Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “What Does God Think of Me?” – Wednesday, 10 September 2014 - Scripture: Genesis 18:16-25

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “What Does God Think of Me?” – Wednesday, 10 September 2014 - Scripture: Genesis 18:16 When the men got up to leave, they set off for Sodom. Abraham walked with them to say good-bye.
17-19 Then God said, “Shall I keep back from Abraham what I’m about to do? Abraham is going to become a large and strong nation; all the nations of the world are going to find themselves blessed through him. Yes, I’ve settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe God’s way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that God can complete in Abraham what he promised him.”
20-21 God continued, “The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I’m going down to see for myself, see if what they’re doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I’ll know.”
22 The men set out for Sodom, but Abraham stood in God’s path, blocking his way.
23-25 Abraham confronted him, “Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent people left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot? Wouldn’t you spare the city for the sake of those fifty innocents? I can’t believe you’d do that, kill off the good and the bad alike as if there were no difference between them. Doesn’t the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?”
“What Does God Think of Me?” by Nina Gunter

At this point in his journey, where Abraham knew that God considered him a friend–He had already promised that all nations would be blessed through him. In this conversation, God tells Abraham of the evidence against Sodom and Gomorrah, and of His fairness and righteousness.
Abraham’s response is correct–God, the Judge of all the earth, will do right by all. He will never do any wrong to any of His creatures, either by withholding that which is right or by punishing more than is right.
Satan would, at times, tempt us to doubt God’s loving intentions toward humankind. However, we can stand firm in faith and confidence that God is love–He acts out of love because He is love. There’s nothing we can ever do to cause God to love us less or more.
Someone once declared that the greatest theological truth is Jesus loves me, and indeed, the statement is profound. He is always for us and never against us. God wants us to make it. He is our Friend, and we are His. That is what God thinks of us.
Hymn for Today:

"Jesus Loves Me" by Anna B. Warner
1. Jesus loves me, this I know, 
for the Bible tells me so. 
Little ones to him belong; 
they are weak, but he is strong. 
Refrain: 
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! 
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so. 
2. Jesus loves me he who died 
heaven's gate to open wide. 
He will wash away my sin, 
let his little child come in.
Refrain: 
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! 
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.
3. Jesus loves me, this I know, 
as he loved so long ago, 
taking children on his knee, 
saying, "Let them come to me."
Refrain: 
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me! 
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

Thought for Today:

“God responds to us based on His loving and just character, and on the way we respond to His Grace”(Session Truth)
Prayer Needs:
For Developing Christian leaders in Cuba.
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