Thankful Thursday: Why Do You Love Me?

Dear Lord; Happy Thankful Thursday Father!

I find myself asking sometimes Lord… Why do You love me?

I read Your Word and pray for insight… But I know I often miss Your intent.

I strive to love and serve those around me… But my selfish flesh still dictates my actions far too much.

I teach people about Your message of forgiveness and mercy… And yet my heart doesn’t always let go of pain and hurt against those who’ve wronged me.

I know and believe Your promise to always meet my needs… But I often allow fear and worry to overwhelm me.

Your Word reminds us over and over that You love us wholly and eternally… And yet, I ask why.

As broken and flawed as I am and as often as I fail, how could the Creator of all possibly love me…

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” – 1 John 4:7-10 (NLT)

You love me Lord, Because You are Love, and You made me in Your image;

Formed with care,

Swaddled by grace,

Nurtured by Your mercy,

Redeemed by the blood of Christ,

And guided by Your presence within me.

Thank You Father… I pray that Your amazing love for me is reflected more and more each day in how I love others, and in how I live my life.

As I continue my Thankful Thursday list and note some of Your overwhelming Blessings in my life Lord, this week I want to recognize and thank You for:

661. Bacon Hot Dogs.

662. The encouragement of my ministry efforts by someone I respect.

663. The reminder that even though I’m undeserving of Your love for me, You give it to me unconditionally.

664. The devotional encouragements I receive each day in the “Joyce Meyer : Promises for Your Everyday Life” reading plan I’m following on YouVersion.com.

665. Server virtualization software.

666. My wife Shannon getting the opportunity to go visit her mother in Florida next week.

667. Jonathan being old enough to take over the lawn mowing and trimming, and doing a wonderful job at it.

668. The peace I feel sitting out on our deck at night and enjoying the softly lit gardens.

669. Being able to enjoy a bottle of clean, refreshing Humankind Spring Water while at the same time helping to provide clean water for those who don’t have it.

670. Our Neato XV-21 Carpet Cleaning Robot which lets me come home to vacuumed rugs each night.

671. The kind assistance of our next-door neighbors when we needed to move some heavy furniture this week.

672. A fun and relaxing walk with people I love out at Port Mahon this past Monday.

673. Shannon’s doctor remaining optimistic and dedicated to her recovery.

674. Old Dominion Morning Glory Espresso Stout.

675. Those individuals in our military that paid the ultimate price to protect our freedoms.

And so very, very much more Father…

For it’s in Your Precious name I pray Lord,

Amen.

~Phather Phil