Bible League: Living His Word Love is patient and kind.— 1 Corinthians 13:4 ERV Known as "the love chapter" in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 13 lists several qualities of unconditional love—what it is and what it is not. The Apostle Paul starts off his list with a doozy! The very first attribute of unconditional love is that it is patient. The New Testament was written in ancient Greek and the ancient Greek word translated as "patient" literally means long-suffering. The patience of unconditional love is more than just biding your time and waiting for something to get better. It is enduring through difficulty even if it never gets better. Paul pulls no punches when it comes to what love is like. It is patient and enduring. It is sticking it out, even if it means suffering for a long time. Love endures and doesn't give up on someone. Love is patient and keeps going amid suffering. Love is patient, and—if you want to love someone unconditionally—you must be patient, too. After all, Jesus is patient with you and me. Think of all the times we have failed to live up to Jesus' expectations of us. We were dead in our transgressions and doomed for eternity! But God was patient with us (2 Peter 3:15), and He is patient with others who will come to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. Jesus patiently endured the cross as He took the punishment that our sins deserved. He suffered so much on our behalf! Jesus is our example of what it means to love patiently. Has He ever given up on us? Will He ever give up on us? No, He won't. Love is patient because the Lord is patient. We need to be patient with others as the Lord has been patient with us. The next time you're ready to throw in the towel on a relationship, remember that love is patient. Instead of giving up on someone, give them to the Lord in prayer. Pray for that person who needs an extra measure of patient love. Pray for yourself, that God would grant you the grace to show patience toward that person. Pray and thank God that He has been patient with you throughout the course of your life. The Lord is patient and we should be too, because love is patient. By Shawn Cornett, Bible League International staff, Indiana U.S. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Chronicles 23, 24, 25 1 Chronicles 23 -- Solomon Reigns; Levites, Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Chronicles 24 -- Divisions of Levites into 24 Orders NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Chronicles 25 -- Numbers and Divisions of Musicians NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 11:1-17 John 11 -- Jesus Comforts Martha and Mary, Raises Lazarus; The Plot to Kill Jesus NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion But the LORD is in his holy Temple.Let all the earth be silent before him. Insight Idols have no life, no personhood, no power; they are empty chunks of wood or stone. Temples built to idols are equally empty; no one lives there. But the Lord is in his temple. He is real, alive, and powerful. He is truly and fully God. Idolaters command their idols to save them, but we who worship the living God come to him in silent awe, with great respect, and with reverence. Challenge We acknowledge that God is in control and knows what he is doing. Idols remain silent, because they cannot answer. The living God, by contrast, speaks through his Word. Approach God reverently and wait silently to hear what he has to say. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Romans 8:30 Whom he justified, them he also glorified.Here is a precious truth for thee, believer. Thou mayest be poor, or in suffering, or unknown, but for thine encouragement take a review of thy "calling" and the consequences that flow from it, and especially that blessed result here spoken of. As surely as thou art God's child today, so surely shall all thy trials soon be at an end, and thou shalt be rich to all the intents of bliss. Wait awhile, and that weary head shall wear the crown of glory, and that hand of labor shall grasp the palm-branch of victory. Lament not thy troubles, but rather rejoice that ere long thou wilt be where "there shall be neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain." The chariots of fire are at thy door, and a moment will suffice to bear thee to the glorified. The everlasting song is almost on thy lip. The portals of heaven stand open for thee. Think not that thou canst fail of entering into rest. If he hath called thee, nothing can divide thee from his love. Distress cannot sever the bond; the fire of persecution cannot burn the link; the hammer of hell cannot break the chain. Thou art secure; that voice which called thee at first, shall call thee yet again from earth to heaven, from death's dark gloom to immortality's unuttered splendours. Rest assured, the heart of him who has justified thee beats with infinite love towards thee. Thou shalt soon be with the glorified, where thy portion is; thou art only waiting here to be made meet for the inheritance, and that done, the wings of angels shall waft thee far away, to the mount of peace, and joy, and blessedness, where, "Far from a world of grief and sin, With God eternally shut in," thou shalt rest forever and ever. Daily Light on the Daily Path Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, • instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, • looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, • who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. 2 Peter 3:13,14 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. • Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Isaiah 25:9 And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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