Ben Pettit

Oh Father that we would not put our faith into things that do not last. Things that will not sustain. Things that will not breathe life and truth into our lives. We are so desperate for a touch from you. We need your love to pour all over, over and in us.

You deliver us from the deepest darkest places on earth. There is no place in the world that your hand cannot touch. Come Lord. We are crying. We are on our knees. Hallelujah!

He has risen! He has risen INDEED! He has come for you and I! He comes riding in to save! He is mighty to save! He is mighty to breathe life in to us! For we are not sustained by bread, but by the words of his mouth!

Come you! Come you sinner! Come! Run! As fast as you can. As hard as you can. Come to him and lay down at his feet.

Oh you evil one be so far away from us. We cast you out into the pit of hell, where you belong. You are not welcome in our lives. You are not welcome in our conversations. You are not welcome in our families. You are not welcome in our churches. We will not play your game of spiritual warfare. We cry out to the HOLY ONE. WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME! TO RESCUE! We curse you evil one. We cast you back down to where you belong.

Come holy spirit. Come quickly. Come now. Come meet us. We have assembled and we agree in your name. We lay every thing down. For you are our treasure. We store hope in you. We love you Jesus. Come Lord. Meet us where we are. We are waiting.

I ask you today to let this living text breathe into your soul today. After reading each sentence stop. Just meditate on what it means. My life has been shaped this morning by reading this. Don’t rush sentence to sentence, really get a deep understanding of what it means and even more so, how you can live it out today.

1 Corithians 13 taken from biblegateway.com, amplified translation used.

 1IF I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such ^[a]as is inspired by God’s love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

    2And if I have prophetic powers (^[b]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God’s love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).

    3Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or ^[c] in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing.

    4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

    5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

    6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

    7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

    8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (^[d]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

    9For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect).

    10But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded).

    11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside.

    12For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as ^[e]in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand ^[f]fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been ^[g]fully and clearly known and understood [^[h]by God].

    13And so faith, hope, love abide [faith--conviction and belief respecting man's relation to God and divine things; hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love--true affection for God and man, growing out of God's love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.

What you may not know is this… most of what I write about on this blog are things that I have been battling like a war in my head. For the past month or so I have been consumed with a little identified sin called worry. I have had a constant battle going on in my head. I battle every day, to only think about today. I like planning things A LOT. I like knowing what I am doing every day. Truth told though, it is not my job to know or worry about it.

This morning Evan (one of my college roommates) and I were talking. He made such a great point. He said, “you know, I think that’s the cool thing about Jesus. We don’t have to know about tomorrow”. That rang so true for me today. The Lord is teaching me daily not to be anxious. He knows the plans, he knows the thoughts. We have to grasp hold of that. Especially me. He wants me to sit in stillness and wait to hear his voice.

So where ever you are, this is my prayer for you and I today. I would love that after you read it that you stop, bow your head and talk to your heavenly Father. He is waiting, patiently for you to come to him. And in know way should you feel obligated but, pray for me today, I need it. Thanks guys.

Lord, come meet us where we are. Right now, Holy Spirit you are welcome with us. Come be our guide. Quiet our soul, our emotions, our worries, our fears, our aching self confidence and speak to us in a whisper. Let us love patience, a place where you can manifest your power because we will be obedient to wait for your timing. Perfect. Timing. Amen