Love suffers long and is kind

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NKJV)

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

Jesus gave a commandment to love one another. Here the apostle elaborates on the theme of love describing what love does and does not do.

God created humans to live a life of love. I saw an article in Fast Company magazine that confirmed this truth to me that we were made to live for others. The article was about a very successful man whom you have probably never heard of: David Kelley. Kelley is the founder of what many regard as the premier design firm in the country—Ideo—and a professor at Stanford University for more than 30 years. He is a creative genius. Unfortunately, at age 56, Kelley discovered a lump on his body, and the doctors told him he had cancer. Linda Tischler writes:

What ensued was sheer hell. Chemo, surgery, radiation. Mouth sores. A throat so raw he could barely swallow. Nausea so severe he couldn't concentrate enough to read or even watch TV. "I spent nine months in a room trying not to throw up," he says. The treatment wrecked his saliva glands and his taste buds. He lost 40 pounds.

Kelley is happily married and has one daughter. This is where the idea of being created for love comes in. As Kelley struggled through the difficult emotions that come with this kind of experience, he discovered his reason to live. Kelley says about his daughter:

At first, you think, "I don't want to miss her growing up." That's motivating, but not that motivating. It's when you manage to get out of yourself and start thinking of her that you get the resolve to continue. When you think, "I don't want her not to have a father"—then you want to stay alive.

What gave Kelley a reason to endure the suffering of his treatment was not the pleasure he would get out of experiencing life with his daughter, as wonderful as that would be. Kelley realized that what truly motivated him was the benefit he could bring to his daughter. What motivated Kelley at the deepest level was selfless sacrifice for another—love. We were made for this.

[Craig Brian Larson, editor of PreachingToday.com; source: Linda Tischler, "Ideo's David Kelley on 'Design Thinking,'" Fast Company (Feb, 2009), p. 80]

Love suffers long and is kind and is for the benefit of others. It lacks those things that would cause us to place a wedge between us and another person. There is no evil in love, but only good, kind and thoughtful acts.

Fear of the Lord prolongs days

Proverbs 10:27-29 (NKJV)

27 The fear of the Lord prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened. 28 The hope of the righteous will be gladness, But the expectation of the wicked will perish. 29 The way of the Lord is strength for the upright, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

This proverb speaks to man learning many things from God that would keep him safe; because the wicked find their lives shorted by putting it in peril. God is a fortress of safety, but those who live outside of God’s ways often find destruction.

For years, the opening of ABC's The Wide World of Sports illustrated "the agony of defeat" through the painful ending of an attempted ski jump. The skier appeared in good form as he headed down the slope, but then, for no apparent reason, he tumbled head-over-heels off the side of the jump and bounced off the supporting structure.

What viewers didn't know was that he chose to fall. Why? As he explained later, the jump surface had become too fast, and midway down the ramp he realized that if he completed the jump, he would land on the level ground, beyond the safe landing zone, which could have been fatal. As it was, the skier suffered no more than a headache from the tumble.

The fear of the slope, the fear of flying too high, and the fear of the fall led him to change course. Fear led to life. The fear of the Lord likewise will turn us from the snares of death. [Jeff Arthurs, "Clearing the Debris," PreachingToday.com]

Remember, “The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shorted.” Please keep this in mind - fear of the Lord is a respect of awesome greatness. The Lord can do such miraculous things that the results leave you with a fear of how great God is.

Hate evil but learn to love the people

Psalm 97:10 (NLT)

10 You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked.

In this psalm we are told if we love The Lord we are to hate evil. For as we draw closer to The Lord our desire for evil diminishes. We are told too that God protects the lives of those who follow him and rescues them in their time of need.

There are two commands I believe that draw us closer to people. The first is - love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. For when we have a deep love for the Lord our actions line up with those of God. We learn and understand from Him the purpose of our lives and how rich our lives can be. We begin to understand God and His great love for us and how He extends mercy and grace to each of us. It is through this personal relationship with The Lord that we gain knowledge of the Lord and understand His intent for our lives.

The second command comes from Jesus. In John 13:34-35 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Here in this verse Jesus tells us not only to love God, but to love all those around us. We are to build relationships with others. We are to extend love, mercy and grace to them, just as God would do for us.

Christians often have a misconception that in hating evil, we are to hate the people committing the evil acts. The truth is we are supposed to help people turn from evil. We can’t do that if we hate them, but we can do that when we love them and hate the evil that affects them. Remember we are to love one another, showing grace and mercy to all.

So let me ask this, when you see someone committing evil do you hate the evil or the person? Hopefully it is the evil act you hate and that you understand the impact it is having on the other person’s life. I never really knew my father because he was an abusive alcoholic. I never hated my father, but I did hate how alcohol had taken over his life. When the alcohol was missing from his life he could be a decent person. But let him start drinking and he would become someone you could fear.

Hopefully you see the distinct between hating evil, while loving the person and trying to help them. May God bless all your efforts and I pray God would show you how to direct people away from evil in their lives.

Find a life of righteousness and honor

Proverbs 21:21 (NLT)

21 Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.

There are none, no not even one, of us who are perfect for The Bible tells us, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Yet even in our imperfect state we can strive to pursue righteousness. We should not hold onto the thought, I’m imperfect therefore I will remain imperfect. For Christ can make us perfect through Him. We should walk with The Lord; learning His precepts so that we can have unfailing love for others and enjoy a righteous life with honor.

Not long before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the congregation at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church:

If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize; that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards; that's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. [William Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, (Abingdon Press, 2002), p. 53; submitted by David Slagle, Wilmore, Kentucky]

If you want to be recognized in life, be recognized for the important things. Let others speak of you favorably. Let them acknowledge your love for others. Let them tell how you helped those in need. Yes, above all pursue righteousness and unfailing love that you might find a life of righteousness and honor.

Being transformed

Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We are both flesh or body and soul. The flesh desires what this world has to offer, while the soul desires what God has to offer through eternal life. There is a continuing conflict inside of us. One part desiring to do what is right and good; while the other part draws us to those things which on the surface may seem fun, but will ultimately destroy us. Therefore we should allow ourselves to be transformed by God by renewing our mind with good things. We should prove to ourselves that which is good, acceptable and the perfect will of God.

Most of us would like to assume that we're the masters of our own thoughts. But marketing professor Jonah Berger argues that we're influenced much more than we'd like to admit by "triggers." Triggers are subconscious thoughts that influence how we act. Berger gives two examples.

First, a research team examined how music triggers can change how we shop at the supermarket. They subtly replaced the store's Muzak with music from different countries. Some days they played French music while other days they played German music. Then they measured the type of wine people purchased. When French music was playing, most customers bought French wine. When German music was playing, most customers bought German wine. By triggering customers to think of different countries, the music affected sales. The triggers spilled over into behavior.

Second, in 1997 Mars candy bars experienced a sudden spike in sales. The company was surprised because they hadn't changed their marketing plans. So what caused the surge in sales? That was the same year when NASA undertook their much-publicized Pathfinder expedition. Pathfinders destination? The planet Mars. The media attention the planet received triggered people to consume Mars candy bars. [Adapted from Jonah Berger, Contagious (Simon & Schuster, 2013), pp. 70-71]

Unfortunately we are often conformed to this world, shaped by the events that take place around us. This week I have seen several tragedies take place that I’m sure if the persons could have rethought their actions there would have been different results. We need to place our thoughts on The Lord and know what is good for us, what is acceptable for us to have a good life, and know God’s perfect will that we may fulfill the purpose of our lives.

Father I pray for those who are reading this devotion. I pray Lord that you would open their eyes to see the truth, to see the reality of the world, and that their minds would be transformed towards something good. Keep watch over us Lord for often the world causes us to stray; so keep us near to You that we may live according to Your perfect will. In Jesus name, Amen.

David gives praise to God against his fears

Psalm 18:1-2 (NLT)

For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang: 1 I love you, Lord; you are my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

David sings the praise of his heart because of God’s love, mercy and grace towards him.

Fear can often cripple us unjustifiably. We focus on the possibilities of one item and come to a conclusion that is often wrong. A post in the June 1, 2010 Newsweek magazine gave some real statistics that show how fears can control us.

-          Murders: 14,180 (2008)—Suicides: 33,289 (2006)

-          Children abducted by strangers: 115 (1999)—Children who drown in pools: 288 (2006)

-          Burglaries: 2.2 million (2007)—Identity thefts: 8.3 million (2005)

-          Shark attacks: 28 (2009)—Dog bites: 4.5 million (estimate)

-          Americans killed in terrorist attacks worldwide: 33 (2008)—Americans who die from seasonal flu: 36,171 (est.)

-          Deaths by allergic reaction to peanuts: 50-100 (est.)—Deaths by unintentional poisoning: 27,531 (2006)

-          Fatalities in airline accidents: 321 (2005)—Fatalities in car crashes: 34,017 (2008)

I know for a fact every time my wife gets on a plane, she flies with apprehension. There is no basis to her fear other than someone she does not know is in control of the airplane. Yet when I’m driving the car she is usually the passenger and feels very content. The statistics above show she is more likely to die in a car crash than in an airplane accident and yet she is still more afraid to fly on an airplane.

There were times David lived in fear. He knew there were enemies trying to kill him. He knew even his own king Saul was jealous of him and had his soldiers looking for opportunities to kill him. Yet David trusted in God. He recognized God was the foundation of his strength. God was his place of safety that he could turn to in desperate moments.

When you are afraid give you fears to God. Let God be your place of safety. Let God shield you from thoughts that could render you useless in life. Let the love, mercy and grace of God be evident in your life. Let The Lord take control of your life and put you at ease.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman - a loss to many of us.

Proverbs 23:29-35 (ESV)

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things.

This proverb calls attention to addiction in the lives of people. Sometimes it starts with problems in life that draw a person into a need to feel better about them. The problem is they think substituting something into their life, such as alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex and many other things will comfort the problem. Yet they are drawn into deeper problems, which are often hard to escape from.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman was an actor who many may know from the movies The Hunger Games, Charlie Wilson’s War, Mission Impossible III, Path Adams and many other movies. Phillip died Sunday from what appeared to be an overdose of heroin. He was found with the needle still in his arm.

I want to offer prayers, condolences and sympathy to the family and friends of Phillip. He was a talented actor and I know he will be missed by many. It is sad a talent such as his was taken from us so early in his life.

Friends I encourage you, if you know someone who is addicted to any substance, whether it is alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex or even spending money relentlessly they do not have; I encourage you to speak to your friend. They may not listen, but at least you are starting a conversation with them they need to hear. Whatever you do, don’t enable them by going along with their problem. Always take them to a place of safety and escape. Always be their guide and love them enough to keep them safe.

There have been too many lives ruined by addiction. Let us all declare that we will do what it takes to help remove these addictions from the world. Let us be a rock of safety for friends. Let us call on Christ for help and assistance. Let God show us what we can do to rescue someone from the traps the enemy had set for them.

Father I pray Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s death with is not vain. Father we know you can take the things meant for evil and turn them into something good. I pray Phillip’s death will be a wakeup call for many. I pray those who are trapped by addictions will turn from them before it is too late. In Jesus name, Amen.