66 Ways God Loves You: Experience God's Love for You in Every Book of the Bible

by Thomas Nelson

Overview

66 books, one incredible message

God’s Word is many things—instructive, historical, poetic. Yet to Jennifer Rothschild, the Bible is also an incredible love letter. In 66 Ways God Loves You, she walks you through each of the sixty-six books of the Bible and shows, in concise and thoughtful ways, how every book reflects God’s love for each of us, such as:

• In Genesis God fashions me with His hands.
• In Esther He Makes me royalty
• In Acts God’s Spirit comes to live in me.
• In I Peter God gives me victory over suffering.

Each chapter includes a succinct, meaningful reading on the message of that book in the Bible, along with a simple takeaway to help you bring the message to light in your own heart and life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780718087722
Publication date:	10/04/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	207
Sales rank:	287,972
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Jennifer Rothschild has written 13 books and Bible studies, including the bestsellers, Lessons I Learned in the Dark and Self-Talk, Soul-Talk. She has appeared on Good Morning America, Dr. Phil, Life Today, and a Billy Graham television special and spoken for Women of Faith and Extraordinary Women. She is the founder of the Fresh Grounded Faith conferences and womensministry.net. She lost her sight at age 15 and regularly travels and speaks around the country, sharing her story and all God has done in her life. Jennifer lives with her family in Missouri.

Read an Excerpt

66 Ways God Loves You

Experience God's Love For You in Every Book of the Bible

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By Jennifer Rothschild

Thomas Nelson

Copyright © 2016 Jennifer Rothschild
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7180-8772-2

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CHAPTER 1

In Genesis God Fashions Me with His Hands

In the beginning God created. He said, "Let there be light" and there was light! He spoke it. He commanded it. He just said it and it was! He called into existence that which had never existed before.

Every word became our world. Stars and planets. Shimmering sunshine and fierce lightning. Mountains and oceans. Forests and animals. Birds and sea creatures. Towering trees and tiny flowers. God's voice initiated all creation. All except man. God did not speak man into being because man was different — man was loved. "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7 MEV). Our beautiful Creator stooped down and got the dirt of this earth on His hands to give us life. God used His hands, His touch, to craft us — the crowning jewel of all His handiwork. And after He formed man, He gently fashioned a woman from the rib of Adam with those same hands. He lovingly shaped her to reflect the beauty of her Creator.

God could have spoken you and me into existence, too. But He chose that we — His beloved ones — would bear His fingerprints. His touch separates us from all created things. It honors us above all other created beings. His touch on our lives constantly reminds us that we are loved.

You aren't just the result of God's verbal command to some genetic matter. You are the result of the loving Hand of God that reached all the way from heaven to touch you and make you His own. And He is still reaching and still touching you. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Can you see His fingerprints on your life? Thank God today for His loving touch, and ask Him to keep creating you to be the beautiful person He loves.

In Exodus God Delivers Me from Slavery

For more than four hundred years, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. They were stuck, mistreated, and without rights, yet they were still God's people. He had not forgotten His beloved. Suddenly, in flames of love and fury, God spoke through a burning bush. "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out So I have come down to rescue them" (Exodus 3:7–8). The Israelites wondered for centuries of if God really loved them, and one day His love set a bush ablaze before Moses' eyes. And God's love set about rescuing His people. When the people were finally free, Moses sang, "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling" (15:13).

Just as God delivered His people from the slavery of Egypt, He delivers you from whatever you are powerless to rescue yourself from. Because He has "set His love upon you" (Deuteronomy 7:7 KJV), He sets you free from the slavery of sin, insecurity, fear, and despair. He frees you to trust and follow Him into all the promises He has for you. Just as He said, "the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them" (Exodus 3:9), your cry for freedom has reached His heart too. He loves you, and He sees what you are going through. He knows what oppresses you, what depresses you, and from what you long to gain your freedom.

God's love rescues you! He can break the chains that keep you stuck in your Egypt. Ask Him to set you free today. You can trust His mighty, loving Hand to keep rescuing you and setting you free.

Commemorate this day, the day you came out of Egypt ... because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand. (13:3)

In Leviticus God Grants Me Access to Him

God loves you so much that He made a way for you to come to Him, know Him, and love Him. Yet true access to God demands a true understanding of Him, so God gave us Leviticus.

In Leviticus, God drew His people to know Him as He really is — pure and holy. He loved them too much to let them settle for a false god or a reduction of His holy character. God devised ways for His people to experience a holy relationship with Him — He gave them rules. The rules weren't a way to earn a relationship with Him. Rather, they were to guide the Israelites' relationship with Him. The rules kept their hearts focused on the true God and brought them security.

Just as a loving parent provides protective boundaries for her child, God provides rules for us, His children. But it isn't following the rules and staying in the boundaries that win God's favor; we already have His favor because we have His Son, Jesus.

Because God loves us, He lets us know what is expected. He gives us rules and boundaries so we can approach Him with faith and purity. He gives us His commandments, and "His commands are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3).

Because God loves you, He makes a way for you to come to Him through His Son Jesus, and He also gives you rules so you can enjoy your best life with Him. But don't let the rules trip you up — God uses them as guard rails to keep you walking with and toward Him. And don't let any rules from God become a substitute for a relationship with God. "This is what the Lord has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the Lord may appear to you" (Leviticus 9:6).

God wants you to come to Him, know Him, and be with Him because He loves you. He promises, "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people" (Leviticus 26:12). Thank Him today for being a loving Father who values you enough to show you the way to walk with Him, and ask Him to draw you to purity in your relationship with Him.

In Numbers God Shelters Me in Cities of Refuge

When God divvied up the promised land among the tribes of His chosen people, He gave the Levites forty-eight towns. Six of those towns were chosen by God to be cities of refuge. These cities were to be places where anyone could flee for safety if they were wrongly accused or running for their life.

God told Moses, "Select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that anyone accused of murder may not die before they stand trial before the assembly" (Numbers 35:11–12). In other words, even though these were Hebrew cities, their gates were open to anyone who needed their safety. "Israelites and ... foreigners living among them" (35:15) could find shelter there.

Cities of refuge are a picture of God's loving shelter for all of us. God made a place for us when we were needy and accused by hiding us safely in His unconditional love and forgiveness. Just as the cities of refuge invited all into their gates, so God does the same for us.

We all need a city of refuge — a safe place where we know we are protected and welcome. God's unconditional love has become our city of refuge. When we run to Him, He welcomes us in, defends our honor, protects us, and preserves our lives.

If you need a refuge, Jesus says, "The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37 NKJV). He will be the wall that surrounds you, the shelter that protects you. Run to Him for refuge today. Ask Him to shelter you in His unconditional, unfailing, unending love. "God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid" (Psalm 46:1–2 HCSB).

In Deuteronomy God Keeps His Covenant of Love to Me and to a Thousand Generations

He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised" (Deuteronomy 26:19).

That's what Moses told Israel — it was a reminder of how much their promise-keeping God loved them. And this was after Israel had blown it by bowing to the golden calf. It was forty years later, and God gave the law a second time to the Israelites because the generation before had failed so miserably that they didn't make it out of the wilderness. Yet in an unimaginable display of faithful love, God gave the law to a new generation, knowing that they, too, would fail Him and forget His promises.

The people needed reminding of God's promise of love, just as we all do from time to time. Especially when we've blown it. When we fail God, we wonder if God will fail to love us still.

But God's love for you is a promise — a covenant. The same God who promised His love to Israel is the God who loves you, and His love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). It spans millennia.

God's faithful love gave Israel the second law, and it gives you second chances. His covenant of love is a promise that He will give you His Word and remind you of His Word when you forget it. God's faithful love means He will never reject you even when you blow it. He will find you worthy of His affection even when you fail.

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments" (Deuteronomy 7:9). Thank God today for being a generous giver of second chances, and praise Him for never giving up on you.

In Joshua God Gives Me Divine Purpose

In the book of Joshua, Moses had died and Joshua was now leading God's people. The wilderness wanderings were over, and the time had come to take the land God promised His people. But the Israelites' enemy had gotten there first and had put up the No Vacancy signs. Though God had promised the land to the Israelites, the Canaanites already possessed it.

But when God gives a promise, He gives us a purpose. God told Joshua to take the promised land for God's people. "Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them" (Joshua 1:6 NKJV).

God probably hasn't given you the divine purpose of kicking Canaanites out of the promised land, but He has given you great purpose. We all have had times and seasons when we felt aimless, but even in those seasons you are not without purpose. God gives you the highest calling — the divine purpose of your life. He has called you "to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (22:5 NKJV).

God loves you too much to leave you without purpose. He has called you to love Him, to walk with Him, and to follow His Word straight into the promised land. God doesn't leave you aimless, without direction or strength. Just as He had a divine purpose for Joshua, He has a divine purpose for you — a great purpose.

Jesus said, "Whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19). You have been given the magnificent purpose of living out the words of Jesus and sharing them with others. Thank God for giving you the highest purpose — knowing and loving Him and making Him known. "The Lord ... is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9 NKJV), so be strong and courageous today as you live out your divine purpose.

In Judges God Shaws Mercy in Spite of My Repeated Failures

The book of Judges is my story. It's your story even though it was first ancient Israel's story. God rescued His people, and for a while they were grateful. Then they ran after other things, forgetting what God had done for them. So God, in His severe mercy, let them taste the fruit of all their choices. Life was bitter.

They came to their senses and cried out to God for deliverance. God rescued them, but unfortunately, the cycle started all over again — faith followed by failure.

Like each of our stories, however, the book of Judges isn't ultimately about our failures; it's about God's faithful love. Our human frailty and failure serve as a spotlight on God's unstoppable love for us.

"I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars/ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?" (Judges 2:1–2 NKJV)

God loves us enough to keep His covenant with us even when we don't keep our end of the deal. He loves us enough to confront us, let us fail and flounder, and even let us forget Him. But He loves us too much to let us go.

God meets your repeated failures with His radical faithfulness! His mercy is new every morning, and His faithfulness is great — greater than your worst mistake, deeper than your greatest regret, and bigger than any blunder.

"In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted" (Judges 17:6 HCSB). But today, you do have a King who is ready to extend mercy to you. The King of kings loves you and gives you mercy and faithful love. He does it when you least deserve or expect it. Keep walking toward God's faithful love, and you will find it. Lean into the mercy of God today, and find that His mercy is so much bigger than any mess you may have made.

In Ruth My Kinsman-Redeemer Grafts Me into His Family

Everybody wants to belong. But Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, were outsiders. Both were widows, alone in a foreign land. Naomi had buried a husband and two sons in Moab. So she did all she knew to do — she tucked away her grief, packed her bags, and went back home to Bethlehem. Ruth, from Moab, gave up her family and homeland to go with Naomi.

But when they arrived, neither Naomi nor Ruth could own the property that had belonged to their husbands. They were dependent on Naomi's male relatives to take care of them. So the men gathered at the city gate, and the nearest kinsman was offered the right to redeem the property — including all its liabilities. "I want to redeem it" the kinsman responded (Ruth 4:4 HCSB). But when he heard that Ruth went with the deal, he changed his mind.

Ruth: first widowed, now rejected by a man who she hoped would take care of her. She longed to belong.

Then Boaz stepped into her life. "I will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife" (Ruth 4:10 HCSB).

Boaz fulfilled Ruth's longing with belonging.

We, like Ruth, long to belong. And as Boaz made Ruth his family, God chooses us to be His family. We "who once were not a people ... are now the people of God" (1 Peter 2:10 NKJV). As Boaz became Ruth's kinsman-redeemer, Jesus has become our Redeemer!

That means Jesus takes all your liabilities and makes them His own. His love makes you family. Thank God today for making you His own, and remember that even if you feel alone or like an outsider, you are loved by your Redeemer and you belong to Him forever.

Respond to God's beautiful love for you by telling Him today, "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay" (Ruth 1:16).

In 1 Samuel God Anoints Me with His Spirit

When God went looking for a king, He chose the least likely of Jesse's sons: the youngest, the shepherd boy. Then He sent Samuel the prophet to find him. Samuel sought David out.

"Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward" (1 Samuel 16:13 NASB).

God anointed David with His own Spirit. He chose David for a purpose so much bigger than what he could have imagined as he tended sheep. God gave the young shepherd His Spirit to accomplish His calling.

To be anointed means to be selected and appointed. You may feel like the least likely to be chosen or singled out for divine purpose, but you, too, are anointed with God's Spirit. Just as David didn't achieve his own anointing, you don't achieve yours either; you receive it from God when you receive Christ.

When you trust Jesus as your Savior, His Spirit lives in you — you are anointed with His Spirit. First John 2:20 says, "You have an anointing from the Holy One and ... you know the truth."

And Jesus said His Spirit, "the Spirit of truth[,] ... lives with you and will be in you" (John 14:17). God loves you so much that He wants not only to be with you, but in you — that is why He anoints you with His Spirit.

As He did for King David, the Spirit of the Lord will be "mightily" upon you every day of your life. And His Holy Spirit continually anoints you with purpose and strength. Though you may sometimes feel like an overlooked shepherd boy, God sees you and chooses to anoint you with His Spirit for a purpose that is so much bigger than your perception of yourself and your abilities.

Ask God to refresh you with His Spirit today so you can walk in your anointing.

In 2 Samuel God Builds a Home for Me

In the book of 2 Samuel, David, the former shepherd, had become the king. He ruled over Israel from his palace built of cedar. But his heart was grieved because God had no proper house. "The ark of God remains in a tent," he lamented (2 Samuel 7:2). So David planned to build a house for God — until God reversed the whole thing. Instead of David building a home for God, God said, "I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed" (7:10).

Isn't that just like our loving God? We seek to build a home for Him, and He instead builds a home for us! God gives us a home in His heart and in His family. He makes us part of His kingdom just because He loves us.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from 66 Ways God Loves You by Jennifer Rothschild. Copyright © 2016 Jennifer Rothschild. Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction, 7,
In Genesis God Fashions Me with His Hands, 10,
In Exodus God Delivers Me from Slavery, 13,
In Leviticus God Grants Me Access to Him, 16,
In Numbers God Shelters Me in Cities of Refuge, 19,
In Deuteronomy God Keeps His Covenant of Love to Me and to a Thousand Generations, 22,
In Joshua God Gives Me Divine Purpose, 25,
In Judges God Shows Mercy in Spite of My Repeated Failures, 28,
In Ruth My Kinsman-Redeemer Grafts Me into His Family, 31,
In 1 Samuel God Anoints Me with His Spirit, 34,
In 2 Samuel God Builds a Home for Me, 37,
In 1 Kings God Remains Faithful to Me, 40,
In 2 Kings God Shows Me Loving Patience, 43,
In 1 Chronicles God Grants Me Success, 46,
In 2 Chronicles God Makes My Prayer Powerful, 49,
In Ezra God's Persistent Love Restores Me, 52,
In Nehemiah God Gives Me Tools to Rebuild All That Is Broken, 55,
In Esther God Crowns Me with Worth and Makes Me Royalty, 58,
In Job God sustains Me in suffering, 61,
In Psalms My Good shepherd Draws Me Close and Listens for My voice, 64,
In Proverbs God offers Me Wisdom More Precious Than Rubies, 67,
In Ecclesiastes God Gives Meaning to My Meaninglessness, 70,
In song of songs the Lover of My soul Draws Me to Run after Him, 73,
In Isaiah God Reveals to Me the savior, 76,
In Jeremiah God sees My Tears and Gives Me Hope, 79,
In Lamentations God Grants Me New Mercy every Morning, 82,
In Ezekiel God Brings Life to My Dead Bones, 85,
In Daniel God Joins Me in the Fire, 88,
In Hosea God Pursues Me to Buy Me Back, 91,
In Joel God Restores the Years the Locusts Have eaten, 94,
In Amos God Protects Me When I Feel Powerless, 97,
In Obadiah God stands up For Me, 100,
In Jonah God uses Imperfect Man to Fulfill His Perfect Plan, 103,
In Micah God Invites Me to Walk Humbly with Him, 106,
In Nahum God Gives Me Refuge in Times of Trouble, 109,
In Habakkuk God Places My Lowliness in High Places, 112,
In Zephaniah the Mighty God Sings over Me with Great Joy, 115,
In Haggai God Himself Dwells with Me and Gives Me Peace, 118,
In Zechariah God Assures Me of His Coming, 121,
In Malachi God Pours Out His Blessing on Me, 124,
In Matthew God Puts On Human Flesh Just to Seek and Save Me, 127,
In Mark God Stills the Storm in My Soul, 130,
In Luke the Good Samaritan Sees Me When I'm Broken and Comes to My Aid, 133,
In John God Gives Me Everlasting Life, 136,
In Acts God's Spirit Comes to Live in Me, 139,
In Romans God Works All Things Together for My Good, 142,
In 1 Corinthians God Teaches Me the Way of Love, 145,
In 2 Corinthians God Comforts Me, 148,
In Galatians God Sets Me Free, 151,
In Ephesians God Lavishes Me with Grace, 154,
In Philippians God Gives Me Joy, 157,
In Colossians God Completes Me, 160,
In 1 Thessalonians God Returns to Bring Me Home with Him, 163,
In 2 Thessalonians God Stands with Me When I'm Persecuted, 166,
In 1 Timothy God Entrusts Me with a High Calling, 169,
In 2 Timothy God Gives Me the Spirit of Power, 172,
In Titus God Steps Into My Confusion with a Love That Saves Me, 175,
In Philemon God Turns My Slavery into Brotherhood, 178,
In Hebrews God Invites Me to Come Boldly Before His Throne, 181,
In James God Refines My Faith, 184,
In 1 Peter God Gives Me Victory in Suffering, 187,
In 2 Peter God Gives Me Everything I Need for Life and Godliness, 190,
In 1 John God Makes Me Clean, 193,
In 2 John God Shows Me How to Finish Well, 196,
In 3 John God Offers Me Hospitality When I Need a Place to Rest, 199,
In Jude God Keeps Me from Falling and Presents Me Faultless Before His Throne, 202,
In Revelation God Receives Me as His Beloved and Treasured Bride, 205,