Daily Devotional – July 31

 

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I Corinthians 13:4-7 Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Even when adversity challenges again and again, love continues to operate.

Agape is tough. 

It is about maturity, it is about strength.   

It works hard. 

It gets back up after being repeatedly knocked down.

It is not easily discouraged.

True love does not give up – on God, or on others. The divine dictionary of love will be a lifetime challenge, but the demonstration of this virtue will prove that we are truly the Lord’s disciples (John 13:35).

True love is not for wimps.

(Note:  There is a difference between “beareth” and “endureth” in vs. 7)

Daily Devotional – July 28

I Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,  

Love is optimistic; it entertains the highest expectations. Sometimes we see a struggling brother and perhaps think: “He will never make it.” We should say, “I believe that with God’s assistance – and mine – he will make it!” If we must err on the pessimism/optimism scale, let us err in the direction of hope. 

Even when the going gets tough, lets remember: Romans 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

Have a blessed weekend all!

Daily Devotional – July 27

 

 I Corinthians 13:4-7 Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things,

This does not mean that love is gullible. Believing error is both wrong and dangerous (2 Thes. 2:11,12).  The sense of the verb pisteuo (believes) here is probably that of trusting. 

Love will give the benefit of the doubt.

When you hear a distasteful report concerning a fellow Christian, do you hesitate to believe it until the evidence is overwhelming?  In these times when error is so rampant in the church, we must resist the temptation to be quickly and recklessly suspicious.  We must resist the urge to so quickly judge.  We should strive to be more trusting of our kinsmen in Christ.

Daily Devotional – July 26

 

Charity Series – 7th Inning Stretch

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”  

The Velveteen Rabbit – by Margery Williams
(I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Daily Devotional – July 25

 

I Corinthians 13:4-7 Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, 

The verb stego (beareth) conveys the picture of one object on top of another, thus hinting of either support (by the lower object), or concealment (by the upper object). The ideas are not mutually exclusive – especially in this context.

Love supports, uplifts those who are in need of such. Jesus was constantly in trouble with His Jewish critics because of His encouragement of the downtrodden (Luke 15). Moreover, one who operates out of love will cover, i.e., be slow to expose, the mistakes of another. Love would far rather set about quietly mending things than publicly displaying and rebuking them. Of course there may be a time for the open exposure of wrong (1 Tim. 5:20), but this is certainly not the initial procedure.

Daily Devotional – July 24

 

I Corinthians 13:4-6 Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

“George?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Did you cut down my cherry tree?”
“No, Father.”
“Well, I’m very disappointed in you, George.”
“Why, Father?”
“Because 12 people saw you cut down the cherry tree with your hatchet. Would you like to change your previous answer, George?”
“No, Father. I believe the answer I gave you was legally accurate. In my own mind, I was telling you the truth.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you asked me if I had ‘cut’ down the tree. In my own mind, it seemed to me that ‘cutting’ is something one does with a knife or a sickle. Since I used my little hatchet, the relationship I had with the tree, while perhaps inappropriate, was not a ‘cutting’ relationship. I would call it a ‘chopping’ relationship…”
“I’ll give you another chance, George. Did you chop down my cherry tree?”
“No, Father.”
“Why do you still say no?”
“Because I cannot tell a lie. And in my own mind I did not ‘chop’ down your cherry tree.”
“Well what did you do then?”
“I chopped it into two pieces and one fell to the ground.”
“So you chopped it down.”
“No, I merely chopped it. The force of gravity caused it to fall down. Were it not for the force of gravity, over which I have absolutely no control, the tree, though segmented, would presumably still be up, not down.”
“One more chance, George. Did you chop my cherry tree down?”
“No, Father.”
“HOW CAN YOU SAY NO?”
“Because of my regard for the truth. What is that object at which I am pointing?”
“It’s the stump of the cherry tree.”
“And isn’t the stump part of the tree, Father? In fact, isn’t it the most important part of the tree, since without a stump there would be no tree?”
“I guess so.”
“Yet the stump is still standing. So when you asked me if I had chopped down the tree, my own mind said to me, ‘Tell the truth.’ And the truthful answer is no. You chopped, gravity caused part of the tree to fall, yet the most important part of the tree is still standing.”
“I see.”
“All I can suppose, Father, is that those 12 people whose exaggerated claims allege they saw me ‘cut down’ the entire tree were motivated not by a search for truth but by some personal vendetta against me, perhaps because I am from Virginia.”

By: Steve Hannah from Prairie du Sac, WI

Daily Devotional – July 21

 

I Corinthians 13:4-6 Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity

When a brother falls – even an obnoxious one – we should never entertain secret thoughts of satisfaction. Common among so many today is the rejoicing at others’ misfortune.    You would be surprised at how many Christians who delight in the fall of others.   

Since love always seeks the good of others, it can never rejoice when evil prevails.  Rejoicing in wickedness is at variance with biblical love and does not have humanity’s welfare at heart. 

 

Daily Devotional – July 20

 

I Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
 

Love does not ignore evil–that view would contradict numerous other passages of scripture. There are times when evil must be exposed, rebuked, and disciplined. 

Instead, love does not keep score, as in, “Three strikes you’re out!” 

The one who says, “I must forgive you, but I will never forget what you did,” has miserably failed the test of charity.

Love does not harbor bitterness(which destroys self) nor does it plot revenge (which destroys others).

 

Daily Devotional – July 18

I Corinthians 13:4  Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,

Proverbs 15:18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but [he that is] slow to anger appeaseth strife. 

   Love does not have a short fuse;

    it does not stroll about with a chip on its shoulder.

    Some folks are cocked,

  ready to explode.

  Mouths are in motion before the gears of the mind are engaged.

Chill…

Proverbs 19:11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and [it is] his glory to pass over a transgression.

Daily Devotional – July 18

 

I Corinthians 13:4,5 Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,

Random Thoughts: 

• Two friends were talking about giving and receiving and one indicated that they would rather give than receive because they were blessed more and felt better about it.   Such is not charity, such is not love.
• In a world that stresses emotional fulfillment, even when giving it is important to realize that there is never a selfish motive attached to real love.  
• Love is never selfish and does not seek anything in return.
• It has been said that there are two kinds of people – those who are always thinking of their rights, and those who concentrate on their responsibilities. Each generation in this nation has become more self-centered than the preceding. Everyone is protective of their own rights – and is willing to hurt others to keep them and force others to follow them. 
• Want to know what love is? Consider the sacrificial example of the Son of God (Phil. 2:5-8). Love thinks of others and seeks to serve.

(Helen, we will talk about the feminine gendered “charity” if you would like to start off the discussion:)