GOD LOVES ME!
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
We love each other because he loved us first.
1 John 4:19 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
God loves us! That thought should amaze you if you are honest with yourself. I’m sure there is someone who thinks God is lucky to have them in His family—they are the people living in denial about their own weaknesses and failures. For most of us, me included, it is still amazing to think that God still loves me. Despite my weaknesses and failures, God loves me. His love for me is the motivating factor to love others. Loving others is the mark of being a follower of Jesus. Jesus said that people will know we are His followers because of our love for one another. That love is not extended to the perfect people or the people that think like us, dress like us, and look like us. Our daily motivation should be to be God’s love expressed to our broken and hurting world. Daily we will meet people who need to know they are loved. I have been making this a prayer for my life. Asking God to show me people who need His love. The other day I walked into the gym and as I checked in there was a new person behind the counter. I greeted them and it was obvious they were not having a good day. My instinct was to move on and get my workout done to get on with my day. Instead, I chose to pause and initiate a conversation. Within a few moments that conversation led to an opportunity to have a moment of prayer with the person I’d never met before. I prayed that God would show them how much He loves them and give them a sense of peace and joy. It was not a long moment. But it led to an opportunity to invite them to visit our church. I don’t know what will come of that brief encounter. But I felt that one person just had the opportunity to feel loved. I felt like I was God’s love extended to a person who was having a rough day. There are people all around us having a rough day—or rough year. But we miss them because we aren’t looking to be God’s love extended to a hurting world.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit please open my eyes today to those around me that need Your love. Help me to be a bridge between them and You.
“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”