Year of the Bible

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears My voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20, KJV).

This verse gives me comfort because it reassures me that God will always be there for me, ready to come to my aid at any moment. I grew up in a Seventh-day Adventist home, but I didn’t have a personal relationship with God. When I got older, I felt like something was missing.

I grew up thinking about love and how I wanted someone to make me feel complete. I began dating, and every relationship started out great, but some of the guys wanted more than just love. This made me feel like I wasn’t good enough for anyone. I was tired of chasing guys and looking for someone to love me.

No matter where you go, there is always something trying to steal your peace. But Philippians 4:6–7 speaks to the heart of our struggle. It says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (NIV).

Read articles from the July/August 2021 Visitor:

“He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you’” (Matt. 17:20–21, NIV).

My family vacations in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., at our family beach home every year.

“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2, NIV).

Paul took great joy in knowing, walking with and loving Christ. His personal mission was to spread the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. But that hadn’t always been the case. Earlier in his life, Paul was against Christ and His divine message, and destroyed anyone who believed in it.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13, NIV).

As I look at 1 Corinthians 13, it is clear that prophecy, the gift of tongues and other gifts of the Spirit will come to an end because they will no longer be of value. But verse 13 has the wonderful word, “remain,” which expresses the idea of permanence for the three basic elements of our Christian experience: faith, hope and love.

This verse signifies that love is the element used to describe the very nature of God. That’s the reason Paul clearly says that, above all gifts of the Spirit, this one is the greatest.