love

1 Corinthians 13 

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

holding on

Psalm 27

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
    so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
    when my enemies and foes attack me,
    they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
    my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
    I will remain confident.

4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—
    the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
    delighting in the Lord’s perfections
    and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
    he will hide me in his sanctuary.
    He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
    above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
    singing and praising the Lord with music.

7 Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
    Be merciful and answer me!
8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
    And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
9 Do not turn your back on me.
    Do not reject your servant in anger.
    You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
    O God of my salvation!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
    the Lord will hold me close.

11 Teach me how to live, O Lord.
    Lead me along the right path,
    for my enemies are waiting for me.
12 Do not let me fall into their hands.
    For they accuse me of things I’ve never done;
    with every breath they threaten me with violence.
13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
    while I am here in the land of the living.

14 Wait patiently for the Lord.
    Be brave and courageous.
    Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

sheep & shepherds

Read these words of Jesus slowly.

There's so many layers here it's easy to not absorb them.

John 10 

1 “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! 2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

6 Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

patient endurance

Sorry, all I got is one of the passages I'm carrying thru 2019.

Maybe God will choose to use these 2 verses to speak to a situation or need in your heart today?



Don't throw away this confident trust in the Lord,

no matter what happens.

Remember the great reward it brings you.

Patient endurance is what you need now,

so you will continue to do God's will.

Then you will receive all that He has promised.

Hebrews 10:35-36

two3

1 

Psalm 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3     He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.

new life

Paul wrote this to the followers of Jesus in Colossae about livin' the life for Jesus...

Colossians 3

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, 

you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, 

kindness, 

humility, 

gentleness, 

and patience. 

13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, 

and forgive anyone who offends you. 

Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 

14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, 

which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 

15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. 

For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. 

And always be thankful.

16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. 

Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. 

Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 

17 And whatever you do or say, 

do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks through him to God the Father.

just read it

Colossians 2

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 

7 Let your roots grow down into him, 

and let your lives be built on him. 

Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, 

and you will overflow with thankfulness.

8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense 

that come from human thinking 

and from the spiritual powers of this world, 

rather than from Christ. 

9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 

10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, 

who is the head over every ruler and authority.

11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” 

but not by a physical procedure. 

Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 

12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. 

And with him you were raised to new life 

because you trusted the mighty power of God, 

who raised Christ from the dead.

13 You were dead because of your sins 

and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. 

Then God made you alive with Christ, 

for he forgave all our sins. 

14 He canceled the record of the charges against us 

and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 

15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. 

He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.