

But You are He who took me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God. Be not far from Me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

Who can explain the Trinity? I can’t explain the Trinity, but I definitely believe it. When Jesus was on the Cross, He was the Son of Man, yet He was God. He put aside His godhead — His godhood — and died for you and me. This is His love displayed, and it’s so amazing! When we talk about Jesus’ sacrifice — everything the priests and elders said about Him and His refusal to call upon a legion of angels to save Him from the brutality of the Cross — it is truly astounding.

When you think about the magnitude of this sacrifice, there really is no excuse for any of us not to forgive each other. It’s not right to say, “Lord, I know you’ve forgiven me, but I can’t forgive others.” He paid the complete price so we could be forgiven and to put the love of God inside you and me so that we could forgive.

Jesus took every sickness and disease known to man, every torment of our minds, every pain in our bodies — He took them upon Himself. Psalm 22:6 tells us that Jesus felt like a worm on the Cross — the lowest of the low. He was scorned, spit upon, humiliated, shamed, ridiculed, and lied about. And even still, He endured it all for our eternal salvation. This is love displayed! Jesus was falsely accused, hated, denied, and betrayed by one of His dear friends, yet He showed us a love so perfect that any fear that tried to come against Jesus giving His life was totally cast out. And any fear that would try to come to us has no right because the perfect love of God — which Jesus displayed and put on the inside of us — casts out fear. When we believe His Word, this display is so great that His power comes to us and gives us the confidence and authority to forgive any offender, to believe for the healing of any sickness or disease, to give mercy, to give understanding, and to practice patience. The display of God’s love gives us the power to express that love in our hearts by what He did for us.

Friend, isn’t that just amazing?! God didn’t save us just so we could go to Heaven — He saved us to go to Heaven because eternity in hell would be unimaginable. Heaven will be so magnificent that it’s hard to imagine, but when Jesus died on the Cross, God brought Himself inside us so He could live through us and we could have a relationship with Him.

Jesus paid the complete price. His love didn’t display fifty or ninety percent to save us from death, eternity in hell, and from our own selves. His love displayed paid the complete price — a hundred percent price. He paid for it, but it’s up to us to receive it. For example, say someone gave you a $100,000 or a 2 million dollar home. It’s there and all you have to do is receive it, but you stand there and say, “I don’t know if that’s really for me or not. Should I really accept it?” If you question their gift, you will not receive it. But if you say, “I receive what you have for me,” it’s yours!

It’s the same way with God. Say, “Lord, I receive what You paid for me. I receive my healing, I receive forgiveness, I receive this powerful love on the inside of me to love and forgive others as I’ve been forgiven and loved.” It’s all been paid for — you just have to reach out and receive it!

As I close my letter, I want to remind you that we are always praying for you. And if you ever need prayer, our amazing Partner Care team is available from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT every weekday. Give us a call at 1.844.473.6637 or email us at prayer@deniserenner.org to be connected with one of our dedicated team members, and they will personally pray with you over whatever request you may have. And if you haven’t seen my weekly program yet, I invite you to join me for TIME With Denise Renner each Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. CT by watching on my Facebook page or YouTube channel.

We are moving forward together,

Denise Renner