“I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing; make something of me! You can do it; you’ve got what it takes God.” Psalm 40:17 (MSG)

A lot of people are afraid to trust Jesus with their lives because they think that means he will narrow it. He’ll cramp their style and make their life smaller with a lot of rules and restrictions.

When Christ comes into your life, the exact opposite happens. Instead of making your life more religious, he makes it more alive. He makes you more fully human and able to experience the life you were meant to live. He expands your horizons and gives you the ability to see things you’ve never seen before. You may be living a good life now, but God wants to offer you a better life.

The Bible says, “He brings me out into a spacious place; he rescues me because he delights in me!” (Psalm 18:19). God expands the possibilities on your life because he delights in you. He doesn’t just love you; he finds joy in you!

The best way I can describe it is thinking back to when my children were young. They didn’t have to do anything spiritual for me to love them. I loved them and found joy in everything they did because they were my children and I was their father.

God is your heavenly father; he made you, he loves you, and he finds joy in you. He wants to rescue you and give you the better, fuller life that you were destined to have.

The Pharisee saw the woman in Luke 7 as a sinner worthy of judgment, but Jesus saw her as a woman in need of forgiveness.
Jesus, knowing what the Pharisee was thinking, told him a story about two men with huge debts that they couldn’t pay (Luke 7:41-42). Yet the moneylender canceled both of their debts. Jesus asked the Pharisee, “Which of them will love him (the moneylender) more?” (Luke 7:42 NIV). The Pharisee said the one with the greater debt.
The point is that love and forgiveness go hand-in-hand. Because the Pharisee was counting on his self-righteousness, he couldn’t see his need for forgiveness and that blinded him to compassion, especially for those in great need.
The woman, on the other hand, understood the depth of her sin and knew she could only count on God’s great mercy. And she showed her thankfulness through her bold, honest, humble and extravagant worship.
Jesus pointed out the difference between these two hearts when he told the Pharisee how his actions differed from the woman’s. The Pharisee did not give Jesus water to wash his feet, yet the woman bathed them with her tears. The Pharisee did not give Jesus a welcoming kiss when he entered, yet the woman could not stop kissing his feet. The Pharisee did offer the customary oil for Jesus’s head, yet the woman poured her best perfume on him.
When we understand the depth of God’s love and forgiveness, it deepens our love for him. It also means that we no longer look down on other sinners or think that we are better than anyone else.

Scripture Reference- Matthew 5

Love is the fundamental factor of all meaningful relationships. Love is an action -- the action of selflessness, of esteeming others above ourselves. All interpersonal problems could be solved with a faithful, mutual expression of love.
Imagine what the world would be like if everyone acted in love. No war. No divorce. No AIDS. No murder. No rape. No tears.
Though Jesus knew that sin presently prevents perfect love, He held believers to a high standard of showing His love in this world: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

PRAYER
· Offer your praise to the Lord who loves us in spite of our sin:
I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings
(Psalm 17:6-8).
· As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:
Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend
(Psalm 15:1-3).
· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
But You demonstrate Your own love toward me, in that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me (based on Romans 5:8).
· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater gratitude for your salvation,
· a return to righteousness in this nation,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer
(Psalm 19:14).