Joy is not merely a fleeting emotion dependent on circumstances; it is a deep-seated comfort and confidence that comes from knowing God is sovereign. This joy is a conscious choice we can make each day, an attitude we can cultivate by focusing on His faithfulness. It is a fruit of the Spirit that remains even when smiles are hard to find. Choosing joy is an act of trust in the One who holds all things together. [28:48]
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Philippians 4:4-5 (NIV)
Reflection: What circumstance or worry is currently tempting you to choose anxiety over joy? How might intentionally remembering God's sovereign control change your perspective on that situation today?
The world offers many substitutes for love, but only God's agape love can truly fulfill the void within every human heart. This unconditional, divine love is the essence of God's character and the greatest virtue. Without this love as our foundation and motivation, even the most impressive spiritual activities are meaningless noise. Everything else may fade, but love remains forever. [40:55]
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)
Reflection: In your current service or ministry, whether at home, work, or church, what is your primary motivation? Is it driven by a desire to express God's agape love, or by something else, like recognition or routine?
Genuine love is often best understood by what it excludes from our lives and relationships. It refuses to be envious, boastful, proud, or self-seeking. It consciously chooses not to dishonor others, become easily angered, or keep a record of wrongs. By removing these barriers, we create space for God's pure love to flow through us to others. [44:11]
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NIV)
Reflection: Which item from the "what love is not" list do you find most challenging to live out in your key relationships? What is one practical step you could take this week to rely on God's strength in that area?
True love is characterized by active commitment, not passive feeling. It always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. These "always" actions require intentionality and perseverance, especially when relationships become difficult. This steadfast commitment reflects the faithful, unwavering nature of God's own love for us, which never gives up. [54:38]
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV)
Reflection: Where in your life are you tempted to give up on persevering in love—perhaps in a difficult relationship, a long-term prayer, or a challenging ministry? How can you draw on God's endless perseverance to continue?
God's agape love is the only thing that will last into eternity. Faith and hope, as essential as they are for our journey on earth, will ultimately be fulfilled when we see Christ face to face. But love will continue forever, as it is the very atmosphere of heaven. Aligning our lives with this eternal love gives our present actions lasting significance. [01:00:10]
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.
1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV)
Reflection: When you consider the eternal nature of love, how does it change the way you want to invest your time and energy today? What is one thing you can do that will have eternal value because it is rooted in love?
1 Corinthians 13 unfolds as a fierce corrective and a tender invitation: love, defined as agape, must govern every act of faith, hope, and ministry. The passage opens with a stark warning that spiritual gifts and outward ministries become mere noise without love. Love then receives a concrete portrait—patient, kind, free from envy, boastfulness, pride, dishonor, selfish ambition, quick anger, and record-keeping of wrongs. These negatives sharpen the positive portrait: love delights in truth, protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. The counsel insists that love does not celebrate another’s fall but responds in ways that reflect God’s character.
Practical illustrations press the point into everyday life. Simple anecdotes about choosing joy, handmade tokens, and the messiness of relationships show how agape appears in ordinary moments. Comparisons among Greek words for love—eros, philia, storge, and agape—clarify that the beloved biblical love is not primarily romantic, friendly, or familial; it is a self-giving, steadfast commitment that roots identity in God’s character. The text confronts common church failures—envy, one-upmanship, gossip, and shallow programs—arguing that ministries without agape become empty clanging symbols.
A pastoral ethic emerges that pairs grace with boundary: genuine love forgives and forgets, yet it disciplines when necessary because protection sometimes requires correction. Love’s endurance matters most; it always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. The ultimate frame places faith and hope as temporal commitments that point toward fulfillment, while love remains the eternal hallmark of God’s presence. When completeness arrives and believers stand face to face with God, only love endures.
The final summons invites self-examination and intentional practice: try on agape in daily choices, measure ministries by how they reflect God’s love, confess and repair relational failures, and pursue a love that outlasts all other spiritual achievements. Love never fails—not as permissive softness but as a covenantal power that transforms correction into restoration and duty into devotion.
The girls who come to our our campus often have no trust at all. They don't know who to trust. They don't even know what trust looks like. And before they develop a relationship with a counselor or anything else, the first thing that they develop a trust relationship is with a horse. And they stand with this horse with a brush, and they brush that horse. Most of them are afraid of that horse, they're from the city, it's a huge thing, they're afraid it's gonna squash them, and yet they brush that horse. And they begin to develop a trust for that horse as the horse develops a trust for them. We need to be trustworthy. We need to trust.
[00:53:25]
(47 seconds)
#HealingThroughHorses
Love does not delight in evil. We do not get excited when something bad happens to somebody else or when somebody puts that said person that we don't like in their place, we don't go, yeah, Way to go. That is not the way that we work. That is not the way that God intends us to be. He wants to infiltrate us completely with his love. He wants us to understand his love, to be bearers of his love to a world that so terribly needs to see examples of love.
[00:49:10]
(43 seconds)
#LoveOverVindictiveness
Don't be envious of somebody else. Don't be ugly. Don't talk trash. There is no space for it in the kingdom of God. Because in the presence of love, when all is said and done and we are in the glorious presence of our savior, faith and hope will be gone. But what will be left is love, and if we are not in tune with it, we will not be able to exist.
[00:45:26]
(34 seconds)
#NoRoomForEnvy
Because see, we hope for a future with God, with Christ. We have faith that Christ is doing what he says he's doing, but when we are in his presence, those two things have been fulfilled. And now, we live in the presence of love for eternity. And if you are living in dissonance with it, it is not where you will be.
[01:00:03]
(28 seconds)
#LivingInLove
When it talks about when completeness comes, when we are in the presence of God, when we see God face to face, we get to see him as he really is. That is when the world has passed away. Then comes verse 13. It says this, and now these three remain. For right now, in this life, this temporal world that we still live in, these things remain, faith, hope, and love.
[00:59:15]
(34 seconds)
#FaithHopeLoveEndure
Take a moment to look at love. Try it on. See how it looks because I'm gonna tell you, it's like we talked yesterday, like the the, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It's an old movie if you haven't seen it, But those pants fit each girl just perfect. Love will fit you perfectly. It will adorn you in a way that you will never be adorned because it is perfect.
[01:00:31]
(31 seconds)
#LoveFitsPerfectly
But love never fails. Just because I have to say, no, you cannot do that, or no, that is not love, or no, that is not a behavior we accept, does not mean I don't love you. As a matter of fact, it shows my love.
[00:56:35]
(18 seconds)
#BoundariesAreLove
We have to take it all in. So he starts out saying that love is patient and love is kind. And I think in his mind, he's like, listen, you guys, I need to make sure you really understand what love is. And so to tell you what love is, I am going to actually tell you what love is not. That is a negative description to define something. It's a negative definition. So I'm gonna tell you what it's not so that you'll understand what it is because what I'm seeing and hearing is there's a lot of the nots going on in Corinth Corinth right now. I want you to listen to these.
[00:43:09]
(38 seconds)
#KnowWhatLoveIsNot
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