Welcome to Love 40 days! If you joined us last year, welcome back, and if you're new here we are so pleased you are joining us...As we get going with Love 40 days, the best place for us to start - again - is taking a look at what the Bible has to say about love. Probably the best known passage from the Bible about love is 1 Corinthians 13. You may have heard this read at a wedding, although it is not just intended to describe the love shared between husband and wife. Paul wrote this letter to the whole church, because this is the love that Jesus was talking about when he commanded us to: love one another (John 13:34).
When we look at the words Paul uses we see that showing love is not just about extravagant displays or the warm and fuzzies, roses, chocolates or feeling on a high. Love is a challenge...
Today, as we start the Love 40 days journey, why don't you take time to read 1 Corinthians 13 below and pick out some words that might help you as an individual, couple or family to be truly loving? Why not try putting them somewhere you are going to see them every day to be a constant reminder - and see if God's word changes your heart over the next few weeks?
If I could speak all the languages of earth and angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 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. If I gave everything I have to thr poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not boastful, or proud, or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! [...] Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love.
Today, as we start the Love 40 days journey, why don't you take time to read 1 Corinthians 13 below and pick out some words that might help you as an individual, couple or family to be truly loving? Why not try putting them somewhere you are going to see them every day to be a constant reminder - and see if God's word changes your heart over the next few weeks?
If I could speak all the languages of earth and angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 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. If I gave everything I have to thr poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not boastful, or proud, or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! [...] Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love.
I realised Wednesday morning that I had forgotten to bring home a Love 40 Days pack for ourselves and was feeling a little disorganised. This year it will be different for us as our morning routine is much slicker, now both the children are at secondary school and they are out of the house much earlier, not so much time to sit, think and pray about Love 40 days.
ReplyDeleteWednesday was a special day as it was Jodie's birthday and she really blessed us! It had been on her mind (and heart) to "put others before herself" so she bought each of us a present to open before she received her own birthday presents. "Love others deeply. Honour others above yourselves." Romans 12 v 10. What a great start to Love 40 Days.
Beautiful!
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