This year my January blog focused on God’s love for us. I hope you remember some of those blogs and that refer back to them from time to time, especially when you are feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated.
God’s love never fails.
I feel a good way to end the year is the way we started. Love and gratitude are the best way to start each day.
I like recording my thoughts and prayers in a journal. Physically writing down my first thoughts of the day. 99% of the time those writings start with “Thank You Father for loving me. I love you.”
As we look forward to 2025, I almost typed 2026, let’s not rush it. As we look forward to 2025 I’m sure we are beginning to make plans and set goals. A special vacation destination, something new for the home, start a new business or hobby, a visit with those we love, a new job, or maybe even losing a few pounds will all make it to the list.
I hope the resolve that tops the list is to be more loving.
“My friends, we should all love each other. It is God who makes us able to love other people. Everyone who loves other people has become a child of God. That person knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love other people does not know God. We know this because God’s own nature is love. 9 This is how God showed that he loves us: He sent his only Son to come and live in the world. He did that so that we could have true life with God because of his Son. 10 This shows what love is: It is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us. He loved us so much that he sent his Son to save us from sin. He sent Jesus to die as a sacrifice, to take the punishment for our sins.
11 My friends, this shows how much God has loved us. So we should also love one another.” I John 4:7-11 EASY
None of us deserved the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross. It was a complete act of His love. He provided forgiveness for all and with that forgiveness we can receive a right relationship with the Father.
“Jesus died as a sacrifice to take the punishment for our sin. Then God could forgive us. Jesus did that not only for us. He did it for all people in the world, so that God could forgive them for their sins.” I John 2:2 EASY
Our love for others should be an outward display of our love for God.
There is not one person born who God has not loved and offered forgiveness too. If God has deemed them worthy of love, then “we should also love one another”.
Looking forward my prayer will be “Father, I desire to show more of Your love to those I meet. I want to be like Jesus and follow His command to love one another.”