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  document.writeln("<span class=\"body\"><b><span class=\"headings2\"><span class=\"actsititle\">Gentle Strength</span></span></b><br>");
  document.writeln("<span class=\"actsilinks\"><a href=\"#\" onclick=\"window.print()\">Print this page</a></span>");document.writeln("<br><div id='actsartcl1'>");document.writeln("<p><font face=\"Verdana,Arial,Helvetica\" size=\"3\"><i>For God so loved the world that he gave his one and  only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.<sup>1</sup></i> <br>");
document.writeln("    <br>\"In her memoirs, an anonymous woman writes of her experiences as a field  nurse in the Civil War. She worked for the Confederate forces, patching up  dozens of wounded, sick soldiers every day. One day at the war\'s end, news came  that President Lincoln would be visiting this Confederate field hospital. Many  of the rebel soldiers were terrified of meeting him. Surely Lincoln was a monster, and he would treat the  Confederate soldiers cruelly! But when Lincoln  entered the hospital tent, he began to cry. He bent over the injured soldiers\' cots and spoke softly to them. He patted their hands and stroked their hair,  just as a father might do. And when he left, the men could not stop talking  about what a good man he was. They had expected a tyrant, and found instead a  kind and gentle and forgiving leader.\"<sup>2</sup><br>");
document.writeln("  <br>Many times we are taught to fear God because of how he can punish us, instead of focusing on how much he loved us and has given so that we won\'t have to suffer punishment! Children are taught a God full of rules, but we sometimes leave out His amazing grace.<br>");
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document.writeln("It is true that God is against all sin, not because he\'s out to get us, but because he is truly a  loving Father who wants to protect us from hurting ourselves and others\'€&#8221;and to  save us from the ultimate consequences of sin which is eternal death and eternal separation from God.<br>");
document.writeln("  The fact is that no matter what you and I have done or failed to do, God  loves us with an everlasting, unconditional love. But he does want us to come  to him for forgiveness and to experience abundant life in Him.<br>");
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document.writeln("  Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you that you love and accept me as I  am, and that you also love me too much to leave me as I am. Please help me to  know that my sins are forgiven the moment I accept your gift  of eternal life. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.<br>");
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document.writeln("  <u><br>");
document.writeln("  1. <font color=\"#000000\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:16;&amp;version=31;\">John  3:16</a> (<em>NIV</em>).</font></u><br>");
document.writeln("  2. Kemp Battle, <em>Hearts of Fire: Great Women of American Lore and Legend</em> (New York: Harmony Books, 1997), pp. 332-333.<br><br>Today\'s Encounter was written by: Crystal B.&nbsp;</font></p>");
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  document.writeln("<p style=\"font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;\">This and other devotionals by Richard (Dick) Innes <a href=\"http://www.actsweb.org/archives.php\" target=\"_blank\">can be read online</a>.<br><br>Copyright &copy; 1990 - 2025<br /><a href=\"http://www.actsweb.org/\" target=\"_blank\">ACTS International</a></p>");
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