Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule:
1 Corinthians 13-14
It was Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, who said, “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.” Spiritual gifts, no matter how exciting and wonderful, are useless and even destructive if they are not ministered in love. The main evidence of maturity in the Christian life is a growing love for God and for God’s people, as well as a love for lost souls. It has well been said that love is the “circulatory system” of the body of Christ. Few chapters in the Bible have suffered more misinterpretation and misapplication than 1 Corinthians 13. Many people fail to see that Paul was still dealing with the Corinthians’ problems when he wrote these words: the abuse of the gift of tongues, sexual sins, division in the church, envy of others’ gifts, taking other Christians to court, impatience with one another in the public meetings, and overall behavior that was disgracing the Lord. It gets very ugly quickly when people in the church get selfish and begin to pursue a selfish agenda rather than an agenda that pleases the Lord.
The only way spiritual gifts can be used appropriately is when Christians are motivated by love. Love not only provides the parameters for how our gifting is used, it should be the very motivation for using them. The love I have for God and recognizing the love He has for me, ought to constrain me (or box me in). My love for God must bring me to the response, “I must use the gift that God gave me, and for the reason that it was given.” The use of our gifting must be used for bringing glory to God. It is a joy to use our gifting in the local church to enhance the opinion of God. Unfortunately, too many Christians are known for all the things they hate rather than by the love they demonstrate.
I want to love you enough to remind you to pay your taxes today! š
Prayer Requests:
Personal
- Lord, please help me to grow in my love for you.
- Lord, please help me to manifest my love for you in how I treat other Christians.
- Lord, please help me to use the gifting you have given me, only to bring glory to you and never to myself.
Political
- Representative Jack O’Malley – District 101
- Senator Aric Nesbitt – District 026 – Lawton
- Senator Rick Outman – District 033 – Six Lakes