You Loved Me First
Lord, I praise you, because of who you are
Not for all the mighty things that you have done
Lord, I worship you, because of who you are
You’re all the reason that I need to voice my praise
Because of who you are
– sung by Sandi Patty, More than Wonderful album, 1990
1 John 4:9-10 (<<click here)
Lord, have done anything to deserve Your love? Not one thing. I don’t deserve Your love and I can’t earn Your love either, but, as I often quote, Ephesians 1:4 reads,
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” (emphasis mine)
You loved me first. And what is astounding is that You knew the things that I would say and do and think and be. And You still loved me! That is one of the many things about our relationship that I cannot truly understand. Why? Even after I sought Your forgiveness, so many years ago – decades ago. I have failed. I have fallen. And still, You love me…
Your love is undying. Your love is unending. You love me. You don’t give up on me. You want me to be victorious. You want me to be victorious over the many, many things that want to pull me…that want to destroy me. You are there right beside me, cheering me on.
May what You think of me sink in. May Your love seep into the very core of my being. May it make me pliable. May it make me compassionate. May it make me like You, more and more. Amen.
May 10th, Wed, 6:46 am
Shades
Father, it is such a comfort to know You are always with me. My prayer is that I would move beyond just the knowledge into more active engagement with You –that I would hear You more readily and that I would feel more compelled to seek Your direction in all aspects of my life. Amen.
1 John 4:7-8 (<<click here)
Lord, as I read through the notes in my study Bible* it definitely makes me think. It says, “Everyone believes that lover is important, but love is usually thought of as a feeling. In reality, love is a choice and an action, as 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 shows.”
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loss faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
I have to let that sink in, Lord. It’s like putting on sunglasses on a bright and sunny day. Karen and I have talked about how they cool and relax your eyes. The glare and brilliance of everything seem so sharp and then with our shades on everything is more soft and smooth.
Love does that. Our world just glares with sharpness. It so often brings us pain and discomfort, but Your love changes all that. It’s not just some warm fuzzy feeling. We must choose to love and to act on that love. Leaving my shades in the console of my truck doesn’t help me deal with the glare of the sun – I have to put them on for them to do any good.
Lord, as I read through the 1 Corinthians and the 1 John passages again, I would ask that I would be more compelled throughout the moments of my life to choose love and once I have chosen love to put it into action. Basically, I want to be like You! I can have no better goal. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
May 9th, Tue, 6:45 am
I Am a LION!
A brisk morning to come and sit with You, Father, but my heart is warmed by Your presence.
1 John 4:4-6 (<<click here)
“…the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” v4b
Lord, if we sit and think too long on the rampant evil and wickedness that surrounds us, it is way too easy to become fearful. And if we are not careful we become immobilized. Like turtles, we withdraw into our shells thinking we can just hide from it all.
Now I admit evil and wickedness are way strong that I am…but I am no longer a child of evil and wickedness. I am a child of the Lion of Judah and Your Spirit, oh Lord, lives in me. Evil and wickedness may be stronger than me but You are “greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”
So, Lord, as I look about me, yes it’s scary – it’s overwhelming. But I am not a turtle. I am a LION for I am Yours! And that means, in You, I am brave. In You I am powerful. No matter how much evil make shake the rafters…and may want to shake me, as well, but I will stand firm in the fact that I have peace in You.
You proclaimed in John 16:33,
“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Amen – so be it!
May 8th, Mon, 6:33 am
In a Pickle
It’s been awhile since I’ve been up at this early hour, Father, but I am ready to hear what You have for me this day. May I listen carefully, not just now but throughout the rest of today. Amen.
1 John 4:1-3 (<<click here)
For the most part people today believe that You lived on this earth, Lord. You walked amongst us. You taught us. And You died – just like everyone else. From an historical standpoint You existed. But that is where many draw the line.
People may acknowledge that You had an exceptional relationship with God, but to believe Your claims of being God is not acceptable. But just because people reject Your divinity does not mean it is not reality.
Lord, the Apostle John knew You personally but some Christians even two and three generations after Your resurrection struggled. All kinds of cultural mindsets started questioning reality and Christians found themselves in a pickle. What is true? What is false? Who do I believe? ….sound familiar? The people in our world are still in a pickle.
The people of John’s time struggled with Your humanity. We struggle with Your divinity. But true be told, we struggle “against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
Our enemy the devil cannot make us sin but he and his minions sure place enough things in our path to confuse us and entice us to the point where we just give in – the path of least resistance is an easy one.
Lord, I would ask that my life would be one of clarity. May I stand for what is true in Your kingdom. May my love for others be genuine and freely given. May I be a reflection of You, so much so that others see You…and not me. May how I respond to life, in all of its good and bad, cause people to wonder why I am what I am and may that point them to You and who You are. I need You, for I surely cannot do it alone. Only in You do I find my power and purpose. Amen.
May 6th, Sat, 5:58 am
Believing Equals Loving
Thank you, Father, for a very productive day yesterday. Pretty much everything is ready for Sunday and You helped me get through a very large chunk of computer file organization. Getting church files and sermon files, amongst all kinds of other files, straightened out will make things a lot easier. Your companionship is cherished!
1 John 3:11-24 (<<click here)
“And this is his command: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another.” v.23
Lord, as I pray and read through my study Bible* notes, I understand that first of all we must believe what You have said, that is very important but equally important is embracing who You are – You are the Son of God.
Believing “in the name” means that my goal is to pattern my life after Your life. And if I am doing that then I will abide by Your command and Your lifestyle to “love one another.”
It really is very much like a simple mathematical equation.
Believing Your words + believing You are God = loving one another
Living out my faith in You will always result in love. And that love has no exceptions. We cannot pick and choose – it is all inclusive. In reading Your word, that is how You lived.
Thinking along those lines brings to mind a portion of a recent sermon. In the days before Your crucifixion, You loved Judas. He wasn’t excluded. He wasn’t avoided. You didn’t withhold Yourself from him. In the upper room, You washed his feet just as You washed everyone else’s feet. You loved him. You repeatedly gave him opportunity to turn from the path he was headed down.
Could I have done the same? Could I willingly love someone that I knew was going to betray me? Could I treat with tenderness the individual that I knew was the catalyst for my death?
You are my example, in the flesh. You lived out Your love, withholding absolutely nothing. Lord, make me like You. May my love grown deeper and stronger as I spend time with You. Amen.
May 5th, Fri, 5:11 am