Love

A friend recently loaned me a tape of a sermon by Fred McClure (http://www.fredmcclure.org). It was wonderful and I hope he doesn't mind if I share one of his key points with you.

First, take a look at 1 Corinthians 13 (from the NKJV):

¹ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ²And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,^[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.
⁴Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part. ¹⁰But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
¹¹When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. ¹²For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
¹³And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

After speaking of verses 4-7, what Rev. McClure said that moved me so much was this: "The Bible says that God is love, so let's replace 'love' with 'Jesus'":

⁴Jesus suffers long and is kind; Jesus does not envy; Jesus does not parade himself, is not puffed up; ⁵does not behave rudely, does not seek his own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Then he said "The church is the body of Christ, so let's replace 'Jesus' with our church name" (I'll use my church, but as you read this, use yours):

⁴Ford's Chapel suffers long and is kind; Ford's Chapel does not envy; Ford's Chapel does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Then he said "You are the church, so replace your church name with 'I'":

⁴I suffer long and am kind; I do not envy; I do not parade myself, am not puffed up; ⁵do not behave rudely, do not seek my own, am not provoked, think no evil; ⁶do not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth; ⁷bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things.

That sure gives us something to live up to doesn't it?

Getting Started Reading the Bible

It is hard to read the Bible. Not counting figuring out what it actually says, it is hard to know where to start, how often to read, etc. You may be different but I have found that reading on-line is much easier for me. Here is a site that has helped me a lot: www.biblegateway.com. The beauty of this site is that you can instantly go to any verse or series of verses. Check out this link:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/index.php?search=matthew%201&version1=50

See the box that has "matthew 1" in it? Type in any verse ("mat 12") or series of verses ("1cor 12:1-4"), click on "Update" and you go right to it!

Notice the pulldown menu just to the right of that box - you can read the passage you just looked up in any one of (at this time) 19 different Bible translations!

You can also search for a phrase or word by typing it in the box at the top of the page just above "Email this page". Just type it in and click on "Go".



I've also found that having a well-defined reading plan (whether I read on-line or not) helps me keep going. Here is a good web site that has quote a few different ones, and for some, they'll even email you the verses for that day's reading. See www.bibleplan.org.

My Sunday School class is currently following a reading plan that you might find helpful. It is New Testament plan in chronological order, meaning that instead of starting with Matthew 1, then all of Matthew, then Mark 1, etc. it starts with the earliest times in the new Testament, and proceeds in chronological order, skipping back and forth among the books. If you've never read the NT thsi way, it maybe an interesting change for you. You can download that reading plan from this link:
http://fs1.riscserver.com/~wklowe/Bible/Sunday School NT reading list.xls

It is in Microsoft Excel format. The dates won't be current but you can either a) ignore them, b) change them yourself, or c) if you aren't experienced with Excel, just email me and I'll change them and email it to you.

I've found that having a well defined plan that I've committed to makes it much easier for me to read the Bible consistantly. It is much harder to read it regularly if you are just picking it up and reading some random section. Try one of these reading plans, and if I can help you in any way, don't hesitate to ask!

An encouraging story about the good in people

A friend sent me the most interesting article - it is about a guy who has nothing to live for, and is close to suicide, and decides to do something crazy - ride a unicycle across the USA! The article was interesting to me, but to me it wasn't the unicycling, it is what he discovers about the people he meets along the way. There is also a hint (just a hint) of Luke 9:1-6 in there. It is fairly short - take a minute, check it out, and see that things aren't as bad as the media would have you believe:

http://www.unicycling.org/unicycling/tales/kcash.html

A Favorite Prayer

I first heard this prayer on my Walk to Emmaus (http://www.upperroom.org/emmaus) in the spring of 2003. I think it really speaks to the message that Jesus was trying to get people to understand. I go back and forth between the dispair of knowing that I don't live up to this and the hope (the certainty!) that Christ will help me live this more and more if I just ask Him. I hope this prayer means as much to you as it has to me.

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; and
where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
- Francis of Assisi