document.open(); document.writeln(""); document.writeln("Beautiful Messes: You and I
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I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered"); document.writeln("your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the"); document.writeln("price to set you free.1

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No one is ever too far gone for Christ to redeem. His love"); document.writeln("is for everyone who is willing to accept it. His great sacrifice was an act of"); document.writeln("love towards us, and it will redeem and transform us if we allow it to. There"); document.writeln("is a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. that gives this explanation of love:

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Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, Love"); document.writeln("your enemies. It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And"); document.writeln("there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being"); document.writeln("friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they cannot stand it too"); document.writeln("long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt"); document.writeln("feelings, and sometimes they will hate you a little more at that transition"); document.writeln("period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love, they will"); document.writeln("break down under the load. That is love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is"); document.writeln("why Jesus says love.2

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Before coming to Christ, we were enemies of God. Separated"); document.writeln("from him by sin. We most likely felt a sense of unworthiness and guilt at the"); document.writeln("fact that someone would love and accept us just as we were. But once we"); document.writeln("accepted His love, it started working in us\'€¦ redeeming and restoring us. And"); document.writeln("just as we have experienced the blessing of having a personal relationship with"); document.writeln("Jesus, God longs for others to find their way to Him as well. This is where we"); document.writeln("come in. We are the bridge that God wants to use to connect others to Him. He"); document.writeln("wants His great love to be known by those who need it most. As we read in John"); document.writeln("13:34-35: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as"); document.writeln("I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all people will"); document.writeln("know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

We are all"); document.writeln("works in progress and we will always be learning from His Word, but the"); document.writeln("important thing is that we act on what we do know. We were not meant to be"); document.writeln("perfect\'€¦ we just need to be obedient. People will know we are disciples of"); document.writeln("Christ, not by how much we know or how perfect our life is, but by our love"); document.writeln("for others.

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Our past is behind us and there is no condemnation for those"); document.writeln("who are in Christ.2 His plans are great, and we may not know it"); document.writeln("all right now, but love is always a good place to start.

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Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you for loving me,"); document.writeln("forgiving me, and choosing me to be your child. Not because of what I have"); document.writeln("done, but because of who I am in Jesus. Thank you for erasing my sins and"); document.writeln("making all things new. Use me to be a testimony to others of your love, grace,"); document.writeln("and mercy. May they come to know you and experience your great faithfulness. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

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  1. Isaiah"); document.writeln(" 44:22 (NLT).
  2. Martin"); document.writeln(" Luther King Jr., A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons"); document.writeln(" of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The Encounter for today was written by: Crystal B.

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This and other devotionals by Richard (Dick) Innes can be read online.

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ACTS International

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