In this enriching episode of ‘The Flatline,’ host Rick Hughes addresses the universal struggle of loneliness, offering a transformative perspective centered on divine love and companionship. Rick discusses the roots of loneliness, the destructive nature of bitterness, and the path to emotional freedom through understanding God’s unwavering presence and promises. Tune in to discover how these timeless truths can revolutionize your spiritual journey and anchor your soul in a world often plagued by self-centric values.
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
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Good morning and welcome to the Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, please stick around. It’ll be a short time, just about 30 minutes of motivation, some inspiration, some education, and as always, no manipulation, no con games, no hustling anybody, not trying to raise money, not trying to sell you anything. If you notice, there are no commercials on this radio show. This show is simply about giving you accurate information, information that will help you verify as well as identify the plan of God for your life, and if you want to orient and adjust to the plan, well that’s up to you that’s your choice but my job is to be an accurate communicator of truth let me make one thing clear to you if this is the first time you’ve heard our show i’m not a political talk show host this show is not about politics why because politics will not deliver this nation from what’s coming if we continue down the road to our own i believe the future of this great nation is to be determined by your response to the word of god not who we elect as our next senator or who we elect as our next president. It’s you and who you elect to govern your life and govern your destiny. And that must be God’s plan for you individually because as goes your spiritual life, so goes the destiny of our nation. So don’t point a finger at the president. Don’t point a finger at Congress. Someone once said, if you point a finger at someone, there’s three of them pointing right back at you. You’re the answer. You’re the solution to what’s going on if you’re serious about this. One of the most depressing emotions in your life may be the feeling that no one really cares about you. As we enter the new year and go through the Christmas holidays, a lot of people get like this. They think no one cares about them. No one cares what happens to them. It’s loneliness. Loneliness that’ll swallow you up, thinking no one really loves you and no one really cares about you. Even your children may claim they love you, but rarely do they call or rarely do they come around because they’re busy living their lives. So there you are, sitting alone at home, eating alone, going to bed alone. And these can be very depressing emotions in your life. The end result is bitterness. It’ll set in and you’ll get resentful and you’ll withdraw into a shell like a turtle. Even sometimes our friends and our children love us because of what we have or what we can do for them. So they may patronize you or pretend to care, but in reality they really don’t sometimes, and that’s just the way life is. But let me tell you who does love you, who always will love you, so that you’ll understand this. You remember the great artist Elvis, the rock and roll singer of the 70s and the 80s? He sang a song called, If You Love Me, Let Me Know. I want to let you know who loves you. I can guarantee you who loves you because that answer is God loves you. And I can even verify that from the scripture. bigger question may be do you love him but we’ll get around to that shortly i’m sure so let’s start off with this concept so you’ll understand it god’s very essence god’s very nature is love l-o-v-e first john 4 8 god is love now there are a lot of different words for love in the bible in the greek new testament they all translate into the english love It could be a rao, it could be agapao, it could be phileo, but we’re talking about agapao, God loves you. God is love. It’s his very essence, it’s his very nature. And he demonstrated that love in 1 John 4, 9. Here’s what it says. Listen carefully. See if you can identify the love of God for you in this verse. Quote 1 John 4, 9. By this the love of God was manifested in us. You hear that? The love of God was manifested in us. How? By this. By what? that he sent his uniquely born son into the world so that we might live through him. 1 John 4, 9 and verse 10. In this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sin. There’s the first demonstration that God loves you. He allowed his son, our savior, the uniquely born Lord Jesus Christ to come into this world, to go to the cross, die for our sins, be resurrected and ascend back into heaven. guaranteeing you that you can have that same trip if you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was your propitiation. What’s that big word mean? It means he paid for your sin. It’s like you, people have used this illustration millions of times, but like you’re on death row and someone comes in and says, let him go, I’ll die in his place. That’s what the Lord Jesus Christ did. He didn’t sin. He wasn’t responsible for the condemnation. You sin, the Bible says, for by one man, sin came into the world and death by sin and death passed on all for all have sinned and all have come short of the glory of God. By this, the love of God was manifested. God sent his uniquely born son into the world. That’s how much he loves you. Now, before you get all bent out of shape, feeling bitter and lonely and thinking no one loves you, just stop for a minute. Bow your head in prayer and say, thank you, God, for loving me. Because if it were not for God’s loving grace, we wouldn’t have a chance. We would wind up in the lake of fire along with Satan and the fallen angels, but we don’t have to go there. We have an opportunity to be face-to-face with the Lord through the propitiation that Christ offered on our behalf. So God’s nature is love. That’s how I can prove it to you. And secondly, God’s love was demonstrated by what he did. It’s perfect. It’s unconditional. You’ve heard John 3.16 so many times. You can quote it like me. For God so loved the world. You and I are part of the world. We are the jerks that live in the world. He loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten son that whoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. whoever would believe in him, not give up Coca-Cola, not give up Pepsi-Cola, not give up Dr. Pepper, whoever would believe in him has nothing to do with what you give up, has nothing to do with what you quit doing. It has everything to do with what he did for you on that cross. Do you believe that Jesus Christ was the anointed son of God? Do you believe that he paid the penalty for your sin? Are you willing to tell God in prayer, Father, I’m a sinner and I know it, and I’m willing to trust the finished work of Christ on my behalf. I accept Jesus as my Savior. That’s the most powerful prayer any man, any woman could ever pray in this world. Romans 5.8, God demonstrated his love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That’s divine, impersonal love. You didn’t have to earn it. You didn’t have to purchase it. You didn’t have to prove anything. While you were still a sinner, Christ died for you. That’s an amazing love. God loves you that much. You’re that valuable to God. You’re his creation. God loves you. Remember that. Don’t forget that. And here’s something else. You cannot manipulate God’s love. Don’t think you can. doesn’t love you more when you’re a good little boy or a good little girl and he doesn’t love you less if you’re bad we’re not talking about Santa Claus we’re talking about God he’s immutable and his love never changes he does not get mad at you when you fail he’s not happy with you when you do good his love is based on his character not what you do his love is based on his character not what you do So whatever secrets you may have in a closet that make you think God does not love you, you can throw them away. It has nothing to do with God’s love. God loves you based on who he was, not based on who you are. So just imagine someone who loves you even though you act like a jerk. Maybe you’ve been through a divorce. Maybe you’ve lost your spouse and you acted like a jerk and your spouse doesn’t love you anymore. And maybe rightfully so. But God still loves you. I don’t care what you’ve done. God loves you. You may be incarcerated today. Maybe you did a terrible crime and you think God cannot forgive you. You’re wrong. God loves you. Wherever you may be, incarcerated, in a car, at home, God loves you. Don’t forget that. Please. Loves you even though you have been a jerk. So remember this, don’t forget this part of it now. God’s essence does include justice. And what his righteousness rejects, his justice is going to have to judge. He loves you, but he will judge you. In Hebrews 12, six, you can see it. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with a son. Because what son is there whom the father does not chasten or discipline? But if you don’t have any discipline of which all have become partakers, then you’re not really a son. Furthermore, we’ve had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live? And live? Proverbs 15, 10, harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way and he who hates correction will die. God loves you and he will discipline you if you’re his child. If you’ve accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior and you’ve wandered in the sin, gone down the my way highway, you’ve gotten involved in some sort of sin that’s captured your soul and captured your emotion, God will discipline you. Not because he’s mad at you, because he’s trying to save your life. He’s trying to save you from self-destruction because what you’re doing will eventually destroy you. And you know that. You just don’t know how to get out of it. That’s why the Bible says if we will confess our sin, he’s faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all of our wrongdoing. That’s where it starts. Once you go to God and admit your sin, you allow the Holy Spirit to take control of your life if you’re a believer. And once the Holy Spirit’s in control of your life, then you can start to grow in the grace and knowledge of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If you take God’s word, open it up, read it, learn it, apply it into your life, eventually get into a great church under a wonderful pastor that can teach you God’s word, that’s how you break the chains and the binders of sin that has you captured. So God will discipline you. And if you get bitter about that, harsh discipline is for those who forsake the way, Proverbs 15, 10. If you get bitter about that, listen to what it says, he who hates correction will die. There is a son unto death, and that means that God can bring you home anytime he wants to. He can check you out early if you can’t handle his discipline. His discipline is an indication that he loves you. If he didn’t love you, he wouldn’t even pay any attention to you. He would ignore you. He’d neglect you. The fact that he’s not neglecting you, the fact that he’s disciplining you is indication, proof positive. He loves you. He does not want you to destroy your life or the lives of anyone involved with you. So divine discipline is that proof God loves you. I mean, what father, loving father, wouldn’t at least discipline his children? Now here’s something I want you to remember. His love for you is demonstrated in his promises. There are a lot of them in the Bible. I just chose a few to remind you of. But this is where his love is demonstrated in his promises. We’ll look at Jeremiah 29, 11. Here’s what God said. I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give you a future and to give you a hope. That’s confidence. So there’s a guarantee that God loves you. His thoughts are not to hurt you. His thoughts are not to harm you. His thoughts are to prosper you and bless you and give you a future and a hope and a confidence in this world. And how does he do it? In 1 Corinthians 10, 13, the New Testament writes these words, no temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to man. And God is faithful. There it says, love demonstrated again. God is faithful who will never allow you to be tempted beyond what you’re capable of standing, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape so that you will be able to bear it. That’s how much God loves you. That’s proof demonstrated in his promises. He will not allow you to be tempted more than you can stand. He will always provide a way out. And that’s through rebound, through the filling of the Holy Spirit, and through spiritual growth, getting rid of the scar tissue in your soul. You may have that scar tissue now. You may have thoughts that won’t go away, things that you’ve done years ago that just are seated deep in your soul, and you feel guilty about it. Satan loves that. He loves to manipulate you through guilt. God doesn’t manipulate people through guilt. God offers forgiveness and cleansing from those sins. So his love is demonstrated in his promises. I’ll tell you another way his love is demonstrated. His love is demonstrated in his provisions for you. Listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ told his disciples. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to myself so that where I am, you may be also. He didn’t leave them and hang them out to dry. He said, I’ll come back for you. He told them he was going to be put to death. He warned them about that. He warned them what they would face. But he said, I will come back for you. That’s promise of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s a wonderful promise. And it’s a provision that he made for us. So in John 10, 28, I give them eternal life and they will never perish forever. neither shall any man snatch them out of my hand. There are some promises right there, provisions for you. Provision number one, eternal life in heaven so that you can be with the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. Provision number two, eternal security. Nobody can take you out of God’s hand. Nobody can take you away from God’s hand. You say, well, what about me taking my own self away? Hey, the Bible clearly says, even if we believe not, yet he’s still about a faithful, for he cannot deny himself. Once you become a member of the royal family of God, God’s not going to disinherit you. God’s not going to disown you. He will discipline you so that you don’t self-destruct, but he does it in love because he loves you. He cares for you. You are his valuable creature. You’re his valuable creation. That’s why God loves you. His love for you can also be demonstrated by his presence within you. In Psalm 16, verse 11, you will show me the path of life and your presence is full of joy. This is a wonderful promise from God. If he’s with you, Jesus said this, my joy I’ve given to you so that your joy may be full in John 15, 11. Living the Christian life is a wonderful way to live. It’s not giggling, it’s not laughing, but it’s a confident peace and expectation of what you have and what’s to come. That’s the joy. No stress, no worry, no guilt, no animosity. Loving your enemies as you love yourself. Forgiving those that harm you and serving God with all of your heart. Having an open heart and an open life and an open mind. He can read your thoughts. Did you know that? He can read your thoughts. He knows what you’re thinking. So you’re not going to pull anything over on God. So why not just be honest with him and say, Father, I’ve really screwed up. I’ve really done some dumb, stupid things. And I confess those things to you and I ask you to forgive me. I know you love me. Rick has told me you love me, Father. Go ahead and accept that love. Go ahead and buy into that because he does love you, demonstrated by his presence. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. You will show me the path of life, and in your presence is fullness of joy. Being in the presence of God? Can you imagine what that’s like? I mean, maybe you’ve been in the presence of some celebrities. I’ve been around a few, not very many. The biggest celebrity I know is the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s the King of kings and the Lord of lords. But the Bible says, in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. In Psalm 1611, you will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. You cannot even believe what awaits you in heaven. He loves you so much, the Bible says, the eye hath not seen, the ear has never heard, and the heart cannot contemplate the things that God has for you. wildest imagination, figure out what heaven’s gonna be like. It’s a pleasure beyond your expectation. No more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears. The old things are passed away. And yes, you will see people that you’ve known. Yes, those that have accepted Christ as Savior. You’ll be reunited with those people. They might not look the same because they’ve been a resurrection body, but they are the same individuals, the same thinking, the same soul with a new body. Got rid of that sin-infected body that went to the grave, and God gave them a new body. That’s a wonderful demonstration of love there. He promises that. He will give you a new body. If you’re like me, the old body starts to wear out. The old body gets decrepit and creaks and moans. You know what I’m talking about. But you are going to get a new body, a wonderful body, demonstrating God’s love for you. Wonderful. Oh, the Bible says in Psalm 139, verse 7, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? Nowhere. You see, our God is omnipresent. He’s omnipresent. He’s with us wherever we may be. Any man, woman in the battlefield, he’s with them there. Any man, woman on the job, he’s with you there. He’s with you in your home. He’s with you in your car. He’s omnipresent. He can be with you in Tennessee. He can be with you in Texas. He can be with you in California. He’s not limited to one place. You see, Satan is not like that. A lot of people don’t understand that. Satan is not omnipresent. He is a created being. He has a body. He cannot do what God does. God can be in multiple places at one time because he’s eminent and transcendent. So where can I go to get away from his presence? Nowhere. His presence is always with us. In James 4.10, the Bible says, Humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord, and he will then exalt us. That humility that we’re talking about there in that verse means deference and appreciation as well as obedience from you. Humility, humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you. Humility means deference and appreciation as well as obedience. You have a volition. God didn’t make you a little robot. He gave you the choice. you can choose to serve him you can choose to obey him you can choose to love him but it’s your choice and that’s why this verse in james 4 10 says humble yourselves in the presence of the lord that doesn’t mean when you go to church it’s that’s crazy to think that you just meet god at church Listen, God was in that building before you got there, and he’ll be in that building when you’re gone. He’s with you. He lives in you. The Bible said, don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? He lives in you. And therefore, the humility means that you must assume the mind of Christ. Philippians 2.5, you’ve heard me say it many times, let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus who humbled himself and made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant. Humility means deference. It means appreciation. It means obedience. So again, his love for you is demonstrated by his power over life and his power over death. In Psalm 46, one and two, God is our refuge. God is our strength. He’s a very ready help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth shakes and the mountains slip into the heart of the sea. No reason to fear. God is your refuge. He loves you. He will protect you. He will strengthen you. Listen to 1 John 3, 1 through 3. Listen carefully. See how great a love the Father has given us. that we could be called the children of God. You don’t earn that, you don’t buy that, you are given that by God’s grace. See how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called the children of God, and in fact we are. And it’s for this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him. Beloved, John wrote, now we are children of God. It has not appeared as yet what we will be, that’s the resurrection body, but we know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him just as he is in glory. And everyone who has this hope set on him will purify himself just as he is pure. That means you’ll stay out of sin. You won’t be trapped by your sin nature. Remember, there’s three enemies out to tag you, the world, the flesh, and the devil. The lure of the world is real. The Bible tells you, stop thinking in terms of the world, but think in terms of divine viewpoint. Think in terms of God’s word, not human viewpoint. And the world will tell you what you should do, but that may not be what the Bible says. So keep that in mind. God is our refuge, and he loves you. If you purify yourself, he wants you to be pure. There’s no sin in him, and he wants you to live like that. And is it possible for you not to sin? No, that’s impossible, but it’s possible for you to recover from sin. The reason it’s not possible for you not to sin is because you have a sin nature. And you’re always gonna have it until you die and get rid of it and get that resurrection body and then there’ll be no sin nature. So his love is demonstrated by his power over life and death and how do you demonstrate your love for God? That’s the question. How would you demonstrate your love for God? In 1 John 5, 3, this is the love of God that we keep his mandates and his mandates are not burdensome. Did you hear that? This is the love of God that we keep his mandates and they are not hard. That’s how you demonstrate you love God. You are obedience. You have appreciation and deference. So here’s a few principles I want to remind you of. Lonely people have habits detrimental to their spiritual life. Listen to 2 Timothy 3, two through seven, for people will be lovers of self, that’s a lonely person, lovers of money, boastful, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, implacable, malicious, gossips, without self-control, brutal, reckless, treacherous, conceited, haters of good and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding on to a form of godliness, that’s self-righteousness, Although they’ve denied its power, avoid these sort of people. Bible clearly tells you stay away from self-centered people taking attention because money is never a cure for loneliness. Sex is not a cure for loneliness. A personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is the only cure for a broken heart. In Matthew 11, 28, Jesus clearly said, Come to me, all you who are weary and all you who are burdened, and I will give you rest. There is the cure for loneliness. There is the cure for an unhappy life. free from the power of guilt, free from the power of sin, free from the burden of stress and worry, free from feelings of loneliness because we rest in his presence. We have his power, we have his provisions, and we have his promises. That’s some phenomenal information. I hope you’re listening. God loves you. Don’t forget, if you need to get one of our books, feel free to contact us through our website, rickhughesministries.org. We did write a new book called Crash Course in Christianity, and it’s free, it’s available. If you write for it, be glad to send it to you. We do have all the radio shows transcribed and books for you to read through for the last couple of years. and we have a new book called Christian Problem Solving that deals with all 10 problem-solving devices. If you need any of that, let us know. We’ll ship it right out to you. I’m very thankful you listened. I pray you remember God loves you. Until next week, same time, same place, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flotline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
