Effort or Revelation?

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29 NKJV

Have you ever been stuck in needing to know something?  There’s a situation happening in your life and you have this unrelenting need to know why it’s happening.  Ever been there?

The children of Israel had that problem too.  Moses gave them some good advice.  “The secret things belong to the Lord our God…” He suggests that the unknown or secret things belong to God and are not for us to know, so move on.

Moses continues saying, “but those things which are revealed belong to us…” In effect he is admonishing the children of Israel to leave the unknown to God and focus on what has been revealed to us.  That’s great advice.  Focusing on the uncertain only creates worry and anxiety.  However, focus on what is known is more tangible, concrete, stable and comforting. This verse is reassuring for a number of reasons.

First is suggests God is the one in control.  He decides what we need to know giving our current situation, state of maturity and belief in Him.  He gives us exactly what we need in that moment, no more and no less.  Second our knowledge doesn’t come from the effort, strain or desire we place in studying God’s Word.  It is good to study God’s Word, but we must recognize our dependence on God to reveal His Truth to us.  The third reason this verse is reassuring is because what is revealed belongs to us forever.  God’s wisdom is not granted temporarily.  It is given forever.  The truth He reveals cannot be taken away.  Oh, we may forget it sometimes but God even ensures against that by giving us His Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit’s job is to bring to remembrance all God has shown us.  How fabulous is that?

Some folks think studying God’s Word is like mining for gold.  It takes a lot of hard work to uncover a single nugget of truth.  But those who think that are relying on their own effort to understand.  Yes, there is effort involved in studying God’s Word, but God is the one revealing His truth at the appropriate time.  Have you ever read a passage of scripture and found more meaning in it than the first time you read it?  The first time you might get some understanding, but some time later you read the same verse and this time it has a fuller meaning.   That’s God showing you a little more.  There is the element of obedience required, where we continue to read and study God’s Word.  The payoff happens when God decides to unlock His Words when you’re ready for the truth.  It’s a beautiful thing when that starts happening.

Why does God reveal anything to us in the first place?  The answer is wrapped up in the last part of today’s verse: “that we may do all the words of this law.”  God wants us to succeed. He wants His children to prosper. Following God’s plan is the only way.  When He reveals Himself to us, we are more likely to trust and follow Him.  It’s a process that will last our entire life.  He reveals a little more each day.  We learn to trust Him more with each circumstance.  Therefore, we are more inclined to trust Him with the next situation that arises.

God is in control.  Our effort doesn’t increase our knowledge because God reveals truth in His timing.  His Holy Spirit helps us not forget the truth He reveals, so we may have it forever.  Is God great or what?

Thank you, God, for revealing what we need to know when we need it.  We trust you to provide exactly the truth needed for every situation.  We come to you in complete dependence on you.  In Jesus’ name we pray Amen.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade.  Author of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com and BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites she has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

Deuteronomy 28 – Blessings or Cursings ~ The Choice is Yours

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV

Read Deuteronomy 28.  It’s a long chapter, but read it anyway.  It describes the blessing of obedience to God and the curses that come from disobeying God.  While reading think about today’s verse: 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Keep in mind even this section of scripture has something in it for us.  Though we are no longer under law, because Jesus came to fulfill the law, we are wise to be trained by it.  The law teaches us there are consequences attached to our decisions.  Sometimes we forget that. The law also teaches us we can not keep it.  So it actually points out our flaw (sin) and our need for help (Savior).

I know most people don’t like talking about all the negatives.  We’d rather read about the blessings instead.  Deuteronomy 28 reveals in great detail what happens when people choose not to follow God.  Fifty-three verses dedicated to describing the high cost of disobedience might indicate that God wants us to understand our decisions have consequences.

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments… all these blessings will come upon you.  God will set you high above all nations of the earth.  You will be blessed in the city, country, with children, food, wealth, etc.  You will be blessed in coming and going, in your work, in the land.  Your enemies will be defeated and the Lord will establish you.  The list of blessings continues on.  It’s pretty exhaustive.  God is definitely generous as all these blessings should be overwhelming.  We can take these as training in righteous.

But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes…all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.  The same blessings described above turn into curses when there is disobedience.  Forty-nine more verses describe the all encompassing defeat experienced in every area of life.  The list is so awful you wouldn’t even want your worst enemy to experience it.  This is an example of rebuke.

Therefore, having read both sides the intelligent person can make an informed decision.  By weighting the pros and cons of following verses not following God, discernment and wisdom come.  For God wants us to count the cost of obedience the same way a builder counts the cost of building a house.  Weigh it for your self.  No one else can do it for you.  An example is given.  It’s our choice which one we follow.   Stopping long enough to decision is actually a form of correction.  For taking time to think about it, you may alter your decision, turning away from an automatic response and choosing to do right instead.

Of course God, like any good parent, wants His children to listen to Him.  He knows what’s best for us.  He even knows us better than we know our self.  His plan is to prosper us and lead us into an abundant and eternal life.  The Bible is God’s Word, given that we may know Him and how to live for Him.  His word equips us for His purposes.

Lord God Almighty, thank you for your word and your Spirit to lead us into all truth.  Help us make the wise choice of obeying the voice of the Lord our God.  Speak to us through your word.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade.  Author of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com and BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites she has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true

Read John 5:31-40.

In Biblical times, it was custom to have two or three witnesses to establish the truth.  Well, Jesus gave us four witnesses.  Jesus never ran around saying, “Hey everyone I am the Savior of the world.”  He didn’t say, “I am God so you’d better listen to me.”  Instead, He relied on four other witnesses — the word of God, God the Father, what others said of Him, and His life.

Jesus told the Jews the scriptures testified of Him.  He went so far as explaining, if they had believed Moses then they would believe Him because the word of God was written about Him.  Think about this.  All the writing of Moses, the first five books of the Bible, testified of Jesus.  Contained in those five books are the account of creation, sin, sacrifice, the Ten Commandments, disobedience by children of God, inheritance and the promises of God.  All those things were pictures of Jesus and His purpose.   Then there are the prophetic books indicating the Messiah coming from a virgin birth and other references of the Messiah’s work when He arrived here (Isaiah 61:1-3, Isaiah 53).  Scripture speaks of Jesus.

Jesus explained the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  Remember, when John the Baptist, baptized Jesus?  A voice from heaven said, “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  At the transfiguration, Peter, James and John, witnessed the Father speaking from heaven again saying, “This is My Son, listen to Him.”  God the Father testified of Jesus.

Jesus let others say who He was.  In both Matthew 26:62-64 and Mark 15:2 when the priests and Pilot asked him if he was the son of God, king of the Jews, Jesus answered, “It is as you say.”  He didn’t rub their noses in it.  He didn’t fight His way out of the circumstance He was in.  He didn’t monologue all the proof points of His deity.  He simply let other’s speak of Him.  In John 1:29, John 1:32-35, John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God and the Son of God.  Peter confessed Him as “the Christ”.  Philip told his brother we’ve found the Messiah, come and see.  Even Simeon an elderly priest upon seeing the 8 day old Jesus, said  he could die in peace for he had seen the promised One.

As if all these witnesses were not enough, Jesus also let His life and His works demonstrate who He was.  No mere human could have done all the things Jesus did.  His works pointed to His deity and power.  He healed a man who was born blind.  Never before had that happened.  He cast out demons from a little girl, the little boy, and the man at the tombs.  He healed lepers which was incurable in those days.  He even raised the dead multiple times.  There was a young man, a little girl, Lazarus and of course Himself, all were raised from the dead.

Following Jesus example, we don’t need to tell people we are Christians.  Our very life should be testimony enough.  Proverbs 27:2 says “Let another man praise you; and not your own mouth; a stranger and not your own lips.”   As we take Jesus’ commands to heart and begin living them out, our lives become the very “light of the world” Jesus called us to be.  Jesus told us to love one another for in doing so the world will know we are His disciples.

Would others know you’re a Christian by your behavior, words, or works?  What does your life say about Jesus?

Lord thank you for your example, your word and your spirit to lead us into all truth.  Guide us this day that your word may abide in us.  Let your love shine through us so the world may see you, believe you are real and be saved for all eternity.  In your precious name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade.  Author of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com and BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites she has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

Two Reminders

Read Genesis 17.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Genesis 17:1-2 NKJV

Change comes from God. As we see in the first verse, “walk before Me and be blameless.” When we are connected to God we will live differently. But sometimes it’s hard to remember that. We need reminders of what God has done and what He promised to do. So God gave Abram two reminders.

The first reminder is an actual name change. God said Abram was no longer Abram, but Abraham and Sarai was no longer Sarai, but Sarah. A change in identity is necessary for those walking with the Lord. God is Almighty. He is pure and sinless. He can not be in the presence of sin. The sin must be dealt with before we be in relations with God. Therefore, He changes Abram’s and Sarai’s identities to Abraham and Sarah as a verbal reminder God is the one in control and enabling them to be blameless. So it is with those who believe in Christ. We are no longer our own. We are now God’s, a new creation created in Jesus Christ. We have a new identity too. We are Christians.

And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.” Genesis 17:9-11 NKJV

The second reminder was a physical marker. God told Abraham that he and all the males among him should be circumcised. This is a very interesting area of the body for a reminder, is it not? The foreskin located on the man’s reproductive organ is not something that’s visible to most people. Typically, we keep our reproductive parts covered. So this reminder speaks of the change God causes is an internal change not easily seen by others. Not only is the reminder not commonly visible, but it is extremely personal. The symbol of God’s covenant is carved into the man’s physical body in such a way as he will see it each time he relieves himself. This speaks to the fact we need to remember God’s promises every day. Perhaps circumcise also is a means of dealing with pride also. Think about how a man takes pride in his reproductive organ. (You’ve heard men brag about their reproductive organ.) Having this extremely painful procedure done on their prize possession might speak to the fact that pride must be dealt with.

So what reminders do we have today to help us remember what God has done?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NKJV

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

Lord God Almighty, you are the one who makes the covenants with His people. You are the one who changes us from the inside. Help us to remember all that you have done and all you promise to still do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade. Author of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com and BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites she has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

Repent with Sincerity

Remember what 2 Chronicles 7:14 said? There are four steps leading to healing. Humble ourselves, pray and seek God were the first three steps. These steps prepared us for the action step.

The fourth step in healing is repentance. Don’t let the word “repent” scare you. It simply means turning from and turning to something. It’s a decision to change your mind. It means to stop one way and start another. God asks us to turn from ungodly ways and turn to Him.

So let’s look at what we need to turn from as 2 Timothy 3:2-5 outlines:

For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Pastor Rick Warren took these items and looked each word up in the Greek to seek further meaning. We’ll use his list (taken from January 10-11, 2009 sermon) as our checklist below. Rate how frequently you see these appearing in your life. Use the following scale: 1 for not at all, 2 for occasionally, 3 more than I’d like, 4 becoming a habit, and 5 all the time.

Self-absorbed	1 2 3 4 5
Money focused	1 2 3 4 5
Self promoting	1 2 3 4 5
Status conscious	1 2 3 4 5
God-insulting	1 2 3 4 5
Rude, disrespectful	1 2 3 4 5
Unappreciative	1 2 3 4 5
Crude and profane	1 2 3 4 5
Unkind and heartless	1 2 3 4 5
Unwilling to forgive	1 2 3 4 5
Slanders and gossips	1 2 3 4 5
Impulsive and uncontrolled	1 2 3 4 5
Loves violence	1 2 3 4 5
Cynical, hate do-gooders	1 2 3 4 5
Double-dealing	1 2 3 4 5
Reckless and rash, irresponsible	1 2 3 4 5
Puffed up with pride	1 2 3 4 5
Choosing pleasure over God	1 2 3 4 5
Fake spirituality	1 2 3 4 5

If you rated any item more than a 1, stop. Pray and ask God to help you repent of this ungodly behavior. Confess it and ask for forgiveness.

Acts 3:19 NKJV says “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Now who doesn’t want their sins blotted out and times of refreshing to come?

Act now. Turn from your ungodly ways and turn to God Himself. In this turning you are repenting. If repentance comes with sincerity, it is well pleasing to God and He will be glorified.

Lord Almighty, your Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment to come. May your word settle deep without our hearts that we may be convicted of ungodly behaviors to confess them and be freed from them. Forgive us our sins and send your times of refreshing. In Jesus’ name Amen.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade. Author of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com and BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites she has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

Seek God with Intensity

Is God your first priority? Is He your daily passion?

Well, He is if we are diligent in seeking Him. Deuteronomy 4:29 NKJV says “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

So what keeps us from seeking God? Many things keep us from approaching Him with our needs and troubles. Let’s take a look at a few:

Pride is a biggy. We might think we can handle things on our own. After all we have a good life. Maybe we’re married, have a good income, nice house, reliable cars and a family. Things are good we may think why do I need God?

Busyness is another distracter. We are just too busy to think about God. Really, look at everything we are expected to do each day. Get the kids ready for school, make breakfast, lunches and get dinner ready. Then there’s work to do, either outside or inside the home. Then the chores pile up like laundry, cleaning, yard work, car maintenance, and paying all the bills. That doesn’t even account for all the errands and driving the kids to after school activities. We are busy.

Personal pleasures may be another thing keeping us from God. Maybe we have an incomplete or warped picture of God that we think He’s out to get us or remove all fun in life. We live for enjoyment, entertainment and pleasure, like the songs says “if it feels this good it can’t be bad.” We live for pleasure.

Can you relate to any of those excuses? Yes, they are excuses. For each one there are things we could do to make room for God if we simply choose to. If we are serious about seeking God, then we are also serious about removing the obstacles. Remember we can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

So let’s look at how to overcome each of these obstacles.

Handling Pride

First is recognizing pride. Once you see it, confess it to God through prayer. Then be watchful of repeating the same prideful behavior or attitude. You may find yourself confessing the same issue more than once. Don’t worry, just do it as many times as it takes. For more on handling pride see Confess with Humility.

Handling Busyness

Busyness is simply letting life run you rather than you planning your life. What we need here are two tools of productivity. First is setting your priorities. What is most important to you? Identify it. Write it down. Second is time management. Schedule what’s most important. For example, make an appointment with God each day, even if for only 15 minutes. Then protect that time slot. Do not let anything get in the way. Everything else can wait a mere 15 minutes. Learn to say no to unimportant activities that fill your time. Make room for God.

Handling Personal Pleasures

If you think there’s no fun, excitement or adventure in living a godly life, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Following God is filled with joy, wonder and adventure as we look to see what He plans to do next in and through us. So what’s needed here is a commitment to seek God and Bible studies to help you get to know the real God and His ways.

Are you willing to do whatever it takes to tackle the excuses and seek God?

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Matthew 6:33 NKJV “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

God takes care of His people. When you set your mind on Him He brings about perfect peace for those who trust Him (Isaiah 26:3).

Lord God Almighty, you are a rewarder of those who seek you. Encourage our hearts today that we may seek you with all our heart and soul. Let us do whatever it takes to make room for you and seek you every day of our life. In Jesus’ name we pray Amen.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade. Author of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com , YourBibleWitnessAtWork.com, & BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites. She has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

Confess with Humility

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Are you able to admit when you are wrong? How about confessing your part in a disagreement? Are you able to come before someone and share your flaws, problems, addictions, hang-ups, or struggles?

If you answered yes, then chances are you are on your way to be humble. If you answered no even to one of these questions you might have to deal with your pride. James 4:8 NIV says “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want God opposing me. I want his grace instead.

No one can be humble when they are full of pride. One must first empty out the pride before humility will shine. How do we empty out the pride?

Start by identifying all the ways pride shows up in your life. This may take some time. You may want to start a journal to keep track of the times you spot it. If you don’t think you have pride, ask God to help you see. Look for situations where your thoughts are constantly about you. Bingo! There’s pride. Watch for times when your feelings are hurt when no recognizes your good deed and log that down too. Yep, more pride. Listen to your words. Are they bragging or boasting about your hard work or your efforts? Now, you’re starting to see pride.

This next step helps you deal with pride appropriately. Once pride is identified, learn to confess it to God through prayer as soon as possible. This will help get rid of pride before it becomes a stronghold. Learning to pray on the spot to confess your pride when it happens also develops a lifestyle of prayer which will draw you closer to God.

The last step in this exercise is talking things over with a trusted Christian friend of the same sex as you. Sometimes lessons aren’t learned completely until they’re shared with another believer who can help you see what you might have missed. Other times the believer is there for moral support. James 5:16 NIV says “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” It’s difficult being completely honest with our self. We need the strength of other believers to encourage onward so we don’t grow weary of doing what it right.

Proverbs 28:13 NIV says “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” If we want to learn to be humble, we identify pride in our life then confess it to God and others through prayer. Openly facing our flaws and asking for God’s grace is the path towards humility. Of course, none of this is possible with out the power from Jesus Christ in us. Through Him we can do all things.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade. Author of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com , YourBibleWitnessAtWork.com, & BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites she has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

Genesis 12 – Faithful

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The Lord tells Abram to leave his country, family and father’s house. In return the Lord said he would make Abram a great nation, make his name great and bless him. He also said he was blessing Abram so Abram could bless others. Along with that the Lord said anyone who curses you will be cursed. All the families of the earth will be blessed through Abram. What was Abram’s response? He departed as the Lord had spoken to him. He responded in quick obedience.

Later in the land of Canaan and Shechem, the Lord says I’m giving this land to your descendants. What was Abram’s response? He built an alter to his Lord and kept moving. He worshipped the Lord. He obeyed the Lord.

Now with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, Abram builds another alter to the Lord and calls upon His name. What was Abram’s response? He sought the Lord’s counsel. Then he journeyed south.

Next we see Abram in Egypt during a famine. Abram fearing for his own life decides to lie about Sarai being his wife. He thought the Egyptians would kill him to take her. He starts handling things on his own rather than calling on the Lord. (See verse 10 through 16) What happened? Abram was obedient up to this point. What caused him to not trust the Lord?

But what encourages me the most is how God chose to continue using Abram, despite his lack of faith, his need to control things, his self-preservation, fear and his lying and scheming. God still worked despite Abram’s missteps.

And so it is with us. We may be obedient one time and disobedient the next, just like Abram. But God still uses us. He still works in us and through us to accomplish His great purposes.

God is not looking for the perfect. He’s looking for the faithful; those who will trust Him no matter what. But even if we do slip up and depend on our own strength once in awhile, God doesn’t leave us there. He draws us back into His care.

Lord, thank you for being willing to put up with less than perfect followers. Thank you for drawing us near time and time again. In Jesus’ name we pray Amen.

©Elizabeth Marks has led small group Bible studies for almost a decade. She is creator of ThinkOnItBibleDevotions.com , YourBibleWitnessAtWork.com, and BeingWomenOfInfluence.com websites and has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word.

What Love Does

Having finished Saddleback Church’s 40 Days of Love Bible study, I am challenged to apply the biblical principles Jesus taught us through his own personal relationships with others. I’m sure you will be challenged to. Let’s look at four things love does and see how well we do.

Love Extends Grace

Grace is undeserved merit. Forgiven a debt we owe. God showers us with grace through Jesus Christ because we owed a debt of sin we couldn’t pay. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ paid for our sin when he died on the cross in our place. Since we’ve been given freedom from penalty of death, we are to extend the same kind of grace towards others.

What does extending grace to others look like? It can mean many things in various circumstances. For example say a husband and wife are having a conversation and the husband rolls his eyes as the wife tries to share something about her day. Extending grace might mean she doesn’t hold the “eye rolling” against him but instead lets the “offense” fall to the ground. In another situation extending grace might look like this, you hold your tongue while a co-worker continues complaining about all that’s wrong rather offering suggestions on how to make it right.

Don’t forget to extend grace to yourself. That’s right we need to cut our self a little slack when we mess up. The enemy likes to make us feel terrible about our mistakes, but the truth is Jesus cleansed us from all unrighteousness. Although, we may stumble from time to time, Jesus holds us with His outstretched arms.

Love Expresses Faith

Faith is about believing in what we can not see. It is being confident God will save us though we haven’t seen the end of story yet. You’ve heard the saying “blind faith”. It probably comes from this notion. Our God is invisible. We can’t see Him with our eyes. We read about Him in the Bible. We pray to Him though we can not physically touch Him. The more we understand God and His Ways the easier it becomes to love and believe Him.

When we pray, we express faith. When we read God’s Word, we express faith. When we choose God’s Way over our way we demonstrate our faith. But we don’t just express faith in God. We also express faith in others.

What does it look like to express faith in others? Maybe having faith in someone means receiving love from someone who has previously hurt you. Believing they really do love you and choosing to accept their love is expressing faith in them. In other cases, trusting someone enough to share your heart is an example of expressing faith. Having faith your child will grow into a responsible adult is another way.

Love Expects the Best

Love is optimistic. It looks for the best in others. Love builds up instead of tearing down. Therefore, love will find a way to draw good out of others. One way to expect the best is to give people the benefit of doubt. Don’t automatically assume the worse motives for someone’s behavior towards you. Instead try to assume their motives were pure. We will never know another person’s true motives. Only God knows our intentions and motives. Therefore, we should expect the best in others and let God deal with their motives at the appropriate time.

Love Endures the Worst

This aspect of love is a difficult one. When things get tough, the tough run and hide. But love is different. Love doesn’t flee when relationships get rocky. Love bares all things, believes all things and endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). Love will put up with bad behavior. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love says “I’ll stick with you to the end.”

What does it mean to endure the worst? Perhaps it means forgiving a spouse who cheated on you but has returned to you. Maybe it means sticking with a seriously ill friend until the end comes. In other cases, love endures by visiting an elderly person in a nursing home. It may mean enduring a 3-year-old child’s temper tantrum without screaming in return. Life can be unpleasant, painful and messy. Love endures the worst.

So how did we do? Rate your self on how well you:

Extend Grace

Express Faith

Expect the Best

Endure the Worst

Lord God Almighty, we are forever amazed at the depth of your love. Continue your good work in us that we, too, may learn how to love others as you have loved us. In Jesus’ name we pray Amen.

© Elizabeth Marks, author of ThinkOnIt Devotions and has a heart for encouraging others with God’s Word. For more devotions, bible studies and a recommended book store, visit http://www.ThinkOnItDevotions.com today.

Love Never Loses Faith

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.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT

Love never gives up and never loses faith.  What is faith anyway?  Faith is believing what we can’t see.

Reading Mark 9, three verses stood out to me: Mark 9:19, 9:23 and 9:29.  Lets take look.

Mark 9:19 Jesus calls the people a “faithless generation”.  The people didn’t believe the demon could be cast out of the man’s son.

Mark 9:23 When the man begged Jesus to help, Jesus responds with “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”  The man didn’t really believe Jesus could heal his son.  Jesus tells him it’s possible if you believe.

Mark 9:29 When the disciples ask why they couldn’t do it, Jesus says “This kind can come out by nothing by prayer and fasting.”  Again, this is a reference to unbelief.  The disciples didn’t believe they could do it.

Something else stuck me as I read this scenario over and over.  The Great Commandment in Mark 12:30-31 came to mind: “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

If faith is about believing and we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, one of the ways we do this is through prayer and fasting.  By praying we are believing God exists.  We are connecting to God by engaging our heart, soul and mind.  When we fast, along with prayer, we engage our body and strength.  This is love in action.

Self check: How easily do I lose my faith?  A crisis situation occurs. An irritating co-worker interrupts you.  What I really want to happen doesn’t. How often do I turn to God prayer?  How often to I engage my whole body in prayer through fasting?

Don’t give up.  Continue to believe.  For God rewards those who seek Him. Love never loses faith.