1. Why do you think we have such a difficult time believing that God really loves us?
Because we all know what we are really like...we know the evil thoughts we've had, or the things we've done when no one else was around, and somehow we think that there is no way God could love us since we've done those things, and yet we believe that God could love others in that way, because we don't know of all the things they have done.
2. How does God love all people in spite of their behavior?
God loves everyone, no matter who they are, what they've done, or are currently doing. God created each one of us and has watched us grow, He has walked beside us and loved us even when we were at our worst. He is our heavenly Father, and we are his children, there is nothing we could do to change the way God feels about us. His love really is never-ending, it will never fail or falter, His love is the same no matter what...His love is extravagant!
3. How does God's love relate to His sometimes severe discipline?
God disciplines those that He loves. His love for us demands that He discipline us when we stray. To let us get away with rebellion would be against everything God is, He doesn't want us to spend eternity in hell, but without His discipline to bring us back to Him, that is were many of us would end up. God sent His son to die so that we could spend eternity in heaven with Him, so after doing that, it would make no sense for Him to just watch us walk away from Him without doing something to try to bring us back into right relationship with Him again.
4. How can rebellion lead to prisons?
Rebellion is a terrible thing, when we rebel, we are telling God that we don't need Him any more, that we are going to do things our own way, because obviously we know so much more than He possibly could. So when we start to live in rebellion, we walk out from under God's protective care, and many times it leads us into things that may not be physical prisons, but none the less prisons of the mind, or prisons of the spirit.
5. What does God do to see that His captive children find freedom?
God never gives up on us, and He is willing to go to great lengths to restore our relationship with Himself. Even if it means causing us pain, it is worth it if it saves us and sets us free!
