What is Love.

Love is patient...

Love is kind...

Love does not act unbecomingly...

Love does not seek its own...

Love is not provoked..

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

For now we see in a mirror faintly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 

1 Corinthians 13

Been a rough couple of days, thankful for this remember. As the world celebrates what they define as love, I look to the One that is love.

He knows our needs.

I've been having some trouble falling asleep lately and then I'll wake up multiple times throughout the "night" so waking up in the mornings has been someone of a struggle. Last night was another night where I tried to go to bed early but then all these thoughts came flooding into my mind as I lied there. After about an hour I finally decided to pull up the Bible on my phone and this is the passage it opened to:

And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:29-32

Although I wasn't worrying about what to eat or drink I do worry or become anxious about certain things in my life. It is a comfort to know that our Father knows what we need. He even knows the things that we think we "need". Too often I compare myself to those in the world around me and because of that I begin to worry. Not only will He provide for me needs, He desires to give me the kingdom which that is beyond my understanding. My sight is so limited that I get caught up with these earthly matters and forget that my Father wants to gives me something so much greater. Our Lord is the Great Shepherd, knowing that I can find rest within His flock. 

John 18

Two points from that stood out to me from John 18:

1) The Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees came looking for Jesus with lanterns and torches and weapons. 
It is interesting that after all this time these people felt that they needed to bring lanterns and weapons to approach our Lord. Our Lord is the Light and He has the almighty Power, yet his life on earth was one of one full of peace. He was able to live this life even while knowing why He was here on earth. We are those that have the life of Christ in us, do our lives testify of the character of Christ? Do people feel that they need to approach us ready to fight?

2) Peter was ready to die for the Lord in the garden but could not stand for Him during everyday events.
 I've always looked at Peter's action of cutting of Malchus's ear as one of foolishness but this time I have to admire what he did. Even though he acted in a way that he wasn't supposed to, Peter was ready to defend our Lord even if it meant death. In John 13 Peter declares that he will lay down his life for the Lord and here in John 18 he is ready to do just that. This could be considered a defining moment in Peter's life, a moment where he had to risk his life to stand up for Christ and he was able to do it. I admire Peter in this matter because I'm not sure if I have those real defining moments where I stood up for Christ even to the point of "death". But we find that Peter later denies our Lord three times in moments that were less "exciting". I guess this could be compared to our everyday walk in the world, when the the "Roman cohort" isn't attacking us. How much easier it is to deny our Lord when we go about the mundane everyday tasks? We let our guard down and then we quickly find ourselves denying the life of Christ that is living inside of us.