Month: June 2021

My heart is Steadfast, O God – David’s opening words in Psalm 108.

What does it mean to be Steadfast?

Definition of Steadfast
1a : firmly fixed in place : IMMOVABLE
b : not subject to change
the steadfast doctrine of original sin
— Ellen Glasgow
2 : firm in belief, determination, or adherence : LOYAL (Merriam-Webster Dictionary online)

David had set his heart to be Steadfast before God and to worship Him, despite all his trials;

1 My heart, O God, is steadfast;
I will sing and make music with all my soul. Psalm 108

Sometimes we can better understand the meaning of something by considering an opposite and the Bible gives several references on the word, ‘Double-minded’.

113 I hate the double-minded, (Lit. divided in heart or mind)
But I love Your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in Your word. Psalm 119

7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (Great Promise for us). Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4

The double-minded needn’t expect to receive anything from God, He’s looking for faith, agreement with His Word.

The prophet Jeremiah (sometimes known as the weeping prophet) had to observe Israel coming under the judgement of God because of their refusal to turn away from sin. But in the middle of the Book of Lamentations we see a wonderful description of God’s Loving Faithfulness;

21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3

22-24 God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’M STICKING WITH GOD (I SAY IT OVER AND OVER).
HE’S ALL I’VE GOT LEFT. Lamentations 3 MSG

There’s a short chorus based on these words (several versions available on YouTube, easy listening).

’The Steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness O Lord’.

We as God’s children need the Steadfast love that David spoke of in the psalm, but ultimately it’s much more important that God is so faithful to us. The little story of the child on the father’s arms, holding tight to his jacket in case he drops. Like all children and like us, he becomes tired and soon falls asleep, but the father continues to carry him easily and safely. We may at times let go of God, but He will never let go of us, His children.

As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. Psalm 103:13

God bless and keep you today.

I wonder how many of us have considered praying the Scripture daily as we read? George Muller of Bristol attributed this practice to changing his walk with the Lord.

There have been many books written about George Muller (1805 – 1898), particularly in regards to the children’s orphanages. He is said to have cared for some ten thousand children during his lifetime and he only made their needs known to God in prayer. Muller had been working for some ten years when he developed a practice that changed his life. He began to pray the scriptures he was reading daily.

“The difference, then, between my former practice and my present one is this: formerly, when I rose, I began to pray as soon as possible, and generally spent all my time till breakfast in prayer, or almost all the time. At all events I almost invariably began with prayer. . . . But what was the result? I often spent a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, or even an hour on my knees before being conscious to myself of having derived comfort, encouragement, humbling of soul, etc.; and often, after having suffered much from wandering of mind for the first ten minutes, or quarter of an hour, or even half an hour, I only then really began to pray”.

“I scarcely ever suffer now in this way. For my heart being nourished by the truth, being brought into experimental [today we would say “experiential”] fellowship with God, I speak to my Father and to my Friend (vile though I am, and unworthy of it) about the things that He has brought before me in His precious Word. It often now astonishes me that I did not sooner see this point”.

How many of us read the Word of God today in a superficial way and rush on to the next important thing in our busy lives? Muller’s journals record thousands of answered prayers, many of them came on the same day and he had no concerns for the children, he gave them over to God.

Yesterday I quoted Ephesians 4:30-32, section begins V29.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Eph 4:29 (Say only what helps, EACH WORD A GIFT. MSG)

We could pray this, “Lord help me not speak unhelpful words to others, or about them. Let my words encourage and build up others”.

30 And do not grieve (offend, vex or sadden Him AMPC) the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Eph 4

Pray, “Lord help me not to grieve your Spirit”, how often do we do this and are not even aware of it? We need to become more sensitive to His presence in our lives.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

We could pray, “Lord deliver me from All bitterness, rage etc and let me be Kind, Compassionate and Forgiving to others”.

Praying God’s Word may take more time, but will allow God’s character to be formed in us – EXPERIENTIAL NOT JUST MENTAL ASSENT and then rushing on with our own lives.

God bless and keep you today.

MERCY not Malice, is acceptable to God. Deuteronomy 19

Malice is a word not often used today (Malus, Latin – Bad), perhaps Malicious is more common. Malice means the Desire to harm someone or ill will. It’s an ATTITUDE OF THE HEART and God condemns Malice.

In Deuteronomy 19, Moses tells Israel to establish three Cities of Refuge, as places of sanctuary for anyone who accidentally kills a fellow Israelite. In this chapter the word Malice is also used three times and is a dividing line between those who could obtain Mercy and those who could not. The absence of Malice here protected, the innocent from revenge. So that was the situation in the Old Testament, under Law, what does the New Testament have to tell us?

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 GET RID OF ALL  bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, ALONG WITH EVERY FORM OF MALICE. 32 BE KIND AND COMPASSIONATE TO ONE ANOTHER, FORGIVING EACH OTHER, JUST AS IN CHRIST GOD FORGAVE YOU. Ephesians 4

God’s Word doesn’t make recommendations, nor tell us to try to do something, It just tells us to do it, FOR OUR OWN GOOD. In these verses, we’re told not to grieve the Holy Spirit and to get rid of a number of things from our hearts that do grieve or offend Him. The remedy for the believers is to exercise Compassion and Forgiveness, just as God did for us through Christ. God has forgiven (and forgotten!) you and I much more than we can ever do towards others. Remember the parable of the Unmerciful Servant;

30 ‘But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 ‘Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you HAVE HAD MERCY ON YOUR FELLOW SERVANT just as I had on you?” Matthew 18

God has had mercy on us and wants to continue to do so but we must show His mercy to others before we can receive it for ourselves. We are all ‘Fellow Servants’, who are called to serve different functions in the Lord’s Body, but He alone is the head.

Two further references to Getting rid of all Malice in the New Testament;

But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, Colossians 3

1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2

We can’t afford to focus our minds on paying others back for wronging us, we have to make room for God’s Spirit to live His life through us and that means extending Forgiveness.

God bless and keep you today.

 

 

Many Christians read the Psalms for comfort and encouragement, so I thought we might end this week’s blogs by reading the last verses in Psalms 91 and 92.

God doesn’t want us only to Survive but to Thrive!

Psalm 91 speaks mainly about God’s protection for His people in a time of widespread sickness, such as today;

3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91

But the psalm ends with some wonderful words from God;

14 ‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honour him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.’ Psalm 91

The key to receiving these blessings, simply to Love the Lord and acknowledge His Name.

Psalm 92, speaks of Flourishing, not a word used by many believers in our day, but the psalmist was inspired to write it. The title of this psalm claims it was a song for the Sabbath, so it would have been used repeatedly in worship.

12 The righteous will FLOURISH like a palm tree,
they will GROW like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 PLANTED in the house of the Lord,
they will FLOURISH in the courts of our God.
14 THEY WILL STILL BEAR FRUIT IN OLD AGE,
THEY WILL STAY FRESH AND GREEN,
15 proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’ Psalm 92

We see the word ‘Flourish’ quoted twice in these verses, it’s not in doubt. How wonderful to ‘be Planted’, in the House of the Lord, the perfect place to be. It’s in His Courts that we will Flourish. Verse 7 of the psalm tells us that the wicked may flourish, but only for a time, their time is passing;

7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed for ever. Psalm 92

The psalm promises that even in old age, the Righteous will still bear fruit, TIME NEED NOT DIMINISH THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A SERVANT OF GOD, unlike the wicked their strength abides. They will stay ‘Fresh and Green’, the inheritance of God’s people.

We will continue to proclaim the goodness of our God, ‘He is our Rock’.

There is much blessing to be had from these verses, please take some time to consider them and receive God’s blessing for yourself.

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The worker is worthy of their hire. Luke 10:7

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God bless and keep you today.

The Proverbs attributed to Solomon are listed as beginning in chapter 10. Almost all of them have an initial statement followed by a BUT, known as an ‘antithetical opposite’(the second line contrasts the first). However, verse 22, doesn’t have the ‘But’, but has an ‘And’ in the middle;

22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,
AND He adds no trouble to it.

It’s as if God is giving a double blessing! He’s blessing with the wealth itself and promises that ‘no trouble’ will come with it.

There’s a saying in the world that, ‘money doesn’t buy happiness’, but wealth from God should be a wonderful blessing to His children.

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. 1 Tim 6

A verse that’s often misquoted, it’s the ‘Love of Money’, what’s first in our hearts, that can cause major problems for believers.

Solomon was an incredibly blessed ruler and the Bible tells us that he was surrounded with vast wealth. God never wanted His people to be poor and we should never believe that He did.

12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for – both wealth and honour – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 1 Kings 3

God’s Word to us today under the New Covenant clearly demonstrates His intention to bless His people;

8 And God is able to make ALL GRACE ABOUND TO YOU, so that in ALL THINGS AT ALL TIMES, having ALL that you need, you will ABOUND in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9

The word ALL is used four times and ABOUND twice in this one verse to the Corinthian Church. Paul was making God’s will for the believers clear.

The late Derek and Ruth Prince used to quote this verse daily for the needs of their ministry. Derek Prince believed that the authority of God’s Word should be extended over situations by proclaiming the scripture daily, like Moses’ rod. The situation may not appear to change immediately, but God’s word is powerful.

10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 SO IS MY WORD that goes out from my mouth:
it will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55

God wants us to believe Him and trust in His Loving Kindness towards us. Stretch out the rod of God’s Word in your own situation today and receive His blessing.

22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,
AND He adds no trouble to it. Proverbs 10

God bless and keep you today.

Explosive Growth with the coming of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2

A group numbering about a hundred and twenty were meeting in an upper room, being addressed by Peter. Acts 1:15 They selected Matthias as a replacement for Judas, it seems in the counsel of Heaven there had to be twelve apostles. No gaps were to be left in their ranks!

Acts 2, begins ‘the day of Pentecost came’. That was a new day for the whole world, though only one small group in Jerusalem experienced it at first. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit had come, just as Jesus had promised.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem GOD-FEARING JEWS FROM EVERY NATION UNDER HEAVEN. (Only two peoples, God-fearing or God-less) 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Acts 2

The outpouring of God’s Spirit immediately drew people, JEWS FROM EVERY NATION. The coming of God’s Spirit was felt by the Jews from many diverse lands;

9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’

They couldn’t explain it but they knew something unusual had happened and they were touched by God’s presence!

Peter spoke to them and explained that it was the fulfilment of the words of the prophet Joel;

17 In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.

21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.

God’s Spirit poured out on all people and salvation for everyone who called out to Him.

Peter explained to the crowd about the crucifixion of Jesus and they asked him what they should do.

38 Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’ Acts 2

A new way to God was opened up, that didn’t involve keeping Law, but did result in a change of heart. Salvation from the inside, not the outside.

41 Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

A small group of Jesus’ disciples, anointed by the Spirit, saw  three thousand souls come to faith in the Lord from many nations! This news was going to be spread far and wide, God had chosen this day for the launch of His Church on earth.

Will we who are alive today see a greater outpouring of the Spirit on all nations? God said that He would bring Jesus’ bride from every land and people. The best is yet to come.

God bless and keep you today.

1 Come, let us SING FOR JOY to the Lord;
let us SHOUT ALOUD to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with THANKSGIVING
and EXTOL him with music and song. Psalm 95

Psalm 95 is a well known modern day chorus and begins with an exhortation to worship God joyfully and exuberantly. Praise and Thanksgiving are a Gateway into God’s presence and He should be the focus of all true worship.

God’s Power and Majesty are then highlighted in the psalm.

6 Come, let us BOW DOWN in worship,
let us KNEEL before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
THE FLOCK UNDER HIS CARE. Psalm 95

Speaking personally, I don’t spend a lot of time BOWING or KNEELING DOWN BEFORE THE LORD, this is something challenging me as I write this blog. Perhaps fewer believers in our day really really appreciate the awe and respect due to our Creator God. Anyway, this is something that I want and need to address, in my own walk with God.

I’m touched by the little phrase, ‘the Flock under His Care’. We have sheep around us where we live and even though sheep are left out in the open, they need attention. David was a shepherd and he was aware of the care that the sheep required and he attributed this to a Caring Father. Please take some time today to Thank God for His Care for yourself and your loved ones. Don’t take God’s love and care for granted, He’s a very gracious God but we need to be thankful for His Loving Kindness (Hebrew hesed) towards us.

The final verses of the psalm are a prophetic warning to the people of God.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 ‘Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah (means quarrelling)
as you did that day at Massah (means testing) in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

The people grumbled and complained that God had brought them into the wilderness and they didn’t have any water to drink. They were talking about stoning Moses, but the Lord told him to walk ahead with the elders of Israel and take his rod and strike the rock; water flowed out for the people. Israel had asked, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ Exodus 17:7 They grumbled and complained and God was displeased with a whole generation. Cultivate Thankfulness for all the necessities and the blessings in your life, God Cares for the sheep of His pasture.

10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
“They shall never enter my rest.”

The WORDS OF GOD HIMSELF, speaking through the psalmist are also quoted directly in Hebrews 3:7-11, 15 and 4:3, a warning for His people today, not to grumble and complain but to give thanks. May we become a Thankful and Praising people towards our loving Heavenly Father.

God bless and keep you today.

SETTLE or SHIFT, Judah(Israel) were being bombarded by differing prophecies in exile in Babylon. Jeremiah 29 (& 28)

God had warned Israel from their earliest days that they would be removed from their land if they disobeyed Him and finally God sent Nebuchadnezzar to take them away.

‘Thank You Lord that I or we know the plans You have for us, plans of good and not of evil, plans of prosperity and not of calamity/harm, to give us a hope and a future’. Jeremiah 29:11 Modified KJV

Jeremiah, the true prophet of God, sent these words of encouragement to his banished people. God’s reassurance of His love and care for the remnant of His people, even after they’d been sent far away. This is a favourite scripture and valuable for us today to declare over our own lives, to continually affirm God’s love for us. God HAS A FUTURE HOPE FOR US and just like Judah, He is able to bring that future to pass. There is benefit in Declaring God’s Word over our lives until it becomes ingrained in our thinking. God’s Word is a Living Word and the more of it we write on our hearts(Proverbs 2:1-8) and confess it over our own lives, the more we’ll know His blessings.

God’s word through Jeremiah told Judah to make their lives where He’d brought them;

4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 ‘BUILD houses and SETTLE down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, SEEK THE ‘PEACE AND PROSPERITY’ of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’ (Religious people don’t think God should prosper or bless the godless but He will for the sake of His people!) Jeremiah 29

Judah wouldn’t serve the Lord (worship Him in Jerusalem) so He brought them into Babylon, (represents pride and idolatry). Sometimes God has to break us right out of the place we’ve lived our lives to get us unto His plans again. But there were voices speaking against the leading of God’s Spirit through Jeremiah. God didn’t want His people in Babylon, but He had to break the idolatry in Jerusalem.

In Jeremiah 28:16 the death of Hananiah was prophesied that year, because he ‘preached rebellion against the Lord’. Similarly in Jeremiah 29:22,23 God said He would put to death those who said they were speaking God’s words, but weren’t and also in the last verse of the chapter, verse 32. The enemy continued to try and draw the people out of God’s will by false religious proclamations, but God removed them. He had to completely eradicate the rebellion from the remnant of His people.

We are living in more uncertain times and in society moving further away from God. Like the exiles we need to keep speaking God’s plans and His Hope and Future over our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 see above

God bless and keep you today.

King Hezekiah spread out his problem, a threatening letter, before the Lord – SO CAN WE TODAY!

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word the Lord has spoken against him”. Isa 37:21

The account of the defeat of Sennacherib and the Assyrian army is recorded in three books of the Old Testament, so God must consider it important for us to grasp today.

We see in the record of this confrontation that the LORD is God over history/time, God over armies and God over kings.

Hezekiah and Judah faced a huge army. In 2 Chronicles 32 we’re told that Hezekiah and Judah had done all they could to strengthen the defences of Jerusalem, but their enemies were much stronger. So Hezekiah sent men in mourning to Isaiah the prophet, to ask for his help. Isaiah responded with the first of two words from the LORD.

“Do not be afraid (God wants to reassure us) of what you have heard – the words (so often the enemy uses words to put fear in us, God says ignore their words of fear) of Sennacherib’s servants. Isa 37:6

26 ‘Have you not heard?
Long ago I ordained it.
In days of old I planned it;
now I have brought it to pass,
that you have turned fortified cities
into piles of stone. Isaiah 37

God is the God of time and history, nothing takes Him by surprise. Sennacherib was simply a part of God’s plan for his time and he didn’t know it, much like Pharaoh in Egypt.

33 ‘Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

‘He will not enter this city
or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield
or build a siege ramp against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return;
he will not enter this city,’
declares the Lord.
35 ‘I will defend this city and save it,
for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!’
36 Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp.

The angel of the Lord destroyed the Assyrian army. Hezekiah didn’t have to even fight or lose a single soldier. Does God want to do that for some of His people today? His victory and His Glory!

The final outcome was the death of Sennacherib, at the hands of his own sons while worshipping in the temple of his god. He fell by the sword as God had stated through Isaiah. The LORD is over the kings/leaders in our time just as surely as in those times.

Spread out your problems before the LORD today and call on Him.

If you’re being blessed by this ministry, Please Donate and help the work, we can only reap as we sow, this is true in the natural and the spiritual. We may be financially and spiritually impoverished because we haven’t been sowing to God’s work.

The Lord is no one’s debtor. Romans 11:35

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We’re available to seek the Lord for personal words of encouragement and direction for those wishing them. We can also provide online counselling for those who may want it . Please contact us on through our webpage above. Please note a Donation is normally required for this service.

God bless and keep you today.

‘The Love Sandwich’, the name sometimes given to the three chapters in 1 Corinthians 12, 13 and 14. The filling in the sandwich, is LOVE, in chapter 13.

Paul was speaking to the Corinthian Church, a very charismatic church but with certain problems. He acknowledged the gifts of the Spirit in chapters 12 and 14, but says without Love, we gain nothing.

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. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 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. 1 Corinthians 13

Paul goes on to define ‘Love’ (Agape love) according to God’s viewpoint, so different from the world view of today.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others(not rude), it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13 NIV

Sometimes we can improve our understanding by comparing different versions of scripture;

4 This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience—it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance.

5-6 Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails.

7-8a Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen. JB Philips New Testament Version

Like all sandwiches, the Love Sandwich HAS TO BE EATEN, THOROUGHLY CHEWED ON before we get real benefit from it. To put it another way, we have to Digest it until it becomes part of our own thinking and that takes time and effort.

8 LOVE NEVER FAILS. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 1 Corinthians 13

The Bible is clear, we won’t be taking our giftings with us into eternity, they won’t be needed, everything will be known. We will however, take our character, formed for eternity. An unusual verse from Ecclesiastes states;

3b Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie. Ecclesiastes 11

Someday our destiny will be settled, before that there’s time to grow in the Love of God in our own lives. Take some time to feed on the Corinthian Love Sandwich, YOU WILL BE REWARDED NOW AND HEREAFTER.

God bless and keep you today.