Jeremiah 30 - 31 (15th August) - Junming

Not because of what we've done, but because of who God is.
Only by His grace alone are we saved.

In the chapters preceding Jer 30, God spoke through Jeremiah that judgment would befall His chosen people Israel, and they would be delivered into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. But in Jer 30 and 31, God promised restoration, without any condition!

Jer 30:22 ''So you will be my people, and i will be your God.''
Jer 31:33 ''I will be their God, and they will be my people.''

God does not forsake us no matter what. In 30:11, He says He will not completely destroy us, but will discipline us justly.

Jer 31:3 ''I have loved you with an EVERLASTING love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness''

Indeed God loves us with a love that endures through all circumstances. His love reaches out even to those who curse and deny Him. His love is unconditional. He loves us not because of who we are but because of who He is. He is love. [1Jhn 4:16] He does not just love us, HE IS LOVE! And by doing anything else but that would contradict his very own nature.

Jer 31:9 ''They will come with weeping, they will pray as i bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.''

Verse after verse, God affirms His unconditional love for us. Nothing we do will make him love us any less! He loves because He has chosen us. Let this be a truth we take into our daily lives, knowing that God loves us. Rest in the knowledge that He holds our hands and is pleased with us=) But remember, He leaves no sin unpunished. So if you're far, come back. He'll always be there for you. And why all the unconditional love?

Not because of what we've done, but because of who God is.