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Am I doing good deeds out of Love? |
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Devotional Thought By: Myra Pope
As I sat down and began my nightly devotion, I found myself reading 1
Corinthians 13.
1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If
I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love
never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where
there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it
will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When
I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I
reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind
me. 12 Now we see but a poor
reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know
in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13 (NIV)
As I began to read the text, I had to stop and ask myself
these questions. When I gave to charity today was it out of love, or did I
want my name to be known as a giver of the needy? When I spoke to the youth
about their future and goals, did I really care about their future and their
goals (no, was the honest answer)? I thought my deeds today were great, and
according to most they were. But by God's standard they are not, because
all of my deeds were not done in love. I repented and claimed the Lord's
forgiveness for not having a loving heart. By reading His Word, I now know
that if I do a good deed and don't have love it is worthless in God's sight.
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Humble Ourselves |
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Devotional Thought By: Lanre Glover My devotion is taken from the book of John (Chapter 13: Verse 12-17). This passage records one of our Lord's final moments with His disciples before HIS crucifixion. Here Jesus performs the humblest action recorded in the Bible; He washes the feet of HIS disciples. The reason for my choice of this passage rests in incomprehensible humility of our Lord Jesus Christ, as it serves as a constant reminder that we as humans (mere mortals) must humble ourselves just as an immortal God as humbled Himself to teach and save us.
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