Devotions with Pastor Michael and an Update

Dear Church Family:​

1 Corinthians 13:4 — Love is patient.

Have you ever wondered why Paul places patience at the top of the list when describing love?  Maybe you don’t even notice it.  But it comes prior to being kind or forgiving.  Why is patience the first word Paul uses to describe love?

What’s very interesting is the Greek word Paul uses here for patience is a descriptive one.  It figuratively means “taking a long time to boil.”  Think about a pot of boiling water.  What factors determine the speed at which it boils?  The size of the stove?  No.  The pot?  The pot may have an influence, but the primary factor is the intensity of the flame.  Water boils quickly when the flame is high.  It boils slowly when the flame is low.  Patience, then, “keeps the burner down.”

That’s a helpful clarification, don’t you think?  Patience isn’t naive.  It doesn’t ignore misbehavior.  It just keeps the flame low.  It waits.  It listens.  It’s slow to boil.  This is how God treats us.  And, according to Jesus, this is how we should treat others.

-Pastor Michael

Update:
There will be a memorial service via YouTube on Thursday at 2:00 PM for Arliss Hartmann.  

Here is the link:
 https://youtu.be/4t9PsGlSDZc