Dear friends,
Our “baby” is celebrating her 21st birthday in Israel! Bethany, our youngest child, is on a mission trip to Israel with International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem. You can read her blog at: www.bethanyisrael2016.wordpress.com
I did something on Tuesday that I don’t remember doing for a long time. Either I don’t have as sharp a memory as I once did or it really has been a long time since I read an entire book in one day. “Dropping Your Guard” by Charles Swindoll is a penetrating look at relationships, using many pertinent references from Scripture to help the reader see what the Lord desires in His children.
In a chapter entitled “Authentic Love,” Pastor Swindoll summarizes the fifteen expressions of love in 1 Corinthians 13 as follows:
“I accept you as you are.”
“I believe you are valuable.”
“l care when you hurt.”
“I desire only what is best for you.”
“I erase all offenses.”
“I believe you are valuable.”
“l care when you hurt.”
“I desire only what is best for you.”
“I erase all offenses.”
I remember my grandmother saying that 1 Corinthians 13 was her favourite part of the Bible. As I grew in my spiritual walk, I learned more about God’s love and continue to do so. Thank you for your faithful prayers for Karen and me, as well as our family. We are in the midst of a very challenging time, which reminds me of what George Verwer told the Operation Mobilization teams: “Life, at its best, is filled with disappointments.” I think he was quoting Billy Graham, who is now 97 years old and a tremendous inspiration to many.
So, the next time you hear the “love passage” quoted by a pastor at a wedding, don’t think to yourself “Not again” … instead thank God for His love and all of the blessings that He bestows on us.
Scripture for the weekend: “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” 3 John 11 (ESV)
Thought for the weekend: “Every congregation has a choice to be one of two things. You can choose to be a bag of marbles, single units that don’t affect each other except in collision. On Sunday morning you can choose to go to church or to sleep in: who really cares whether there are 192 or 193 marbles in a bag? Or you can choose to be a bag of grapes. The juices begin to mingle, and there is no way to extricate yourselves if you tried. Each is part of all. Part of the fragrance. Part of the ‘stuff’.” – Anne Ortlund (from her book “Up With Worship”)
By His grace,
Steve