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Jesus Loves MeBy Greg Quinn November 20th, 2017 One of the first songs I remember learning as a child was “Jesus Loves Me”. I didn’t know what it meant back then. I just remember my Aunt Rita in Sunday School requiring that I learn it and sing it with the other kids. But now, some 55 years later, I have come to understand the real meaning of the song. Jesus loves me
this I know For the Bible
tells me so Little ones to
Him belong They are weak
but He is strong Yes, Jesus
loves me Yes, Jesus
loves me Yes, Jesus
loves me The Bible tells
me so Yep, 55 years or so after learning this song I still know it.
It is still engrained in my memory (which is a substantial comment since
so many other things are no longer engrained in my memory).
The words and tune to this song are so simple a small child can learn
them, but the truths within this song escape most of us adult Christians. “Jesus loves me”. If you don’t get one other thing out of this message, or from any message you have heard in the past or will hear in the future, or if you don’t get anything else from the Bible, then get this one fact. Jesus loves you. These three words will change your life forever. In fact, Jesus loves you so much that He, being the Son of
God, came down from Heaven, to be born in poverty, to live the same way other
humans live, to suffer the same temptations and persecutions that any of us
might face, and do so while remaining perfect without sin (or doing any wrong),
and through it all, His only mission was to prove his love so much that He
willingly laid down His life for our sins.
John 3:16 says, “For God
so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son (Jesus) that whosoever
believed on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” In fact, there is a truth running through the entirety of the Bible. This truth can be summarized in three words, “Jesus loves me.” Even before Jesus came to earth, He has always been here as part of the Godhead. God (and Jesus) created the heavens and the earth. They (Jesus the Son, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit) created everything including man. They made man in their own image. They gave man dominion over everything else in the world. They created a paradise on earth for man. But then Satan (the fallen angel Lucifer) tempted Eve to disobey God’s only restriction on mankind, and she convinced her husband Adam to join her in this disregard for God’s law. Therefore, the first sin entered the world by man. And, as “the wages of sin is death…”, man was therefore put into a system that would include disease, hard work, trouble, pain, sickness, and death. Paradise lost. From that moment, God knowing that man could never redeem
himself, God put into motion a plan that would in fact redeem mankind and bring
us back to what we were originally created to be, friends with God.
Romans 6:23 says, “The
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord.” So throughout the Bible God was revealing His plan to
mankind. A plan of love.
A plan of love so strong that God himself (Jesus) would lay down His life
to save ours. Jesus loves me this I know For the Bible tells me so When Noah built the ark to save the few decent people on
earth at the time, God started over with mankind and Noah’s family because of
His love. When Abraham was provided
the opportunity to become the father of many nations while more than 90 years
old, and his wife Sarah 100, it was because of God’s love. When Moses led God’s people out of captivity and into the
promised land, it was because of God’s love.
When Joseph was saved from the pit and the palace and the prison in order
to provide salvation for his family and the nation, it was because of God’s
love. So you see, Noah started
mankind over just as Jesus gives us new life.
Abraham became the father of many nations due to his faith in Jesus who
wasn’t even yet born upon earth. Moses
led God’s people out of captivity just as Jesus leads those who believe in Him
out of captivity of the sins of this world and into victory in this earthly
lifetime and eternal life in Heaven with God.
Joseph saved the nation from starvation as an example of Jesus saving us
all from death into life through Him. One
cannot read anywhere in the Bible that doesn’t lead to the discovery that the
entirety of God’s plan for mankind, and the entirety of the world and its
history, is all about Jesus and His love for us. Jesus loves me He will stay Close beside me all the way Then his little child will take Up to Heaven for His dear sake Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me The Bible tells me so When you really realize that Jesus loves you, yes YOU, regardless of what you have done, regardless of how bad you have been, Jesus loves YOU. And he died for YOU. And he rose from the dead in order to provide eternal life for YOU. Victory over sin for YOU. Redemption for YOU. Salvation for YOU. Eternity with God for YOU. Joy and peace and happiness in this lifetime for YOU. Yes, Jesus loves YOU. Jesus loves me He will stay Close beside me all the way When you accept Jesus as the Son of God and realize that He did in fact take the penalty of sin and death upon the cross for you and me, then you can enjoy life in this world as you never thought possible. No matter the trouble in this world, you will know that Jesus is with you. Like the little song says, “Jesus loves me he will stay, close beside me all the way.” When you have trouble, Jesus is there. When you need comfort, Jesus is there. When you are happy, Jesus is there. When you are sad, Jesus is there. When you have lost a loved one, Jesus is there. When you are lonely and feel no one loves you, Jesus is there, telling you that He loves you. When you are sick, Jesus is there. And when you breathe your last breath on earth, Jesus is there waiting for you to join Him for eternity in Heaven. God says many times in the Bible, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” He will stay close beside you all the way. Why, because Jesus loves you. Jesus loves me, He who died Heaven’s gate to open wide He will wash away my sin Let his little child come in Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me The Bible tells me so Jesus loves you so much He gave his life for you, He died in your place. Jesus rose from the dead to give us all victory over death where we, too, will one day rise to be with Him in Heaven. His death washes away our sin so that we, God’s little child, can come into Heaven’s portal to spend eternity with God. Jesus loves you. Jesus cares for you when you are happy and when you are sad. Jesus loves you when you do bad things and when you are good. Jesus cries when we cry. He cares about the things that are important to us. He wants us to be happy. He hates sickness and death, and when we get to the point in our lives when we face sickness, and when we face death, He is still there with us. Jesus loves me, loves me still Though I’m very weak and ill From his shining throne on high Comes to watch me where I lie Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me The Bible tells me so I believe the most important concept we can grasp in this
world can be summed up in these three simple words, Jesus loves me.
When we really understand that, no matter our problems, no matter our
troubles, no matter our challenges, no matter how bad we are at times, no matter
if our attitudes are good or bad, no matter if we are selfish and prideful, no
matter if we are kind and helpful, Jesus loves us.
You can say, “Jesus loves me” when you are at your best, and you can
say, “Jesus loves me” when you are at your worst. Because when we were at our worst, God in the form of Jesus died for our sins. Because of His great love. Remember this. You cannot do anything in your life to make Jesus love you any more. And you cannot do anything in your life to make Jesus love you any less. When you are having your worst days, cry out to Jesus and say it aloud, “Jesus loves me. Regardless of what I am going through today, Jesus loves me.” When you are at your best and having great success in your life, say it aloud, “Jesus loves me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The Bible is the standard of truth for the world. The only real truth we will ever know. The only book ever written to teach us how to live forever. And of all the truths of the Bible, this one is the most important, “Jesus loves me.” Sing it with me….Believe it in your heart…..Live your
life with this truth…. Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me The Bible tells me so |
