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    A Gift of Love: Reflections for the Tender Heart
    A Gift of Love: Reflections for the Tender Heart
    A Gift of Love: Reflections for the Tender Heart
    Ebook230 pages4 hours

    A Gift of Love: Reflections for the Tender Heart

    By Charles F. Stanley

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    About this ebook

    Love has always been the need.

    Jesus has always been the answer.

    "The world is hurting for love," writes pastor and Bible teacher Charles Stanley. "Because God is infinite and full of compassion, He heard our cries and responded in the form of a perfect gift, Jesus."

    Consider this simple truth: all the wonderful attributes of God would be meaningless unless God was also a giver. He loves the world, and the evidence of that love is that he gave His Son. From this simple but profound premise, Dr. Stanley unfolds the riches of the giver and the glories of the gift. Stanley explores the many dimensions of God's generous nature, first in His character, then in the revelation of Himself through His Son, and finally in the impact of His magnificent gift.

    Written in a warm, daily devotional format, A Gift of Love will cause the height and depth of God's love to shine in your heart.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThomas Nelson
    Release dateJul 13, 2008
    ISBN9781418515263
    A Gift of Love: Reflections for the Tender Heart
    Author

    Charles F. Stanley

    Dr. Charles F. Stanley was the founder of In Touch Ministries and pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church of Atlanta, Georgia, where he served more than fifty years. He was also a New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy books. Until his death in 2023, Dr. Stanley's mission was to get the gospel to "as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God." This is a calling that In Touch Ministries continues to pursue by transmitting his teachings as widely and effectively as possible. Dr. Stanley's messages can be heard daily on In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley broadcasts on television, radio, and satellite networks and stations around the world; on the internet at intouch.org and through In Touch+ and the Charles Stanley Institute; and via the In Touch Messenger Lab. Excerpts from Dr. Stanley's inspiring messages are also published in the award-winning In Touch devotional magazine.

    Read more from Charles F. Stanley

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      Book preview

      A Gift of Love - Charles F. Stanley

      A Gift of Love

      REFLECTIONS FOR THE TENDER HEART

      CHARLES STANLEY

      A_Gift_of_Love_final_0001_001

      Copyright © 2001 by Charles Stanley

      All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

      Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

      Nelson books may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

      Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

      Scripture quotations noted NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishing House. All rights reserved.

      The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society.

      Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Stanley, Charles F.

      A gift of love : reflections for the tender heart / Charles Stanley.

      p. cm.

      ISBN 0-7852-6618-6 (hc)

      ISBN 0-7852-7655-6 (sc)

      1. God—Love—Meditations. 2. Love—Religious aspects—

      Christianity—Biblical teaching. I. Title.

      BT140 .S7195 2001

      231'.6—dc21

      2001034511

      Printed in the United States of America

      1 2 3 4 5 RRD 09 08 07 06 05

      CONTENTS

      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.

      —JOHN 3:16

      Introduction: A Gift of Love

      Part I: God— The Giver of Love

      The Supreme Giver

      The Initiator of Love

      Amazing Grace

      Three Pillars of Truth

      The Heart of God

      Your Loving Father

      Love Revealed

      Testing His Goodness

      Our Greatest Lover

      Putting God First

      Developing a Passion for God

      Rejecting the World

      Caring for His People

      Taking the Initiative

      Revealing Himself

      Rescuing the Lost

      Expressing Your Love

      Renewing Relationships

      Divine Encounters

      Obstructing the Flow

      Worthy of Your Devotion

      Fostering Intimacy

      Unconditional Love

      How God Sees You

      God’s Gift of Grace

      Part II: Jesus Christ— The Gift of Love

      The Sum of God’s Purpose

      Eternal Friendship

      Accepting God’s Gift

      Embracing Christ’s Friendship

      Seeking the Lost

      Focusing on Christ

      Moving Beyond Legalities

      An Example of God’s Love

      Understanding the Father

      Blessed Because He Came

      Setting the Example

      Lessons of Love

      Faithfulness in Hard Times

      Hope in Desperate Times

      Answering the Call

      Looking for Love?

      Sharing the Good News

      An Eternal Symbol

      Your Security

      The Greatest Sacrifice

      A Radical Display

      What a Friend!

      God with Us

      A Divine Scapegoat

      He Is Our Peace

      Christ, Our Life

      Lord of All

      He Is Lord

      You Have It All

      Bearing Fruit

      Part III: The World— The Recipient of Love

      Seeking the Lord

      Spending Time with God

      A Wholehearted Seeker

      Checking Your Vital Signs

      Keeping God’s Commandments

      Longing to Know Him

      Expressing Appreciation

      Submitting to God

      Good Works

      Loving God

      God’s Stabilizing Perspective

      Loving Freely

      Doctrine Without Love

      Glorifying God

      A Divine Definition

      Unconditional Love

      Obeying the Father

      The Walk of Love

      A Channel of Love

      A Supernatural Love

      A Proper Motive

      Your Spiritual Inheritance

      What You Believe

      Forgiving Others

      An Agent of Love

      The Gift of Love

      The Test of Love

      Boasting in God

      Objects of God’s Love

      Relating to Others

      Friendship with God

      Loving Freely

      He Comes to Us

      Proclaiming the Message of Salvation

      Reflecting His Love

      Giving Yourself Away

      Loving Others

      Eliminating Love’s Enemies

      Connecting to His Love

      Restoring Broken Intimacy

      Fostering Christian Relationships

      Eliminating Barriers

      Your Single Greatest Need

      Soldiers of the Lord

      The Right Decision

      About the Author

      Scripture References Cited

      INTRODUCTION

      A Gift of Love

      The world is hurting for love. Ask any Christian counselor, pastor, or layperson who works with those who have suffered hurt, and they will tell you that love is a key issue. Lack of love—appropriate love—is the reason we have so much brokenness in our society.

      You were created with a basic need for love. Amazing as it may sound, there is a love that can and will meet all of your needs. This love—God’s love—is the only way to experience the love you so desperately desire and seek.

      Many think they have to get their lives straightened out before they come to God, but that is not the way He operates. His love for you is unconditional. When He looks at your life, He sees only potential. No matter how dark your past has been or how bleak the present may seem, God’s love can cleanse away the deepest sin: For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:6-8).

      Jesus died so that you might have eternal life and love. What a tremendous gift He gives! And nothing this world has to offer can even come close.

      Part I

      God—The Giver of Love

      THE SUPREME GIVER

      The attributes of God are many—love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, kindness, and goodness. Yet none of these marvelous qualities would be known to mankind without the following character trait—giving.

      God, by His own choice, holds nothing to Himself. He generously bestows His love, mercy, and grace upon man because He has sovereignly willed to share Himself and His bounty with us. We have life only because God has created us by an exercise of His will. We can receive salvation only because He wills to grant it.

      The ultimate testimony to the Giver of all good things is, amazingly, the saints, the redeemed ones, That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:7).

      The Supreme Giver’s gift to men of salvation through Christ will resound throughout eternity. Believers will be the showcase, the tangible evidence, of His ever-giving heart. Thus, while we enjoy the eternal benefits of salvation, its fundamental root lies in the reality that our God is the preeminent Giver. All of the heavenly hosts will marvel at that truth without end.

      Prayer: Father, thank You for being the Supreme Giver and giving the gift of love. That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:7)

      Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

      My lips shall praise You. (Ps. 63:3)

      God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:8)

      THE INITIATOR OF LOVE

      From the beginning of time, God has been the Initiator of love (1 John 4:10). In his book Lectures in Systematic Theology, Henry Thiessen writes, He is unlike the gods of the heathen, who hate and are angry, and the god of the philosopher, who is cold and indifferent.

      God loves us with a personal and intimate love. Those who have yet to discover the intimacy of God often view Him as being cool and demanding toward His creation. But nothing is farther from the truth. Even in the Old Testament, we find God constantly moving toward mankind in an effort to reveal more of Himself on an intimate basis.

      Love motivates Him to do this. In fact, love is the motivating factor of every true relationship. It motivated the heart of God not to destroy man in the Garden of Eden, and it motivated Him to deliver Israel from the Egyptians.

      Love brought down the walls of Jericho, and it was the motivation behind the coming of Christ. Love took our place on Calvary’s cross and later rose from the grave. And love reaches out to us each day with freshness and hope.

      You were created by love to live within its embrace. Many wonder how God could love them so deeply. But He does. He is Love, and He loves you and me.

      Prayer: Lord, thank You for creating me by love to live within its embrace. I praise You for Your love that reaches out to me each day with hope.

      Indeed it was for my own peace

      That I had great bitterness;

      But You have lovingly delivered

      my soul from the pit of corruption,

      For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. (Isa. 38:17)

      The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:

      "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;

      Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you." (Jer. 31:3)

      I have loved you, says the LORD. (Mal. 1:2)

      AMAZING GRACE

      It is little wonder that the hymn Amazing Grace is sung so resoundingly in churches across the world. Its vivid imagery reminds us of the preeminence of grace and its indispensable role in our salvation and sanctification—but what makes grace so amazing?

      Grace is amazing because it is free. No currency exists that can ever purchase grace. We are usually suspicious of anything free, but God’s offer comes without any hidden strings. He bore the cost for our sins (therefore, it is not cheap grace) so that He could extend it freely to any man on the basis of faith—not intellect, status, or prestige.

      Grace is amazing because it is limitless. God’s grace can never be exhausted. Regardless of the vileness or number of our sins, His grace is always sufficient. It can never be depleted; it can never be measured. He always gives His grace in fullness.

      God’s grace is amazing because it is always applicable. Do you need wisdom? God’s grace provides it through His Word. Do you need strength or guidance? God’s grace sustains you by His Spirit. Do you need security? God’s grace supplies it through His sovereignty.

      The amazing grace of God! Full and free! Without measure! Pertinent for your every need!

      Prayer: O God, Your

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