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3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

We ask for comfort from God, and he gives it, but when he does, it’s so we can be an instrument of his comfort to others, later on, who are going through the same kinds of things. The idea is that we need to “pay it forward.” What has been the hardest thing you’ve had to go through? Did you make it? Now, look around for others who are dealing with the same thing. Your previous struggle was, in part, how God was preparing you to minister to others. Your current struggle is not without purpose… look for others who’ve gone before you and find out how they made it. You are not alone, we can do this, together!

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

Mae West once said “The more I know about men, the more I like dogs…”

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12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

It’s not just that Jesus is the best option… really, he’s the only option.

Here is an older post “Why I’m A Christian”

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Let all things be done for building up… But all things should be done decently and in order.

Everything in a church worship service, the music, the message, the scripture reading, even the announcements, need to be done to build people up. If it’s not helpful, save it for the blog. The lighting, the stage decorations, and yes, the clothing the people on the stage wear need to all be considered when planning a worship service. Things need to be done well, as best you can, and should not be thrown together. That’s why last minute “hey, do you mind if I add…” is a bit disheartening. Sure, things do come up, but the Pastor and Minister of Worship do pray, plan, and seek the Lord’s will for the service (or they had better). The Holy Spirit moves through planning and preparation, we don’t need to be “spontaneous” to allow God to move, far from it. We follow the principle lined out in James to say “if the Lord wills…” and then plan and implement that plan to your best ability, that honors God. EVERYTHING should build up, EVERYTHING should be done well and be orderly. The Christian shouldn’t be haphazard. Take your life by the horns and make it happen!

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

You can do a whole lot of good things, but if you do them with a sour attitude, you’re just spinning your wheels. Not only should we do right, when we do, we need to be patient and kind. We shouldn’t envy or brag. We can’t be arrogant or rude when we were, that really does matter. We can’t insist on our own way, be irritable, or resentful. We can’t be happy with bad things happen and we should always rejoice when the truth comes to light. If we want to be effective, we need to be able to “take a punch.” We need to give people the benefit of the doubt, even if it means we get hurt. We always think the best, and we never give up. That’s love, and that ain’t easy.