Have you ever made decisions about your relationships based on your feelings instead of the facts? When it comes to love, feelings rule the day. Emotions guide the ship. Ever wish you had a DNA test for love? Paul offers us one, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). In this verse lies a test for love. Love doesn’t ask someone to do what is wrong. If you find yourself prompting evil in others, heed the alarm. And if others prompt evil in you, be alert. That siren you hear? It’s the phony-love detector. Love doesn’t tear … Listen Now
What happens when we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s love? Will standing beneath the downpour of his grace change the way we feel about others? It’s not enough to keep the bad stuff out. We’ve got to let the good stuff in. It’s not enough to keep no list of wrongs. We need to cultivate a list of blessings. Paul says in Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Thinking … Listen Now
Life has a way of unloading her rubbish on our doorstep! Your husband works too much. Your wife gripes too much. Your boss expects too much. Your kids whine too much. The result? Trash. Loads of pessimism, guilt, anxiety—it all piles up. And what about the Pharisees? They killed Christ in their hearts before they killed him on the cross. Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions. Could that be why Paul writes, “Love…keeps no record of wrongs?” (1 Corinthians 13:5). We do have a choice. Paul says we do when he writes, “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” … Listen Now
Do you think God could heal your angry heart? He asks the same question of you that he asked of the invalid in John 5:6, “Do you want to be healed?” Not everyone does. Anger may be part of your identity. T.D. Terry’s stressful job stirred in him daily bouts of anger. A tree near his driveway had been tall. Then lost a few limbs. After some time it was nothing more than a stump. T.D. explained, “I took my anger out on the tree. I took an ax to it. I tore the limbs. I didn’t want to come home mad, … Listen Now
The self-centered see everything through self. Their motto? “It’s all about me!” To the self-centered– the flight schedule, the traffic, the worship styles—everything is filtered through the mini-me in the eye. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.” Looking after your personal interests is proper life management. Doing so to the exclusion of the rest of the world is selfishness. Desire success? Fine. Just don’t hurt others in achieving it. Love isn’t selfish! Love builds up relationships but selfishness corrodes relationships. What’s the cure for selfishness? A … Listen Now
Paul says in Colossians 4:5-6, “Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.” Courteous conduct honors Christ. Those who don’t believe in Jesus note what we do. They make decisions about Christ by watching us. When we are kind, they assume Christ is kind. Courteous conduct also honors God’s child. When you surrender a parking place to someone, you honor them. When you make an effort to … Listen Now
When Paul defined what love is not, he put rudeness on the list. Love is “not rude” (1 Corinthians 13:5). Some years ago an example of rudeness was taken before the courts in Minnesota. A man fell out of his canoe and lost his temper. Though the river was lined with vacationing families, he polluted the air with obscenities. Some of those families sued him. He said, “I have my rights!” God calls us to a higher, more noble concern. Not, “What are my rights?” but “What is loving?” Do you have the right to pretend you don’t hear your wife speaking? Perhaps so, … Listen Now
The humble heart honors others! Jesus is our example. Content to be known as a carpenter and happy to be mistaken for the gardener. He served his followers by washing their feet. He serves us by doing the same. Each morning he gifts us with beauty. Each moment he dwells in our hearts. And does he not speak of the day when, according to Luke 12:37, “the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them?” If Jesus is so willing to honor us, can we not do the same for … Listen Now
True humility is not thinking lowly of yourself but thinking accurately of yourself! When Paul writes “consider others better than yourselves” he uses a verb that means to calculate or to reckon (Philippians 2:3 NIV). It implies a conscious judgment resting on carefully weighed facts. To consider others better than yourself then is, not to say you have no place, but it is to say that you know your place. Scripture says, “Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you” (Romans 12:3 … Listen Now
Love does not boast, it is not proud (1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV). Jesus has no room for pecking orders. His solution to man-made caste systems? A change of direction. In a world of upward mobility, choose downward servility. “Regard one another as more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 NASB). Jesus flip-flopped the pecking order. Would you do what Jesus did? He swapped a spotless castle for a grimy stable. He exchanged the worship of angels for the company of killers. If you knew that only a few could care that you came, would you still come? If you knew that those you loved … Listen Now
