TSP DAILY DEVOTIONAL
HOW MUCH LONGER?
9th February 2020
Dr. Phil Ransom-Bello
KEY SCRIPTURE/MEMORY VERSE: 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NKJV)
“bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
One major lesson from our extensive conversation on dealing with offenses as a believer is the lesson of frequency and what powers your capacity to respond to offenses by love.
Now, let me ask you a question. Do you ever ask yourself-
“How much can I really bear? How much of disappointment, hate, hurt, abuse, offense, attack and even persecution can I endure and for how long?”
Think about it.
Is there a point where it becomes too much to take, where we lose the ability and willingness to love because of one reason or the other?
I think that it is easy to answer say yes if we are looking at our human nature.
But let’s take a look at today’s text. The Bible says “love bears all things”. This is an absolute statement that leaves no room for any exceptions. Love is so strong that it can withstand any kind of pressure. It’s so wide that it can accommodate any hurt or disappointment no matter the gravity.
This character of love is so critical because without it, love won’t last long. And we know that the love of Christ did. Jesus was only able to finish the work of the cross because He could bear all things to the point of death and including death itself.
Just imagine what it means to take on the sin of the world. This means before God, He became both the victim and the perpetrator of the deepest disappointment, the deepest unforgiveness, the gravest evils, feeling the emotions at both ends. Yet he could still love us and say words like ”Father forgive them …”
This is why Paul could say in Romans 8:38,39-
“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Dear believer, we are so blessed to be beneficiaries of this love.
Not only that, we have also received the capacity to love just the same way.
“human” anymore. That nature changed when we received the life of Christ and got born again. And because Christ lives in us and through us, we can indeed bear all things.
Thus, whenever life pressures come, or offenses arise, remember to reckon yourself dead, and alive in Christ whose love nature can bear all things.
REFLECTION
Do I think there’s there a limit to how much pressure or offense I can take? Am I walking in the revelation of my ability to always respond like Christ?
DECLARATION
-I am loved by God.
-Because His love dwells in me, I am equipped to love like Him.
-The love I have received and give bears all things.
-The love I have received and give suffers long. There are no time limits or exceptions to the offense or hurt it can withstand.
-Daily, I am yielded to the power of God’s love in me to always win offense by love.
-No offense will affect my love standard.
-I remain confident that nothing can ever separate me from God’s love.
-Today, testimonies abound for me because the Gospel works.
-I am blessed!
HEARING BY THE WORD
(Recommended Listening)
Listen to LOVE ~ The Series by The StandPoint Church on #SoundCloud
