A big welcome to all the new RevTrev Readers who joined us this week. Thanks for introducing yourself to me I’m praying for each of you. I’m taking my daughter on a weekend trail ride this weekend, so I’ve got a lot of things to get ready. Have I mentioned I’m not really the camping type? Last year, I shot videos on the trials and spooked the horses. This year, I may just read some books and write a bit more on my own. There is a lot to get at in this newsletter so let’s get to it!
The Love Challenge
I’d like to go on a theological walk and see where it leads us, do you want to join me?
When I start the sentence “God is…” how would you finish it?
I wish we were sitting across a coffee table right now because I am very interested in how you’d finish that sentence. For me, most days, I finish it with “love”.
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8
Now what does love mean? Perhaps a better question is “What does love do?”
Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
And it’s amazing when we realize that how God responds to us. It’s not just that He has love for us…He IS love. He is patient, He is kind, He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud, He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no records of wrongs, He does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, He always protects, He always trusts, He always hopes (I’m not sure of the theological implications of God hoping), He always perseveres. He never fails!
Wow, that encouraged me. I hope it encouraged you. But we’re not done yet.
You see John also tells us in 1 John 2:6:
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
Jesus only did what He saw the Father do (John 6:38), and He only said what He heard the Father say (John 12:49-50). Since God is love… Jesus walked in love. Ergo, if we need to walk as Jesus did, we need to walk in love.
Here’s your challenge, should you choose to accept it. Read 1 Corinthians 13 and replace the word “love” with your name:
______ is patient
______ is kind
______ does not envy
______ does not boast
______ is not proud
______ is not rude
______ is not self-seeking
______ is not easily angered
______ keeps no record of wrongs
______ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth
______ always protects
______ always trusts
______ always hopes
______ always perseveres
Does it ring true? Don’t be ashamed if it doesn’t. This is simply a roadmap for where you need to go. Here’s what you can do instead of feeling inadequate. Copy that list and paste it into a document. Put your name in and print it off. Read it out loud every morning when you wake up and every evening when you go to bed. Thank God that He’s growing the fruit of love in you. Do it every day for a month. Let me know the change it makes.
It’s not a magic formula. It’s agreeing with God’s will for you. Our attitudes do change as we think about what we think about.
That’s my Love Challenge for you.
Mind If I Pray For You?
Lord, it’s often not easy to love. Help us to love deeper and better. Help us to love like you love us. Restore broken relationships and heal broken hearts. Help us to love like you.
How do I make my book a bestseller?
I’ve done my second podcast for Book Shepherd Online Radio. (I really need to be getting back to posting RevTrev Radio episodes) I answer the question “How do I make my book a bestseller?” I don’t think having a best selling book should be your goal. Writing a bestselling book needs to be step one. Meeting your book marketing goals should be step two. Having your book on a best sellers list is bonus…although if you really want to be called a bestselling author I do give you the exact plan you could spend $2900 to learn. I also tell you why you don’t want to use that plan.
Upcoming on RevTrev
I had this radical idea that I would enjoy seeing how it works. 56.82% of revtrev readers are in the United States and 8.04% are from the UK. Canada, Australia and the Philippines round out the top five countries.
The crazy thought was, “It would be great to know more people personally.” Here’s what I’m thinking…Canada and the US are pretty easy to meet with (I’m talking time zones here). I talk to people in the UK often where it’s my evening and their morning. Australia and the Philippines are just in the future…It should be possible – with my schedule – using Skype to meet for 15 minutes with people.
I wouldn’t be selling anything. I’d enjoy finding out more about you and praying with you for what’s on your heart. I have a great time finding out what God’s doing all over the world and always enjoy meeting people for the first time. I think it would be a blast.
So here is what I need from you. If you’re interested in getting together with me over Skype, so we can have a conversation and a prayer can you let me know: a) you’re interested and b) what time zone you’re in.
Let me know today because I can only arrange a certain number every week. Those who let me know today will for sure be ones I contact first.
On Last Thing
I’m going to doing an online workshop to help people design a 6 month book marketing plan for their book. The workbook that comes with it is amazing and worth the price of the workshop itself. I’m not quite ready to launch it, but if you can tell people about http://iBookShepherd.com I’d appreciate it. When people sign up they’ll get the details about the upcoming online workshop as soon it comes available.
Thanks
~Trevor
