"Love Never Ends" 4-23-08

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I wait on You in the silence of surrender to the leading of Your Spirit. ... "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ love the church and gave Himself for her.... In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.... Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband" (Ephesians 6:25-33). Love, respect, honor, devotion, sacrifice, faithfulness, forgiveness, commitment, patience, daring to entrust your heart to another, risking rejection, fearing failure, but denying self for the sake of another. Marriage is as much a refiner's fire as a warm glow. Lord, forgive me when I fail to love, fail to give, fail to forgive. "Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends ..." (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Who can love, but by the grace of God? And who can be loved, but by the grace of God? Lord, give me grace to love and be loved, to respect and be respected. Love must be pursued (1 Corinthians 14:1). Love must be held in the flames by faith and hope until all the impurities are burned away. But the blessing and joy of the gold that comes through the refiner's fire is worth the pursuit. "And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays Friends, please come join us if you can for our Messiah Ministries Celebration Dinner May 2nd. Our friend and prophetic psalmist Heather Butler from Wales will be with us to give an inspiring word and we'll hear stories of God's glory. If you're not able to come but sense the Lord's leading to join in our vision and calling with your giving or your prayers, please send us a note of encouragement. We're a faith-based ministry raising all our own support to fulfill our calling -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God." Please RSVP by 4/25 to Marilyn Walker at 859-317-1591 or DirOfMinistries@aol.com (reservations required for planning). Subscribe free by email to Messiah Ministries -- MessiahMin@aol.com -- "Preparing the Way of the Lord ... Ministering the Healing Love of God" www.messiah-ministries.org 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502 Order our Resources On-Line: www.shop.messiah-ministries.org