Join us as we focus each day this week on a different part of 1 Corinthians 13.
Friday: Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Saturday: It always protects, always trusts
Sunday: Always hopes, always perseveres.
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:7
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:7-8
Listen: 1 Corinthians 13
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Paul helps us understand all people who have trusted Christ as their Savior collectively function like a human body. God gives us individual gifts through his Holy Spirit that are meant to grow the entire body and spread the Gospel. When we function as a body that loves each other the way God does, the power of God working through us is limitless.
Love never gives up, but always protects and endures through every circumstance. It sacrifices self to preserve and do the right thing. It never loses faith but always trusts. This kind of love goes against our natural inclinations. It’s a non-conditional love that expects nothing in return. It’s impossible to love this way without God’s help.
What does this look like as we function in the body of Christ and use our God-given gifts to build up other Christians and promote the Gospel? It’s a willingness to draw someone into my group who doesn’t look or sound like me, and protect their right to serve. It’s a willingness to step outside my comfort zone and trust God to teach me how to serve in unfamiliar territory. It’s being willing to suffer for what the Bible says is right when everyone else is jumping ship. It a willingness to follow and trust leadership I disagree with. And a willingness to stick with the plan and ask God for his perseverance.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Consider what challenges you the most about serving in the body of Christ from Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Then pray and ask God to help you protect his ministry and family by serving with perseverance and love.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
