Count on God’s Love
Good Morning Friends,
I go to a lot of men’s Bible Study groups. One of them is reading through 1 Corinthians aloud and then discussing the text and message. The topic soon turned to relationships for some of the men had been effected in their married lives by some of the same disunity that plagued the Church in Corinth. Still, despite divorce, they had discovered a freedom in Christ. They had relearned to experience joy. They had learned to Count on God’s Love.
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6 (NIV)
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
1 John 4:7-12 (NRSV)
Message: Discord is caused almost always by pride. And when pride is set aside good things can be the result. Our reason for hoping for a positive outcome may not be real by the world’s rules, but here is the thing, if we do hope it makes us better anyway, for hope changes reality if it is grounded in Christ. This is the nature of faith grounded in the love of God. This my friends is the foundation for good relationships. It is not status gained by belonging but effectiveness of being in unity with Christ while being different. Friends, the world is full of divisions. What makes us different is our unity in the love of God.
Pray we all learn to share and show the love of God. Pray when we are confronted with arguments and divisions that we not lose our composure. Pray we not lose our comprehension of the importance of Christ and the sacrifice made so we might have freedom. Pray we not lose our commission of mission to serve in and through God’s message of grace. Pray we not trust to our own righteousness by embracing works alone. Pray we are in unity with Christ. Pray we count on God’s love. Pray we live the difference Christ makes in our lives. Pray this difference brings us unity. Pray that our unity in God’s love brings glory to God.
Daily Devotionals 