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Spiritual Sounding Board – This is your place to gather and share in an open format.
by Kathi
Newport, OR
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1 Corinthians 13
(1) And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
(2) If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
(3) If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
(4) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
(5) It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
(6) Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
(7) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
(8) Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
(9) For we know in part and we prophesy in part, (10) but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
(11) When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
(12) Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
(13) And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
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Feel free to join the discussion.
You can share your church struggles and concerns.
Let’s also use it as a time to encourage one another spiritually.
What have you found spiritually encouraging lately?
Do you have any special Bible verses to share, any YouTube songs that you have found uplifting?
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photo credit: Brian Bonham
Spiritual Sounding Board 
I was at a writing conference the past two days. The speaker in the track I took mentioned that 1 Cor. 13 is not so much the love chapter as the maturity chapter. He might be right, since Paul points to love as evidence of maturity in Christ by the end of that passage.
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I would agree with you, Tim. I think that the characteristics of love listed are mature responses.
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Some years ago a precious saint…
Taught me to use the written Word of God as…
A Prayer Manuel. 🙂
1 Corinthians 13
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,
and though I give my body to be burned,
and have not Love, it profits me nothing.
Love suffers long, and is kind; Love does not envy;
Love does not boast, Love is not puffed up,
Love does not behave itself unseemly,
Love keeps no record of wrongs,
Love is not easily provoked, Love thinks no evil;
Love Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
Love bears all things, believes all things,
Love hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails:
Well – If love never fails, then God never fails, because God is Love. Yes?
What happens when we replace the word Love in 1 Corinthians 13 with Jesus. Can WE, His Sheep, His Ekklesia, start to see and understand something of the nature of God?
Jesus suffers long, and is kind; Jesus does not envy;
Jesus does not boast, Jesus is not puffed up,
Jesus does not behave unseemly,
Jesus keeps no record of wrongs,
Jesus is not easily provoked, Jesus thinks no evil;
Jesus Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
Jesus bears all things, believes all things,
Jesus hopes all things, endures all things.
Jesus never fails:
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Then look at what God does. God creates man in his own image.
Don’t you just wonder sometimes?
And God said,
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…
So God created man in his own image…
In the image of God… created he them.
So, now we’ens are created in the image of God. That’s right, little ol us’ens. In the image of God. Not our mother’s image and not our father’s image, but in the image of God. Do we’ens ever think about that side of our history? Our geneology? Do we’ens trace our genealogy back to God? Do we’ens sheepies believe God?
That does seem difficult to comprehend seeing how some people behave. But, hopefully, WE, His Sheep, can start to see and understand something of the nature of God that is really in we’ens. Christ in you the hope of Glory…
As an exercise reread 1 Corinthians 13 and replace the word Love with the name of someone who is made in the image of God. In the image of LOVE.
Here you have an opportunity to believe that God knew what he was doing when He made you. When He created you in his image.
In the image of LOVE… created he them.
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Let’s see what happens when we replace the word Love in 1 Corinthians 13 with the name of someone who is made in the image of God. In the image of Love.
Kathi suffers long, and is kind; Kathi does not envy;
Kathi does not boast, Kathi is not puffed up,
Kathi does not behave unseemly,
Kathi keeps no record of wrongs,
Kathi is not easily provoked, Kathi thinks no evil;
Kathi Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
Kathi bears all things, believes all things,
Kathi hopes all things, endures all things.
Kathi never fails:
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Let’s see what happens when we replace the word Love in 1 Corinthians 13 with the name of someone who is made in the image of God. In the image of Love.
Tim suffers long, and is kind; Tim does not envy;
Tim does not boast, Tim is not puffed up,
Tim does not behave unseemly,
Tim keeps no record of wrongs,
Tim is not easily provoked, Tim thinks no evil;
Tim Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
Tim bears all things, believes all things,
Tim hopes all things, endures all things.
Tim never fails:
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Kathi,
Great choices. I had never through of 1 Cor 13 being about maturity, but it makes sense. We can’t truly love without maturity. Good song by Lionel Richie. I had no idea that he did any gospel music. He’s got the voice for it. Great song.
I want to live in that picture.
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Brenda, I didn’t know The Commodores did gospel either! I just remember, “Brick House”. A tribute to big breasts! 🙂 I appreciate all the comments about the Corinthians verse. How quickly people see maturity as success and knowledge. But love, not so much. Mature love is not so easy as people would have you believe!
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Ann,
I was trying to remember what they did sing and went blank for a while. Then a few tunes came to mind that I liked: Lady, 3 Times a Lady, Sail On. lol I never really thought about what “Brick House” was about. I knew the woman in question must have been built well, but never thought about it being just one part of the anatomy. It was a catchy tune though and I would rate it well for dance music.
Loving everyone is not easy. I have been told that love is a choice not a feeling. I think it is both depending on who we’re talking about. There are people that I feel quite uncomfortable being around. But then I ask myself if they needed CPR would I pretend that I didn’t notice and walk away. No, I couldn’t do that. I would try my best with the CPR and call 911. Now when we get to the part of dying for them–that I am not as sure about. My children yes, acquaintances or people that I am uncomfortable being around–that is questionable. I know that Jesus gave His life for everyone, even those that mocked and killed Him.
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