It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
(ICor. 13:4)
Love does not want lustfully what does not belong to it. It is contented with what it has and rejoices in the blessing of others. When it itself is blessed, on the other hand, does not boast of its possessions. It is modest and considerate of others who may not have.
Pride is different from boasting in that pride does not need to have anything. Pride is the essence of evil. Pride is manifested in rebellion and disobedience. The greatest achievement of pride is stubbornness. Love however is not self-exulting but humble.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
LOVE
Love is patient, love is kind.
(1 Cor 13:4)
There is no passion greater than love. There is no feeling as demanding as love. The Songs of Songs records... "for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame." (Songs 8:6) Yet true love is willing to wait. It is long suffering and patient. God who is love, has loved us as sinners and is willing to endure our disobedience perchance we turn to Him.
The other mark of love is kindness. To be gentle and merciful. Love is not ruthless and indifferent but will stoop down and show tenderness. Anything that is unkind is not love. How deep then the Father's love for us for His loving-kindness endures forever?!
(1 Cor 13:4)
There is no passion greater than love. There is no feeling as demanding as love. The Songs of Songs records... "for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame." (Songs 8:6) Yet true love is willing to wait. It is long suffering and patient. God who is love, has loved us as sinners and is willing to endure our disobedience perchance we turn to Him.
The other mark of love is kindness. To be gentle and merciful. Love is not ruthless and indifferent but will stoop down and show tenderness. Anything that is unkind is not love. How deep then the Father's love for us for His loving-kindness endures forever?!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Psalms 103:2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
The heart of praise proceeds from a place of remembrance. Remembering the goodness and the kindness of the Lord. The psalmist does not however exhort his soul to remember but to not forget. We are more often than not likely to forget the benefits and the blessings of the Lord. Whether its out of abundance or lack, somehow we forget the source of our supply and become either ungrateful or complaining. May we forget not his benefits that our souls may praise His name.
The heart of praise proceeds from a place of remembrance. Remembering the goodness and the kindness of the Lord. The psalmist does not however exhort his soul to remember but to not forget. We are more often than not likely to forget the benefits and the blessings of the Lord. Whether its out of abundance or lack, somehow we forget the source of our supply and become either ungrateful or complaining. May we forget not his benefits that our souls may praise His name.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Psalms 103:1 Of David. Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name....
The Lord is great and greatly to be praised. Before anything else; before the confession of sins, before the submission of our supplications, before the casting out of demons, the heart ought to pause in the view of the awesome majesty of the glory of God and offer praise. To be simply silent in His majesty and be awed. Let our praise be sincere. Let our affections be heart affections and not merely mind-affections. Let our mouths be silenced by the grandeur and splendor of God's glory. Praise the Lord indeed O my soul.
Monday, July 25, 2011
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalms 23:5
The table of the circumstances you find yourself in are not unknown to the Lord. The emphasis is YOU. The Lord has brought you this far and He is fully aware of the circumstances that you find yourself in. Your Father hears, your Father sees and your Father knows where exactly in the wilderness on the journey to Canaan you are.
Psalms 23:5
The table of the circumstances you find yourself in are not unknown to the Lord. The emphasis is YOU. The Lord has brought you this far and He is fully aware of the circumstances that you find yourself in. Your Father hears, your Father sees and your Father knows where exactly in the wilderness on the journey to Canaan you are.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Why does God allow suffering?
Sin
Sin’s consequences are separation from the goodness of God. This is usually exhibited by suffering. Hebrews 12:17 speaks of the ordeal of Esau after he exchanged his birthright for a morsel of bread. It says, “Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears. These tears from Esau came after the realization that what he had taken for granted was beyond recovery. The misery that he endured for the sin of compromise was great.
The agony of being apart from God is great. Sin will cause great suffering until repented. It was not for naught the Judas had to hang himself after betraying his Master. David cries in Psalms 32:12 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
Sin
Sin’s consequences are separation from the goodness of God. This is usually exhibited by suffering. Hebrews 12:17 speaks of the ordeal of Esau after he exchanged his birthright for a morsel of bread. It says, “Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears. These tears from Esau came after the realization that what he had taken for granted was beyond recovery. The misery that he endured for the sin of compromise was great.
The agony of being apart from God is great. Sin will cause great suffering until repented. It was not for naught the Judas had to hang himself after betraying his Master. David cries in Psalms 32:12 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Why does God allow suffering?
Sovereign Purpose
God is the creator (Elohim) and we are the creatures. He is then at will to do anything He wants with us and through us. This means then that there are moments that we will not fully understand the reasons for His allowing sufferings to fall on believers apart from that He does what He knows is righteous. Deuteronomy 29:29 states 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.
When Job went through great suffering, his friends assumed that they knew the mind of the Almighty by declaring that Job had sinned and that God was punishing him for his sins. Job on the other hand went on the defensive and justified himself to be guiltless to the point of declaring God unjust for punishing a righteous man. When confronted by God about his accusations, Job realized himself to be a fool and God’ wisdom too high for him. He observes in Job 42:3, Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
There are times suffering can not be explained away. It is in the infinite wisdom of God. And as the singer said when we get to heaven, we shall understand it by and by.
Sovereign Purpose
God is the creator (Elohim) and we are the creatures. He is then at will to do anything He wants with us and through us. This means then that there are moments that we will not fully understand the reasons for His allowing sufferings to fall on believers apart from that He does what He knows is righteous. Deuteronomy 29:29 states 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.
When Job went through great suffering, his friends assumed that they knew the mind of the Almighty by declaring that Job had sinned and that God was punishing him for his sins. Job on the other hand went on the defensive and justified himself to be guiltless to the point of declaring God unjust for punishing a righteous man. When confronted by God about his accusations, Job realized himself to be a fool and God’ wisdom too high for him. He observes in Job 42:3, Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.
There are times suffering can not be explained away. It is in the infinite wisdom of God. And as the singer said when we get to heaven, we shall understand it by and by.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)