CONDUCT OF LOVE

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good” (Rom. 12:9 NKJV).

This verse describes the character of true love. It exhorts us to have a love that is not hypocritical. There are two qualifying characteristics given for love not to be hypocritical: abhorrence of evil and affection for good.

Abhorrence of evil - “Abhor what is evil.” The word “abhor” means to hate something. It is a very strong word and denotes a very strong attitude. Many folks are very surprised about this aspect of love as they erroneously think that if you love, you cannot hate. True, you cannot love and hate the same thing. But true love will hate evil. If you love truth, you will hate falsehood. If you love virtue, you will hate immorality. Our strong stand against some evil may be criticized by others claiming that we lack love. However, we are explicitly told in Psalm 97:10, “You who love the Lord, hate evil!”

Affection for good - “Cling to what which is good.” The word “cling” means to be glued to something or someone. If we love the Lord, we will be “glued” to Him in faithful fellowship and service. When we love our spouse, we will not be running around with someone else but will be glued to our spouse in affection and loyalty. If we love truth, we will be glued to our Bible in study and devotion. If we love holiness, we will not be involved in iniquity but will be glued to the church in faithful attendance. True love is loyal love. True love is attached firmly to that which is good and holy and pure and righteous. The condition of our love is measured by what is ruling our love.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 2)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Love pays attention. Love listens to the fears and the doubts of others and treats them with respect. Love accepts others the way Jesus accepts you!”

Rick Warren (1954 – Present)

American Baptist Pastor and Author

Word Study

Windstorm / fierce gale

In Luke 8:23 we read, “But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy” (NKJV).

“Windstorm / fierce gale” is the Greek word laîlaps (λαῖλαψ = lah'ee-laps). The word refers to a whirlwind, a tempestuous wind, a squall or a violent wind, a furious gust of wind like a hurricane. This is a storm that breaks forth in furious gusts or series of squalls. Now, it is important to note that storms on the Sea of Galilee were known for their suddenness and violence. The sea is located in a depression some 700 ft. below sea level and is surrounded by hills. Frequently a rush of wind and the right mix of temperatures can cause a storm to come suddenly on the lake. However, as God’s providence would have it, He sent a storm, a storm not meant to destroy but to increase the faith of the disciples. A small storm might not have had the same effect for as professional fishermen, they had undoubtedly weathered many storms on the sea, but apparently, this “windstorm” was unlike any they had encountered before. God sometimes takes us into storms not to discipline us but to disciple us, not to break us, but to make us better, more like His Son. Someone has said, “Jesus did not say, ‘Let us go down to the sea and be drowned,’ but, ‘Let us pass over to the other side.’”

Did You Know…

According to the apostle Paul, the fact that the Lord Jesus would indwell Gentiles was a mystery that “has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints” (Col. 1:26-27)

Bible Quiz

According to the Gospel of Mark, how many pigs were in the herd that the demons begged the Lord Jesus to send them into?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz

How many barrels of water did Elijah pour onto the sacrificed bull before praying to God to light the wood on fire? 12 (1 Kings 18:33-35).

Prophecies Fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ

Mediator between God and man (Job 9:32-33) – Prefigures the Lord Jesus Christ as the Mediator (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5)

"For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, who may lay his hand on us both” (Job 9:32-33 NJKV).

In context, Job’s friends believe that he is suffering because of sin. In Chapter 8, Bildad is counseling him to repent, and in Chapter 9 we have Job’s response. So, here Job speaks of the only solution for guilt, namely, a mediator. A mediator is needed for justification before God and must represent both sides of the issue. Therefore, the mediator must have the character of a man and also the character of God. What a difference the incarnation of the Lord Jesus has made for sinners since He is the only one who fits that need. He who is God, became man to reveal the Father (cf. John 14:7-11) and to bring sinners to God. The apostle Paul says it best, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5; cf. 1 Peter 3:18). He is the “mediator” or “daysman” that Job was pleading for centuries ago (cf. Job. 16:21).

Did You Know – Christian History

Sarah Platt Doremus was born 3 August 1802, in New York City, NY. She was an American philanthropist and pioneering Christian missionary.

As a little girl, Doremus spent much time with her mother in praying for the conversion of the world, and from that time dates her interest in foreign missions. As a result, she dedicated her life to spreading the gospel and helping those in need. Married to a wealthy husband, Doremus was able to involve herself in many activities aimed at promoting the gospel, easing physical distress, or setting people’ lives right. In addition to raising her eight children, she led an organization to return women prisoners into society; managed a tract society; organized relief for Christian Greeks oppressed by Muslim Turks; distributed Bibles to the destitute; founded a self-help organization; and cooperated with efforts to create a children’s hospital and a separate women’s hospital in New York State. During the Civil War, she distributed supplies among city hospitals.

But the effort that made her famous was her work with the Woman’s Union Missionary Society of America, founded in 1860. Doremus had created a women’s mission society much earlier. Back in 1834 the Reverend David Abeel, a missionary to China from the Reformed Church in America (Doremus’ denomination) told of Chinese women who wanted “female men” to come and share their Christianity with them. Doremus was especially moved by this plea, but there was intense opposition to single women becoming missionaries, and that early organization never overcame the obstacles. A new mission association, the Woman’s Union, was much more successful. Doremus became its first president and operated a branch out of her New York home. So many missionaries came and went from her home that she became known as the “Mother of Missions.” In a period of about twenty years, the organizations she led sent about 1,000 missionaries to all parts of the world.

Doremus was dedicated to her work. On one occasion when her husband bought her a beautiful, expensive shawl, she pleaded with him to return it. With the money she bought supplies for some delicate needlework and embroidery which she sold for $500 to give to Hawaiian missions.

Doremus died from a fall at her residence in New York, January 29, 1877.

A Little Humor

A Sunday school teacher asked her class, “Does anyone here know what we mean by sins of omission?” A small girl replied: “Aren’t those the sins we should have committed, but didn't?”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“You Think It’s Hot Here? - God!”