Love Is

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

Love is

patient

Love is

kind

and is not jealous;

Love does not:

brag

and is not arrogant,

does not act unbecomingly;

it does not seek its own,

is not provoked,

doe not take into account a wrong suffered,

does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth;

bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.

Love never fails."

-1 Corinthians 13:1-8a

May we be found living out of the perfect love for the Lord to those around us. May we show them the wonderful love that He has bestowed upon us. May this fruit of the Holy Spirit be found in our lives in abundance.

Rest in His Peace

Have you ever been really tired? Can you recall that feeling of pure exhaustion when you would so love to give up and forget about everything else? I think a lot of times we can feel like that in our Spiritual life as well as our need for sleep in the physical sense.

God has been calling me to rest in Him this week, and all week I've been confused as to what that could mean. I didn't know how to rest in something that I couldn't physically rely on. Later in the week we sang the hymn "I Am Thine, O Lord" and the last verse has a line that reads, "There are heights of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with Thee." This struck me with the realization that I couldn't be completely joyful in Him if I wasn't resting in His peace. But how could one rest in peace?

One of the classes offered at the Association Free Lutheran Bible School (AFLBS) is Hebrews and James, and this week we were learning about rest. Crazy how God has a way of doing that, huh? The second section of Hebrews 3 speaks of "A Rest for the People of God", and chapter 4 opens with "Therefore, the promise of entering His rest still stands". That's a promise! Verses 15-16 say, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

God knows our struggles, He has been through everything that we have and is there with us even now. In that last verse God proclaims that we can confidently run to Him and He will give us His peace. Matthew 11:28 reaffirms that: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"

Are you resting in His peace? Give Him your every sorrow, trouble, need, everything. He is more than capable of handling any situation. Matthew 8 tells the story of the storm on the sea, which Pastor Michael Brandt spoke on at the Revival Conference last week. He stated, "Jesus created those waters, He's more than able to subdue them". Just let Him!

I pray that this would be an encouragement to you. Just rest.

Hey guys

College is a busy time. Between all the classes and other activities, things can get pretty hectic. One class in particular is taking a lot of my time right now. I’m taking organic chemistry this year. It’s a tough course that requires a lot of time and effort in order to have success. The amount of work that goes into it puts a lot of stress on a lot of people, so it got me wondering what the Bible says about stress. The verses are everywhere. One of my favorites includes Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” One thing that I really take out of this verse is how God is always there. The Bible doesn’t use words like “sometimes” and “maybe.” I love how it’s definite: “He will sustain you” and “He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” It’s incredibly comforting to know that he’s always got our backs. Another passage that I really liked, and one that I think of with every test coming up, is Philippians 4:6-7 -> “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The verse really says it all here, let God know about what’s troubling you and don’t worry about it, because God is going to take care of it.

Until next week,

Matt