“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39, NKJV)
Pastor Roger Bennet of Evans, Georgia provided this list from Dr. Dick Dickerson who wrote a paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. He did not tell us from what reference he got the paraphrase:
Because God loves me, He is slow to lose patience with me.
Because God loves me, He takes the circumstances of my life and uses them as a
constructive way for my growth.
Because God loves me, He does not treat me as an object to be possessed or
manipulated.
Because God loves me, He has no need to impress me with how great and powerful
He is because He is God, nor does He belittle me as His child
in order to show me how important He is.
Because God love me, He is for me, He wants to see me mature and develop in His
love.
Because God loves me, He does not send down His wrath on every little mistake I
make, of which there are many.
Because God loves me, He does not keep score of all my sins and then beat me over
the head with them whenever He gets the chance.
Because God loves me, He is deeply grieved when I do not walk in the way that
pleases Him because He sees this as evidence that I don’t
trust Him and love Him as I should.
Because God loves me, He rejoices when I experience His power and strength and
stand up under the pressure of life for His name’s sake.
Because God loves me, He keeps on working patiently with me even when I feel like
giving up and can’t see why He doesn’t give up on me too.
Because God loves me, He keeps on trusting at times when I don’t even trust myself.
Because God loves me, He never says there is no hope for me; rather, He patiently
works with me, loves me, and disciplines me in such a way
that it is hard for me to understand the depth of His concern
for me.
Because God loves me, He never forsakes me even though many of my friends
might.
Because God loves me, He stands with me when I have reached the rock bottom of
despair, when I see the real me and compare that with His
righteousness, holiness, beauty and love. It is at a moment
like this that I can really believe that God loves me.
Yes, the greatest of all gifts is God’s perfect love. God loves you!
Pray
Lord, help me to walk in the way that pleases you and not to turn aside to the things of this world that are always competing for my attention.
Thank you Lord for being patient with me and continually teaching me the lessons I should have learned a long time ago and not giving up on me.
I praise you Lord because I know that no matter how I have strayed or failed You, You will never leave me or forsake me
