NEWSLETTER - OCTOBER 2007

VERSE OF THE MONTH:
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1 (NIV)

IN THIS EDITION:
The Father’s Extravagance
Important Note About This Newsletter
Events

THE FATHER’S EXTRAVAGANCE
Have you ever thought what “extravagance” really means?

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking about the extravagant love of the Father. I heard a couple of friends’ testimonies recently about the way that God drew them to Himself over a period of time. Looking back they could see the hand of a loving Father gently steering them into His heart; through the series of circumstances that “just” happened to occur, the people they met or the meetings they went to. There seemed to be no limit to which God would not go in order to gather them into His love.

I walked past a beech tree the other day and noticed the vast number of seed pods lying on the ground. Most of them will never go on and produce a small beech tree.

I thought of some of the stories in the New Testament: feeding the 5000 – there were 12 baskets leftover, the woman who poured a jar of perfume over Jesus’ feet – which cost a year’s wages, the widow who put everything she had into the Temple offering and, of course, the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. God and extravagance seem to go together!

The extravagance of a gift is not so much about the quantity that is given but about the heart from which it comes. You can give a small gift, a small amount of time or a gentle encouraging word and that can seem an extravagant gift to the receiver.

God lavishes His love on us. It is not a trickle but an extravagant flood. It is immeasurable and never ending. It is not a reward, measured out in relation to what we may have done (or not done). It is lavished on us completely freely.

Too often we are more concerned that others receive this love rather than receiving it for ourselves. Indulge yourself! Receive His unconditional love for yourself. Take a few minutes each day to be quiet and come before Him to receive, for you and you only.

IMPORTANT NOTE
I have recently moved this address list to In Jesus.com which handles a significant number of mailing lists for Christian organisations.

I understand they may be sending you an email in the next few days asking you to confirm your email address. PLEASE hit the reply button and then you will shortly receive confirmation that you have been added to the list. I gather that if you do nothing they will remove your name from the list I uploaded. Although I have uploaded my address list they need this confirmation from you as an important Anti-Spam measure. Hopefully next month’s newsletter will come via them.

I’m sorry for this extra hassle.

EVENTS
Please review the events page as it is regularly updated: www.afathertoyou.com/signposts/events.html

In His Love

Mark Gyde