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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Monday, August 7, 2023
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Faith, Hope, and Charity [1] Bible Verse:1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (ESV) "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." Message:
Today begins Paul’s great poetic passage on love; if you have ever been to a wedding, you have certainly heard it. An odd thing about the passage, though, is that it does not begin here. The preceding chapters dealt with boasting, stature in the church community, and other ways we deal with each other, and at the very end of Chapter 12 is a line that makes no sense: “And I will show you a still more excellent way.”
The chapters of the Bible books are generally artificial, imposed by translators to break it up; and sometimes they are not placed properly. 1 Cor. 12 and 1 Cor. 13 are parts of one longer continuous speech. Chapter 12, where Paul develops the idea that we are all members of the body of Christ, is descriptive. Chapter 13 then calls us to action. It teaches us how to reflect and live the truth established in the text immediately before it.
Looking at Chapter 12, we can see that the references in today’s Scripture to “speaking in the tongues of angels,” “understanding all knowledge,” and “having all faith,” are references to some of the abilities described in Chapter 12. These are the “more exalted” gifts that Paul has just described in the first part of the passage. He tells us to desire these and then, in the last sentence of Chapter 12, tells us, “And yet I show you a more excellent way.” (1 Cor. 31.)
Paul’s message on faith, hope, and love is a brilliant standalone passage on the importance of love. But it is even more brilliant when read in the context of the preceding chapter. We all have gifts, he has told us; and now he tells us, no matter how fabulous our talents may be, if they are not informed by love, they are meaningless. Without love, our personal gifts are: “Nothing.”
If we have a talent, it is worthless without love, just as a car is worthless without gasoline or a television is worthless without electricity.
Meditation : “I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.” (Psalm 131:1) Prayer : Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted me as a living member of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have blessed me with the grace of forgiveness through the sacrifice He made for me and for all people. Send me now into the world in peace, and grant me strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart; through Christ our Lord......Amen |
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