Love School: A Divine Education in Love

By Rev. Tony K. Thomas

There was a time when the Rev. Tony K. Thomas had no idea how to develop a lasting and healthy relationship.
Like many others, he would see everyone else’s faults but not his own – and then wonder why his relationships didn’t last.
There were also times when he was rushing singleness by being in love with the idea of no longer being single. Then after a ground zero experience in relationship failure, while at this lowest moments in heartache and despair, he sought the Lord for help. While at this low-point, the Spirit of Love told him: “This time, I will not only heal and fix you, but others.” He was enrolled into Love School to learn about love from God’s perspective.
In this book, the author follows up on his two earlier books about love, sharing what he’s learned by obeying the Lord and asking Him for help. Learn how to:
• develop a real and lasting relationship with someone special;
• look for answers within instead of from someone else;
• learn the purpose of dating where there are no losers
• become more loving and lovable
• learn love from a divine perspective
Throughout the book, you will discover that God’s Word is full of love stories and lessons that are still practical today. Rediscover the source of love that comes from our Heavenly Father and transform your love life by enrolling in Love School.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973691044

Rev. Tony K. Thomas

Rev. Tony K. Thomas has a unique gift for interpreting and harvesting God’s Word for practical use in today’s society, and he is founder and pastor of Foundation of Power Outreach Ministries, located in Sanford, North Carolina. He has been teaching the Word of God for over thirty-six years, and he has a weekly television and radio program called “Heal Our Land.” Rev. Thomas lives in the Raleigh-Durham area, and he is a divorcé with two grown daughters. For more books by Rev. Tony K. Thomas visit

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-9105-1 (sc)

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020907777

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/1/2020

Unless marked otherwise, all Scripture quotations are taken from The New

American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972,

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible,

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

1. Love School Begins

2. Life’s Love Lessons

3. Learning to Love God’s Way

4. Learning Who God Is Looking for, for You

5. How the Father Looks for a Soul Mate for His Children

6. God’s Love Story

7. Building a Friendship That Can’t Sink

8. Rules and Laws of Love School

9. Be Your Best at All Times

10. The Divine Teacher

11. Learning to Date with a Purpose

12. Singleness Is Important to God: Single People Mingle

Conclusion

Closing Remarks

Acknowledgments

About the Author

DEDICATION

Nearly fifteen years has passed since that 2004 New Year’s morning when I first entered what I know now to be Love School. I had no idea that I was about to be put into a place to learn and observe and pay attention to details, to later share in a book with others. The Spirit of Love had previously revealed to me in 2005 to begin to prepare to write the books in which I interpreted as time to write. However, I can now see that it was a time of preparation and it would take all those years to develop and process all the information that came to me from my singleness journey and heaven’s guidance. Then in October 2011, after what I thought was one of my lowest moments because of a failed relationship, that steady, sure, solemn, and soft voice spoke to me and said that I was being put into Love School to not only fix myself but others. Right then and there, I recognize a divine intervention into my love life. The scriptures concerning love and healthy relationship building began to appear fresh and new, like I had never read them before.

Doing this time of prayer and study I recognized that our heavenly Father has a love for His children that compares to none other. He desires for each to receive His gift of love into their lives. He is in the business of making love work for all who seek Him first and place their trust in Him. However, He knows something about how to get His best and receive His perfect gift.

Revelation 21:1–2 says, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband."

Yes, even His bride has to be prepared and made ready for His Son, those who desire that perfect love have to be made ready to receive it from heaven. I’d like you to think about that for a moment and know that you have been drawn here to this book for a divine reason and season. This book will save you from years of agony by placing tool and skills into your heart to enable you to successfully build a lasting love. Many people think that love just appears and happens without much effort or work on their part. As I stated in one of my previous books, a relationship isn’t a want but lots of work. This book is dedicated to those who have recognized that they need help and assistance from the Spirit of Love to discover the love of their life. Yes, Love School is open, and it will be a divine education in love.

APPTE (Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher, and Evangelist)

Rev. Tony K. Thomas

L

ove Is the Answer

How many have searched for love

but found that it just didn’t come, overnight?

I am one of those, and you may be also.

If you are, then this passage is written for you.

Love has come into our heart many times.

Sometimes for the same person.

None of us knows where our true love lies

or the one that we are to share it with.

A lot of times, love is received but not returned.

We become a target, being hit with frustrations.

Most don’t care for such problems,

so we continue searching.

When our love is received and returned,

we are content and happy, with a lift in spirit.

But unless we are completely satisfied with our companion,

we will continue searching.

Many occasions, we feel empty with no more love to give.

Impatience begins to creep in.

Waiting for something to happen.

What if it did?

Suppose you find your true love?

How would you know?

Will it be some sign or miracle

that you need be aware of?

Would you be ready?

Are you prepared to share

your thoughts and heart and love?

Do you know these answers?

There is one thing for certain

I learned through this search:

That love is harder to keep than find.

Also, it requires lots of work.

For those who have found their love,

and it continues to grow,

they must have known

that love is the answer.

Priceless Production

INTRODUCTION

I hope and pray that by now, you’ve already read the first two books in this series, Loneliness: God’s Gift to the Single and Why Are People Afraid of Love? In each book, I mentioned that I had attended and been enrolled in Love School. I described it as a place where God, who is Love, is the teacher. One will find in each book that there was a special time or day mentioned on January 1, 2004. I will not go into that day much here, for you can read about it in the previous books.

I can say that in 2004, I didn’t even know that I had been enrolled into Love School, but now I know that Love School is a real place where the Spirit of God is the teacher. I have to say that I didn’t pay much attention to the teacher at that time. I thought that I really knew how to love and what love would be like when it appeared. I never knew that the Spirit of God was beginning to instruct me and show me a more excellent way. Before that time, I was just learning from life lessons, not from information from a divine education when it came to love and relationship building. After being married for almost half my life and finding myself single again, my thoughts was full of blame and pain, which no one could see but me. However, I considered myself to be a pretty good catch if someone would just discover my heart and my desire to be loved and give love in return. Little did I know that I was sick and a real mess when it came to developing a lasting and healthy relationship. Like most, I thought I was okay; I’d question each start and stop, see another’s faults but seldom my own, as to why the relationship didn’t work. Along my journey of singleness, I learned that few had actually improved or learned much from their past relationship failures, other than casting blame upon another. It looked like I was coming out of the same pond and put into the same boat as every other single person.

During those seasons before my 2004 encounter with heaven, I didn’t see much change inside of me. However, I knew that a work had begun, and my awareness of being single was beginning to be sharpened. At times, it seemed as if I was on this big blue marble all alone when it came to recognizing certain things about relationship building. I discovered that very few seemed to care to change or even seek to improve but continued to do the same ol’ things the same ol’ ways. I felt alone because there was no one I could talk with about that 2004, New Year’s Day experience. I found myself mentioning it time after time to others I was becoming involved with, but they really thought that I was just Tony talking and nothing more. But I knew that something had happened; I just didn’t know what. I began to realize that there has to be more to these things and the subject called love; how can it be discovered and kept alive in life and within the heart?

Then in October 2011, a serious relationship ended, and my heart and soul were smashed. I didn’t know where to turn or how to move forward. I must admit that during this relationship, I knew that this wasn’t a lasting love, but I was ready for singleness to end and stop this search for love in my life. I felt that there was nothing more either one of us could have done to improve our relationship. However, we both decided to go to counseling; it was during this time that somehow, I finally spoke up and said something that I couldn’t believe my ears was hearing from my very own lips. It was like a personal miracle what was being spoken.

I heard myself say these words: I am not afraid to let this particular person and relationship go.

It was like a balloon had burst, and freedom began to flood my soul. I can’t explain it, for I knew that I was about to begin a lonely period of recovery. I was really in love, but it wasn’t the right person or the right time. I believe that I was in love with ending singleness and that this was the answer to my long and persistence prayer request. I couldn’t know that I was nowhere near the end of singleness or the answers to my prayers for God’s gift of love into my heart and life.

I know that this book would not be if it wasn’t for that change of events in 2011. Also, I know that this book will not be for everyone, but it is for those who are ready to redirect their brokenness to the place that is designed to repair, restore, and reset their love life: heaven. This book is for whoever is sick and tired of starting and stopping when it comes to developing a real and lasting relationship. I believe that within the pages of this book, readers will discover that Love School is a real place, just waiting for each of us to enroll.

Every evening from July 2011 until October 2011, I had personal devotion where I simply asked the Holy Spirit for comfort and the strength to move on from another failed relationship. This was all I seemed able to do; I had never felt so disappointed, but I was more concerned about making another life-changing mistake in another failed marriage. All I knew was that I needed to ask my heavenly Father for help. Help is the least used four-letter word when someone needs to recover from past pains and setbacks from failed relationships. This was big from me, but I now see it as a breakthrough, for David said in Psalm 18:6:

In my distress I called upon the LORD,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

I needed answers and cried out to heaven with all my heart and soul. Each evening after work, I would clean up the kitchen after eating, rush to my living room, and sit on my futon with my Bible. First I would pray and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and to speak to me concerning my heart’s need for healing and directions. It was like I was in school. There was a presence, and an inner voice guided me to read certain scriptures; I began to see my life in each one. My heart was still in pain, but somehow, each day, I began to sense an inner peace and comfort. Then one Saturday afternoon, there was a stronger presence of peace. This peace impressed upon me to call my former girlfriend to talk to her about our relationship. I had made many previous attempts, but she never answered. Therefore, I had stopped even trying to contact her, but this particular day in October 2011 was different.

It was like I heard a voice from within my heart say, Give her a call. When the Spirit of the Lord impressed upon me to call, my first thoughts were that He was trying to put us back together again. Reluctantly, but with some excitement, I placed the call. I had a renewed hope, even after several months of trying to contact her. So in obedience, I made the call, and to my surprise, she answered the phone. We spoke briefly, and she mentioned to me that she had moved on and she wished me the best in my next relationship.

During the conversation, I kept my composure and tried to sound strong and in control, but this really wasn’t what I was hoping to hear. After we had spoken, I hung up, and to my amazement; I realized that I had called her work number and not her cell phone number, as I intended. I don’t know how I did that, for I only had her cell phone number. To this day, I still don’t know how I put those digits into my phone to place that call. I knew that a divine intervention had taken place, but why?

After hanging up, I heard the voice of the Spirit arise from within my heart and question me, Did you love her?

I simply thought, God, you know that I loved her.

Then, He revealed something from deep within my soul that was so profound to me at that time. I pray that you can hear, grasp, and understand what was revealed to me at a time when I was at one of my lowest and painful places. These words were released from heaven into my hurting and broken soul: At least you know that you can still love.

I just sat there with the cell phone in my hand; it was like a renewed energy entered my heart. I wasn’t aware that moment was like a new beginning. I didn’t know what to do or where to start, so I accepted that this relationship was over, but I wasn’t done with learning about love. God had used this brokenness and pain to bring about a divine purpose, for not just this particular relationship but for any that I encounter until He presents the gift of love from above. The Spirit of God was letting me know that my heart was being healed from previous pains. There are times when you enter the divine eye of a situation, and it makes you feel so small, when a moment before, everything seemed so big. I fell on my knees at my futon and began to pray and give glory to God.

I remember the words that came out of my heart at that very moment of prayer and praise, I said Father, help me. Instantly, it was like that New Year’s morning in 2004; I was in an atmosphere of peace, promise, and purpose. I could sense that the Host of Heaven was waiting for me to realize that I can’t discover love on my own merit. Now, I was no stranger to walking by faith and in the Word and spirit. I am a spirit-filled believer, and the Word had become my life and world. Also, I am a pastor and teacher for His kingdom. Yet, once again, I was at His feet with word of a humble servant who had sought to find love on my own wisdom and works. I knew from within my soul that the Father knew this day was going to come. He knew I would come to my senses and realize I needed His help and assistance if I was to ever find the love of my life. I didn’t know that the previous three months of keeping my divine appointment had set all this up. That time was showing Him that I was serious about healing and finding love in my life. I found that immediately after saying, Help me, I heard that still quiet voice of the Father from within my soul say to me, I am going to fix you, but not only you but others, so you will not have to come to me again with this same request about love in your life. Meanwhile, later that early morning, there was another encounter with the Spirit of Christ; however, I will share that with you in a later chapter.

Then, two weeks later, on October 21, 2011, the Father revealed to me that I had been enrolled into Love School: A Divine Education in Love. Then, He instructed me to write my first book, Loneliness: God’s Gift to the Single. A few months later, in February 2012, He inspired me to write the second book, Why Are People Afraid of Love? Both of these books were birthed from Love School. He let me know that He would inspire me and guide me in every word written in these books. He let me know that there would be a third book called Love School: A Divine Education in Love, but it was to be written after the other two were published.

I hope and pray that you will feel His presence in the coming chapters and recognize the experiences mentioned from within your soul. I believe that you will discover and learn that Love School is a real place. The prerequisite is a broken heart, for the scriptures say that God is near the broken-hearted. Read this passage from Psalm 34:17–19:

The righteous cry, and the LORD hears

And delivers them out of all their troubles.

The LORD