Reading the Bible is an essential part of getting to know God.* My mom, who led me to the Lord and discipled me from the very beginning of my walk with Him, taught me the importance of reading the Bible.  In fact, she left her personal Living Bible with me after we had ‘that crucial conversation’ that changed my life forever, in May of 1975.  I started Bible reading at that time and have not stopped.  I surrendered to Jesus on the 3^rd day of reading. Not long after, I started journaling to the Lord.

Often times our conversations begin with the Bible, like in this post.  Other times the Lord uses His written word to confirm whatever it is He wants to convey to me, making His revelations clear.

Romans 13:8 ⁸ Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. ⁹ For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.”^[a] These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[b] 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.   NLT

From the journal . . . .February 2018

Romans 13:11 ¹ This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. NLT

Okay Lord, so this was written over 2000 years ago. Within 10 years maybe, Paul, the writer of this letter, was martyred. He didn’t know how much time he had and neither do we.  We need to be about the business of love now, while we can.  Now is the time to love.  

And I Believe God Said:

Yes!  It is urgent to love your brothers and sisters.  Encourage them to love me and love each other.*  The non-believing world will see and desire that love.  Don’t hesitate to show them love, as well.  You enjoy getting together with friends and you enjoy getting friends together with friends.*  I have gifted you with that desire and that ability.  You can provide opportunities.  It isn’t feeding the poor, but it is as important.  Remember, the purpose is to glorify God and love people.  Encourage, encourage, encourage.

John 15:17 This I command you, that you love one another.
Hebrews 10:23-25 NASB. ²³ Let’s hold firmly to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; ²⁴ and let’s consider how to ^[a]encourage one another in love and good deeds, ²⁵ not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to live together in unity!

Whatever gift or gifts God has given you, use them for His glory. It doesn’t matter if it seems small or trivial to you.   He has a plan to use you and the results belong to Him, as well as all the Glory!

Ps: I wanted a picture of a group of people to illustrate that we are to ‘love people’. These just happen to be MY people! But they could be strangers that we are called to love!! We are called to love ALL people!!!