lovingly

 Thursday, April 24, 2025 (3:58 a.m.)

Blessed God,

Thank You for being the loving God that You are.

(4:24 a.m.)

Father, there are far more things about You that I don’t know than what I do. Thank You that that’s okay. 

There was a time in my life when I believed I needed to have answers to questions that hadn’t even been asked. Thank You that You reached into me all those years ago and set my sights on learning to love as You would have me love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

(5:22 a.m.)

Blessed, Holy, Father God, how well I remember answering the door of Jesus’ knock on my heart (Revelation 3:20). My first new learning experience with Him was how misdirected I was with my understanding of what it is to be loving.

Thank You Lord for every teaching You provide. Questioning. Confusing. Unsettling. Different ways of thinking.

Beginning with verse one (The Passion Translation) in 1 Corinthians 13, we are cautioned to express ourselves with love. I confess to having thought I had been doing exactly that. All the way until You taught me that I was loving as the world loved. Conditionally. Manipulatively. 

I don’t need to be another “clanging cymbal.” You want my love to be “large and incredibly patient… gentle and consistently kind to all. Refusing to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else… not bragging about one’s achievements nor inflating its own importance… not trafficking in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seeking its own honor… not easily irritated or quick to take offense… joyfully celebrating honesty… finding no delight in what is wrong… a safe place of shelter… never stopping believing the best for others… never taking failure as defeat, for it never gives up.”

Why? Because “Love never stops loving” (v.8). And it lasts forever.

Father, I ask (Matthew 7:7a) You to continue teaching me to love as You would have me love. In my thoughts, words and deeds. You. Others. Myself. Wholeheartedly. Mindfully. Soulfully. Energetically (Mark 12:30-31).

I love You. I need, trust and want You. Do all You must to lovingly use me as You know is best. Thank You. Praise You. Amen.

(352 words ~ 6:12 a.m.)