1 Corinthians 13
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Greatest Gift michael jackson

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 to be burned,[a] but have not love, i am nothing.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, 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. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

13 And so faith, hope and love abide in these three; but the greatest of these is love.".....in the darkest places where it is impossible to love...""A hush is over everything, Silent as women wait for love;....."

"It is, from the human standpoint, indescribable (I Cor. 2:9)." Heaven is indescribable ".....like a trip to heaven heaven is the prize....." 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; not one is innocent.But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God's laws.'
34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God —I say this to your shame.Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Blue Color  Blue
Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. The first heaven is what is called the firmament or sky that covers the earth.  This is the realm of birds and clouds and surrounds the entire earth.
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Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness. In heraldry, blue is used to symbolize piety and sincerity.

You can use blue to promote products and services related to cleanliness (water purification filters, cleaning liquids, vodka), air and sky (airlines, airports, air conditioners), water and sea (sea voyages, mineral water). As opposed to emotionally warm colors like red, orange, and yellow; blue is linked to consciousness and intellect. Use blue to suggest precision when promoting high-tech products.

Blue is a masculine color; according to studies, it is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred color for corporate America.

Avoid using blue when promoting food and cooking, because blue suppresses appetite. When used together with warm colors like yellow or red, blue can create high-impact, vibrant designs; for example, blue-yellow-red is a perfect color scheme for a superhero.

Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.




"I want you to be free from anxieties.(
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.) The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.""the man who is content on going to heaven alone will never go to heaven"so thats a lie just like "a church is a hospital for sinners not a museum for saints""To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am."


"It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. "
"....turn it off before it ends cause the bad guy dies."tony soprano





A very difficult text from Judges 19  which I preached several years ago describes the gruesome account of the attempted homosexual rape of a Levite, the brutal rape of his concubine, and the dismembering of her body into twelve pieces, which were sent to the twelve tribes of Israel by her husband. Several who were asked to read this scripture passage in our teaching hour declined. The one who did consent asked to pray before the text was read rather than afterward as was our custom!

Psalm 109  is a similarly unpleasant passage for many. If classified as movies are today, it would hardly receive a “G” rating. Some psalms are soothing, such as Psalm 23 . Others like Psalm 91  are comforting. There are soul-stirring psalms which inspire us to worship and praise such as Psalm 103 . Psalm 109  is very troubling to most because it is perhaps the strongest imprecatory183 psalm in the psalter. David, the author of the psalm as indicated in the superscription, calls upon God to destroy his enemies in the most horrible ways. According to Perowne, there are no less than 30 anathemas pronounced upon David’s enemies in this one psalm.184 David not only seeks the punishment of his enemy but also the painful consequences brought on his family: “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children wander about and beg; and let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes” (vv. 9-10).

The problem we face in Psalm 109  is not restricted to this psalm, however. Other Psalms contain similar prayers for the punishment of evildoers: “Do Thou add iniquity to their iniquity, and may they not come into Thy righteousness. May they be blotted out of the book of life, and may they not be recorded with the righteous” (Ps. 69:27-28 ).

To some the beauty of Psalm 139  is shattered by these words:

O that Thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God; depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against Thee wickedly, and Thine enemies take Thy name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate Thee, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against Thee? I hate them with the utmost hatred; they have become my enemies (Ps. 139:19-22 ).

In Psalm 137  we find a cry of vengeance against the Babylonians:

Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation.” O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, how blessed will be the one who repays you with the recompense with which you have repaid us. How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones against the rock (Ps. 137:7-9 ).

The problem we face in Psalm 109  is one that is far broader than just one passage, or even one book of the Bible. Prayers of imprecation for the destruction of the wicked are to be found throughout the entire Word of God. Moses (the “meekest man on the face of the earth,” Num. 12:3 ) prayed, “Rise up, O Lord! And let Thine enemies be scattered, and let those who hate Thee flee before Thee” (Num. 10:35 ).

The prophet Jeremiah spoke stinging words of imprecation which parallel the prayers of David and others in the psalms:

Do give heed to me, O Lord, and listen to what my opponents are saying! Should good be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before Thee to speak good on their behalf, so as to turn away Thy wrath from them. Therefore, give their children over to famine, and deliver them up to the power of the sword; and let their wives become childless and widowed. Let their men also be smitten to death, their young men struck down by the sword in battle. May an outcry be heard from their houses, when Thou suddenly bringest raiders upon them; for they have dug a pit to capture me and hidden snares for my feet. Yet Thou, O Lord, knowest all their deadly designs against me; do not forgive their iniquity or blot out their sin from Thy sight. But may they be overthrown before Thee; deal with them in the time of Thine anger! (Jer. 18:19-23 ; cf. also 11:18ff.; 15:15ff.; 20:11ff.).

There are numerous imprecations in the New Testament also, such as that of the saints who were slain for their righteousness:

And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:9-10 ).

Imprecations such as those found in Psalm 109  have caused some Christians to question the value of the imprecatory prayers of the Bible for New Testament believers:

It is surely a debatable question as to whether the church should retain the whole Psalter in its worship, including these troublesome passages, or whether the Psalter should be censored at those points which seem to be inconsistent with God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. It would be interesting to check the responsive readings included in modern hymnals or books of worship, to see the degree to which the Psalms have been edited for Christian worship.185

No matter how perplexing the problem of imprecatory psalms may be, we cannot easily dismiss them. Imprecations, as we shall later point out, are also to be found in the New Testament. We know also that “all Scripture is profitable …” (2 Tim. 3:16 ) and therefore these prayers have a lesson for us to learn. In addition we must remember that all the psalms were recorded and preserved for public worship. The imprecatory psalms were not merely the passionate pleas of one man (spiritually or carnally motivated), but were rather a pattern for the worship of Israel. Can you imagine coming together to worship and singing a psalm like Psalm 109 ? Because ancient Israel did so, we must look very carefully at this passage to learn its message to us.

This lesson is intended to accomplish two purposes. We will seek to understand the message of Psalm 109 , both as it related to the saints of old and as it applies to men today. In addition this psalm will be used to address the broader subject of imprecatory prayers. We will strive to understand the purpose of such prayers, and the principles which underly them, that apply equally to the saints today. Because of this two-fold purpose, our exposition of Psalm 109  will be more general to allow space for addressing the broader issues involved. Let us look first to the God to whom these prayers were addressed and His Spirit who inspired them, and then to the text itself for His message to us. May we not quickly disregard the stern warning of this psalm.

David’s Indictment of His Enemies:
His Innocence and Their Iniquity
(109: 1-5)
1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. O God of my praise, Do not be silent! 2 For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. 3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without cause. 4 In return for my love they act as my accusers; But I am in prayer. 5 Thus they have repaid me evil for good, And hatred for my love. (NASB)

Verses 1-5 are crucial, not only to this psalm, but to our understanding of imprecation. In this introductory section David makes two claims: (1) his innocence and (2) the iniquity of his enemies. The God who is the object of his praise (v. 1; cf. also Deut. 10:21 ; Jer. 17:14 ) is also the One who receives his petitions. David’s plea that God not remain silent in verse 1b is a cry for help, as elsewhere (cf. Ps. 28:1; 35:22; 83:1 ). The basis for David’s petition is then given in verses 2-5. David is accused by his enemies but is innocent of their charges. He has done good to his enemies, which they have repaid with evil.

I believe that verses 1-5 are crucial to a correct understanding of imprecatory prayers because they inform us about the prerequisites for imprecation. The requirements are rigorous for those who would thus pray. Likewise, those who are worthy of divine wrath are carefully defined. Only the innocent dare pray as David does, and only the wicked need fear the fate which David petitions God to execute.

Let us first consider the innocence of David, which qualifies him to pray as he does. David is, first and foremost, a worshipper of God. He dares not petition his God apart from being a man given to the praise of God (v. 1). While the accusations against David by his enemies are many, they are without basis (cf. Ps. 69:4 ). He not only has refrained from evil toward the wicked, he has done them nothing but good (v. 5; cf. Ps. 35:12 ). They hate, but he loves (v. 5). They accuse him, but he prays (for them, it would seem, v. 4).186 The underlying assumption is that David is suffering, not for his sin, but “for righteousness sake”:

Because for Thy sake I have borne reproach; dishonor has covered my face. I have become estranged from my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s sons. For zeal for Thy house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me (Ps. 69:7-9 ).

David does not claim to be sinless here, but he is a worshipper whose heart is right before God.187 Often in the psalms David confesses his own sins: “For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin” (Ps. 38:18 ). “O God, it is Thou who dost know my folly, and my wrongs are not hidden from Thee” (Ps. 69:5 ; cf. 32:5; 51:5). If he has sinned, David asks God to deal with him accordingly:

O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands, if I have rewarded evil to my friend, or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; and let him trample my life down to the ground, and lay my glory in the dust (Ps. 7:3-5 ).

In Psalm 139  while David prayed that God would “slay the wicked” (v. 19), he immediately opens his own heart to God, so that he may have his sins exposed and cleansed: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Ps. 139:23-24 ).

David makes his petition to God as one who is dependent on Him for righteousness (cf. Ps. 130:3-8; 143:2 ). While he is not entirely free from sin, he is right with God by His grace, and he is righteous with regard to the charges of his opponents.

No one dare implore God to act as David does in Psalm 109  unless he himself is innocent in the sense that David was: innocent of the charges of the wicked, and in right standing before God. Let those who would pray for the destruction of their enemies be as quick as David to have God search their own hearts and to deal with them in justice, just as they would have Him judge their enemies. Imprecatory prayers must only be made by the righteous.

Second, let us give due consideration to the wickedness of David’s enemies, which made them worthy of God’s wrath. In Psalm 109  the sin of David’s enemies is expressed almost entirely in terms of the wrongs they have committed against him.188 Elsewhere, however, it is shown that how the wicked treat the righteous is symptomatic of their rebellion against God (cf. Ps. 37:12; 139:19-20 ).

The nature of the sin of the wicked against David is especially informative. The primary instrument of evil is the tongue of the wicked. They have “opened the wicked and deceitful mouth” and spoken with “a lying tongue” (v. 2). They have surrounded the psalmist with “words” (v. 3) and have “accused” him of wrongdoing (v. 4). I believe that Derek Kidner has best captured the essence of this evil by the title, “The Character-Assassin.”189

In most churches there is some kind of written or understood list of sins which its members are forbidden to commit. For some it may be smoking, drinking, dancing, going to movies, cursing, or perhaps (though less frequently) immorality. I am not trying to challenge here any of the items which may be on your particular list (though they made need challenging!). What I want to stress is how seldom the sin of backbiting is included in those lists. In fact, we have developed very subtle and spiritual-sounding means of committing the sin of character assassination. We “share” the problems of others as prayer requests. This sounds so pious, but frequently it is simply gossip by another label. Let us learn from this psalm that the most severe judgment is called down (and rightly so) upon the sin of character-assassination.

Two lessons should be learned from verses 1-5 concerning those against whom imprecations are made: (1) The imprecations which God hears are those which are made by those who have clean hands and a clean heart. Imprecations are effective only when we see sin as God does and when we ask Him to deal with sin as He has promised to deal with it in His Word. (2) Those against whom imprecations are effective are those who are truly wicked, those who are not just our enemies, but God’s enemies. Psalm 109  is vastly different from a “voodoo” curse. Imprecations are prayers for the punishment of the wicked. While the psalmist is innocent, his enemies are not. This is the basis for his petition for the punishment of the wicked. We are taught in Proverbs that a curse without basis has no effect: “Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, so a curse without cause does not alight” (Prov. 26:2 ).

Let us not leave these introductory verses without learning that those who would pray a prayer similar to David’s must be like David—they must be those who praise God (not just petition Him), and those who are right before God and men. Those who seek God’s wrath on the guilty should be innocent. Imprecations are only effective against the guilty. In this context and many others, their guilt is the offense of the tongue. God takes our words seriously, and so should we.

A brief word should be said about the identity of the wicked. They apparently were closely associated with David. According to verse 5, they had been the recipients of David’s love, which they had spurned and showed him hatred instead. Examples of David’s enemies include Doeg the Edomite (Ps. 52:1 ; 1 Sam. 21:7 ), Shimei (2 Sam. 16:5-8 ), and Saul (1 Sam. 18 –31).190 While it is tempting to try to identify the name of the culprit, it seems obvious that the psalmist did not intend for us to know the individual’s identity. There are good reasons for this. First, the psalmist is committing the wicked to God’s judgment, not man’s. Why should he name the individual when God knew who it was? David, unlike his enemies, was not willing to engage in character-assassination. Secondly, David may have wanted his readers to give more thought to the one behind all accusation, Satan.191 Since the Hebrew word rendered “accuser” is translated satan, Satan’s role may well be indicated. We will return to this subject below.

Third, since the psalms were intended for general use, David did not identify his enemies so that the righteous could supply the names of their adversaries, so to speak.192

David’s Imprecation Against His Enemies
(109:6-20)
6 Appoint a wicked man over him; And let an accuser stand at his right hand. 7 When he is judged, let him come forth guilty; And let his prayer become sin. 8 Let his days be few; Let another take his office. 9 Let his children be fatherless, And his wife a widow. 10 Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes. 11 Let the creditor seize all that he has; And let strangers plunder the product of his labor. 12 Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him, Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children. 13 Let his posterity be cut off; In a following generation let their name be blotted out.

14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, And do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out. 15 Let them be before the LORD continually, That He may cut off their memory from the earth; 16 Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness, But persecuted the afflicted and needy man, And the despondent in heart, to put them to death. 17 He also loved cursing, so it came to him; And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him. 18 But he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, And it entered into his body like water, And like oil into his bones. 19 Let it be to him as a garment with which he covers himself, And for a belt with which he constantly girds himself. 20 Let this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD, And of those who speak evil against my soul. (NASB)

Verses 1-5 are the basis of David’s imprecation. David is innocent, yet his enemies have accused him of wrong-doing. They have engaged in character-assassination. David appeals to God, the object of his praise and adoration, to come to his rescue and to punish his wicked opponents. Verses 6-20 spell out the form which David believes this punishment should take. David’s imprecation is certainly fierce and forthright, but I believe that it is not excessive. The details of David’s imprecation and its doctrinal basis will be the primary aim of our study of these verses.

There is a change in the reference to David’s enemies in the plural (vv. 1-5) to that of the singular in the following verses (vv. 6ff.). The most plausible explanation is that David is moving from the general to the specific. In verses 1-5 his enemies are described as a group, but in verse 6 and following the punishment for which David prays is viewed as occurring individually. Some have suggested that the person singled out in these verses is the leader of David’s opposition.193

Verses 6-13 concentrate on the consequences for sin which are sought both for the man and his family. David asks that a wicked man be set over his foe and that an adversary accuse him (v. 6). If Saul were the enemy in mind, the punishment would simply be to receive in return what he had meted out to David. Let those who oppress those under them taste what it is like to have an evil man over them. Verse 7 seeks a verdict of “guilty” when his enemy is brought to court. David asks God to look upon the prayers of his enemies as sin (v. 7b). David can pray thus because it is consistent with the teaching of the Old Testament that the prayers (and indeed all religious acts) of the wicked are an abomination to God (cf. Prov. 28:9 ; Isa. 1:15 ).

Verses 8 and 9 petition God to shorten the life of David’s enemy. This is expressed in a variety of poetic terms. The days of his enemy should be few. His untimely death will require another to take his office (v. 8). It is this verse, you will recall, that was applied to Judas, the betrayer of our Lord, prompting the disciples of our Lord to choose a replacement for Judas among them (cf. Acts 1:20 ). The death of David’s foe would make his wife a widow and his children orphans (v. 9).

While it may seem unnecessarily severe for David to pray for his enemy’s untimely death and for his family to suffer for his sins, David’s petition is based upon the principles and practices of the Old Testament. God said that the sins of the fathers would be visited on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate God (Exod. 20:5 ; Deut. 5:9 ). Also in the Law of Moses God warned that certain sins would bring consequences on the families of the sinner:

“You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. If you afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless” (Exod. 22:22-24 ).

This same principle was expressed in the Book of Proverbs: