S8 Episode #15- A Love Letter from Jesus with Jes French
THE ONE WITH Jes + A LOVE LETTER FROM JESUS
In this special post‑Valentine’s episode of The Collected Podcast, Jes invites listeners into a tender exploration of Jesus’ love—steady, personal, and woven through every page of Scripture. Drawing from the Names of God and the sweeping story of redemption, she reflects on a Savior who creates with intention, fights for His people, and stays closer than we can imagine. As she shares “love notes” from both the Old and New Testaments, this episode becomes a gentle reminder that you are pursued, valued, strengthened, and never alone. If your heart is craving encouragement, reassurance, or a fresh encounter with God’s nearness, this conversation offers a warm and hope‑filled place to rest.
SOURCES
Herbert Lockyer, All the Divine Names and Titles in the Bible
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
LISTEN
CATCH UP
In this episode I reference a few teaching from our names of god series. here is a quick reference guide to help you locate each episode if you’d like to learn more. Happy listening!
El Olam: The Everlasting God — S4E5
El Roi: The God Who Sees — S5E5
El Shaddai: God Almighty — S5E14
Jehovah Shammah: The Lord is There — S6E13
Jehovah Rohi: The Lord Our Shepherd — S7E5
Immanuel: God With Us — S7E7
Jehovah Jireh: The Lord Who Provides — S6E1
Jehovah Rapha: The Lord Our Healer — S6E6
Jehovah Nissi: The Lord Our Banner — S6E8
Jehovah M'Kaddesh: The Lord Who Sanctifies — S6E11
Jehovah Shalom: The Lord Our Peace — S7E10
Jehovah Tsidkenu: The Lord Our Righteousness — S7E12
Jehovah Hoseenu: The Lord Our Maker — S7E19
Elohim: Creator God — S8E1
Jehovah Tsebaoth: The Lord of Hosts — S8E9
Abba: Father — S8E11
SHOW NOTES
If you’re listening to this episode when it first comes out, then you know that Valentine’s Day was last weekend. In the spirit of love, I wanted to make this episode a love letter to our hearts from Jesus– our Savior and Messiah who loves us more than we could ever begin to truly comprehend.
The Bible is the most beautiful and captivating love story ever written. Every page has the fingerprints of God’s plan to redeem and restore all of creation and every part of it points to Jesus. Throughout our Names of God study, we saw over and over again how so many of the names of God in the Old Testament pointed directly to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and of His great love for us. So I wanted to start there with a little review, and then we will dig into both the Old and New Testaments to find some love notes from Jesus.
JEHOVAH HOSEENU
Looking back at our Names of God series, when we studied Jehovah Hoseenu– The LORD Our Maker– we saw that this name highlights the personal relationship between the Creator and His people. While the name Elohim speaks of God's cosmic power, Jehovah Hoseenu reminds believers that He intimately crafts and sustains every life. He is not an obtuse God who created you and then sits back on his throne and says “good luck figuring all this out”. He is near to you in every moment– through the good and the bad, the joy, the grief, the pain and the celebration. He is there through it all, shaping you into the person that He created you to be!
The redeeming work of Jehovah Hoseenu is made complete in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that when we are in Christ, we are a new creation, “The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Christ is transforming us and making all things new. Even though we cannot always see the full picture on this side of Heaven, we can still rest in His promise that He will finish what He started.
Jesus tells us in John 14:1-4, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”
Jesus continues in verse 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is everything we need. All answers for life, security and purpose are found in Him. He is the giver and sustainer of life. He is near to you in every moment– through the good and the bad, the joy, the grief, the pain and the celebration. He is there through it all, shaping you into the person that He created you to be!
His love letter to you is: I will never leave you nor forsake you. You are chosen and created for a unique purpose. I am making you new, I will finish what I started, and I have a place for you.
JEHOVAH SABAOTH
Later in our Names of God series, we studied Jehovah Sabaoth—the LORD of Hosts, Commander of Heaven’s Armies, and the God of the impossible. Through Hannah’s anguished prayer, David’s bold faith, and the miraculous moments woven throughout Scripture, we saw how this mighty name reveals both God’s sovereign power and His tender presence. From Genesis to Revelation, Jehovah Sabaoth reigns over all creation, fights unseen battles on our behalf, and points us to the ultimate victory found in Jesus, the Messiah.
In 1 Samuel, Hannah was the first person to cry out to God using the name LORD of Hosts. She had spent year after year in a season of longing, waiting and heartbreak as she prayed for a child. After Hannah’s prayer is answered and she gives birth to a son, she cries out to The LORD of Hosts once again, this time in a prayer of rejoicing.
Hannah reminds us that He makes us strong, He rescues us, He is our rock and our judge. He fills us, protects us, raises us up, and gives us life.
Hannah is also foreshadowing the eternal life that would be ours through the coming Messiah. The same woman who was the first person to cry out to The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, is also the same person to first use the term Messiah. Again, we see the Old Testament pointing us directly to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament. His victory over death and the forces of evil brings life to His followers once and for all.
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus tells his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
In Revelation 11:15 we see "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"
Christ cannot be defeated, all victory is His now and forevermore, and when we are in Him, His victory is also ours!
His love letter to you is: I am for you. I am bringing victory to the broken places. Your story is not over yet.
IMMANUEL
The third (and final) name that we will look at today is IMMANUE–, God With Us. This name of Jesus reminds us that He is with us always and in everything – in our suffering, in our pain and sorrow, in our joy, in our conflict, in our sin, in our facing death– in all the things that we experience in a broken world. Jesus did not shy away from these things. Jesus is with us through everything. His presence will never leave us.
Whenever you feel stressed or anxious, draw near to the Lord and take it as an opportunity to recognize new things about Him and His provision for you. As we believe that Immanuel is God with us, in every circumstance, and that He is the Sovereign Lord of all, then we will be able to have a calm spirit and be still and quiet before the Lord, no matter what troubles– real or perceived– surround us.
His love letter to you is: I am with you always. You are not alone. You are not forgotten. You can find peace and rest in my presence.
LOVE NOTES FROM JESUS
With the rest of our time today, I want to share some little love notes from Jesus that we can find in His Word. The love notes are my own paraphrasing, but then I will read the Scripture that they come from. As I read through these, allow them to sink deep into your heart and refresh the weary places of your soul.
You are worth dying for.
John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
You are loved beyond measure.
Ephesians 3:17-21 -“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
You are worth pursuing.
Luke 15:4-7 - “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
You can find rest.
Matthew 11:27-30– “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
You are known, seen and valuable.
Matthew 6:25-27 – “This is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life… look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
Matthew 10:30-31– “And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”
You belong.
Matthew 12:50– “Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”
You are not a mistake. You are my workmanship, created with a marvelous purpose.
Psalm 139:14-16 – “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous– how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
You are precious to me. I am with you always.
Psalm 139:17-18 – “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!”
You are loved, forever and always, no matter what you have done.
Jeremiah 33:11 – “Give thanks to the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, for the LORD is good. His faithful love endures forever.”
You are treasured, and in me, you are holy.
Exodus 19:5-6 – “Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.”
You were chosen from the beginning of time and I am working all things out for your good. You are righteous and have full access to my glory.
Ephesians 1:11– “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.”
Romans 8:28-29 – “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”
Nothing can separate you from my love.
Romans 8:38-39 – “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow– not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or the earth below– indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
NEXT STEPS
Here are a few action steps to help you dip deeper this week!
Sit with one “love note” from Jesus this week. Choose a verse from the episode and read it slowly each day, asking the Holy Spirit to let it settle deeper into your heart.
Talk to Jesus about the places that feel weary or unfinished. Invite Him to show you how He is shaping you, strengthening you, or bringing victory to the broken places.
Practice resting in His presence. Set aside 5–10 minutes of quiet this week to be still before the Lord, remembering that Immanuel is with you and you are not alone.
Share a love note with someone else. Send a verse or encouragement to a friend who might need a reminder of God’s nearness and affection.
Thank you, as always, for listening! Please remember that everything we do is funded by those who benefit from our ministry. Our ministry a 501(c)3, so your contribution is tax-deductible.
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The Collected Podcast is a production of Collected Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping disciples of Jesus discover and live from their true identity in Christ, recognize and walk in their divine purpose within the Kingdom of God, and experience growth in their capacity for mature, healthy relationships.
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Jes French: @jesafrench
Jes’ Hand Lettering: @sprezzafoundry
Charitable partner: @flourishkenya
The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes French and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.