Focal Passage for 2011:
“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.” John 13:34-35
Weekly Passage:
“(Love) does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.”
1 Corinthians 13:5
In our previous devotion, we dove deep into the final portion of 1 Corinthians 13:5, “(love) thinks no evil.” Our focus this past year has been, and continues to be, learning to love others as Christ loves us. As I have shared before, my definition of love differs from God’s definition of love. God is teaching me that HE is the authority on all things. In light of that truth, if my definition is different than His, my definition is wrong!! “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29).
God has continued to reveal more truth to me regarding our study from last time. I am beginning to realize that my thought life has not been rooted and established in God’s truth. Growing up, I did not seek the Lord and His will for my life. Now, I did pray but my prayer life was self-focused and not honoring to God. My parents faithfully took my sister, Annette, and I to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. I heard truth and I could answer all the questions in class but I did not learn to apply God’s truth to my life. I viewed God as “a genie in a bottle.” I wanted Him to give me what I wanted, when I wanted it, and to make my life easy. As the years progressed, I became very discontent with church and the Lord. I allowed my understanding of God to be based on my “wisdom” and experiences.
As I entered my teenage years, my attitude and behavior become more and more rebellious and I became self-destructive. I refused to listen to wise counsel…I truly thought I knew everything! I believed the lies of Satan and I made assumptions on everyone around me. By this, I mean that I did not seek to understand other people or to consider them at all. If someone tried to correct me or speak truth to me, I became defensive and defiant. I would become angry at that person and assume their motive was evil toward me. I would hold grudges and refuse to forgive them. Needless to say, I was not an easy person to be around.
When the Lord convicted my heart of these things when I was 25 years old, I was broken hearted. My eyes were opened and I began to realize how much damage I had done to those around me, my relationships, and my own walk with the Lord. I cried out to God and begged for His forgiveness and asked Him to transform my entire life so that I could live my life in a way that truly honored him. Now, I will be the first to admit that I have not “arrived!” I am most certainly a “work in progress.” But the amazing thing is that God continues to draw me to Himself and HE loves me with an unconditional, unchanging, unending love! WOW!! “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us a ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).
My Friend, God desires the same thing for you! When we allow our thoughts to take us captive and we refuse to apply God’s truth to our lives, we will live in bondage. We will make assumptions on people’s motives. We will become bitter, unforgiving, and angry. We will become slaves to our flesh and will face frustration, disappointment, and dissatisfaction in our daily lives. Christ Jesus tells us that He came to give us abundant life but the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10).
Are you allowing Satan to steal your joy? Are you allowing your thoughts to take you captive? Are you living a life that is full of bitterness, unforgiveness, and dissatisfaction? If so, you don’t have to continue in that destructive pattern! God’s Word promises us that we are “…in all these things…more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). How will you choose to live the rest of your life…In bondage or in the freedom that Christ Jesus came to offer you?
