Devotion for Wed. 1/5/21 - 7 Minutes

Good evening everyone watching by video this evening,,, it's time for our weekly devotion.

Hopefully all of you are ready as we continue on into another new year,,, because its here whether we are ready or not.

As I've said the last several weeks,,, we need to remember those that are dealing with this virus.

Those that are sick,,, since there are many others dealing with this sickness as it continues to grow and,,, those that have lost loved ones,,, we need to continue to remember them as well.

Remember the medical teams that are dealing with this and any others that must work and take a chance of contacting this virus.

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Our devotion this evening comes from the book by David Jeremiah "Morning and Evening Devotions".

Our scripture will be divided with 1 Corinthians 13:6-7,,, being used for the beginning of the devotion and then Philippians 4:11,,, being used for the last half of the devotion,,, and I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

1 Corinthians 13:6-7 (HCSB) — 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Philippians 4:11 (HCSB) — 11 I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this evening.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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David Jeremiah used the scripture from 1 Corinthians 13:6-7 to title this part of his devotion,,, LOVE’S POWER.

And he said that,,, Love hopes all things.

Love that hopes has a confident expectation.

It is a definite, persistent, absolute truth.

There is no situation that divine love within us cannot face with full hope.

That’s what love is all about.

"Love hopes".

And,,, I've said it before,,, and I'm sure I'll say it many times in the future,,, but the "Hope" that we have here isn't something that might happen,,, like I hope it doesn't rain today,,, or I hope it's not too cold today!

No,,, the "hope we speak of here is definite and sure!

David Jeremiah goes on to say that,,, Hope is not refusing to face the truth.

Hope is having a confidence in God to see you through each difficult trial.

Jesus was always the epitome of truth,,, but He never failed to bring hope to others.

When He met the woman taken in adultery,,, He inspired her to hope again.

When He met the thief on the cross,,, Jesus made sure that man left this life with hope.

He told the story about the lost coin that was found,,, and the lost son who came home,,, and the lost sheep that was found.

Over and over again,,, what Jesus said in His messages was,,, “There’s hope!”

Though He was mocked,,, disbelieved,,, and crucified,,, He never doubted the glory that was yet to be,,, and He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him.

He had hope.

Love hangs on with tenacity when other hands let go in despair.

To hope when faith has been disappointed is a greater thing than to have believed the sure thing.

Now we come to the other part of the devotion that David Jeremiah used Philippians 4:11 as the scripture and he titled it "Love hopes all things. DEFINED BY CONTENTMENT".

Philippians 4:11 (HCSB) — 11 I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Then he used this illustration,,, two teardrops were floating down the river of life.

One teardrop asked the other, “Who are you?”

The second teardrop replied, “I am a teardrop from a girl who loved a man and lost him. But who are you?”

The first teardrop replied, “I am a teardrop from the girl who got him.”

He said,,, "That’s the way life goes, isn’t it?"

We cry over what we don’t have,,, not realizing that we might have cried twice as hard if we had obtained what we thought we just had to have!

One of the reasons the apostle Paul lived a life characterized by such joy and gratitude was because he had learned the secret of being content.

He was thankful for what he had and not sorry about what he didn’t have (Philippians 4:12).

Paul passed on that secret to his new converts.

While living in what they thought of,,, as the end of the age,,, he told the Corinthians to be content where they were.

He urged them not to be envious and try to gain what they didn’t have, because “the time is short” (1 Corinthians 7:29).

We live two thousand years later,,, so the time is even shorter today.

Learn to be content where you are and with what—and who—you have.

He said that,,, People who are content,,, live with a flexible cup; it expands or contracts,,, to fit what God has supplied.

Jeremiah, David . David Jeremiah Morning and Evening Devotions (pp. 10-11). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.