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Devotional
May 14 2007 By virtueonline LOVE NEVER FAILS

This love is eternal. This is what William Penn (1644-1718) meant when he prayed: "Life is eternal, and love is immortal, and death is only an horizon, and an horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight. Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further, cleanse our eyes that we may see more clearly, and draw us closer to yourself that we may know ourselves to be nearer to our loved ones who are with you."

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May 05 2007 By virtueonline LOVE ALWAYS PERSEVERES

Love is not just grimly putting up with a difficult relationship or situation, enduring it, persevering with it because you think it is the right thing to do; it is approaching the relationship or situation as a mission to be accomplished, an objective to be reached, a challenge to be conquered. Perseverance has the backbone of courage. Love enables us to have the courage to endure and succeed in the face of all that is painful.

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April 23 2007 By virtueonline LOVE ALWAYS HOPES

* "When we are trapped in a tunnel of misery, hope points to the light at the end.
* When we are overworked and exhausted, hope gives us fresh energy.
* When we are discouraged, hope lifts our spirits.
* When we are tempted to quit, hope keeps us going.
* When we lose our way and confusion blurs our destination, hope dulls the edge of panic.
* When we struggle with a crippling disease or a lingering illness, hope helps us persevere beyond the pain.

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April 13 2007 By virtueonline LOVE ALWAYS TRUSTS

Thomas, after the death of Jesus, assumed that the worst was true. (John 20:24,25) He missed out on Jesus' post-resurrection appearance to the other disciples. When his friends told him that they had seen the Lord, risen from the dead, he did not believe them. Why? These were trusted friends with whom he had spent the past three years. They were telling him about what they had experienced but he wasn't buying it. He mistrusted them, and in so doing he did them an injustice.

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April 07 2007 By virtueonline THE CENTRAL FACT

Paul makes a bold claim here in tying the truth of Christianity to the truth of a particular historical event. Disprove it, says Paul, and Christianity is doomed. What sort of historical evidence is there to support the resurrection of Jesus?

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April 05 2007 By virtueonline An Easter Devotional: His Unfamiliar Face

Sunday Afternoon

Later that afternoon, Jesus joined two disciples on the Emmaus Road, and for seven miles He gives them an Old Testament Bible study.3

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March 30 2007 By virtueonline LOVE DOES NOT ENVY

To want to be like God, to be independent, unlimited, liberated from moral constraints, from feeling the need to share, to care for others, to give; to have the unlimited possibilities of God, is the beginning of envy and the opposite of love.

To want to be like God is to want to be able to control results, to influence others, to guarantee success - a fearsome power that God denies even himself.

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March 22 2007 By virtueonline LOVE ALWAYS PROTECTS

The word for 'making atonement' in the Hebrew: kaphar, means 'to cover.' The atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross was the fulfillment of the purpose of the Day of Atonement celebrated each year in the Temple, when the sins of the people were covered by the blood of the offering in the Holy of Holies. Jesus was both the High Priest and the Sacrifice to take away our sins by covering them, 'making atonement', and protecting us from condemnation.

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March 13 2007 By virtueonline LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH

News organizations love schadenfreude. Nothing excites the public more than breaking news about the latest scandal amongst celebrities or politicians. We secretly rejoice to see self-righteous leaders fall from grace. We gloat when prominent and powerful politicians on the opposition party are caught in crimes and misdemeanors. We love scandals because they give us something to be disgusted about, and to make us feel so morally superior. Other people's sins make us look virtuous.

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March 03 2007 By virtueonline LOVE KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS

Inheritance can foster much resentment between family members. But love can prevent and heal resentment. Nowhere is this truth better expounded than in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). The younger son asked his father to give him his share of the estate. So the father divided his property between his sons. The younger son squandered his wealth in wild living.

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