Hypocritical Love

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cling to what is good."

Hypocrisy: doing the right things to gain the favor, approval, and applause of men.

Self-serving love, fraudulent love, feigned love is an evil to be abhorred. When such a "love" is faced with self-sacrifice, it stops loving to the devastation of the one who thought they were loved. And Christ's love is tainted when such a selfish love is given in His name. Such love is hate hiding behind a masque of personal idolatry.

Delight

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will make your path straight. You'll be surprised when you arrive in Heaven and see how all those twists and turns in life were actually a straight line to His eternal loving embrace..

Discipleship

Our Lord's teaching on discipleship:

"In the world you will have tribulation"
"Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me."
"You must drink of the cup I drink."
"The world has hated me; they will hate you."
'Lay not up for yourself treasure on earth."
'My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Ready to follow?

Let us exult!

In case you were feeling a little down today:

To Exult: "to show or feel a lively or triumphant joy; rejoice exceedingly; be highly elated; be jubilant"

"Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand:

LET US EXULT in hope of the glory of God

And not only this but LET US EXULT in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about patient endurance; and patient endurance proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint because we have the evidence--the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. LET US EXULT in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."

Justified by faith
Peace with God
Grace on which we stand
The sure hope of His glory--His presence always in our lives now and forever
Tribulations that build within us patient endurance, proven character, hope,
God's love in our hearts,
A loving, communicating relationship with the Holy Spirit
His own love
Justified by His blood
Saved from God's wrath
Saved by the life of the eternal Son
Reconciled

Much more

Let us feel and show a triumphant joy!
Let us rejoice exceedingly!
Let us be highly elated!
Let us be jubilant!

O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name; make know His deeds among the nations; sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on His wonderful acts; glory in His holy name; let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad."

"His lovingkindness is everlasting."

Excellence

Someone has said, "There is no substitute for excellence, not ever success." Whatever we are called to do, we should always do it to the best of our ability--to the glory of God. We should not just finish the "assignment," or settle for meeting the requirements of men, but we should strive to do the absolute best that we can with the time and resources we have been given. We are not called to please men but to please God. He is the one for whom we do all things. Don't ever settle for "that's enough to get by," or if a student, "that's enough to get the grade I want"--even if that grade is an A. The issue is excellence. Would Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant"?

"Good enough" is not good enough.

Suffering--God's Good Gift

Suffering is a gift from God--a love gift, a good gift. It is His training in righteousness; His loving discipline as your Father--evidence that you belong to Him--and that He is delighted that you do. Always His purpose in suffering is transformation. As you encounter various trials, He deepens your understanding experientially of His love, wisdom, and patience, and you are molded into His likeness. He knows that the trials themselves are not "joyous," but the impact on your life is immeasurably beautiful--the fruit of the Spirit radiating from your life. We can in the midst of all things "rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." "The joy of the Lord is your strength."
It is instructive that the first written communication from God to man--the book of Job--emphasizes the truth that the godly suffer. Job's friends believed that all suffering was because of someone's sin and that the greater the suffering the greater the sin must be. God was angered at that view. Satan's view was that if he could make us suffer that we would turn from God, deny Him. God's view was that Job was strong enough to remain faithful. God was right. His "vote of confidence" in Job was justified. And what truths enabled Job's faith to remain strong in the most difficult of times?

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."

"I know that my Redeemer lives and in my flesh I shall see God."

"He knows the way that I take and when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

See suffering as God sees it. A time of deepening your understanding of His love. A time when your Father is transforming you into His likeness. A time when He is reminding you that you are His child, that your growth is extremely important to Him and vital to your relationship. A time when He is giving you His vote of confidence that your love for Him will be steadfast in all things.

Suffering is a gift from God--your Father. A love gift. A good gift. A reflection of His confidence in you. "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice."

Lies

One of the devil's biggest lies is that there are no consequences. And he is just as committed to making you believe that about your right choices as he is your wrong ones. He would love to have you believe that doing the right thing makes no difference. He would love to have you believe that doing the wrong thing makes no difference. Yet, in God's universe you reap what you sow--good for good; evil for evil. Satan's lie seems to work in our lives because the consequences are rarely immediate. But I have never made a choice that did not have consequences. Every choice is significant--important. Sadly or joyfully those consequences are often shared by those who love me the most. In fact, God tells us that consequences can affect generations. The devil wants us to believe that God can't or won't hold us accountable when we do wrong or bless us when we choose to obey Him. When I do wrong, I can confess that sin and receive full forgiveness, but there will still be earthly consequences. See the life of David. And when I choose to be obedient to God no matter what is happening in my life--even because of the wrong choices others have made--God will work to turn evil intent into good. See Joseph. See Daniel.
Don't believe the lie. Choose wisely. Live righteously. Trust and obey.