For Reading and Meditation:      Jeremiah 31:1-12"How little real love there is for God," says theologian Arthur W. Pink. He suggests that this and the resulting low level of spirituality in today's Church are caused by our hearts being so little occupied with thoughts of the divine love. "The better we are acquainted with His love," he says, "- its character, its fullness, its blessedness - the more will our hearts be drawn out in love to Him." We focus now on the fact that God's love is eternal. God being eternal, it follows that His love also is eternal. This means that God loved us before earth and heaven were called into existence, that He has set His heart upon us from all eternity. This is the truth set forth in Ephesians 1:4-5 where we are told that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. What a tranquilizer this is for our hearts! If God's love for you had no beginning then it has no ending either. It is from "everlasting to everlasting." Another thing we need to know about the love of God is that it is a holy love. This means that His love is not regulated by whim, or caprice, or sentiment, but by principle. Just as His grace reigns not at the expense of righteousness but "through" it (Romans 5:21), so His love never conflicts with His holiness. This is why John says that God is light before he says God is love. And this is why, too, the Almighty never lets us get away with anything. He loves us too much for that. His love is pure, holy and unmixed with maudlin sentimentality. God will not wink at sin, not even in His own people.O Father, the more I learn about Your love the more my heart is set on fire. Increase my understanding, for I see that the more I comprehend how much I am loved the more secure I am in that love. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Romans 8:18-39</li><li>1 Peter 1:17-21</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What was Paul convinced of?</li><li>How does Peter portray the eternal perspective?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"I have loved you with an everlasting love " (v. 3)

For Reading and Meditation:      1 John 4:7-16We turn now to consider another aspect of God's nature and character - love. There are three things told us in Scripture concerning the nature of God. First, "God is spirit" (John 4:24), which means He has no visible substance. Second, "God is light" (1 John 1:5), which means no darkness can dwell in Him. In Scripture darkness stands for sin, death, and so on. Third, "God is love," which means that the energy that flows out from His Being is that of infinite, eternal beneficence. When John wrote the words "God is love" it was no slick statement, as it was the first time in history that the phrase had been used in that way. People had believed that God was love, and had speculated about His benevolence, but now the categorical statement is laid down for all to behold. These words, in my judgment, are the high-water mark of divine revelation; nothing more needs to be said for nothing greater can be said. I often create a mental picture for myself of the angels peering over the battlements of heaven as John wrote those words and then, when they had been written down, I imagine them breaking into rapturous applause and saying to each other: "They've got it. They've got it! At last they see that God is love." And a sigh of deep satisfaction and great joy would have filled the portals of heaven in the knowledge that the greatest truth about God was now made crystal clear. The implied was now inscribed.O Father, I am so thankful that You have demonstrated categorically that the greatest thing about You is love. My heart gladly rests upon that glorious fact. I look forward to exploring it forever. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Jeremiah 31:1-4</li><li>John 3:16</li><li>Romans 5:8</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did the Lord appear and say?</li><li>How did He demonstrate this?</li></ul></div></div>

"God is love." (v. 16)

Sometimes the Lord Jesus tells his Church his love thoughts. "He does not think it enough behind her back to tell it, but in her very presence he says, 'Thou art all fair, my love.' It is true, this is not his ordinary method; he is a wise lover, and knows when to keep back the intimation of love and when to let it out; but there are times when he will make no secret of it; times when he will put it beyond all dispute in the souls of his people" (R. Erskine's Sermons). The Holy Spirit is often pleased, in a most gracious manner, to witness with our spirits of the love of Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ and reveals them unto us. No voice is heard from the clouds, and no vision is seen in the night, but we have a testimony more sure than either of these. If an angel should fly from heaven and inform the saint personally of the Saviour's love to him, the evidence would not be one whit more satisfactory than that which is borne in the heart by the Holy Ghost. Ask those of the Lord's people who have lived the nearest to the gates of heaven, and they will tell you that they have had seasons when the love of Christ towards them has been a fact so clear and sure, that they could no more doubt it than they could question their own existence. Yes, beloved believer, you and I have had times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and then our faith has mounted to the topmost heights of assurance. We have had confidence to lean our heads upon the bosom of our Lord, and we have no more questioned our Master's affection to us than John did when in that blessed posture; nay, nor so much: for the dark question, "Lord, is it I that shall betray thee?" has been put far from us. He has kissed us with the kisses of his mouth, and killed our doubts by the closeness of his embrace. His love has been sweeter than wine to our souls.

This timeless classic from Charles Spurgeon will help to both start and end your day with wonderful insight into God's Word.

Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening

"Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love." - Jeremiah 31:3

Morning Devotional

The thunders of the law and the terrors of judgment are all used to bring us to Christ; but the final victory is effected by lovingkindness. The prodigal set out to his father's house from a sense of need; but his father saw him a great way off, and ran to meet him; so that the last steps he took towards his father's house were with the kiss still warm upon his cheek, and the welcome still musical in his ears. "Law and terrors do but harden All the while they work alone; But a sense of blood-bought pardon Will dissolve a heart of stone." The Master came one night to the door, and knocked with the iron hand of the law; the door shook and trembled upon its hinges; but the man piled every piece of furniture which he could find against the door, for he said, "I will not admit the man." The Master turned away, but by-and-bye he came back, and with his own soft hand, using most that part where the nail had penetrated, he knocked again-oh, so softly and tenderly. This time the door did not shake, but, strange to say, it opened, and there upon his knees the once unwilling host was found rejoicing to receive his guest. "Come in, come in; thou hast so knocked that my bowels are moved for thee. I could not think of thy pierced hand leaving its blood-mark on my door, and of thy going away houseless, 'Thy head filled with dew, and thy locks with the drops of the night.' I yield, I yield, thy love has won my heart." So in every case: lovingkindness wins the day. What Moses with the tablets of stone could never do, Christ does with his pierced hand. Such is the doctrine of effectual calling. Do I understand it experimentally? Can I say, "He drew me, and I followed on, glad to confess the voice divine?" If so, may he continue to draw me, till at last I shall sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb.

"With lovingkindness have I drawn thee." - Jeremiah 31:3

Love is that quality in God which causes Him to lavish unbounded affection on others. His love is manifest in giving good and perfect gifts to the beloved.We can give only a few of the myriad of verses that speak of that love! "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee" (Jeremiah 31:3). "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us…" (Ephesians 2:4). And, of course, the best known of all, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whososoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).When John says "God is love" (1 John 4:8), he is not defining God, but insisting that love is a key element in the divine nature. We do not worship love, but the God of love.His love had no beginning and can have no end. It is limitless in its dimensions. It is absolutely pure, without taint of selfishness or any other sin. It is sacrificial, never minding the cost. It seeks only the welfare of others, and nothing in return. It goes out to the unlovely as well as to the lovely, to enemies as well as to friends. It is not drawn out by any virtues in its objects, but only by the goodness of the Giver.The practical implications of this sublime truth are obvious. "Therefore be imitators of God," said Paul, "as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us" (Ephesians 5:1-2 a, NASB). Our love should ascend to the Lord, should flow out to our brethren, and should extend to the unsaved world.Contemplation of His love should also inspire deepest worship. As we fall at His feet, we must say repeatedly:How Thou canst love me as Thou dostAnd be the God Thou artIs darkness to my intellectBut sunshine to my heart.

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10)

Stephen had been brought up on the mission field. He professed faith in Christ at an early age and had been the means of leading several to the Lord. When he first came back to the States to attend college, he maintained a good testimony. But then he began to drift. Coldness set in. He compromised with sin. Soon he began to dabble in Eastern religions.When his parents came home on furlough, they were heartsick. They pled, reasoned, and entreated, but he was adamant. Finally they went to visit him where he lived with three others. What they saw there utterly crushed them. They went home and wept bitterly.They went to bed and tried to sleep but it was useless. Finally at 4 a.m. they decided to get up and have their morning devotions. Ordinarily they would have been reading Jeremiah 31:1-40 on that day, but the husband said, "Not Jeremiah!" thinking that the weeping prophet would have no comfort for them. But the Lord overruled and they turned to Jeremiah 31:1-40. When they got to the 16th verse, they read, "Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy."Thousands of Christian parents today are brokenhearted, mourning over rebel sons and daughters. When they pray, the heavens seem like brass. They begin to wonder if God ever can or will restore the backslider.They should remember that no case is too hard for the Lord. They should continue in prayer, watching in the same with thanksgiving. They should plead the promises of God's Word.When the mother referred to above wondered if she had been justified in claiming Jeremiah 31:16, she read in Isaiah 49:25, "I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children."

"Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy." (Jeremiah 31:16)

God considered that this life of ours is very short, very fugitive, and that crowd it as he might with expressions of his kindness, he never would be able to give anything like a sufficient revelation of his love. So he resolved to take time beforehand, a great deal of it, and fill all heaven and earth, from the very beginning on continuously, with the manifestations of his love to the creature that was to live in this our day, was to hover for a little about the middle of this century, and then be gone. When by the recovering grace of Christ we have been brought to take delight in the knowledge of the love of God, we find that God was mindful of us, in the far off days of a by-gone eternity; and myriads of years ago placed in the depths of space suns, whose rays swift-traveling, should reach our locality in our day, and assure us that he thought of us. When the morning stars first sang together, he thought of us; and scarce had the transgression of Adam brought a curse upon the world in which we were to have existence, when God hastened to announce that in the fulness of time, his own Son should come into the world, and absorb in his own person the manifold curse. If we labor in vain to find the beginning of this love, much more shall we labor in vain to learn the future duration of it.

A daily devotional written by a Baptist Missionary to India, Reverend George Bowen (1816-1888) over 150 years ago.

Bowen's Daily Meditations

"I have loved thee with an everlasting love." - Jeremiah 31:3. 

I love you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3 GW) 
"I have borne with you all 
this time because I love you; anything could have happened to you, but I have 
not let it, I have shown you infinite longsuffering and patience, and earnest 
solicitude for your eternal well-being: because I love you, I have kept you 
alive, and have brought you to this time and to this place; I have not let you 
go." Oh, that this might come home to us! We may, all unconsciously, be hearing 
this message now simply because of this infinite love of God which has been 
preserving us unto this hour to let us know it. You may think it is quite 
fortuitous that you are hearing it – just one of the chance happenings of life; 
but if you knew the truth it is this infinite love of God which has held you to 
this time in relation to the infinite purposes of that love to let you know it. 
There is nothing casual about it, there is sovereign love here. "Because I have 
so loved, because, self-sufficient as I am, I cannot do without you" – oh, 
mystery of Divine love! – "because I so much wanted you I created you, and now 
at this moment I am drawing you." We cannot take that in, but that is the 
teaching of the Word of God... God does not want that kind of love that is not love at all 
because it gets everything that it wants to satiate its own lusts. That is not 
love. This love of God must make us like itself, it must be after its own kind. 
And so, strangely enough, many have come to find the love of God through the 
dark way of suffering – to discover that God was not their enemy but their 
friend, when they thought that He was pursuing with the object of destroying 
them.... 
Listen again, whoever you may be. If you know yourself only a little you must be 
amazed at this statement, but if it does not come to you as the most wonderful 
thing that ever was or could be, there is something grievously the matter with 
you; that such a One should say to such as WE, 
"I have loved THEE, with an everlasting love." May 
God Himself bring that home to us with something of its implication, something 
of its meaning and value, its glory, its wonder. If He should graciously do 
that, we shall be worshipers for the rest of our lives; there will be something 
about us that is in the nature of awe and wonder and we shall go softly. The 
realization of it will smite all our pride to the dust. There is no room for 
pride here. This will remove all those horrible things - pride, avarice, 
covetousness, self-interest, worldly ambition - and we shall be very humble, 
very grateful people, full of a great longing somehow to requite that love, 
somehow to win for that One His rights.

This devotional contains short daily portions from a selection of Mr. Austin-Sparks' messages. In his own words, “Perhaps this is just like a window opened into heaven. If you get the right window you can see quite a lot. You can see great things and you can see far things. But the best that I can hope is that this has just opened a window, and that as you look through it you are seeing one thing - how superior is Jesus Christ to all else, and how superior is the dispensation into which we have come, and how superior are all the resources at our disposal to all that ever was before!” Open Windows messages have been selected and compiled by Austin-Sparks.Net from the works of T. Austin-Sparks. In some cases they appear in abridged form. The introductory verse and its associated Bible version have been selected by the editor and did not always appear within the original message.

Open Windows

"His Great Love" - Chapter 5

 Everlasting Love 

We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. § [God] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. § Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. 

I have loved you with an everlasting love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. § 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. § Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh. As the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.

 The kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared. 

<blockquote>
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee" (<a id="verse_1632879367418670" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Jeremiah/31/3">Jer. 31:3</a>).
</blockquote>God is the first and only Cause. He always makes the first move. "For God so loved. . . that He gave"; "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you" (<a id="verse_1632879367437484" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/John/3/16">John 3:16</a>; <a id="verse_1632879367272311675" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/John/3/15">15</a>:16). Even the hunger of the heart necessary for our response to His love comes from Him. "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus" (<a id="verse_1632879367292449" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/1-Peter/5/10">I Pet. 5:10</a>). He brought us to His Son; He will make us like His Son."If you feel the drawing of God within, cherish it as you would cherish a great treasure. If you are aware of a deep hunger, if you are entering into a closer walk with Him, do not look upon it carelessly, nor treat it lightly. But if you do not feel the divine drawing and hunger for God, cry to Him that He will give it you; and ever remember that the desire for hunger is the beginning of hunger, and that you cannot feed upon the Lord Jesus Christ until you are spiritually hungry." -H. McI."Our Lord is generous in His provision, but He is neither casual nor wasteful. There must be a real hunger and felt need. It is a fixed principle with the Lord that He does not move until something like desperation makes it evident that it is His move." -T. A-S."No one is able to come to Me unless the Father who sent Me attracts and draws him and gives him the desire to come to Me" (<a id="verse_1632879367698345" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/John/6/44">John 6:44</a>, Amp.).

A 365 day devotional that will help you in your Christian growth and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  This devotional is a collection of quotes from some of the best authors in the realm of Christian growth that has been organized by Miles J Stanford.  This devotional study is divided into 12 sections each containing 31 daily portions.

None but the Hungry Heart

 Love Draws And Conforms 

3 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:<poetry>“I have loved you with an everlasting love; <indent>I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.</indent>

The Lord appeared to us in the past,<ft>1</ft> saying:<pb/><poetry>“I have loved<cr>1</cr> you with an everlasting love; <indent>I have drawn<cr>2</cr> you with unfailing kindness.</indent>

Jeremiah 31:3

 3 The Lord appeared to us in the past,  saying: “I have loved   you with an everlasting love; I have drawn   you with unfailing kindness. 

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. 

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:<poetry>“I have loved you with an everlasting love; <indent>I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.</indent>

 The Lord appeared to us in the past,  saying: “I have loved   you with an everlasting love; I have drawn   you with unfailing kindness. 

Bible Verse of the Day

March 2, 2022

Jeremiah 31:3 NIV

Verse by Verse Bible Study

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