1 Corinthians 13

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body ^[a]to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not ^[b]puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, ^[c]thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

The Lord wants to remind us that above all else, TO LOVE is the greatest. Here He is talking about loving others.

The scriptures this week show us this need to love in God’s eyes is so great, that compared with other wonderful and amazing things we do or have it come out on top.

1 Samuel 1: 9 – 11, 19 – 20 & 24 – 28

⁹ So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the ^[c]tabernacle of the Lord. ¹⁰ And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and ^[d]wept in anguish. ¹¹ Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

¹⁹ Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name ^[f]Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with ^[a]three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. ²⁵ Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶ And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. ²⁷ For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. ²⁸ Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be ^[b]lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.

Dear sisters we are trusting that this year as we call upon the Lord, He will hear and answer our most desperate cries. He did this for  Hannah when she cried out to Him from the depths of her being, trusting that God could bless her. True to who He is, God remembered her and answered her prayers for a son. Hannah in turn remembered God after she received the blessing of Samuel.

1 Samuel 30: 1 - 8

Now it happened, when David and his men came to ^(A)Ziklag, on the third day, that the ^(B)Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, ² and had taken captive the ^(C)women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. ³ So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ⁵ And David’s two ^(D)wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. ⁶ Now David was greatly distressed, for ^(E)the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was ^[a]grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. ^(F)But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. ^7 (G)Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And ^(H)Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ^8 (I)So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”

Happy New Year my dear sisters!!! Welcome to this new season. A season of pursuing, overtaking, and recovering all.

Matthew 1: 18 - 20

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

How powerful our God is that Mary could conceive without knowing a man. Our God is simply AWESOME. There is nothing that he cannot do. He is not subject or bound to natural laws.  God placed a baby in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit. WOW!!! God is great indeed!

Acts 10: 1 - 4

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, ² a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. ³ About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” ⁴ And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord? ”So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.

The combination of prayers and generous giving is very powerful. This combination is like a lethal weapon that produces great results. Don’t under estimate what the prayers and giving of a believing and God-fearing woman can do. If a man who was not even a believer could have his prayers and giving come up to God, how much more you and I.