Tag: 1 Corinthians

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No One is Beyond My Reach

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) …Love…never gives up…

Beloved, no one is beyond redemption. No one is beyond My reach. Regardless of the severity of circumstance, refuse to give up and write someone off. Always persist in prayer, steadfastly prophesying truth – My truth – over a person and situation. Nothing is too hard for Me.

Love without reserve. Love without hesitation. Love without thought of protecting your heart from disappointment. Let Me protect and heal you as you reflect My love. And in those moments when your heart feels the sting of disappointment (and sometimes that sting is a crushing blow), know you are feeling what I have felt, and seek to identify with Me and know Me more. My love will see you through. Continue reading “No One is Beyond My Reach”

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Refuse to Give Up

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) …Love never takes failure as defeat…

Beloved, there will be times when those you love will stumble and may even fall, refuse to accept these set backs as permanent shifts, but rather as momentary hiccups. Press on ahead, continuing believing and encouraging them to believe, to refuse to give up, to refuse to lose hope.

Each step and every stumble will ultimately be used for good for I use all things for good. I AM a miracle working God – never underestimate My ability to move in a situation, circumstance, or heart. Continue to lift those you love (and even those you don’t) in prayer. Ask Me to move on their behalf, contend for the miraculous – for I AM able.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honor. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong. Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up. Love never stops loving. It extends beyond the gift of prophecy, which eventually fades away. It is more enduring than tongues, which will one day fall silent. Love remains long after words of knowledge are forgotten.

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Steadfastly Believe the Best

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) …Love…never stops believing the best for others…

Beloved, continually believing the best of those around you in the face of evidence to the contrary doesn’t make you gullible or foolish, it makes you hope-filled. Catch My vision of who each individual is and hold fast to that knowledge, refusing to be swayed into believing something different.

Align with My heart for them and operate from an expectation of that good. Prophesy and call it forth. Pray for them that it might be manifest. And through it all love them, extend grace to them, and steadfastly believe the best of them. Continue reading “Steadfastly Believe the Best”

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Mirror My Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) …Love is a safe place of shelter…

Beloved, love is a place of safety, a shelter in the storm. I AM your strong tower, a place of refuge for you. But you, who are made in My image, can also provide a safe haven. Allow your love to create a place for a soul-weary exhale, just as Mine is for you. Provide a place free from judgment and criticism, a place filled with understanding and support.

Love can even speak hard truths without creating a need to be on guard because it does so from a place of humility, one that assumes the best and clearly sees the heart of who someone is and was created to be.

Cherish the safe places in your life, beloved. See them for the blessing they are and respond in kind. Be My heart and mirror My love. Continue reading “Mirror My Love”

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Reflect the Son Brightly

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) …Love… finds no delight in what is wrong…

Beloved, the world would have you believe that doing what is right is boring. It paints sin as lush and exciting – experiences meant to indulge in and enjoy. But beloved, the world doesn’t have your best interests at heart nor is it accurately accounting the truth.

One could paint touching a hot stove as exciting and an act of freedom, but without acknowledging the resulting burn and the amount of painful time spent healing (the momentary “positive” act of freedom weighed against the lengthy negative), the truth is not being reflected.

By painting sin as fun, joyous, and exciting, others are drawn into the trap. Refuse to bring others into bondage or needless pain by delighting in that which is evil.

Choose instead to walk in a manner that aligns with My word knowing it is the path of light. True joy and fulfillment are there. And any hardships along that path are for your benefit, to grow and be refined. You are a child of the day, so walk in the light and reflect the Son brightly. Continue reading “Reflect the Son Brightly”

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Love as You Have Been Loved

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) …Love joyfully celebrates honesty…

Beloved, rejoice in what is good. Celebrate integrity. Encourage those around you to walk in what pleases Me and is righteous, not out of some legalistic sense of morality or a sense of superiority resulting from your view of your personal behavior, but birthed from a desire to honor and bless Me and for all people to be blessed by walking in a way that aligns with My word.

Lead by example. Rather than trying to drag someone who is intent on doing wrong kicking and screaming from the shadows, simply shine your light unapologetically and allow the beauty of its rays to draw others to its warmth. Shine, beloved. Love as you have been loved. Continue reading “Love as You Have Been Loved”

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Character Building

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) Love is not… quick to take offense…

Beloved, I AM slow to anger and rich in mercy, my grace knows no bounds; and you were crafted in My image. Refuse to allow your flesh to mandate your responses. Refuse to indulge pride or self-righteousness. Instead be steadfast in humility, grace, and compassion, allowing the fruit of My Spirit to be manifest in your walk as you submit your character to the fiery trials of testing.

Remember, beloved, My Spirit is at work in each of you. It isn’t your job to ensure someone learns a particular lesson, that role is Mine. Leave it to Me, knowing if I desire your assistance, it will never be when you’re operating in the flesh, so persist in dying to it daily that the beauty of Me in you might shine brighter day after day. Continue reading “Character Building”

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No Toehold

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) …Love is not easily irritated…

Beloved, purpose to walk in humility, grace, and compassion. Let little annoyances and inconveniences roll off your back without effect. Refuse to give them credence or room to have impact.

Be so thoroughly saturated in My love that pesky things don’t even annoy. Be so filled with My joy that nothing can steal it. Have your eyes so full of Me and My vision that everything else is put in proper proportion. Refuse to give a toehold for the enemy to leverage; nor allow pride, thoughtlessness, or foolishness to injure any relationship. Continue reading “No Toehold”

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Identity Rooted in Truth

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) …Love does not…selfishly seek its own honor…

Beloved, you do not need to seek recognition for yourself nor strive to convince others of your value, either they will get it or not and neither is a reflection on your true value, but rather a commentary on their perception.

Who you are is rooted in truth and unchangeable, not subject to the fickle feelings of man. I AM the one who has designed you and created you for a purpose. I see every action you take, nothing is below My notice. I see and I recognize even when no one else seems to, and in the end I AM all that matters. Seek My pleasure and trust My perception. Continue reading “Identity Rooted in Truth”

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Respect Everyone as You Respect Me

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TPT) …Love does not… disrespect…

Beloved, give respect at all times in deference to Me. It honors Me when you treat the lowly, crass, or undeserving with respect. It calls to the hope I’ve placed within them, helping show them who they truly are. Each person is important to Me, by treating them with respect – deserved or not – it acknowledges that truth, which has a more powerful impact than you could imagine.

When you are disrespectful it speaks to the nature of your character, not the one you’re addressing. So see with My eyes and operate with My heart – call to their higher sense of right, regardless of circumstance or their response to you. Respect everyone as you respect Me. Continue reading “Respect Everyone as You Respect Me”