Does God take from me? - Taking - TouchPoints

Does God take from me?

1 Peter 2:24He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.

Isaiah 53:4-5Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! [5] But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

1 John 2:2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins-and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

1 John 4:10 This is real love-not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

John 3:16"For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus took the punishment for our sins so we could live eternally with him.

Ezekiel 11:19And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their hearts of stone and give them tender hearts instead,

Psalm 51:10Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Matthew 6:19-21"Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. [21] Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Matthew 13:44-46"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. [45] "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. [46] When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

Matthew 16:25-27If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. [26] And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? [27] For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.

James 1:17Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

2 Corinthians 9:15Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!

God only takes from us in order to give us something greater. He wants us to enjoy eternity in all its fullness, so he teaches us to grow and value what lasts—godly character and loving relationships. Often, earthly possessions and desires become distractions that draw us away from these eternal treasures. God doesn’t want us to enter eternity empty-handed (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). So, sometimes, he takes our temporary earthly treasures to remind us to invest in what’s eternal.

Genesis 3:4-5"You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. [5] "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil."

Exodus 16:3"If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt," they moaned. "There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death."

Psalm 119:14I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches.

Malachi 3:10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

John 10:10The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Satan wants us to distrust God and believe he is withholding good things from us. If we distrust God’s love, we can be more easily persuaded to disobey his commands. But God isn’t trying to steal or hinder our enjoyment of life—in fact, he is trying to lead us to the most fulfilling life of all.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. [14] For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

John 11:21-26Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask." [23] Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again." [24] "Yes," Martha said, "he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day." [25] Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. [26] Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?"

John 11:32-37When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." [33] When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. [34] "Where have you put him?" he asked them. They told him, "Lord, come and see." [35] Then Jesus wept. [36] The people who were standing nearby said, "See how much he loved him!" [37] But some said, "This man healed a blind man. Couldn't he have kept Lazarus from dying?"

Matthew 5:4God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Revelation 21:4He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."

In time, each of us experiences the loss of a loved one. Jesus knows our pain—he experienced the loss of a friend himself. Even though he knew Lazarus would live eternally after death, and even though he knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, he cried for his friend and for the sadness of Mary and Martha. When we go through the pain of having a loved one taken from us, we can take comfort that our God mourns with us until the day when he will make everything new. On that day, death will be no more and he will wipe our tears from our eyes.