Feb. 14, 2014–Love is a “choice” word

February 14, 2014 By

The Sams Valentine's Day 2014Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Chances are very good that you’ve heard these words read at a service of Christian marriage at one time or another. It was the Scripture of choice for most, if not all couples whose marriage services I was privileged to conduct over the past 31+ years of ordained ministry.

 

(It is also the Scripture of choice for Valentine’s Day apparently…see last year’s DWOD)

 

Coming on the heels of Paul’s extensive teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is clearly meant to tell us that such lofty characteristics of love are not attainable on our strength alone. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit operating in us that we can even conceive of such love being expressed by us. As Paul reminds us elsewhere: God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.(Romans 5:5)

 

At the same time though, we have learned from experience that when push comes to shove, the way we express ourselves in love is also a choice.

 

Yes, “love is patient”,but when my patience is tested by one who keeps on ignoring me over and over again, I must exercise my will and choose to be patient.

 

Yes, “love is kind”, but when someone is cruel to me, and my first impulse is to retaliate with a verbal missile, I must choose to abort its launch.

 

Yes, “love does not envy”, but when I see someone getting more recognition than I do for less work than I do, it is my choice that determines whether the lens through which I view them is envy green or pure white.

 

Get the picture?

 

This is why in Colossians 3:14, Paul tells us to “put on love.”

 

When you read the verses that precede these words, you will realize that Paul is using the analogy of removing old clothing and putting on a new outfit. In verse 12 he says: “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

 

It is similar to the way we choose which item in our wardrobe we will wear on a given day. Any number of choices can vie for our attention, but we cast the deciding vote.

 

On Valentine’s Day, you can easily get the impression that love is something that only oozes out of us in rising rivulets of emotion.

 

Yes, love is emotional, and it must express itself emotionally, but love is not primarily an emotion, it is first and foremost a decision.

 

Love is indeed a “choice” word!

 

I have been known to tell couples at their wedding that it is easy to say “I love you” when you’re in the mood for romance, the candle is burning and the wine is flowing.

 

But the real test of love comes…

When you wake up in the morning to the scary sight of your partner’s “bed head”,

When the excitement of expecting a baby is tempered by the onset of morning

sickness in your pregnant wife—every blessed day for three blessed months straight,

          When the stack of unpaid bills signals outflow exceeding income—for the sixth month in a row…

That’s when your spouse needs to see the love of God that was poured into your heart flowing out from you.

 

Ask Holy Spirit in you for help. Then make the right choice. Chances are very good that it will be the choice of Love.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Feb. 13, 2014–Keep Moving

February 14, 2014 By

keepmoving(Be blessed by this DWOD for Feb. 13, 2014 by guest contributor Os Hillman)

“Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”(Exodus 14:15)

Moses had brought the whole nation of Israel, approximately 600,000, to a dead end in the desert. The only thing between Israel and Pharaoh’s pursuing army was the Red Sea. This was after ten plagues God had inflicted on Pharaoh to motivate him to free the Israelites. Finally, Pharaoh had freed Moses and the people, and they left Egypt.

They thought they were home free. “Freedom at last,” they said. But God did a strange thing. He directed Moses to take a route that led to the Red Sea, instead of the northern route around the Red Sea. God explained that He didn’t want them fighting the enemies they would have encountered on this route. But still, there was the issue of the Red Sea.

They finally arrived at the Red Sea, and the people were wondering where they would go from there. News hit the camp: Pharaoh had changed his mind. He was coming after them with his army. Panic set in. The defenseless Israelites cried out, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?…It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Ex. 14:11b-12)

God sometimes brings each of us to a “Red Sea” in our life. It may be a work problem that can’t be solved. It may be a marriage that seems to be failing. It may be a debilitating disease. Whatever your Red Sea, God tells us one thing: “Keep moving.” The Red Sea was before them, yet God was angered at Moses and told him to “Keep moving.”

“But Lord, the Red Sea is before me.” “Keep moving.” When we live by sight, we act on what we see. God sets this stage in dramatic fashion. God is into the dramatic. There is no way out without God here. That is just the way He wants it. No one will get glory except God.

A friend once admonished me when I was in the midst of an extremely difficult time in my life, “You must not withdraw from being proactive in your faith just because of this trial that you are in. God’s hand is on your life. There are too many who are depending on you to fulfill the purposes God has in your life. Keep moving! Keep investing yourself in others.”

I didn’t feel like it. I was in too much pain. But I did it anyway. God met me at the point of my greatest need once I decided simply to be obedient. Getting past myself by investing myself in others helped heal the pain.

There is great healing when we look past our own problems and seek to invest ourselves in others for the sake of Christ. This is when our own Red Seas become parted. We begin to walk to freedom. But we will never experience the miracle of the Red Sea in our lives if we don’t first “Keep moving.”

(Reprinted by permission from the author. Os Hillman is an international speaker and author of 15 books on workplace calling. To learn more, visit http://www.MarketplaceLeaders.org/)

Filed Under: Guest Authors