“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

While these verses are often read at weddings and applied to romantic relationships, Paul is actually writing to a much larger situation. This chapter is written to a church struggling with internal conflict and division, a gifted, talented, blessed church that can’t seem to work together. This passage defines what love is meant to look like between any two Christians, particularly any two church members.

Obviously, Paul wouldn’t need to write these words if there weren’t going to be problems between Christians from time to time. We wouldn’t need to be patient, kind, humble, calm, long-suffering, and enduring toward one another if it weren’t a given that from time to time we will try each other’s patience, gentleness, and endurance! We’re all frail creatures of dust and there will always be interpersonal challenges within any body of believers until Christ returns.

Rather than shun other believers or walk away from the body of Christ (the church), we must choose to love like Paul describes here! When our brothers and sisters in Christ try our patience and take advantage of our kindness, we must choose to love them patiently, kindly, humbly, unselfishly, calmly, truthfully, and enduringly.

This is an incredibly hard task, isn’t it? However, it’s one that’s possible because Jesus already, and always, loves us this way. Despite all our sins, mistakes, goof-ups, and implosions, Jesus still loves us in exactly this way. His Spirit within us empowers us to love our brothers and sisters like this, even when we desperately want to respond in a different way. Choose to love others like Jesus, no matter how you feel about them!

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.'” – 1 Corinthians 12:21

God has blessed every Christian with a unique combination of gifts, skills, experiences, and talents. He does this specifically so we’ll weave our lives together with those of other believers to create local churches containing every gift, skill, and talent needed to proclaim Jesus, make disciples, and minister in this lost and hurting world as one united body.

We must choose to weave our lives into those of other believers or else we’re like those impossible body parts Paul mentions in this verse, dismissing others parts as unnecessary. It’s absolutely essential for every Christian to be actively serving within a local church. When we don’t serve we miss out an essential part of God’s calling on our lives. We also leave the bride of Christ lacking in some necessary area.

It’s also absolutely essential that we value the gifts, talents, skills, and experiences of other believers, no matter how different they may be from our gifts, talents, skills, and experiences. It’s natural to believe our gifts and passions are the most important, but they’re all necessary. That’s exactly why God made each Christian as He did — so that in every church, large or small, there will be people passionate and prepared for all the needed functions of Christ’s body, the church.

Take time to reflect on your own connection to a local church. Are you well integrated? Are you putting your gifts, skills, and talents to work as an eager eye or fantastic foot? If not, you need to carefully consider your situation in light of the Bible’s clear teaching – no Christian can or should go it alone!

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 11:1

For all the theological complexities, marvels, and wonders of our faith, the question of how we should live can be answered pretty simply! Imitate Paul who imitated Jesus. In other words, imitate Jesus.

It’s as simple as that. Act like Jesus. Talk like Jesus. Think like Jesus. Don’t just ask what would Jesus do, DO what Jesus would do. Always. No need to overthink it.

You’ll mess up sometimes. It’s inevitable. When you do, there’s always grace freely available from God to cover your sin when you confess it to Him and ask forgiveness. Learn to live in God’s Spirit and mess up less and less over time. Imitate Jesus more and more, better and better.

Imitate Jesus. It’s as simple as that!

“Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?”
– Psalm 85:6

Revival is a quickening of our spirit and a renewal of our love and zeal for God. It takes us from lukewarm faith and limited obedience to blazing hot love and imitation of Christ. Revival shakes the people of God out of the spiritual sleepwalking that easily overtakes us in the busyness of life. Revival is a work of God and is desperately needed in churches throughout this land!

When revival breaks out, the people of God burn with a love for God and His Kingdom that’s almost unimaginable from the perspective of our ordinary lives. Suddenly the restraints we feel regarding what looks respectable and feels safe fall away and we’re ready to simply praise, worship, and serve the Lord. We see God as truly greater than all the other good things that fill our lives.

Let us pray for revival! Pray for God to move the hearts and souls of His people to renewed rejoicing in the Lord, to profound worship, and to powerful evangelism that flows out of joy. Pray for a movement of God’s Spirit to refine those within His churches and to awaken those outside His church. If you’re not currently feeling the deep and endless joy of the Lord, pray too for your personal revival, that you may rejoice in the Lord!

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” – 1 Corinthians 10:13

Ah, temptation. It happens to all of us! Every person experiences temptation. Our temptations may change over time but we’ll never be entirely free of the Devil’s work this side of heaven. However, if you’re a Christian, you have everything you need to resist temptation every temptation. The Devil literally can’t make you do anything, so don’t bother making that lame excuse!

In this life, you’ll experience temptation, but in Christ you have the power you need to resist or flee. The critical question is will you? God doesn’t want His people giving in to temptation, so He empowers us to avoid falling into sin and ALWAYS provides a way out of even the most powerful temptation. The challenge for our stubborn pride is that the way out can be terribly embarrassing.

In the Old Testament, Joseph fled temptation and lost most of his clothes in the process. It wasn’t merely embarrassing, but resulted in his suffering a great injustice. Nonetheless, God was glorified and used Joseph mightily because of His proven faithfulness. Pursuing holiness and resisting temptation might be inconvenient, embarrassing, or costly, but it’s SO worth it!

Resisting temptation isn’t just about gritting our teeth and suffering silently. It often requires fleeing, sometimes publicly and in a humiliating fashion. When you next battle powerful temptation will you take God’s offered way of escape for the sake of His holiness?