Practicing Love

Hi everybody, it’s Pastor Dave at Word By Mail. Good morning. If you do your alone time with God in the morning, then “Good Morning.” And it is a good “Encountering The Father” morning for us today. If you have your Alone With God journal, then open it to your next “Encountering The Father” page. And guys, this is kind of reflection day where we look back over the week. And so, if you have an Alone With God journal, then the questions are going to be right there for you, and you can reflect back on how you encountered God this week. If you don’t have an Alone With God journal, you can get one at wordbymail.com, or you can just use a blank journal. And, for those of you who are not journalers, it’s okay. As I read the questions on our “Encountering The Father” page, you can actually pause this guide and meditate on those questions. Talk to God about those questions. This is about just focusing on a meaningful, intentional time alone with God.

On the “Encountering The Father” page, the first question is, “What did God reveal to me in our alone time together this week?” So that’s your first question. And it’s good to wrestle with that. And if God didn’t reveal anything to you this week, maybe you might have been a little short on your time together with him. You deal with that question. If you’re just in the mediation mode, then stop this guide and think about that question. “What did God reveal to me in our time alone together this week?”

Then, continuing our reflection day, the next section says, “What scriptures is he highlighting?” And again, you can flip back over your journal days this week and see what scriptures you’ve been meditating on and writing on. Or maybe a scripture came up somewhere in a daily verse or something that really stood out to you. Write those scriptures down here in the “What scriptures is God highlighting?” section in your life.

And then, finally, as we finish our time of reflection, the question is, “How is he changing me?” How is God changing me? What area is God transforming, refining you? How is he changing you? Reflect on the question. Either deal with God on it, write it in a blank journal or write it in your Alone With God journal. That’s how we do the "Encountering The Father" day.

So, I’m going to turn it over to Daisy now. And Daisy is going to encourage you a little bit more about this page, and then she’s just going to share with you from her heart how she has been encountering the Father this week. So, Daisy, it’s all yours.

Hey, y’all, it’s Daisy. Today, we are doing the "Encountering the Father" section in our Alone With God journal. This is where we reflect on what God has put on our hearts over the week as we’ve been journaling. If you are looking to enrich your relationship with God and grow closer to him, you can get our Alone With God journal at wordbymail.com.

Let’s begin.

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (CEB)
8 Love never fails. As for prophecies, they will be brought to an end. As for tongues, they will stop. As for knowledge, it will be brought to an end.
9 We know in part and we prophesy in part;
10 but when the perfect comes, what is partial will be brought to an end.
11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, reason like a child, think like a child. But now that I have become a man, I’ve put an end to childish things.
12 Now we see a reflection in a mirror; then we will see face-to-face. Now I know partially, but then I will know completely in the same way that I have been completely known.
13 Now faith, hope, and love remain—these three things—and the greatest of these is love.

As Christians, godly love is a skill. And it is a skill that we need to strengthen with daily practice. We must learn and train ourselves to do everything with love because when we intentionally set out each day to love the world back to God, one person at a time, we become drastically transformed in a way that only Jesus can transform us. And sure, going to church is great. But living in the real world and being able to apply the love of God as we share the gospel and lead by example, that is how we actually become disciples of Christ. True disciples.

So, here are my questions for you this week. What can you do this upcoming week to practice allowing God’s life to shine through you? What are specific actions that you will take to apply the love of God to another person and live out the truth of Jesus Christ?

Let’s pray. Lord, please help me to be intentional about living as a disciple. Please work in me so that others may see your light shining through me. May my love and devotion to you be more than just the scripture I read, or the sermon I hear, or the worship songs that I sing. Put people on my path who need to hear about you. And help me to have the courage to radiate your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

As always, if you enjoyed this devotional and want to deepen your relationship with God, please carve out time in your day to get alone with God and use our Alone With God journal, which you can get at wordbymail.com.

Alright, thanks, Daisy. We appreciate that. That is a great devotion on practicing love. Thank you.

Listen, guys, we want to set you up for the weekend today. So, tomorrow in your Alone With God journal, it’s “What Am I Grateful For This Week?” And again, you can do this in any journal. But maybe set some time aside to have coffee with the Lord, think, and just focus on what are you grateful for this week.

And then, on Sunday, it’s “Sermon Notes.” We really hope you can go to church this Sunday, and be part of the Body of Christ. If you do, you should take your journal and write notes on the message. If you can’t get to church, or even if you’re going to church and you want to listen to one of our messages, then you can grab your Alone With God journal, maybe even on Sunday. Our next message is in the Gospel of Mark. We’re going through the Gospel of Mark verse by verse. This is a great, great series. Our message for this Sunday is called “Real Authority.” It’s the fourth message in our verse-by-verse teaching of Mark. Wherever you are listening to this, you’ll find a link to that message. If you’d like to do that, you can watch it on the Word By Mail Roku or Word By Mail Apple TV channels. You can watch it on the app. Download the Word By Mail app from your app store. You can watch it, you can listen to it, or you can read the message all on the app.

Be sure, on Sunday, to really dedicate some time with the Lord. I mean, like “church level” time and listen to an in-depth teaching. Worship the Lord, and be blessed.

And be blessed completely. If you need anything at all, or if you have any questions about what it is we’re doing here, you can text us. You can always text us. (877) 790-WORD. (877)790-9673. Text us for any reason, and we’ll answer any questions you may have.

God bless you. Have an awesome weekend in the Lord. Bye-bye.