What the Bible Says About Love - the book

God IS love.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible reveals the timeless, unchanging, ever-present love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As we accept this purely unpolluted, undiluted love, we receive God’s view of love to embrace for ourselves, live by faithfully, and give lavishly to others.

All of us need this! Yet, searching out these passages and considering them in context takes time and resources many people do not have. And so, I began this blog with carefully selected and prayerfully paraphrased (prayer-a-phrased) Bible verses to show God’s ongoing Way of Love.

Eventually the posts resulted in a book What the Bible Says About Love, available in print and also in a Kindle e-book. May its pages help you to see how very, very loved you are!

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2018

What the Bible Says About Love, paperback



Kindle e-book


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Dressed in love

Above all things
deck yourself out
in love
which ties you
to Christ’s perfection!

Colossians 3:14 prayer-a-phrased by Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017.


Praise God, these prayerful paraphrases have now been collected in the book, What the Bible Says About Love.

Lord willing, this will be the first of a series on prayer-a-phrased scriptures about a variety of Bible topics, so please let me know which biblical subjects you’d most like to see in one book. Thanks and blessings.

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God’s love fills the earth

O LORD,
Your faithful love
fills the whole earth!

Teach me Your Laws
of Love.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017, paraphrased Psalm 119:64 after reflecting on the verse in a variety of translations on Bible Gateway.

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God’s love, day and night

By day
the Lord aims
His love
toward me!

All night
His song runs
through me —

a prayer
to the God
of my life.

Mary Sayler, ©2017, prayer-a-phrased Psalm 42:8 after reflecting on the verse found in a variety of translations on Bible Gateway.

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Living in the love of Christ

Jesus said:

If you believe My words
and follow my instructions,
you will be with Me
in My kind of love!

I’m only asking you to do
what I have done
by keeping God’s Word
and staying centered
in My Father’s love.

Mary Sayler, ©2017, prayer-a-phrased John 15:10 after reading and praying about the verse from many of the translations on Bible Gateway.

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God’s Love holds on and on

Lord, You do everything
needed
to fulfill Your plan
in me!

Your loyal love
holds on and on.

Never let go
of the works
in Your hand.


Psalm 138:8 prayer-a-phrased by Mary Sayler with the help of translations on Bible Gateway.

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Settling the score

No vengeance!
No resentment!
No keeping score!

Give everyone
the love
you need.

Leviticus 19:18 paraphrased by Mary Sayler with the help of translations on Bible Gateway.

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Love that lasts forever

To those who honor God,
the lasting love of the Lord
will go on and on –
forever.

And to those who keep His covenant
and remember His right ways,
the goodness of the Lord
will reach [teach, influence, affect]
our children’s children.

Today's Bible reading in Psalm 103:17-18 has been prayer-a-phrased by Mary Sayler, ©2017, with the help of many translations found on Bible Gateway.

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God is with you!

The LORD your God
is right here
with you –

the Mighty One Who
saves
you.

What delight
the LORD takes
in you!

Celebrate God’s love!

With joy
the LORD your God
will sing and rejoice
over you.


Mary Sayler, © 2017, prayer-a-phrased today’s Bible reading of Zephaniah 3:17 as found in various translations on Bible Gateway.

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Jesus commands: Love!

In the Ten Commandments, God gave us our marching orders! Those directives are meant to instruct, guide, and transform our daily lives and develop the right kind of relationship with God, ourselves, and other people.

Revisiting those commandments or “Ten Words” in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, we might think we’ve obeyed them all, and externally speaking, that may be true. But Jesus gets into our minds and hearts with His one command: “Love one another as I love you,” John 15:12.

Not only would that one commandment fulfill all ten, but this marching order takes the Golden Rule to a higher level. i.e., Instead of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” we’re told to treat one another the way Jesus would treat us – with relentless love.

This doesn’t just mean to love each other the way we love ourselves since that might not be nearly enough! We’re to love each other the way Jesus loves us – nearly and dearly. Then, as we believe in, accept, and receive Jesus’ love, we’re ready to let His love fill us and overflow.

Mary Sayler on John 15:12 and the Ten Commandments as found in the many translations on Bible Gateway

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God is working it out!

What relief God’s Word brings even in the most difficult times!

"For we KNOW
that ALL
things WORK TOGETHER
for GOOD
for those who LOVE GOD
and are called
according to the PLAN
and purpose of GOD!"

Romans 8:28 paraphrased by Mary Sayler, © 2017, using scriptures from many of the translations on Bible Gateway

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Loving like Jesus

Every time I’ve read John 13:34, I’ve been puzzled by Jesus’ words: “I’m giving you a new commandment: love one another.” Since I’ve heard that longer than I can remember, this word of exhortation did not seem new to me. But when I looked up the phrase “love one another” on Bible Gateway, I found no earlier reference.

In the Hebrew Bible, however, God says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might,” Deuteronomy 6:4-5. Bringing that love down to earth, Leviticus 19:18 says, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

In Matthew 26:37-40, Jesus put those two commands together by saying, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like unto it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

A problem arises, though, when people have trouble loving themselves, much less their neighbors! Nevertheless, God still wants this, and so the New Testament clarifies the concept of the true love to be found in Christ Jesus:

• He spoke healing words.
• He called people by name.
• He showed God’s love.
• He taught the kind attitudes we’re to have.
• He gave His life.
• He brought us life eternal.
• He called us to be brothers and sisters
• He empowered us to be children of God.
• He continues to pray for us now.

In the hours before His death, Jesus told His disciples: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I’ve loved you, so you also must love one another,” John 13:34.

Hopefully, we’ll love and appreciate ourselves and our neighbors. Regardless, we must love one another as conduits of Jesus Christ, Whose love flows in and through us. We can't do this by ourselves, but we can agree to it. We can give Jesus' command our amen.

May the Almighty God our Father help us to allow Christ’s love to pour forth profusely. Let it be! So be it. Amen.


Mary Sayler, © 2017, with scriptures from many of the translations on Bible Gateway

Love one another

Beloved friends in Christ,
God loves us so much,
we ought also to love one another.

We haven’t seen God,
but if we give love
to people we can see,
we know God lives in us
and perfects in us His love.

1 John 4:11-12 prayer-a-phrased by Mary Sayler, © 2017, with scriptures from the many translations on Bible Gateway.


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Love God. Love the children of God

If we say, “I love God!”
but loathe a brother
or sister in Christ,
we’re lying!

If we have no regard
for Christians we see,
how can we love God
Who cannot be seen?

The Lord gives this clear command:
If we truly love God, we’ll truly care
about the children of God.

1 John 4:20-21 from the Verse of the Day posted by Bible Gateway and prayer-a-phrased by Mary Sayler, © 2017


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God Is Love

1 John 4:11-18

Beloved, God loves us so much,
we must love one another too.

No, we haven’t seen God,
and yet, by loving one another,
God lives in us!
And God’s love perfects ours.

How do we know we’re in God,
and God is in us?
We have His Spirit.

Furthermore, we have seen
(through God’s Word) how
the Father sent His Son
to save us and the world.

If we acknowledge Jesus
as the Son of God,
we can be sure God lives in us
and we in Him. And we can know
and believe in the power of love
God gives.

For God Is Love!

So as we remain in love,
God remains in us
and brings our love
to perfection.

Then we can know for sure
not to worry about judgment day
because we’re living as God wants.

Oh, Beloved, in love
there is nothing to fear!

God’s perfect love
frees us
from any fears we have
of being punished,
tormented, or even
harshly rebuked.

So if you’re still afraid,
pray to experience
ever more fully
the pure, pure love
of God.

© 2016, Mary Sayler prayer-a-phrased today’s reading in 1 John 4 with the help of several of the many translations found on Bible Gateway.

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For God so loved the world

John 3:13-17

And Jesus said,
“No one has gone up to heaven
except The One
who came down from heaven:
the Son of Man.

And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in Him
may have everlasting life.”

For God so loved the world,
He gave His only Son
so that everyone
who believes in Him
might not perish
but have eternal life.

For God did not
send His Son into the world
to condemn the world,
but that, through Him,
the world might be saved."


© 2015, Mary Sayler prayer-a-phrased these lines from today’s Gospel reading in John with the help of translations on Bible Gateway.

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Love brings home the Lord

John 14:23

Jesus answered and said,

If you love Me,
you will keep My word,
and My Father will love you.
And We will come to you,
and make Our Home
to be at home
with you.

©2015, Mary Harwell Sayler prayer-a-phrased this verse in the Gospel of John with readings from many of the translations provided on Bible Gateway.
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See the love!

1 John 3:1-2

Oh, look!

See what love the Father
has poured onto us,
the children of God!

That’s who we are!

And we know Whose we are –
whether other people
know it yet or not.

Oh, Beloved,
we are God’s children –
now!

What we will be
has not yet been revealed,
but we do know this:

When Christ comes,
we shall be like Him
for we shall see Him
as He is.


©2015, Mary Sayler, poet, writer, and lifelong lover of Christ, the Bible, and the church, prayer-a-phrased today’s reading in I John by comparing many of the translations found on Bible Gateway.

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What love does

Remind everyone to obey
those in authority
and be ready to do good.

Remind everyone not
to talk ill of anyone nor
quarrel, but be
gentle and respectful of all.

Remember how we once
foolishly disobeyed? We, too,
went the way of envy
and other evils, and, oh, how
we hated one another!

Then God
our Savior
showed us true
kindness and love
by saving us –
not because
of anything
we had done,
but because
of God’s own
mercy.

And God cleansed us from sin
and gave us a fresh start
and gave us a new life in the Spirit
and generously poured into us
the Holy Spirit of our Savior
Jesus Christ.

God’s grace made us righteous.
God's gift gave us confidence
and hope
of life
forever in Christ.

Titus 3:1-7


©2014, Mary Sayler, a poet, writer, and lifelong lover of the Bible, prayer-a-phrased today’s reading in Titus by comparing translations on Bible Gateway.


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How faith in Christ leads us to love

Because of our faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we have been made right with God!

With God, we have peace.

Because of our faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we have access
to the Grace of God,
and we rejoice in the hope
of God’s Glory.

We can even rejoice
in our troubles,
knowing that trials help us
to endure,
and endurance develops
our character,
and character strengthens
our hope,
and hope will not lead
to disappointment

because the Love of God
pours into our hearts,
through the Holy Spirit,
Who has been given to us
and keeps filling us
with God’s Love.

©2014, Mary Sayler prayer-a-phrased Romans 5:1-5 from the poetic words found in many translations on Bible Gateway.

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