Day 232 Bible Readings – 1 Corinthians 14: 3-4 (ESV)

2 Chronicles 10-12, 1 Corinthians 141: 1-19, Psalm 119: 105-112

1 Corinthians 14: 3-4 (ESV)

“On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.”

Verses 3 and 4 from 1 Corinthians 14 shows Paul talking about the differences between the people who can prophesy and those can speak in tongues. If you have the gift of speaking in tongues, you are speaking to God and building yourself up in your relationship with God. If you have the gift of being able to prophesy, you build the church up and encourage and console other people.

I did not think I had the gift of speaking in tongues, but I had some friends pray for me and I received this gift. It’s a new thing for me and I’m not even sure I’m doing it right, but I do understand what Paul means when this gift builds you up. When I speak in tongues I speak to God, and I am assuming he knows what I’m saying and what is in my heart.

I’ve been in services where people burst out prophesying, and whatever they say is always to specific people or about the church. For people, it’s almost all the time words of encouragement for their life, their afflictions, or whatever they are going through at the time. For the church, it’s always about what the church needs to focus on and what people need to do to get closer to God. I love the spontaneity of people who prophesy. It feels as if the words are flowing out of the person uncontrollably, and sometimes looks like the person doesn’t even know what they are saying. It’s an amazing phenomenon and I feel blessed whenever I am a witness to this kind of event.

If have a spiritual gift, do not be afraid of it. Cultivate it because whatever your spiritual gift is, God gave it to you to serve him and his plan in the world.

Day 231 Bible Readings – 1 Corinthians 13: 13 (ESV)

Song of Solomon 5-8, 1 Corinthians 13, Psalm 119: 97-104

1 Corinthians 13: 13 (ESV)

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Verse 13 from 1 Corinthians 13 show what Bible commentaries have said are the three things that people of faith need to pursue. We need to have faith in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We need to cultivate hope in the coming of Jesus Christ, hope for God’s justice in our world, and hope our prayers are answered. We also need to always look for the love in our relationship with other people and treat them with love as God has treated us with love. But when we are with God in his kingdom after our death, we will always have love with God and with other people of faith. I think that’s why Paul said love is the greatest thing to focus on for people of faith. We will always be pursuing love when we are on earth, and we will have God’s love for eternity when we are with him in his kingdom.

It sounds easy, doesn’t it? Just focus on love. But I know for myself that to always act in a loving way towards other people is hard. And depending on your family, showing love towards them could be harder. But if we look to how Jesus treated people, we have our role model. Jesus was kind to everyone include the sick, the oppressed, and unloved by society. The behavior of Christ towards humanity was always loving, including his final sacrifice of dying on the cross for our sins. If we think of how much Christ sacrificed for us, we know the acts of kindness and love we show towards other people will never equal what Christ did for us by dying on the cross. Whatever we do will never compare to Christ, but it may give us the courage and inspiration to try harder to be more loving towards our family and other people.

Day 230 Bible Readings – Psalm 119: 92-93 (ESV)

Song of Solomon 1-4, 1 Corinthians 12: 27-31, Psalm 119: 89-96

Psalm 119: 92-93 (ESV)

“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.”

Verses 92 and 93 from Psalm 119 shows us that the Psalmist knew that without knowledge of the words in the Bible, people of faith would perish in their season of affliction. The Psalmist tells us that the words of God in the Bible has given him life, and he will never forget them. This is my hope for my yearly journey of reading the Bible in a year daily – that the word of God is always fresh in my mind no matter what kind of season it is for me. If it’s a good season, I can praise God in my reading of the Bible. If it’s a season of affliction, the Bible helps me to keep focused on God and remember his promises to his followers that have always bene fulfilled. And even on just blah days where nothing good or bad is going on in my life, reading the Bible helps me to deepen my relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Day 229 Bible Readings – 1 Corinthians 12: 4-7 (ESV)

2 Chronicles 7-9, 1 Corinthians 12: 1-26, Psalm 119: 81-88

1 Corinthians 12: 4-7 (ESV)

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, bu.t it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Verses 4 through 7 from 1 Corinthians 12 are probably one of Paul’s most talked about verses. Paul tells the Church of Corinth that everyone has gifts from the Holy Spirit, but we don’t all have the same gifts. Everyone has different gifts, and they all come from God, and are manifestations of the Holy Spirit. God has a plan for each of us and has given us gifts so we can carry out his plans. I know for myself that I find myself often envious of people who can sing or play an instrument well. I can sing, but I’m not a great singer. I learned to play a few instruments as a child, but not enough where I could entertain people with my playing. From what I can tell and what people have told me all my life is I’m smart and my writing is good. I never considered my smarts as a gift from God, because I’ve always been smart even as a child. It seemed to just be the way I was born, although it didn’t seem to manifest until the third grade. I was told when I was in 4^th grade that I had the reading level of an 18-year-old. In elementary school, poems or stories that I wrote were submitted by my teachers to our local paper. But these talents weren’t celebrated by my friends, so I didn’t consider them gifts. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized my smarts and writing skills were gifts from God, only because I became very aware that other people couldn’t do what was very easy and natural for me.

I think if you are a person of faith, you owe it God to find out what your gifts are and celebrate them. God has use for all of us. We are like puzzle pieces in God’s plan, and I think it’s our duty as people of faith to celebrate our gifts so we can find out how we can best serve God.