Esther Reading Plan – W2D4
Check out all the previous Esther readings here.
Esther Reading Plan | Week 2 | Day 4
Prayer
As you begin your time with God, where you are sitting or standing, put out your hands with your palm facing up. Pray a prayer acknowledging to God that you need Him and ask Him to fill you with Him today.
Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Read these verses three times slowly.
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Reflection & Questions
King Xerxes did not love. He lusted. He made everything about him. How different is Jesus! As Revelation 1:5 says, Jesus “loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”
Sometimes it can be difficult to flesh out what love really looks like. Paul did exactly that in 1 Corinthians 13. As a powerful way to reflection on these verses, we are going to personalize them.
First, we are going to replace the word “love” in the verses with the name Jesus. As you read the following, let your mind soak in what this is telling you about Jesus:
Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. Jesus does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. He does not dishonor others, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Now read it again, this time, we are going to put our names in place of the word “love”. Wherever there is blank, read your name:
____________ is patient, ____________ is kind. ____________ does not envy, ____________ does not boast, ____________ is not proud. ____________ does not dishonor others, ____________ is not self-seeking, ____________ is not easily angered, ____________ keeps no record of wrongs. ____________ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ____________ always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
- As you replaced the word “love” with Jesus, what encouraged you about Jesus’ heart?
- Are you replaced the word “love” with your name, how did that challenge you to love someone better?
Prayer
Pray in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Prepare to Meet with Jesus
Go to your quiet place with no devices to distract you. Take three deep breaths. Listen as you stay still and quiet for 30 seconds. Ask God for His help to read and understand.
Bible Reading: John 13:5, 12-15
Read these verses three times slowly.
After that, he poured water into a large bowl. Then he began to wash his disciples’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
When Jesus finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes. Then he returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You are right. That is what I am. I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example. You should do as I have done for you.
Reflection & Questions
What is the grossest thing you can imagine? How does it look? How does it smell? Would you want to touch it?
In the times when Jesus and the disciples lived, feet were like that. Most people walked everywhere. When they used roads, they were the same roads horses and other animals used to carry people or pull carts. Animals often eliminate their waste as they walk. So, people walked through dirt and animal waste. They also wore sandals. They got hot and sweaty and needed to wash their feet when they got where they were going.
Would you have wanted to be the one to wash everyone else’s feet? No one wanted that job, but Jesus was willing to do that for the people he led. He told them he wanted them to follow his example and wash each other’s feet. What did that mean? It meant that they should serve each other, no matter how hard it was or humble it made them feel. Jesus wants us to serve and lead in that same way.
- What is something that you could do for someone else today?
- Do you have younger siblings, cousins, or friends? How can you serve them? Can you help them with things or play with them, even when you don’t have to?
- Have you ever been a group leader for a school project or a team? You will lead well if you think about how you can help everyone get what they need. Does everyone understand their part? Do they have the supplies they need? Do they have a ride to the event? You can always think of ways to help if you ask God to help you lead.
Pray
Thank Jesus for his wonderful example of servant leadership. Ask Him to help you serve others.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
