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But the greatest of these is love…. (devo reflection)

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 

There’s so much in these last three verses that it’s hard to know where to start. Because we are human, because we are on this side of the veil, there is so much we don’t know, can’t understand. I have said for many years that by the time I get to ask God all my questions, I won’t care about the answers anymore because I will fully know and be fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:12a For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. 

Verse 13 reminds us that “these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I find that telling. God wants us to love others as He loves. I once saw a billboard that has stuck with me. It said, “Just love everyone. I’ll sort them out later. ~God” I think that’s at the heart of 1 Corinthians. Love.

1 Corinthians 13:12b Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Precious Savior, Thank You that there will come a day when I will fully know and be fully known. Thank You that some day the distance between us will be removed. Thank You for the reminder that love is the greatest, that I am to love as You love. Help me. Amen.

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Have a blessed day.

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God is love…. (devo reflection)

1 Corinthians 13:8a Love never fails.  

God is love. All of the verses in 1 Corinthians that talk about love can be replaced with God. I am honestly not sure why I never thought to do that before, but it is true. God is patient. God is kind. God rejoices in the truth. God never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:8b …But where there are prophecies, they will cease;

Another important truth in 1 Corinthians is that while we are on this earth, we are incomplete, a vital part of ourselves is missing. This world is not our home, cannot be our home, yet this world is our mission field. We have work to do here. And that work is to be done in love, in God. Always.

1 Corinthians 13:8c …where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.  

Precious Savior, Thank You for opening my eyes and my heart to Your truths. Thank You that You are love and that this world is not our home. Help us to strive to bring You praise and glory always. Amen.

1 Corinthians 13:9-10 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

Have a blessed day.

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Love is…. (devo reflection)

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 

I remember a friend once telling me that when she talked with her daughters about relationships, she encouraged them to put the names of the young men they were dating into these verses. If it held true, then that relationship was sound.

1 Corinthians 13:5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

At the time, I thought that was a lovely idea, but this morning, sleep-deprived and grumpy as I am, I wonder if that standard is too high, if it is setting us up for a fall. After all, if I substituted my own name here, I would fail miserably many days: Beth is patient? Beth is not easily angered? I’m definitely not currently living up to this ideal.

1 Corinthians 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

Precious Savior, Thank You that You are love, pure and simple. Thank You that even though we fall short of the mark, You never do. Thank You for loving us as the deeply flawed humans that we are. Amen.

1 Corinthians 13:7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Have a blessed day.

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God is bigger than my feelings…. (devo reflection)

1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  

My daily devo this morning reminded me that God is outside of my feelings. It is a truth that first really sank in many years ago, truthfully, because of song lyrics that finally hit home. I can be happy, sad, gutted, elated, etc etc, and God is outside of that, bigger than all those feelings. It is easy for me to forget, to limit God with my own imagination.

1 Corinthians 13:2a If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge…

So what does all of this mean for me in a practical sense? It means I can be elated or angry or bitter or sad, and as long as all I do is wallow in those feelings, I will never draw closer to God because of the situation. I have to get beyond my feelings and say, essentially, “OK, God. What do you want me to see, learn, do, understand because of this situation?” Sometimes the answer is simply, “Know that I am with you always. I will never leave you.”

1 Corinthians 13:2b …and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for being bigger than my feelings. Thank You for the truths You whisper to my heart each day. Help me to seek You, to see You, to hear and understand You as I seek to draw closer to You. Amen.

1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Have a blessed day.

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With Christ…. (devo reflection)

2 Corinthians 12:7b …Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 

Verse 9, where Paul declares that he boasts gladly of his weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon him, reminds me of James 1:2, where we are encouraged to “Consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds….” Boasting in weakness, celebrating in trails–both seem counter to the way things should be done.

2 Corinthians 12:8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 

But Christ was often One to turn things upside down from the normal order. Paul, among others, points that out many times. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 3:19, he says, “For the wisdom of this world is folly with God….” So why does Christ remind us that His grace is sufficient, His  power is made perfect in weakness? I think it is to remind us that if we depend on ourselves, on this world, we will be overcome. Every. Single. Time.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Lord, Thank You for the reminder that if we root ourselves in You, if we recognize our weakness, that Your power will rest upon us, and we can, with You, overcome the troubles of the world. With You, the worst thing is never the last thing. With You, we can find both celebration in trials and joy in weakness. Thank You that You don’t play by the world’s rules. Amen.

2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Have a blessed day. I love you.

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Rock-solid foundation…. (devo reflection)

1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.

God does not want us to accept regurgitated faith. Someone else’s beliefs will not help us when we are struggling and in the pits of despair. He wants us to seek, knock, ask so that we can draw closer to Him in faith and trust.

James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

So how can we ask and not doubt? What I don’t doubt is God. Jesus. The Holy Spirit. Their sovereignty. Their love. Any questions I have are asked while standing on that firm, rock-solid foundation. It is that foundation that allows me to say, “I don’t understand this situation, but I know YOU, help me to trust, even when I am afraid.”

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

Lord, Thank You for giving me this strong foundation. Thank You for creating me to be curious and inquisitive. Help me to draw closer to You with every question, every breath. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:20 …Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

Have a blessed day.

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Seeking, examining, questioning…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 44:24 This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself….

The biggest issue I had when reading through the Bible was actually reading the commentary, the certainty of the commentator that his ideas were THE right ideas. In my mind, that’s not God’s infallibility, that’s human pride, something I wrestle with myself.

Isaiah 44:25 …who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense….

And it reminded me of growing up in my little church. I honestly don’t know if I was TOLD that I was not to question God, but that’s certainly what I told myself. But one thing I know is that God wants a relationship with me, He wants me to draw near. And one way I do that is by seeking, examining, questioning.

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

Lord, I know that You are love, that You call me to draw near to You, that, for me, that means examining and questioning so that I can better understand. As I figure out where in Your word You are calling me next, help me to seek and question so that I can draw closer to You. Always. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

Have a blessed day.

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Do everything in love…. (devo reflection)

1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

I’ve been reminded recently that 1 Corinthians is a letter to the church in Corinth, and by reading it, we are in essence reading Paul’s mail. With that thought, I can definitely see this content as parting reminders from Paul to the church at Corinth.

1 Corinthians 16:14 Do everything in love.

What I find more surprising is just how applicable Paul’s advice to the Corinthians is for us today. Stand firm in the faith, be courageous and strong, do everything, everything in love? These are good reminders for all of us as we travel through this life.

1 Corinthians 16:23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

Lord, Thank You for these words of Paul and for the understanding that even though we are so different from this ancient Corinthian people, there is much that hasn’t changed. Help us to stand firm in the faith, be courageous and strong, and do everything—yes, everything—in love. Be with us every step of the way, Lord. Help us to shine Your light. Amen.

1 Corinthians 16:24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

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Hope in Christ…. (devo reflection)

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

I would encourage you to pause here and go read this chapter for yourself. Paul lays out several logical, convincing arguments in this chapter. I can add nothing there, so I want to talk about the overall tone of hope in this chapter, and not just any hope, but hope in Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Because of God’s grace, we are who we are. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection, we have hope for eternity, including victory over the grave. As long as we are working for the Lord, we do not labor in vain. Thank You, Jesus!

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, Through You, in You, because of You, I have so many blessings in this life—grace, hope, love, purpose. Thank You. Help me, daily, to put those gifts to work, glorifying You and comforting Your people. Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Have a blessed day.

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More than just individual edification…. (devo reflection)

1 Corinthians 14:3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.

Today’s scripture seems to speak of the difference between personal devotional time and corporate worship. In our personal devotional time, it is right and good that our focus is on strengthening our personal connection with God; however, when the church body worships together, the focus should be, according to this chapter, on the edification of others.

1 Corinthians 14:4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.

This distinction gives me pause as I’ve always viewed the goal of both personal and corporate worship to be the strengthening of *my* faith. Spurgeon, as quoted in commentary, calls this attitude “spiritual self indulgence,” “a monstrous evil.” Spurgeon’s take, to me, seems a step too far, but the thought that Sunday worship should accomplish more than just individual edification makes sense.

1 Corinthians 14:12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.

Lord, Thank You for this scripture and for the ideas that today’s reading and studying have introduced. Help me, through this time, to draw closer to You and stronger in my faith. Help me, always, to glorify You and comfort Your people. Amen.

1 Corinthians 14:17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.

Have a blessed day.