14 1-3 Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you.-MSG
6-8 Think, friends: If I come to you and all I do is pray privately to God in a way only he can understand, what are you going to get out of that? If I don’t address you plainly with some insight or truth or proclamation or teaching, what help am I to you? If musical instruments—flutes, say, or harps—aren’t played so that each note is distinct and in tune, how will anyone be able to catch the melody and enjoy the music? If the trumpet call can’t be distinguished, will anyone show up for the battle?
9-12 So if you speak in a way no one can understand, what’s the point of opening your mouth? There are many languages in the world and they all mean something to someone. But if I don’t understand the language, it’s not going to do me much good. It’s no different with you. Since you’re so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don’t you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?-MSG
1 Corinthians 14:13-17The Message (MSG)
13-17 So, when you pray in your private prayer language, don’t hoard the experience for yourself. Pray for the insight and ability to bring others into that intimacy. If I pray in tongues, my spirit prays but my mind lies fallow, and all that intelligence is wasted. So what’s the solution? The answer is simple enough. Do both. I should be spiritually free and expressive as I pray, but I should also be thoughtful and mindful as I pray. I should sing with my spirit, and sing with my mind. If you give a blessing using your private prayer language, which no one else understands, how can some outsider who has just shown up and has no idea what’s going on know when to say “Amen”? Your blessing might be beautiful, but you have very effectively cut that person out of it.
"Be courteous and considerate in everything."-1 Cor.14:40-(MSG)
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1 Corinthians 14:1New International Version (NIV)
Intelligibility in Worship
14 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.
1 Corinthians 14:7-9New International Version (NIV)
7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.-NIV
1 Corinthians 14:40New International Version (NIV)
40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
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1 Corinthians 13 (AKA The Love Chapter) has always been my favorite chapter in the Bible since I was a teenager but I really didn't think about Chapter 14 until here lately. It makes a lot of sense to come after Chapter 13 and I am getting to love that chapter too. It is telling us what Love really is and how we should really use it. For those of you, who don't know 1 Corinthians 13, it explains what Love really is so therefore, it explains who God really is because He is Love.
I found the first verse in the 14th chapter in a devo. this week and it just really caught my attention. I will admit, I have had some times and especially here lately, that I have had some hard times loving the people around. We are get that way. We are don't understand so we get mad at them or we don't like what they are doing or thinking so we don't act like we should. The first verse got to me because it says, "to follow love" and I got to thinking what does that mean. You could perfectly change that to "follow God". That is where my mind went right after I read it. I'm not treating this person like I really should. They deserve a better attitude from me.
I thought, "if I really love them in Christ like I should then I need to follow love and that means act like Chapter 13, a chapter that I have read over and over in my life, out in my life towards them. I need to be patience, understanding, not boasting, not self- seeking, keeps no records of wrong, and so on. I DO NEED TO protect, trust, hope, and persevere. Love never fails. Love is the great of all things that you can do for people especially your family and friends and the people around you. Then after I read that verse, I started to scan the whole chapter of 14 and I found some other good verses that goes right a long with what I'm learning and need to be doing.
Not only do I need to follow love in my actions but I also need to speak it. Just to put this in here, i love how the Message titles chapter 14: The Prayer Language and it is all about love. That should tell us something to start with. We should pray in Love towards everything and everyone. I also love the verses 9-12, give or take a few verses. It says "if no one can understand what you are saying, then why talk to them". There are some many languages around the world but the one that is always understood is Love. If you speak words and people can't understand it won't do either of you much good.
If you are so eager to participate in what God is doing then why not do it in love where everyone can understand everything. When you pray and after you are done praying, don't keep it dot yourself if God as done something for you. Pray for the insight and the ability to bring people into the intimacy with you. To tell them about your Godly experience or just any experience for that matter. If you don't do that, then your prayers and your wisdom is wasted on that is what the Bible says anyways. You can be expressive and spiritual when you pray but keep in mind not to bring glory to yourself.
Also, be thoughtful and mindful of those around you. You might get a blessing that is beautiful but what good is it if you cut people out of your blessing. Your blessing will just sit empty when it is meant to be shared. The last thing that I want to share with you is this and it is from verse 40 of chapter 14. It says: "But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way". To me, this is what that means: Everything should be done with Prayer and then Love. You should act upon it and if that doesn't work speak it". It also shows us, especially in these chapters that God does things in order for a reason in our lives.
We might not understand it right away or when it happens but as I keep reminding myself: "There is a reason for everything that is happening in my life. God is just growing me closer to Him. He Loves me that much." God does things in a fitting and orderly way because He knows what is best for our lives. Life is order, when we think about it. I mean we are born and we die. We go to school K-12. We learn things at different stages at life. There is a certain developmental way for children to grow up. Everything has to have an order that is fitting for them or it. We just have to notice what our order is because God has a special order that is fitting to each of us.
All this to say: Follow Christ in Love and live a life of prayer. To me, those are the two main ideas, besides the cross, that Christianity is all about but yet Jesus dieing on the cross for us was to show how much He Loved us. I challenge everyone to read all of the 14th chapter to get the full idea about how we should pray and love. If you want to go on, I even challenge you the read the Love Chapter (Chapter 13). God used something that I read over and over in my life and just expanded it to the next chapter and He can do that for you too.
I will also warn you all that the next few entries will be about prayer and love because that is something that God has laid on my heart in a strange way lately.
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