Why Does God Love Me?

Something I did at the beginning of this year was ask the youth to write some of their questions about God, the Bible, or life on an index card without putting their name on it. This gives them the freedom to ask about anything without having to say it out loud and feeling embarrassed because they didn't know it. It also gives me great insights into what is happening in their lives and how I can best serve them in my teaching. On one of these cards I got a very interesting question: Why does God love me?

I found this question so interesting for a couple of reasons: One, I have asked this question so many times. Particularly when I have recently sinned or done something stupid.(Which seems to happen more than I would like) Second, the question is deep. The person understood that God does love them, but revealing why would almost certainly grant a more intimate relationship with Jesus.

The answer is more simple than you would think. Sometimes we really over complicate things, don't we? Especially when it is something we don't understand. We look for long, in-depth analysis for every possible circumstance, when really all we need to do is look at the source. The best source for understanding anything about God is His word, the Bible.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in His own image;  He created him in the image of God; 
He created them male and female. - Genesis 1:26-27

Why does God love us? Because we are His creation! We are made in His image! And when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, we become even more. We become His children!

Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. - 1 John 3:1

Just as any respectable person would love their own child, so God loves us!

In Christ,
jon walton
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A Salad...

Good news everyone! There are some of us who are trying very hard to "eat healthier" at the beginning of this new year. For those of you who are doing your best to stick with this challenge, I thought I would share a salad recipe that my wife and I came up with. It is surprisingly filling, and unlike so many other things I have tried, it is actually very tasty!

So here is how you make it:

Step 1: Make a nice bed of lettuce and spinach leaves. (I know you can't really see it that well in the pic, but it is there on the bottom)

Step 2: Add some fruit! I have tomatoes, gala apples, mandarin oranges, and raisins in mine. The oranges and tomatoes go very well together! I did not expect that.

Step 3: Add some crunch! The apples give it a nice texture, but they are not enough of a replacement for croutons for me. I used almond slivers. They give it a nice crunch without taking away from the other flavors.

Step 4: The dressing. My wife found this when we made it the first time. Take one or two of your orange slices and squeeze them over the entire salad. This makes for a very nice dressing as it coats the lettuce and spinach with the orange juice.

Your result is a very "sweet" tasting salad. I have had three of these and I don't even like salad!

Hope this helps you stay on track!

In Christ,
jon walton
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It's An Opportunity...

I was going through a drive through with my son, Isaiah, grabbing some supper from a busy day. As we pulled around to the window, we were talking about stealing. I've found that so many things we just know really need to be explained in detail to our kids and I think we all forget that from time to time. I arrived at the window, gave the lady my money and she handed me my change. When I checked it, she had given me back an extra $5 bill. I had a decision to make, keep it or give it back. I was tempted to keep it.

Isn't it funny how God does that? I was in the middle of explaining what stealing is to my 7 year old son by saying stealing is taking anything that doesn't belong to you without asking permission and now God is giving me a chance to display exactly what I was saying with words. But with every chance to do something good, something bad can be done just as easily. Or is it the other way around? You see, when we are tempted, it is an opportunity to show Jesus that we really do love Him and are willing to do more than just talk about it. We are willing to live it. This was my opportunity. In the midst of the temptation, I had the chance to do show God I love Him by my actions.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it. - 1 Corinthians 10:13.

I told the lady she had given me too much money, handed her the $5 back, and she thanked me. As Isaiah and I pulled up to the next window, we discussed how that keeping that money really would have been stealing. Thanks God, for that opportunity.

In Christ,
jon walton
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