Monday Morning Devotion-June 27, 2016
It's All About Love
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
A couple of years ago while sitting in the press box at Doak Campbell Stadium preparing to cover a Florida State football game my friend from our radio days Woody Pelt dropped by to say hello. Woody is the Public Address Announcer (PA) for the Seminole football games.
We worked together for quite a few years and about the only time we see each other these days is at the games. This time Woody had a message to share. He said that he had meant to tell me this before but the Monday Morning Devotions that I had started at our Clear Channel radio stations (5 stations) had impressed and inspired him.
Because Woody was on the air with his DJ show at the time that these devotions were being shared he never got a chance to attend but he took note of what was happening and received inspiration from it.
Woody is now happily married to a lovely lady, has a new morning radio show (Mornings with Cash & Woody, 103.1 FM the Wolf) and is not only the PA man for football but for the Seminole men and women's basketball games as well.
I bring all this up not just to introduce you to Woody and how strong his faith is but to share something he posted to Facebook last year. Those of you who are on Facebook know that each day FB will re-post on your personal page some memories you shared in previous years on that particular date. Then you can share again any of them you wish to.
So, now I am re-sharing the one that Woody posted to Facebook last year. It can also be found on www.access-jesus.com and various other places on the internet.
Since we know that God is love. (John 4:8 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love). We can learn more about how God looks at love and how important it is to share our love with others by reading the Love Chapter which is 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. This is a passage that has been read at more weddings, more times than possibly any others because Love is what marriage is all about. It is a gift from God.
God wants us not only to accept his love but share it with others. To do so we need to focus on what love is and how to pass it on. Here is the FB post compliments of Woody.
TEN WAYS TO LOVE
1. LISTEN without interrupting.
Proverbs 18:24: A man that hath friends must show himself friendly;
and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
2. SPEAK without accusing.
James 1:19: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift
to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
3. GIVE without sparing.
Proverbs 21:26: All day long he (the sluggard) craves for more but
the righteous give without sparing.
4. PRAY without ceasing.
Colossians 1:9: For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped
praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all
spiritual wisdom and understanding
5. ANSWER without arguing.
Proverbs 17:1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with
strife.
6. SHARE without pretending.
Ephesians 4:15: But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into
Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ.
7. ENJOY without complaint.
Philippians 2:14: Do everything without complaining or arguing.
8. TRUST without wavering.
1 Corinthians 13:7 Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
9. FORGIVE without punishment.
Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever
grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
10. PROMISE without forgetting.
Proverbs 13:2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth; but the
soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
OK, that's easy what is next? Wrong. Not so fast my friend. Wow that is a lot to think about. We see ourselves as loving people don't we? I do. I love the Lord, love my wife, my family, my friends. But, how do I show love? Looking at those 10 ways to love I can see some holes in my loving ways. How about you?
Re-reading those 10 statements I can see how I have failed, at one time or another, in each one of them. Conversely I can also see where I have succeeded, on occasion, in each one of the categories. Now I don’t want to get into a little contest with myself trying to count up some of the ways I have failed compared to the number of ways I have showed love. Which side would have the most checkmarks in it? It could be depressing or maybe not.
The point is there is no need to do that. It would be much better to check the list from time to time and let it stimulate your thinking and guide your actions. You may begin to realize that there are lots of ways to show love that you had not thought of before.
Personally, I think I'm going to put this list on my desk and at least glance at it each day so I can really strive to show more love in some of the ways listed there. Let’s face it, I doubt that we will go through a full day and exercise each one of these during the day. I don’t think that is the purpose of the list. I just think it will help us get better at sharing our love. We will probably, from time to time, catch ourselves when we are not fully showing our love in a situation because we are violating one of these 10 ways to love.
That does not mean that we are not showing love. It will just remind us that as we practice these principles, as with anything in life, we will get better at it.
And I believe the more we act out these Ten Ways to Love the happier our lives will be and so will the lives of those we love.
Thanks Woody for sharing these with us. Hopefully we can pass them along so that others will benefit from them as well. After all, there is plenty of room for not only more love but a greater quality of love as well.
Prayer: Lord help us to elevate how we show love to others to the top of our "to do" list. Amen.
***author's note: Don't forget to print out your list of 10 ways to love and refer to it often. I believe it will make a noticeable difference in your life.