21 Days in 2024
FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE
"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).
When a quality or characteristic abides in us it means that when everything else in our life has ceased to matter or help, these values remain powerfully effective. Faith is one such quality. Nothing new would be established in our lives or society without a certain amount of faith playing a role in it. The things we only imagine now would never become a tangible, visible reality for us without faith.
But faith is not a stand alone quality. It functions best when combined with hope and love. In our Christian journey, so much emphasis is place on the things we believe that we could forget, or at least neglect, other qualities that are just as valuable to knowing God and transforming our lives.
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).
Hope positions us for breakthrough because, in life, a hopeful attitude will always be the first thing to confront our adversity. Hope is like spiritual immunity. The diseases of the soul; fear, defeat, bitterness and hatred, work hard to erode our hope. Once hope is gone we lose sight of the way out of our problems and difficult situations. It is hope that keeps us moving forward in life allowing faith time to develop in us.
“Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen” (Hebrews 11:1 TPT).
The combination of faith and hope is a powerful duo. So many of the things we face in life are overcome by strong faith and abundant hope. But the Bible credits love as the greatest quality, the overarching champion for a victorious life.
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death” (1 John 3:14).
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:7).
There are three crucial ingredients in love that should not be overlooked. Love transforms us from the inside out by revolutionizing how we see ourselves before God. We are forgiven. We are accepted as His own children and we have been given an inheritance to validate our position and our future in Him. Love provides us with the security to be fully convinced that we will never be abandoned or rejected by our Heavenly Father.
The second curical ingredient in love is that it transforms our behavior. It’s not enough to be changed inside if we are still trapped in the same old habits and patterns. Love changes our attitude toward others. James says;
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26).
When love transforms our heart it inevitably transforms our deeds (or works). The surest indicator of a transformed heart is a transformed life. The case James makes for works is based on the premise that if grace has saved your soul it will show up in your behavior.
“But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18).
The reason love is the greatest is because love is the culmination of a life filled with hope and faith. It is the sum total of a life that demonstrates what it is to encounter the Living God in a salvation experience. When our life truly expresses who God is to the world it happens because we have embraced the power or faith, hope and love working in us.
It is way more powerful than just trying to be a good Christian. It is to become fully transformed by His love to the degree that not only are we changed from the inside and outside, but those around us feel the heat of His presence through the person we have become.
When a quality or characteristic abides in us it means that when everything else in our life has ceased to matter or help, these values remain powerfully effective. Faith is one such quality. Nothing new would be established in our lives or society without a certain amount of faith playing a role in it. The things we only imagine now would never become a tangible, visible reality for us without faith.
But faith is not a stand alone quality. It functions best when combined with hope and love. In our Christian journey, so much emphasis is place on the things we believe that we could forget, or at least neglect, other qualities that are just as valuable to knowing God and transforming our lives.
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).
Hope positions us for breakthrough because, in life, a hopeful attitude will always be the first thing to confront our adversity. Hope is like spiritual immunity. The diseases of the soul; fear, defeat, bitterness and hatred, work hard to erode our hope. Once hope is gone we lose sight of the way out of our problems and difficult situations. It is hope that keeps us moving forward in life allowing faith time to develop in us.
“Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen” (Hebrews 11:1 TPT).
The combination of faith and hope is a powerful duo. So many of the things we face in life are overcome by strong faith and abundant hope. But the Bible credits love as the greatest quality, the overarching champion for a victorious life.
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death” (1 John 3:14).
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:7).
There are three crucial ingredients in love that should not be overlooked. Love transforms us from the inside out by revolutionizing how we see ourselves before God. We are forgiven. We are accepted as His own children and we have been given an inheritance to validate our position and our future in Him. Love provides us with the security to be fully convinced that we will never be abandoned or rejected by our Heavenly Father.
The second curical ingredient in love is that it transforms our behavior. It’s not enough to be changed inside if we are still trapped in the same old habits and patterns. Love changes our attitude toward others. James says;
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26).
When love transforms our heart it inevitably transforms our deeds (or works). The surest indicator of a transformed heart is a transformed life. The case James makes for works is based on the premise that if grace has saved your soul it will show up in your behavior.
“But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18).
The reason love is the greatest is because love is the culmination of a life filled with hope and faith. It is the sum total of a life that demonstrates what it is to encounter the Living God in a salvation experience. When our life truly expresses who God is to the world it happens because we have embraced the power or faith, hope and love working in us.
It is way more powerful than just trying to be a good Christian. It is to become fully transformed by His love to the degree that not only are we changed from the inside and outside, but those around us feel the heat of His presence through the person we have become.
Posted in 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting