Restoring us to Himself through love.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

My grandmother found this rocking chair, left behind at a house my grandparents moved into decades ago. She repaired it, refinished it and used it many years before passing it onto me. She put some work and love into the rocker and gave it new life again, so it could be loved and used for future generations.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 New Living Translation

God loved what He created so much that when his people sinned and the luster of perfection was gone in a single bite of forbidden fruit, He gave us another chance. He gave up His Son for love for us. Jesus was born as a gift of love, but he was quickly marked for death by Herod, disdained by His own people and scorned by the rest, and was eventually put to death, all the while loving us and promising He would come back for us one day. He will give us a new finish when he returns and He will treasure us for all eternity.

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.”
Ephesians 3:18 New Living Translation

“For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:17 New Living Translation

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.” 
Ephesians 3:19 New Living Translation

Cherish that love this advent season. No one else can ever love you like He does.

Copyright text and photo Desiree Bustamante