40 Days of Truth - 39
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of TRUTH
Day 39 | WHAT IS LOVE?
40 Days of TRUTH
Day 39 | WHAT IS LOVE?
WHAT IS LOVE?
1 Corinthians 13:4-6
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.” (NLT)
These verses are – of course – from the famous “love chapter” in the Bible. As a pastor, I’ve used these words many times in weddings over the years. However, in light of this series of daily devotionals on TRUTH, these verses take on a new emphasis.
Usually, we focus on the first part – love being kind and patient and not jealous or boastful or proud or rude or demanding or irritable and so on.
Verse five says: “and keeps no record of being wronged.” Other translations say: “… thinks no evil” which literally means “love does not store up the memory of any wrong it has received.” Love will put away the hurts of the past instead of clinging to them.
Then we read: “(LOVE) does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the TRUTH wins out.”
We know that Followers of Jesus are to be for justice – “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
But also, if we are practicing LOVE, we must “REJOICE whenever the TRUTH wins out.”
The thought crosses my mind: Do we always KNOW when truth wins out?
So again, the reference here – from a simple point of view – is that a BATTLE is going on between what is TRUE and what is FALSE.
Almighty God IS TRUTH.
Fallen angel Lucifer, aka Satan is “the father of lies” (John 8:44) and is the SOURCE of all lies.
So, the task for us is to learn how to separate the TRUE from the FALSE and then to recognize the SOURCE of each.
Today, this task is as difficult as it has ever been in my lifetime. So many “fake news” articles, so many “untrue” internet posts, so many “half-truths” and “innuendos” on seemingly EVERY side of every issue.
So then, what are we do to? Give up? NO.
We must PRAY for discernment. We must PRAY for good judgement. We must SEEK the Scriptures for guidance and lean on the Holy Spirit to discern true from false and good from bad.
With the upcoming election – and truly for EVERY election – we must let our Faith in Christ and the Word of God inform our decision about WHOM we should vote for – at all levels.
Prayer: Lord, help me to DISCERN better. Help me to SEE how Your Word can help me to see things from YOUR point of view. Help me to rely more on the Holy Spirit to guide me in little things and in big things. Amen.
1 Corinthians 13:4-6
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.” (NLT)
These verses are – of course – from the famous “love chapter” in the Bible. As a pastor, I’ve used these words many times in weddings over the years. However, in light of this series of daily devotionals on TRUTH, these verses take on a new emphasis.
Usually, we focus on the first part – love being kind and patient and not jealous or boastful or proud or rude or demanding or irritable and so on.
Verse five says: “and keeps no record of being wronged.” Other translations say: “… thinks no evil” which literally means “love does not store up the memory of any wrong it has received.” Love will put away the hurts of the past instead of clinging to them.
Then we read: “(LOVE) does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the TRUTH wins out.”
We know that Followers of Jesus are to be for justice – “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
But also, if we are practicing LOVE, we must “REJOICE whenever the TRUTH wins out.”
The thought crosses my mind: Do we always KNOW when truth wins out?
So again, the reference here – from a simple point of view – is that a BATTLE is going on between what is TRUE and what is FALSE.
Almighty God IS TRUTH.
Fallen angel Lucifer, aka Satan is “the father of lies” (John 8:44) and is the SOURCE of all lies.
So, the task for us is to learn how to separate the TRUE from the FALSE and then to recognize the SOURCE of each.
Today, this task is as difficult as it has ever been in my lifetime. So many “fake news” articles, so many “untrue” internet posts, so many “half-truths” and “innuendos” on seemingly EVERY side of every issue.
So then, what are we do to? Give up? NO.
We must PRAY for discernment. We must PRAY for good judgement. We must SEEK the Scriptures for guidance and lean on the Holy Spirit to discern true from false and good from bad.
With the upcoming election – and truly for EVERY election – we must let our Faith in Christ and the Word of God inform our decision about WHOM we should vote for – at all levels.
Prayer: Lord, help me to DISCERN better. Help me to SEE how Your Word can help me to see things from YOUR point of view. Help me to rely more on the Holy Spirit to guide me in little things and in big things. Amen.
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