July 20 1 Cor 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. How do I love well? Today I want to focus on another powerful way that love and wisdom are tied together. The motivation for both is God-centered and other-centered. Notice verse 1 Cor 13:5 “(Love) it is not self-seeking” and in James 3:14-16, James discusses that earthly wisdom is based on “selfish ambition”. The implication is that love and wisdom both reject selfishness as a basis for their exercise in the kingdom of God. I remember well my prayer to God thanking Him for helping me overcome so many of my sins as my airplane lifted off from Dallas Fort Worth airport and headed toward Papua New Guinea years ago. In my mind, I was making so great a sacrifice for God by going to the mission field that many of my struggles, my sins, and personality quirks, were being left behind in America. The only problem I didn’t realize is that I got off the plane with me when I landed in Papua New Guinea. That is, all my emotional hang-ups and sin got off the plane with me in Papua New Guinea. God didn’t just magically get rid of who I was on the inside and completely transform me during the plane ride. A great truth you may soon discover in El Salvador is that you get off the plane with you. Traveling to and working in different culture can be a fantastic way to get know yourself very well. The things you shine at will really shine on the mission field. The things you stink at can really stink on the mission field. Everything becomes magnified. Remember that when you are stressed (and you will be in El Salvador), when you are in unfamiliar areas (which many of you will be), and when you are tired ( and all of us will be), you tend to gravitate towards protecting yourself, looking out for yourself, and seeing only your own perspective. This can make for poor relationships and for poor ministry. To love well and to be wise require you to prayerfully seek strength from God when you are tired or stressed. God will allow you to be stretched in such a way that He will work through your limitations, not in spite of them. I thought God would magically remove all my struggles but He proved himself faithful by working with me through them. As I heard in a prayer one time, “thank you God that you don’t work in spite of the garbage in lives, you work through the garbage in our lives.” Loving well means submitting to God and giving up on our rights and our privileges for the sake of God and other people. Prayer Focus: 1. Am I willing to put other people’s needs above my own? 2. Do I realize that I will be stretched and challenged in El Salvador? 3. Do I realize just how much God loves me? Pray for People: 1. Steffany Gavidia 2. Mirba Cruz & son 3. Pastor Job and church from San Miguel 4. Mason Smith 5. Stacy Wicks 6. Beth Wiley
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 02:29:22 +0000
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