love

What do you do when you feel dirty?  When your sin is so blatant and so in your face that you don't know where to look?

When those sins that you struggle with come up again?

When you fall again?
When you struggle again?
When you choose to sin again?

Faith and belief in Jesus is a choice.  I can choose to believe how I feel about myself or I can choose to believe what God's word says about me.

God's word says those of us in Christ Jesus are

blessed
chosen
adopted
accepted
redeemed
forgiven 

(ephesians 1)

His Word says that I am loved.  The Word is truth, and the truth says He loves us.
 
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -Romans 5:8

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. - 1 John 4:10

The dictionary defines love this way---
Beloved:

(adj.) greatly loved; dear to the heart.

(n.)  a person who is greatly loved.

 

The word of God defines it---

 Love is: patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. -1 Corinthians 13:4-8

God Himself is love (1 John 4:8).
He loves me.
He loves you.
That will not and cannot change.

For I am convinced that 

neither death, 

nor life, 

nor angels, 

nor principalities, 

nor things present, 

nor things to come, 

nor powers,  

nor height, 

nor depth, 

nor any other created thing, 

will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

-Romans 8:38-39