Love Bears All Things

Bearing all things....what does this mean? The idea is that we seek to protect the sinner from ridicule or harm as a result of their sin. It doesn't mean that we condone the sin that another commits, rather it means that we don't expose or broadcast their sin to others. Since love bears all things, love does not gossip about others failures. 1 Peter 4:8 says “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” What about you? Do you gossip about others when they sin or do you seek to bear with them?

Love Rejoices with the Truth

What is the truth? We know from Scripture that it is Jesus and His Word! John 14:6 says, "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Do we rejoice in the truth? Do we rejoice when our husband makes a godly choice, when our children are kind, or when another woman in church is having victory over sin? So often, we are quick to criticize when someone else sins, but do we encourage when they are living godly? How do we search out the truth?

Biblical Confrontation

Our discussion today continues regarding biblical confrontation. How does God want us to confront another when there is sin in their life? What verses can we go to? What are some steps we can follow as we seek to biblically confront another? 1) Evaluate your life first - Matthew 7:1-3 tells us that before we confront others, we must look at our own life. Is there sin I need to repent of before I go to another who has sinned? If so, I need to confess and repent before talking to another. 2) Motive check - What is my motive for confronting? Galatians 6:1 tells us that we ought to confront others in a spirit of gentleness to restore them. 3) Follow the Biblical pattern - Matthew 18:15ff gives us a pattern of how to confront. It begins with going to the person alone. 4) Speak the truth in love - Ephesians 4:14-16, 25 tells us how when we go to another person it ought to be with love in order to edify each other. What are your thoughts? We hope you will share your thoughts with us on this difficult topic. It's hard to confront isn't it? We pray that this will be an encouragement to you to follow through with confronting biblically.

Love does not Rejoice at Wrongdoing, part 2

Am I glad when others fall into sin? Am I glad when another woman's child sins and causes embarrassment to her? Rather than rejoicing in others failures, we ought to reflect on Ephesians 3:17-19 that we be "rooted and grounded in love." Do you love God so much that you would be willing to confront the evil of the devil? What hinders you from confronting sin? Galatians 6:1 tells us that we ought to seek to restore others with gentleness. Join us tomorrow as we discuss confrontation further.

Love does not Rejoice at Wrongdoing

Rejoicing in sin is wrong first of all because sin grieves our Holy God. When we rejoice in sin, we are rejoicing in something that offends and grieves our heavenly Father. This should not be so! Do you rejoice in sin? Are you in the Word to recognize sin and turn away from it? This is just the beginning of our discussion about how love does not rejoice at wrongdoing. Join us tomorrow as we continue!

Love is not Irritable

Do you get irritated and upset when things don't go your way? As you think about this question, be honest with yourself. Do you feel you have the "right" for certain things in your life? Maybe those "rights" might be time to yourself, a clean house, a hobby, shopping, a vehicle, job, etc.... When you stop and think about it, we really deserve an eternity without God. Yet, God sent His Son to save us from eternal condemnation. If you have accepted this free gift of salvation, then you have all you need! Perhaps it would help to write down the areas in your life that you get upset at. Pray through this list, confessing the areas of selfishness and asking God to help you to not focus on yourself.

Love is not Rude

When you are rude you are showing that you do not care enough for those around you to act politely. Rudeness can come across in our attitude, actions and our words. Yet as verse 5 tells us, Christlike love is not rude. How can we combat being rude? It can start by thinking of others before yourself as Philippians 2:4 says, "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." What are other ways to combat this? How do we teach our children, grandchildren, church family to be polite and not selfish?

Love is not Arrogant

Arrogance in our hearts often comes out as rudeness in our behavior. Proverbs 8:13 tells us that God hates pride and arrogance. This can be a hard area to identify in our lives. How can we tell if we are arrogant in our own lives; in our children's lives; in our homes; in our church? What does arrogance look like? A few things that could show up as arrogance in our lives: 1) boasting about accomplishments or gifts, 2) the money we make or possessions we have, 3) boasting about our body (diet, exercise, clothing), 4) being super-mom. How do we combat an arrogant attitude? Keep God in mind and realize that He is the provider of all things.