Gratitude Series Episode 4

Hello, my walking friend! By now I bet you have already started walking. Have you already started thanking Jesus for all the blessings you have in your life? If so, yay you! Way to get a head start on today’s meditations and shift your focus from the busyness of your life to Jesus!

Today is the 4th episode in the gratitude series. Each day during this series we will take some time to focus on thanking Jesus for something specific and we will have two different verses to meditate on. Today we will be thanking Jesus for his love.

Our first verse to meditate on is Ephesians 3:17-19:

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Have you ever stopped to consider, really, really consider, how much Jesus loves you? Listen to the verse – his love is so intense that the apostle Paul is praying for the Ephesian people to have the power to grasp the depth of Christ’s love. It is a love that surpasses knowledge – in other words, we can’t understand it by learning or by the power of our minds. Instead, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and souls to grasp the enormity of Jesus’ love for us. Let’s pause for a second and let that sink in. A love that surpasses knowledge, that is so wide, long, high and deep that we need supernatural power to understand it.

Wow! And it isn’t a one time thing. He doesn’t love us today but not tomorrow. He doesn’t love us when we are behaving well or obeying his commands, he loves us always… because Jesus is love. You might be Italian. Or Brazilian. Or Swiss. Or Ethiopian. But Jesus is love. His love endures forever. Listen to our second verse for today, Psalm 106:1

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Take a little time to meditate on the truths found in these two verses: the love Jesus has for you is so great it is almost incomprehensible and it endures forever. And, remember to thank Jesus for his love.

Did Jesus reveal anything special to you as you meditated on these two verses? Here are some things to consider about Jesus’ love:

His love is so great that he doesn’t want one soul to perish. He wants everyone to have a relationship with him and he will go to great lengths to make that happen.

His love is so great that even while we are sinners and doing things that break his heart, he still loved us enough to die for us on a cross.

His love is so great that there is nothing you, or anyone else, can do to separate you from his love. As Paul said in Romans 8:38, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing.

Take some time to thank Jesus for his amazing love.

You are now at the halfway point of your walk. If you need to be back in 10 minutes, this would be the time to turn around and head back.

Now I am going to pray for us:

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for your unending love. Thank you for a love so great it will cover a multitude of sins. Thank you for loving all and desiring all your image bearers to accept your gift of salvation. Help me grasp how wide and long and high and deep your love is for me. I want this truth to rule my life choices. Thank you for giving me the power, through the Holy Spirit, to love as you love. Thank you, Jesus, for walking with me always. Amen.

Here are some questions for you to consider:

Are you able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is Jesus’ love for you? How does this love for you make you feel? Take some time to consider that now.

What does it mean to truly love Jesus back? Consider your answer now.

Take some time to thank Jesus, specifically, for ways that his love has affected your life.

Before we wrap up, listen again to today’s verses:

Ephesians 3:17-19:

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Psalm 106:1

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Is there anything else you would like to talk to Jesus about? Remember, he is right there with you, walking with you, and he is eager for you to share all that is on your heart and mind with him. Take some time to talk to and thank Jesus now.

Well, you did it, my friend! Another 10 minutes of walking with Jesus. If you have been following along with the gratitude series, you are now four days in and I hope you are already reaping the benefits of expressing thanks to the Lord. Keep it up, my friend!

Thank you for taking the time to walk with me! But more importantly, you are walking with Jesus and he loves you so much!

For more Walk with Jesus resources, including the Walk with Jesus 21 day scripture, devotional, and guided prayer journal book for walkers, go to WalkwithJesusDevotional.com. The November edition focuses on gratitude and is a part of this podcast series. You will find the URL for this book and other resources in the podcast show notes.

I hope we can walk together again tomorrow, friend. In our next episode we will be thanking Jesus for his help. Until then, God bless you as you walk with Jesus!