day no. 13,140: i love because You first loved me, i live because You live‏

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind.

Love does not envy,
is not boastful, is not conceited,
⁵ does not act improperly,is not selfish, 
is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs.
⁶ Love finds no joy in unrighteousness, 
but rejoices in the truth.
⁷ It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love does some stuff.

Love does not do some other stuff.

Love is something.

Love is not some other things.

If the Spirit is in us, He urges us to love and we desire to be more loving.

These verses present us with the challenge to orient and discipline ourselves to be loving in the image of the One who lovingly made us.

We must see and marinate in the hope of His love for us: a love perfectly defined and faithfully perfect as described above.

day no. 13,139: how should Christians think about their body parts?‏

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

⁴ Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ There are different ministries, but the same Lord. ⁶ And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each person. ⁷ A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial

God designs and gifts His children as He desires.

If we all do what He designed us to do, the body is healthy. 

If we spend time jealous of other body parts and trying to be something we’re not, we end up neglecting the things that we are and the gifts we do have and EVERYONE suffers accordingly.

day no. 13, 136: all she wanted was a little peace and quiet‏

1 Corinthians 14:33-34

God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints, ³⁴ the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but should be submissive, as the law also says.

God has created an order that He commands be continued.

He has established the system of authority and responsibility in the church, in the home, at work and in the world.

ALL THE CHURCHES of the saints observe God’s order.

Remember…

1 Corinthians 11:16

But if anyone wants to argue about this, we have no other custom, nor do the churches of God.

THE CHURCHES OF GOD all follow this order.

You don’t have to in your church if you don’t want to, but you won’t be one of God’s churches. You will be a church of man, ruled by men, facing the end of all men.

day no. 13,135: if anyone thinks he is something, he should recognize Someone‏

1 Corinthians 14:37-38

³⁷ If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, he should recognize that what I write to you is the Lord’s command. ³⁸ But if anyone ignores this, he will be ignored. 

If you think you have God’s Spirit in you and are a spiritual authority or spiritual person, you should LISTEN to Paul who is anointed by Jesus as an apostle and authority.

Demonstrate that you are under the authority of God by deferring to the authorities He has placed over you. 

If you ignore this, you yourself will be ignored.

day no. 13,134: what response were you looking for?‏

1 Corinthians 14:24-25

²⁴ But if all are prophesying and some unbeliever or uninformed person comes in, he is convicted by all and is judged by all. ²⁵ The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is really among you.”

A Word from the Lord can cut to the division of joint and spirit, bone and marrow.

Your pomp can only drive another to despair or pride.

Despair if they cannot imagine being as holy as you dress yourself to be.

Proud if they observe your unrepentant hypocrisy and say to themselves, “at least I don’t think I’m all that like (insert name here)”

Don’t deprive others of the opportunity to be cut to the quick by your insistence on building yourself up before others.

day no. 13,133: don't be a big ol' baby‏

1 Corinthians 14:18-20

¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in other languages more than all of you; ¹⁹ yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than 10,000 words in another language.

²⁰ Brothers, don’t be childish in your thinking, but be infants in regard to evil and adult in your thinking.

Don’t be childish in wanting presents for the sole purpose of enjoying them yourself.

Don’t be a baby that begs and cries only for that which they plan to spend on their sacred little self.

Be innocent with regard to evil and mature in your desire to be selfless.

Don’t be childish.by babbling nonsense while insisting that everyone in the room look at you.

Be mature.

Set yourself aside.

Speak to the building up of everyone.

day no. 13,132: a foreign tongue‏

1 Corinthians 14:4

The person who speaks in another language builds himself up, but he who prophesies builds up the church.

1 Corinthians 14:12

So also you—since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek to excel in building up the church.

Why do you want what you want?

Do you want it to look good to others?

Do you want it to feel better about yourself?

Seek to build up the church in each and every blessing for which you long to receive.

The natural man seeks to build himself up.

The spiritual man seeks to build up the church.