Do you hate taking tests as much as my students? Most people don’t like to to take tests. Yet, the reality is tests are a part of life. There are spiritual tests that are far more important than academic test. One of the most important tests is the test of love. This test has only one question. No one can take this test for you. You are the only person on earth that can answer this question. The test is scored by God, and God alone. Are you ready? Who or what do you love the most? Don’t be too quick to answer! First consider what the Beloved, Apostle John said about the issue. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1John 2:15 Whatever you answer you give to this question essentially falls into one of two options. Either you love God first and foremost, or you love someone or something in the world the most. While most believers will quickly give assent to the love of God, the question is does our lives demonstrate this reality? Do we show we love God first, by the way we spend our time, our talents, and our treasures? Or, do we simply give lip service to loving God, while all the while we focus on our own wants and desires? Ultimately, this is a matter of the heart! Only you and God know the answer to this question. Over the years I have met people who were “well off” financially, but they did not have a love for the things of this life. Rather, it was very clear their focus was on loving God. At the same time I have met people with very little of this world’s goods, who were constantly focused on the things of this world. I once heard a preacher say, “It is not what you got, it is what has got you!” What is it that captures your attention? What is it that is most on your mind? Is it the Love of the Father, or the love of the world? “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful grace, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.”
Tag Archives: love
28 Days of Love – Day 28
The month of February is coming to a close for another year. Many have long since forgotten those thoughts of love so prevalent in the first fourteen days of the month. Yet, those of us who have been on this 28 Day journey have intentionally kept ourselves focused on the Biblical concept of true love. Our attention focused on “The Love Chapter” where we learned that Love Must Be Our Priority, Love Must Be Practiced, and Love Must Be Permanent. Having examined this glorious chapter on love, let us now turn our attention to consider the words of our Lord while He was here on earth.
Jesus said to him, ” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “This is the first and great commandment. “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
While Jesus’ ministry was well received by the people, the religious leaders were increasingly jealous of the Lord. They wanted to catch Him in His words and embarrass Him in front of the people. In Matthew chapter twenty-two various leaders made attempts to ask Jesus difficult questions, hoping to at least cause a stir. First they asked Him about paying taxes. His answer confounded them. Next they asked Jesus about the Resurrection, an issue that the leaders themselves did not agree upon. Once again, Jesus left them stunned with His wisdom. Finally, they attempted to cause a fuss when then asked Him, “what is the greatest commandment?” Jesus’ response not only ended their inquiry, but stands as an appropriate text for our consideration on this final day of our 28 Days of Love.
Having gained a thorough understanding of what real love is all about over the last 27 days, today we focus on where our love should be focused. Jesus said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” First and foremost our love should be directed at God. He loves us with an everlasting love. His love will never fail. Nothing can separate us from His love. The only proper response to His amazing love is that we love Him more than we love ourselves. We should love Him completely. Notice Jesus words again. We should love God with all our emotion, all our intellect, and all our will. We should love Him with all that we are and all that we have. This is the first and greatest command.
Jesus then turns to the second command, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” That one statement summarizes all we have been learning in 1 Corinthians 13. We are to love others as if we are loving ourselves. What a contrast to the world around us. While worldly wisdom says, “love yourself, watch out for number one, and put yourself first”; Jesus speaks and tells us to love others just as much as we love ourselves. In fact, in John chapter fifteen He said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friend.”[1] The fact is we are to reflect God’s sacrificial love. Jesus sacrificed Himself for us, we should be willing to sacrifice for others.
As this month of love comes to a close, take a few minutes today and evaluate your own love. Now that we really have a better handle on what love is, it is time to ask the hard questions of ourselves. “Do I really love God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind?” “Do I really love my neighbor as myself?” Only you and God know the answer to those questions. Why don’t you take some time today and talk with God about it? Ask Him to help you to truly love, not only on February 14th, but every day of your life.
Be watching for a new devotional series beginning next week.
[1] John 15:13
28 Days of Love – Day 27
Have you ever thought about “The Big Three” of the Christian life? If you had to name the three most important things a believer needs to hang on to as we journey through the ups and downs of living in this world, what would they be? In today’s passage, the Apostle Paul indicates three important things every believer should hold on to. Consider them with me?
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
In the first part of this verse Paul identifies faith, hope and love as three key things that will abide. The phrase is clearly meant to communicate that these three things are critically important to the believer. Other things come and go. We will face good times and difficult times. Whatever our circumstances today, we need faith, hope, and love.
Faith in Jesus is what saves us and brings us into a real relationship with the Father. Faith in Jesus keeps us focused in times of blessing and sustains us in times of trial. We are saved by faith, we walk by faith, and we serve the Lord by faith.
There is a lot of confusion about the nature of Biblical hope. We tend to use the word, “hope” to describe a wish. Like when we say, “I wish the Dallas Cowboys (or your favorite team) will win the Super Bowl. Yet, the Biblical concept of Hope is far beyond a wish. The word actually conveys confidence. This confidence is not in ourselves, our circumstances or in any human being or organization. Rather, our hope rests firmly in Jesus Himself. We have confidence that “He who began a good work in us, will complete it.”
The entire thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians has been teaching us about the importance of love. We have learned that love must be a priority. We have learned that love must be practiced. We have also learned that love is permanent.
Having listed “The Big Three” of the Christian life, the second phrase of today’s verse singles out love as the greatest of “The Big Three.” You may wonder why love is greater than faith and hope. While much could be said about this, let me just point out two things.
First, love is the greatest because if it were not for God’s love, we would have no reason for faith and we would be hopeless. We are all sinners and fall short of a relationship with the Father. Our sin must be punished. Yet God loves us so much, He sent Jesus to die in your place and mine and to rise again, defeating sin, death and the grave. Because He acted in love, we can place our faith in Jesus. In that moment, Jesus saves us from our sin and gives us real hope!
Second, because of God’s love for us, we can love God and then reflect His love for others. The more we grow in Christ, the more we grow in love. For the believer, this love relationship will last forever. There will come a day when we will no longer need faith, because our faith will be sight. There will come a day when we no longer need hope, because our hope will be fulfilled. But we will always need love. We will always experience God’s love for us. We will love Him more and more. We will reflect His love to others throughout all eternity.
Faith is necessary, hope is important, but love will last forever!
28 Days of Love – Day 26
Have you ever stepped out of the shower and tried to use the foggy mirror over the bathroom sink? The steam covered mirror can be a challenge, particularly to a guy trying to shave. Even if you grab a towel and wipe the mirror, often the image is still not very clear.
In the Apostle Paul’s day, the most common mirror was actually made out of metal, rather than glass. If you looked into the mirror, you would certainly see your image, but it was not as clear as we are used to seeing in our modern mirrors. You could see your face, but not near as well as another person could see you. This reality made the illustration in today’s Scripture text a great way for the Corinthians to grasp the issues relating to our human knowledge. Consider the text with me.
“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
There are two key words in this illustration crucial to our understanding: “now” and “then.” In this present life (“now”) we only see things as if we were looking in a mirror. Even the best mirrors do not give us the same view of our own face that a person standing right in front of us sees. In Paul’s day, when they used mirrors like the ones described above, it was even more difficult to really see your face well. On top of that consider the word Paul used to describe the image we see while looking in the mirror. The New King James translates the word, “dimly” and this certainly gives us a sense of the concept. In Greek the idea is described with two words, “en ainigma” meaning, “in an obscure saying” or “in a riddle.”
Having given us the illustration of “now” the Apostle states the issues plainly. “Now I know in part.” While he made this point earlier in the chapter, here he ties the concept to the mirror illustration. The point is that even in our best attempts at knowledge we only see a portion of the picture. Only God sees it all. At any given moment, He sees our past, our present, and our future. He knows the end of each decision we make and each path we take. He sees and knows all. However, our best knowledge is limited. It is like looking in a stainless steel cooking pan. We can see our face, but we only get part of the picture.
Praise the Lord it will not always be like this. One day we will see things differently. The future knowledge of the believer is described by the word, “then.” In the illustration Paul says, “but then face to face.” While I can see my face in a piece of metal, my wife has a much better view when she stands directly in front of me and sees the hair I missed while shaving my neck. Why? I am looking at a diminished image, but she is looking at me face to face.
In the same way the Apostle says, “but then I shall know just as I also am known.” Following the illustration, one day my knowledge will no longer be like looking into a piece of metal, but it will be like standing face to face. I will have a much better view of things, just like my wife knows my face better than I do by looking into a poor mirror. When I receive my glorified body, I will understand things much better than I do today. As the old song says, “We will understand it better, by and by.”
The knowledge we have today will one day become obsolete. Yet, “Love never fails!”
28 Days of Love – Day 25
Do you remember childhood? Remember how you thought about things? A child’s view is much different from an adult’s view. For instance, consider a trip to the grocery store. When parents take their children shopping, it isn’t long before it becomes obvious that parents and children view the task differently.
Dr. Charles Lowry captures this in a story he has often told. It seems a mom took her young son with her to the grocery store. As they made their way down the cookie aisle the boy asked his mother for some chocolate chip cookies. She said no. As they continued throughout the store the boy continued to press the issue and each time mom said no. When they entered the checkout line the boy realized his opportunity was nearing its end. This time, he stood up in the grocery cart and said with a loud voice, “In the name of Jesus, give me some chocolate chip cookies!” I must admit I would love to see that scenario played out, as long as it was not my son!
If we were to be honest, we too look at things, many things, differently now then when we were children. That is a simple fact of life. As we grow older, hopefully we grow wiser. We learn that we cannot always afford chocolate chip cookies. We also learn that while they may make a good special treat, cookies are not a food group that is necessary for life. In fact, too many sweets are not good for us.
This same principle of learning as we grow is true spiritually as well. Consider today’s passage of Scripture.
“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11)
Children should be expected to speak, understand, and think as children. It is sad to see adults trying to make their kids speak, understand, and think like adults. Childhood should be enjoyed. We should allow our children to be children. Yet, we do not want our children to stay children! We want them to learn and grow into adults who will follow Jesus wherever, whenever, and however, He leads them.
When a person first comes to faith in Jesus, we are born into God’s family. As children of God we are newborn babies and need a lot of attention. Just as a baby needs milk and has to grow into eating steak, so new believers need the “milk of the Word” for a period of time. As we grow we can handle more solid food and eventually our teeth and digestive system can enjoy a good steak. So the mature believer can enjoy the “meat of the Word.”
We should always be learning and growing in our relationship and in our knowledge of the things of God. However, we will never reach full maturity in this life. Even the Apostle Paul said, “I do not count myself to have apprehended.” In other words, even Paul was still growing. Ultimate maturity will come in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when Jesus receives His saints in the clouds, gives us our glorified body, and brings us to full Christian maturity. At that point, we will “put away childish things.”
Often we talk about all the questions we will ask of the Lord on that glorious day. I have a suspicion that in the moment we are changed in Christlikeness, many of our questions will fade away. When He makes us complete in Him, we will realize that many of our questions were childish and we will not even ask.
On this earth we must continually seek to grow in our knowledge of the Lord and His truth. Yet, one day all our earthly knowledge will become unemployed as we see Him face-to-face. Yet, even then love will never fail!
28 Days of Love – Day 24
Yesterday we learned that as important as knowledge is, it will one day become unemployed. In contrast love will never fail. We consider knowledge so important that this truth surprises us as much as it did the believers at Corinth. Knowing the struggle we would doubtless have with such a statement, the Spirit led Paul to write the next four verses to help us understand the limitations of knowledge. Consider today’s passage with me.
“For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” (1 Corinthians 13:9-10)
In these two verses we first read a statement followed by a contrast. The statement is a simple communication of fact. “For we know in part and we prophesy in part.” Occasionally we fool ourselves into believe that we have arrived in the area of knowledge. At least in our own area of work or expertise, we think we are doing pretty well. Then we learn something new and realize just how little we actually previously knew.
When I first went to college, one of my professors once told our class, “The biggest thing you will get out of college, is that you will learn how much you don’t know. Hopefully, however, we will give you the tools to become lifelong learners.” Over the years I have found that to be true. No matter how much you study, there is always more to learn. None of us see every aspect of even one single area of study. We “know in part.” Some people may know a larger “part” and some a smaller “part”, but we all have limited knowledge.
The contrast comes in verse ten. “But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” If we really become lifelong learners we will grow in our knowledge. The more complete our knowledge becomes the larger “part” of that particular area of study we will obtain. However, perfect knowledge belongs only to God.
The Bible clearly teaches us that when Jesus (the only One who is perfect) comes back to receive His children, He will transform us. We will begin to see things from a different perspective. We will have a perfected knowledge. In that very instant, that “part” of knowledge that we held on to so dearly will be gone. For the first time in our existence we will be completely free from the influence of our sinful nature, thus giving away to the most complete knowledge that a human being can have.
While we should continually seek to grow in our knowledge, one day the very pursuit will become obsolete. As important as the pursuit of knowledge is, one day the knowledge we can obtain in this life will become unemployed and will be replaced by the perfect knowledge which Jesus will give us at the Rapture. While knowledge will “vanish away”, “Love never fails.”
28 Days of Love – Day 23
At a business seminar the speaker stated there are three ways to really make money in the United States. The first two didn’t surprise me. Real estate has been a source of wealth in our country for some time. The stock market has also been a solid investment, when a long-term approach is taken. The third option purported by the speaker was intellectual property. He said, “Knowledge is a major source of income.” The speaker went on to argue that everyone knows something that others need or want to know. He claimed the key is to first recognize what knowledge you have that others want, and then to learn how to market your knowledge.
In most cultures knowledge is held in high esteem. Some see it as a source of financial gain, as in the case with the speaker above. However, many cultures value knowledge simply for knowledge sake. Many cultures around the world greatly honor teachers as dispensers of knowledge.
In Christian culture, knowledge is also held in high esteem. Of course as believers we distinguish between worldly knowledge and godly knowledge. God’s Word is full of exhortations to seek true knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Indeed, the entire book of Proverbs urges the pursuit of godly knowledge. We correctly honor teachers and preachers who are able to effectively impart Biblical knowledge. Knowledge is certainly important. However, today’s text indicates its usefulness will one day come to an end. Consider it with me.
“Whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)
As important as it is to pursue knowledge, one day it will disappear. The actual Greek word is the same word used to describe the eventual fate of prophecies in the first phrase of the verse. The word means “to render idle, unemployed, inactive, or inoperative.” In other words, the knowledge you have on earth will one day become unemployed. The next four verses explain and illustrate why this is the case, so we will be looking at this over the next few days. For now, what we need to understand is that here the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, contrasts knowledge with love. Knowledge, as we know it, will come to an end. Love will never end.
God’s love for us will never become unemployed! All true believers will continually grow in love, but our love for Him will never end. Indeed, the more we understand God’s love for us, the more we will love the Lord and one another. “Love never fails!”
28 Days of Love – Day 22
How many languages do you know? My native tongue is English. With the Lord’s help I have learned Greek well enough to translate from the New Testament. My Hebrew is a bit rusty, but whenever I spend a little time with it much comes back to me. When we were preparing to adopt Benjamin from China we studied Cantonese and I still remember enough to get around in a pinch. Growing up in a town where the majority population was Hispanic, I picked up a little Spanish along the way, but never formally learned the language. Recently I began trying to really learn Latin American Spanish using Rosetta Stone.
When I reflect on languages I often think of my brother-in-law, Johnny Boley. He taught himself, German, Greek, Russian, Spanish, a little Yiddish, some Hebrew and a few other European languages that my mind fails to remember at the moment. He was certainly gifted in language.
Our Librarian at NEBC not only has a degree in Library Science, but he also has a degree in linguistics. He is so gifted at language that he not only has learned several, but has developed his own language as a hobby. This kind of grasp of language never ceases to amaze me!
The church of Corinth considered a language gift to be very important. While this devotional thought is no place to debate the exact nature of the meaning of “glossa”, the fact remains that whatever the term meant to them, it was considered very important. The use of “tongues” certainly became an issue in the church. Thus the Apostle spent three whole chapters dealing with the issues of this giftedness. While the first verse of chapter thirteen clearly states that love is more important than the language gift, today’s verse makes an even more shocking statement to the Corinthian congregation. Consider it with me.
“Whether there are tongues, they will cease.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)
The Corinthians were caught up in an argument about the proper use of tongues. It appears the controversy had become so intense that a “church fight” ensued. The Holy Spirit led the Apostle to include the Love Chapter right in the middle of his entire teaching on living in the Body and recognizing a diversity of gifts. In this verse, he makes the startling statement that the very gift they were arguing so much about actually had a temporary usefulness. He actually states the truth in even stronger terms than yesterday’s statement about prophecy. Here he simply tells us that “tongues will cease!”
In contrast to the temporary nature of tongues, “Love never fails!” Years ago I heard a pastor say, “We often major on the minors.” He was right! Too often we get hung up arguing about things that are temporary. Many of these things will come to an end. Yet, we argue about them to the point of losing sight of love. This is not to say that to understand the proper use of “tongues” is not important. Certainly it is, or the Bible would not address the issue at all. However, the way we discuss the issue is also important.
As believers we must learn to agree to disagree. We must learn to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, even if they disagree with us strongly. After all, as noted in yesterday’s post, you will be spending eternity with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that you disagreed with while on this celestial ball. So you would be better off to obey the Lord and start loving them right now!
Ask the Father to help you recognize the permanence of love today!
28 Days of Love – Day 21
I just finished teaching a class here at NEBC. On Thursday evenings it is my privilege to teach Revelation: An Intensive Study. Over the years in ministry I have found a lot of interest in the book. Many people, believers and non-believers alike, realize the book is a prophetic word about the future. There is something inside us as human beings that want to know what is going to happen tomorrow.
Beyond the basic human interest, it is important to study the Book of Revelation as well as other prophetic passages of Scripture because every part of God’s Word is important! The prophetic words of the Revelation were written to bring comfort, correction, and warning. As it states in the first chapter, the one who reads, understands, and follows the prophetic message, will be blessed.
As important as the Prophetic Word is, its usefulness is limited. Consider today’s text with me.
“But whether there are prophecies, they will fail;” (1 Corinthians 13:8)
The Greek word, “katargeo”, here translated as, “fail” speaks to the fact that one day prophecies will become useless. Consider some of the ways the word can be translated: “to render idle”, “to render unemployed”, “to be inactive”, “to be inoperative”, “to put an end to”, or “to do away with.” In other words there will come a day when the Prophetic Word will no longer be necessary.
At first thought you may wonder how that is possible. Think with me about it for a minute. One day Jesus is going to return to earth, set up a 1000 year reign, then judge the world, establish a New Heaven and a New Earth, and all believers will live forever in perfect harmony with the LORD and with one another. We will not need a Prophetic Word any longer. The prophecies of the Word will all be fulfilled. If we have a question, we will be able to simply ask the Lord Himself. There will be no more need for the prophetic.
In contrast to the Prophetic Word, love will never cease! Love will continue to be operative, active, employed, and will never put brought to an end. In fact, we will finally have a perfect knowledge of God’s Love for us and we will finally and truly reflect His Love to one another! Love will not cease at all, rather it will be perfected!
I once counseled a believer who was at odds with a brother. All attempts to point the person to the need to forgive and continue to love his brother seemed powerless to impact the man. At one point the statement was made that he hoped he never saw his brother again. I responded, “Well, you will see him again, so you better get used to it!” The man protested saying he would make sure he would never see his brother again. To which I replied, “Well, I know you are both believers, so you will see each other in heaven. Not only that, but you will also love one another in heaven. So you might as well get started right now.”
While even the Prophetic Word will one day cease to be employed, Love will never fail!
28 Days of Love – Day 20
We have a standing joke in our family. Whenever my wife says she is going to the hairdresser to get a permanent, I always speak up. “Now Dear, you are not going to get a permanent! You are going to get a temporary! If it were really a permanent, you would only have to do it once.” After more than twenty-six years of hearing me make this joke, she laughs, smiles, and heads off to get another “permanent.”
The fact is there are not many things that are truly permanent. It seems with each passing year things become less permanent than ever before. Consider the amount of throw away items we purchase on a regular basis. Remember taking the TV, VCR, DVD player to get repaired? No longer! Today it is less expensive to buy a new one than to pay someone to try to fix the old one. The old is simply discarded to make room for the new. Often, an item does not even have to be broken to be thrown away. Many people trash the old just to get the latest and greatest version of the same item.
In a world of temporary, it is great to know there really are some things that are permanent. Thus far in our 28 Days of Love devotionals we have learned that Love must be our Priority and that we need to be careful to really Practice Love. The final paragraph of 1 Corinthians 13 is all about the Permanence of Love. Consider the first sentence of this paragraph with me.
“Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:8)
While this short sentence contains only three small words, it is packed full of meaning! All month we have been working to get a handle on the word “love.” We learned that “agape” or “true love” is a choice to love someone unconditionally and benevolently, doing what is best for the person loved. The word, “never” is often overused. How many times do we use the word “never” only to find ourselves doing or saying exactly what we said we would “never” do or say? However, when God says, “never”; He means, “NEVER!” The last word in the sentence translated here as, “fails” is also a powerful word. The Greek word, “ekpipto” means “to fall down from”, “to fall out of”, or “to fall off.” According to Strong’s Concordance, when used metaphorically the word can mean, “to lose it”, “to perish”, “to fall powerless”, “to fall to the ground”, or “to be without effect.”
While most things in this life will eventually fall, perish, become powerless, or ineffective; love never will! True love really is permanent! Romans 8:38-39 makes it absolutely clear that nothing can separate the believer from the love of God! Indeed, God’s love does not change in the triumphs or tragedies life! His love actually continues even when this life is over. Truly, God’s love is with the believer for all eternity!
Job understood this reality! While he did not understand why the Lord allowed countless tragedies come into his life in a single day, two things He knew for sure: 1. God is good, 2. God loves His children. Therefore, he responded by saying things like, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the LORD”, “Shall we accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity?”, and “Though He slay me, I will trust in God.”
If you are a believer, then no matter your circumstances, you can know with confidence that God’s love for you will never fail! In turn, His desire is that for all eternity we reflect His amazing love to others. Ask Jesus to help you to comprehend the Love God has for you and help you reflect that love to others.
Walking by Faith 