Pick 5 verses from your May Bible reading plan, and memories God’s words. Here are my picks from Corinthians
I think you may know which verses I am going to pick. I highlighted them in the previous posts.
1 Corinthians 10:13 Bearable temptation
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Communion
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love
2 Corinthians 9: 6-7 Abundant
Chapter 7 talks about marriages and intimate relationships. I am really inspired.
10:13 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 13 你们所受的试探，无非是人受得起的；神是信实的，他必不容许你们受试探过于你们承受得起的，而且在受试探的时候，必定给你们开一条出路，使你们能忍受得住。
11:23-26 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
23 我当日传交给你们的，原是从主领受的，就是主耶稣被出卖的那一夜，他拿起饼来， 24 祝谢了，就擘开，说：“这是我的身体，为你们擘开的；你们应当这样行，为的是记念我。”25 饭后，照样拿起杯来，说：“这杯是用我的血所立的新约，你们每逢喝的时候，应当这样行，为的是记念我。” 26 你们每逢吃这饼，喝这杯，就是宣扬主的死，直等到他来。
13:4-7 (NIV) 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 4 爱是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈。爱是不嫉妒，不自夸，不张狂；5 不作失礼的事，不求自己的益处，不轻易动怒，不计较人的过犯； 6 不喜欢不义，只喜欢真理。 7 爱是凡事包容，凡事相信，凡事盼望，凡事忍耐。
哥林多书是保罗带着爱的斥责，我在读的时候很有启发，有很多从来没有思考过的问题也挑战了我的观点。哥林多书同时也是保罗提醒世人上帝恩典的诗篇。我特别挑出来的这三段是时常出现在教会教导和日常生活中的经文，叫我们不至于在患难的时候，背弃神的旨意。这段时间我学习最多的就是，顺服。顺服在神的旨意中，因为神，是爱。
WHAT IS LOVE?
“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.” ―Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin, whose wisdom on love knew no bounds, in A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin & Henry Miller, 1932-1953: What is love but acceptance of the other, whatever he is.
“The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. And that’s what you’ve given me. That’s what I’d hoped to give you forever.” ―Nicholas Sparks
“Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.” ―Joan Crawford
“I heard what you said. I’m not the silly romantic you think. I don’t want the heavens or the shooting stars. I don’t want gemstones or gold. I have those things already. I want…a steady hand. A kind soul. I want to fall asleep, and wake, knowing my heart is safe. I want to love, and be loved.” ―Shana Abe
“Anyone who loves in the expectation of being loved in return is wasting their time.” ―Paulo Coelho
“Love is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise. If love were only a feeling, there would be no basis for the promise to love each other forever. A feeling comes and it may go. How can I judge that it will stay forever, when my act does not involve judgment and decision.” ―Erich Fromm
“Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t care about someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.” ―Deborah Reber
Katharine Hepburn in Me : Stories of My Life: Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get — only with what you are expecting to give — which is everything.
James Baldwin in The Price of the Ticket: Collected Non-fiction, 1948-1985: Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.
What is love to you?
*Joy Life* 