The notebook
Short writing on love, faith, and what it actually looks like to live what Scripture says.
The latest article
no.013 love-in-practice 2026-07-14
What does 1 Corinthians 13 mean by love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth? Why love refuses to enjoy another person's downfall.
When something goes wrong for someone who has hurt you, what is your honest first response?
Not the response you would say out loud. The one underneath. The flicker before you have time to manage it. When the difficult colleague finally slips, when the critical family member struggles, when the person who embarrassed you gets humbled, something in you registers it. And if you are honest, it does not always register as grief…
Continue reading →no.012 love-in-practice 2026-07-07
What does 1 Corinthians 13 mean when it says love is not proud? Pride, dishonor, and self-seeking are three expressions of one root: a heart not secure in God.
no.011 love-in-practice 2026-06-30
What does 1 Corinthians 13 mean when it says love does not envy? Not jealousy. The Greek word is zēloō, a boiling resentment that comes from a wound.
no.010 love-in-practice 2026-06-23
What does the Bible mean when it says love is patient? Not waiting. Not putting up with it. The Greek word is makrothumia, long-suffering love.
no.009 love-in-practice 2026-06-16
Is love something that happens to you, or something you decide to do? A look at what the Bible actually says, and why love is more choice than feeling.
no.008 love-in-practice 2026-06-09
What does Paul mean when he says "love never fails"? Not that it always succeeds. Not that it always produces the outcome you hoped for. Something better.
no.007 theology 2026-06-03
What is sin? Not just the obvious wrongs. Scripture's answer runs deeper: sin is the absence of godly love, measured against the God who is love.
no.006 love-in-practice 2026-06-02
The fears that keep you up at night are really a trust problem. Scripture says perfect love drives them out, and that is not passive. Here is how it works.
no.005 love-in-practice 2026-05-26
Most of us are keeping a quiet ledger of who hurt us, how badly, and how many times. The record is a prison we built. The way out is forgiveness.
no.004 love-in-practice 2026-05-20
What does it mean that love is not easily angered? Anger is a secondary emotion you sharpen over time, honed by what you feed it. Righteous vs sinful anger.
no.003 love-in-practice 2026-05-13
What does the Bible say about boasting? Jesus said those who parade their good deeds have already received their reward in full. Why love gives in secret.
no.002 love-in-practice 2026-05-05
Biblical kindness is not weakness or mere niceness. It is the active goodness of God toward those who deserve nothing, and sometimes it means honest rebuke.
no.001 love-in-practice 2026-04-28
A note from JQ Botes on how reading Scripture led to seeing love beneath sin, obedience, and the church, and to writing Meaningless Without Love.