God Gets You

By Mike Murray

Pages: 325

God Gets You reminds Christians that they will get to heaven despite the countless ways they fall short of God’s best for them — a reality that Church leaders seldom emphasize. They’re more likely to make disconcerting comments like:
 “Christians aren’t sinless but should sin less.”

The danger is that Christians can easily fall into performance or legalistic traps. Mike says that it’s not like God awakens each of us in the morning with custom scoreboards that display how we rate in His eyes. Christianity isn’t about counting sins. It involves repentance, redemption and a new relationship with Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

With compassion and sensitivity, Mike encourages Christians to grow in faith and be thankful that God pursues, rescues and understands us. Packed with hundreds of commentaries, inspiring stories, Bible verses, prayers, videos, songs and many other resources, God Gets You:

• Celebrates the power of the Holy Spirit who one night filled a new high school graduate with intense joy after he endured a hellish round of insults at a late-night teen party. 

• Details the gratitude one man feels daily after he fell off a roof and became paralyzed for life - an accident that closed the door on his rebellion and led him to the arms of God. 

• Showcases the small gestures and extremes that a community went to for a lonely, frightened and financially devastated family after a friend dropped them off at a rental home in Cleveland, Ohio (one member faced a triple organ transplant). 

For 30 years, Mike Murray has taught the
Bible, discipled men, facilitated spiritual retreats, served in a hospice home, mentored fatherless youths and supported social justice organizations. 
Mike earned a journalism degree in 1986 at Kent State University and worked in newspapers before leading his online marketing firm. Mike and his family live in northeast Ohio.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Murray
• Release date: Nov 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519959102

Book preview

1

How God Gets You

"For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works.

And my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them."

— Psalm 139: 13-16

I can’t quite wrap my mind around the fact that I can fail miserably as a Christian and still make it to heaven.

Don’t you wonder about that too?

In a moment, we commit our lives to the Lord in humility and our brokenness. And within hours, maybe minutes, we’re back to committing sins.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He loves me.

I’m amazed by God and the lengths He went to be with me. Jesus literally left heaven to walk and talk with us on earth after arriving in poverty as a baby. And 33 years later, he basically agreed to be crucified in my place on a cross for of all my sins — the pride, covetousness, anxiety, lies, unbridled tongue and more.

Erwin Lutzer, a Christian author and speaker, shared the following during a program on Moody Radio’s Midday Connection show: At the end of the day, it’s not the greatness of our sin but the completeness of the payment that we must emphasize.

God Gets You has different meanings that should be encouraging for Christians and non-believers alike.

1. God Gets You with Each Move He Makes

God doesn’t wait for us to seek Him. He makes the moves to get us. When we’re born, He starts us off with a moral compass. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them (Romans 2:15). He creates signs everywhere that point to Him and His supremacy: For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20). And if that weren’t clear enough, Jesus says: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you (John 15:16).

2. God Gets You Through His Extraordinary Rescue Mission

Because God hates sin, it almost seems like He wants nothing to do with us as a sinner. I picture Him shielding His eyes when He sees sinners. And yet, He gets close to sinners. Jesus did that when we lived on the earth 2,000 years ago. Through the Holy Spirit, God looks for different ways to get our attention. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life"  (John 3:16).

3. He Gets to Be with You in Heaven

God wants nothing more than to be with you — forever. One day, He can receive you in heaven. Owning up to and turning away from sins is the first step. It’s comforting when the Lord says: I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand (John 10:28). In His Word, you can sense His anticipation: Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also (John 14:3).

4. He Gets Everything about You

He really does get you. He understands you — your failings, your hopes, your dreams and your personality. Nothing escapes His knowledge.

"O God, you know my folly;

the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you."

—  Psalm 69:5

It’s kind of scary, I think, that God is aware of my every wicked thought. But then I meditate on His mercy. He can’t dismiss my sins and say they don’t matter. He knew how I would be wired before I was born and orchestrated a way for me to reach Him even when my sin nature made me His enemy.

5. God Gets You: You Belong to Him

Ultimately, God gets me. As much as I’m an adopted son, I’m His for good. "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

When Jesus died on the cross, conquered sin and came back to life, His sacrifice became a gift that was available to me. Some people presume that it was a one-time deal. Everyone gets to heaven because He defeated sin. Wrong. It’s a real gift from a real Jesus who gives us endless opportunities to open it by repenting for our sins, surrendering our lives to Him, accepting His sacrifice and entering into a genuine relationship with Him.

Salvation is rooted in redemption and our response. The genuineness of that precise decision should be evident in our lives as Christians. Did you just say a prayer or was your life transformed? Even in your imperfect progress, how have you changed as a committed follower of Jesus?

When I sin, it’s like saying I don’t love Him. And yet, I do love Him. My sins are forgiven — forever. I’m a Christian with a sin nature. My new identity is packed with purpose (I’m redeemed, beloved and a minister of reconciliation among many other characteristics and roles). Sin will always be a part of my life until I die. Paul, one of the main writers of the New Testament, blasts sin in Romans 7. Like me, maybe he sighed and screamed at times because sin would be too apparent in his life.

I took God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit for granted until 1998 when I was 34 years old. Until then, I knew all about Jesus, but I didn’t know Him. I didn’t walk with Him and talk with Him like I do now. He had taken me along a long road with many paths that He used to reach out to me. The paths often included people, sayings and experiences designed to get my attention. I was aware of some of them, but my hard heart wouldn’t let Him in.

When I finally surrendered control of my life, I became a friend of Jesus.  I wasn’t God’s enemy any longer. I became His adopted son, an heir.

In John 1:12-13, He tells us: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

As a Christian, I have my work cut out for me. Jesus just wants me to be obedient, trust Him and follow His lead. I’m expected to do a lot of things — serve, pray, worship, repent and grow. It’s the growing part that’s tough and intriguing.

I’m sure I’m more spiritually mature than before. But I’m never happy with my progress and dwell on how I must disappoint the Lord instead of rejoicing in Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s love. I know God has so much more in mind than I can ever fathom. I want to walk into what He desires. But then I chicken out because part of that means risking my time, reputation, money, plans, etc. I do all of that — sacrifice my own interests. But too often I don’t. Isn’t that sad?

Usually, it’s not a big choice, like some kind of pressure to sell our home move overseas. I shrink back into a fearful state when Jesus wants me to make bold decisions that may offend other people. I hate conflict, especially when it’s with people I love. I don’t want to hurt their feelings.

And yet, Jesus expects us to encounter conflict for Him.

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

—Matthew 10:34-39

The Lord is faithful and stands tall:

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

— Ezekiel 36:26-28

"You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

— Psalm 16:11

Despite the fact that people argue about the meaning of the bridegroom and the bride in the Bible, I like the imagery that God decided to use in His Word. I’m confident that He regards the church as the bride (and I belong to His church).

And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’

— Revelation 19:9

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;

my soul shall exult in my God,

for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;

he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,

as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

— Isaiah 61:10

The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

— John 3:29

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

— Galatians 2:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

— Revelation 3:20

God loves me despite my sins and my failings. I can’t do a single thing to make Him love me more or love me less.

All of us could be better Christians — pray more, worship more authentically, study the Bible more thoroughly and serve more of those in need.

However, don’t beat yourself up when you fall short as a Christian.

As a husband, father, son, brother, small group leader and a friend, I stumble and mess up. It’s OK in the sense that each failing doesn’t kick me out of God’s family. As pastors have taught over the years, God loves me just as I am and loves me so much that He won’t let me stay that way.

Like you, I’m a work in progress.

God is genuinely interested in who I am in Christ and how He can mold me to serve His purposes. He’s not really focusing on my abilities (my talents come from Him anyway). He does call for my availability and my obedience. When I respond, His grace takes over in amazing and magnificent ways.

My purest desire is not to live for myself but for God. I want to be who I am in Christ instead of who I was before I met Him. In the old days, I had little regard for Him and had a view of life that was all focused on me.

I still get that way — thinking about where I can travel and what I can experience. I seek happiness. But do I really need to go to India (it’s on my bucket list) to feel satisfied? Can I just sit in a park with my Bible and read His love letter to me? Can I close my eyes and get lost in Him? Can I open my eyes and take in all that life offers in those moments and thank Him over and over again for my wife, my boys, my parents, my sister, my brothers, my friends, my career, my trials and so much more? Can I thank Him for the wind that gently touches my face? Can I praise Him for creation? Can I long for the joy I find in Him?

I like how some people have described life with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as a dance.

Rick Duncan of Cuyahoga Valley Church in one Sunday message taught:

It’s like God says, ‘Just experience me, just spend time with Me, just enjoy Me and just dance with Me.’

Rick referenced author Larry Crabb’s characterization of God:

"Did you ever stop to ask why I made everything; why My Spirit, My Son, and I created the stars, moon, planets; and why We made a paradise on earth? The three of Us were making preparations to throw a party, to invite others to a dance, to the dance We’ve been enjoying since before time began."

— Larry Crabb, 66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God That Invites You into His Story, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson reprint edition, May 10, 2011), pp. 2-3.

Too often, I let the world draw me away from the joy of experiencing the dance and His story. I appreciate that God loves me and pursues me. I sense a peace that can’t really be defined when I enter into His plans and respond to His heart.

2

God's Love

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

—  Romans 8:31-39

God loves you no matter what you’ve ever done. Isn’t that amazing?

Because of His love, He gave us Jesus, who died in our place for our sins. Talk about love.

And God gave us the widely referenced Romans verses to encourage us, to assure us that nothing will separate believers from Him. It’s for believers; it’s not for all people. It’s easy for someone to take this part of Romans out of context.

Still, He does love everyone. John 3:16 reminds us that God does love the world and determined the way people can be spared from eternal death in hell away from Him. You must be reconciled to Him first.

How do you love God? How do you express His love to others? How do they know you belong to Him?

At the end of the day, God makes a simple appeal. Throughout Scripture, he essentially says, Will you trust me? How have you responded?

I’ve compiled many other perspectives on God’s love:

God will not let you go. Your relationship with your Heavenly Father depends on His strength and not yours, on His perfection and not yours, on His love and not yours, His devotion and not yours. And your relationship with your heavenly Father depends more on His hold of you than your hold of Him.

— Max Lucado, video, Week 1 Summer in the Hills 2010, Christian author and minister of Preaching at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas.

God’s love tells us that He is friendly and His word assures us that He is our friend and wants us to be His friends. No man with a trace of humility would first think he is a friend of God; but the idea did not originate with men. Abraham would never have said, ‘I am God’s friend,’ but God himself said that Abraham was His friend.

— A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (United Kingdom: Authentic Media, 1976) p.129.

It is a strange and beautiful eccentricity of the free God that He has allowed His heart to be emotionally identified with men. Self-sufficient as He is, He wants our love, and will not be satisfied till He gets it. Free as He is, He has let His heart be bound to us for ever.

The Knowledge of the Holy, p. 130.

If God can love men who wrestle with Him; if God can love men who deny Him; if God can love men who seek to destroy Him, then He can absolutely and without question love you and me through His unbelievable gift of grace.

— Wayne Hastings, If You Take My Hand My Son (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications, 2001) p. 99.

God’s love, including what Jesus did for us, is wonderfully represented in a Mission Baltimore skit that has been viewed million of times on countless web sites. Lifehouse’s Everything song supports the drama. It’s well worth a few minutes of your time.

http://bit.ly/1wDxmDE

People express their understanding of God in different ways. Hopefully their words, paintings, music, acting, are grounded in Biblical truth. I have some issues with the theology conveyed in The Shack book about a man coping with his faith after the abduction of his daughter. But there is no denying that the author, William P. Young, creatively conveys the relationship of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They’re distinct and perfectly connected.

Here are some excerpts based on God speaking to the main character:

"This world is not a playground where I keep all of my children free from evil. Evil is the chaos of this age that you brought to me, but it will not have the final say. Now it touches everyone I love, those who follow me and those who don’t. If I take away the consequences of people’s choices, I destroy the possibility of love. Love that is forced is not love at all.

You and this creation are incredible, whether you understand that or not. You are wonderful beyond imagination. Just because you make horrendous and destructive choices does not mean you deserve less respect for what you inherently are — the pinnacle of my creation and the center of my affection.

William P. Young, The Shack (Newbury Park, CA: Windblown Media, 2007) p. 204.

I purpose to work life out of death, to bring freedom out of brokenness and to turn darkness into light.

The Shack, p. 205.

Pastors and leaders at Cuyahoga Valley Church have taught on God’s love over the years:

Dale Piscura:

Some people seem content and say, ‘God is with me.’ But are they really experiencing Him?

God wants us to enter deeper and deeper into a relationship with us. There’s more of Him to be discovered and more of us to give over.

If we walk with the Lord, we will know sorrow. We will ache. But there will be joy.

You can’t have a thought that He doesn’t know and yet He loves us.

His steadfast love never changes. He can’t love you less. He can’t love you more. He’s in love with you.

In all of our mess, in all of our failings, He loves us. His grace is much greater than our sin.

He waits and waits for us to come.

He wants us to come knowing we have nothing to offer and yet He gives us all that we need.

Rick Duncan:

God doesn’t love us because we overperform. God loves is in spite of the fact that we underperform.

God doesn’t promise to deliver us from the trials of life. He agrees to help us experience victory in the trials. He’ll bring me through it. Jesus knows suffering.

Do you want joy? Get God. He will never let you down.

He wants to make us trophies of His grace.

It all comes through the fingers of God. All things are God-filtered.

When you can’t see … His hand, trust His heart.

God doesn’t promise a pain-free, problem-free life. He wants us to want Him for Him, not for His stuff.

We ought to be in awe of how much He loves us.

He accepts you and that should change everything about Him. You should live in the joy and freedom of Christ.

He doesn’t wait until we’re all cleaned up to use us.

He knows that you don’t love Him enough, but He knows that you love Him. He says, ‘I’m not done with you. I’m going to deal with your failure, but I still believe in you.’

We have to stop beating ourselves up and disqualifying ourselves and putting ourselves on the shelf.

The presence of trouble doesn’t mean the absence of favor.

It delights God to bless you. Our Father wants to bless us more than we want to be blessed.

God loves guilty people because that’s all He has to work with here.

Love what God loves and hate what God hates.

He calls us to be better than we are, but He accepts us just as we are. We don’t need to get cleaned up first.

The creator of the universe chose you to be in His family. He wants to adopt you to his family through His son.

God finds pleasure in watching you be you.

God is more interested in what you are than in what you do.

God wants an exclusive relationship with you.

You are what you are and have what you have because of His grace.

"We don’t seek God. He seeks us. God is the seeker. If left to ourselves, we would never seek after God. Need proof? It comes from Psalm 53:

" ‘God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They