The Sweetness of God’s Love
First15 Devotional
First15
4.9 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 April 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
As we continue our focus on simply stirring up our affections for God this week, today we’re going to take time to focus on the fact that God is present in our lives. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, God is with you in and through it all. And his presence, his nearness is the foundation on which we are meant to live as his people. May we develop a greater sense of his nearness today and learn how we can live our life in light of the goodness of his presence.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | As we focus on stirring up our affections for God this week, today we'll take time to focus on |
| 0:11.7 | his incredible love for us. What we believe about God's love shapes everything about us. |
| 0:19.9 | And so today, we'll take a moment to reflect on the great length |
| 0:24.2 | he went to, to restore our relationship with him. Welcome to the first 15 podcast. Our scripture for today comes from Ephesians 5 verse 2. |
| 0:59.5 | Scripture says, |
| 1:00.7 | And walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. |
| 1:08.2 | A slain offering and sacrifice to God, a sweet fragrance. |
| 1:18.6 | Think about the death of Jesus for a moment. Picture how horrific the scene would have been to witness in person. |
| 1:26.6 | Now try and imagine witness at how horrific the scene would have been to witness in person. |
| 1:33.6 | Now try and imagine witnessing it from the father's perspective. |
| 1:44.3 | Think about how he saw, heard, felt, knew, and wept over everything that happened to Jesus. |
| 1:52.6 | Think about how he felt placing the sin of the world, the sin of you and me, |
| 1:57.1 | on the shoulders of his perfect and undeserving son. |
| 2:07.3 | I ask you to imagine all of that for one reason, to gain perspective on the unfathomable love of God as expressed in Ephesians 5, verse 2. Scripture says, walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God, |
| 2:23.5 | a sweet fragrance. |
| 2:27.0 | When I read that verse initially, I skipped over a life-changing phrase, a sweet fragrance. |
| 2:35.0 | With all the father witnessed that day, with all the suffering Jesus faithfully endured, |
| 2:43.0 | God still considers Jesus' death a sweet fragrance. |
| 2:48.0 | How is that possible? |
| 2:50.0 | How could anyone consider the death of Jesus a sweet fragrance, let alone the father? |
| 2:58.3 | Such is the incredible depth of God's love for us, that he would count the atrocities committed |
| 3:04.9 | against his son as a sweet fragrance. |
... |
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