"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" (John 8:58)

Behold The Man!

Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, "Behold the man"! (John 19:1-5 KJV)

Krystal Meyers - The Beauty of Grace

102906

40 Day of CommUNITY
Discipleship—How to Help Each Other Grow


1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (Monday)
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” (NIV)
1) Love is an overflow of the heart, but, so is being envious, boastful, proud, rude, self-seeking and easily angered (Mark 7:21-23; Galatians 5:19-21)! Our love one for another pours out as the nature response to the gracious love God has shown us! Love is by its very nature and definition is self-less. So, envy, boasting, pride, etc. can be a pretty accurate barometer of our own personal love “gauge”. The more we let go of that old sin nature “self”, the more the scales tip in favor of love. Take a personal assessment. Which side is your scale tipping toward?
2) How would you define envy?
a) Envy is destructive to the soul and to the body (Job 5:2; Proverbs 14:30)
b) Envy is the driving force for “more, more, more” (Ecclesiastes 4:4)
3) Would you say that based upon the scriptures given above that envy and greed are very closely related? Why or why not?
4) Is there a connecting thread between boasting and pride? If so, what is it?
Matthew 7:3-4 (Tuesday)
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” (NIV)
1) Boy, how quick we are to judge someone else! Someone else’s fault(s) and/or sin(s) always seem greater than our own. Jesus has a pretty funny way of illustrating a very important truth to us—our own faults and sins are always far, far worse! Planks (literally, logs)! Oh, we need to start looking into the mirror! Why is it we are so quick to point the finger at anyone but ourselves? Oh, this finger pointing started long, long ago. Please read over Genesis 3! Yep, started with Adam and Eve! Poor us!
Proverbs 16:21 (Wednesday)
“The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction.” (NIV)
1) Instruction should always be motivated by love! Isaiah 50:4 reads, “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” Everything is God!
2) Godly instruction is key for building up one another in the faith. Through wisdom and love we are able to pull one another back from the “fire”! (Proverbs 16:6 and Galatians 6:12)
3) John Piper, in his October 16, 2006 daily devotional wonderfully illustrates how educating [instructing] and loving one another go hand in hand:
“So what does the Bible say about how truth and love relate to each other? There are at least four ways of talking about this relationship.1. Truth aims at love.
"The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Timothy 1:5). Note: instruction is not the goal, love is. Instruction is the means. It is subordinate. Truth serves love. Education serves relationships - mainly the relationship between us and God, but also between Christian and Christian, and between us and unbelievers. The "goal" of all our education is love.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider one another how to stir up to love and good deeds, . . . encouraging one another" (Hebrews 10:23-25, literal translation). The aim of our "considering one another" and "encouraging one another" is that we stir up love. We mingle insight into "the confession of our hope" with insight into "each other," and the effect is stirring each other to love. The truth of doctrine and truth of people-watching unite to aim at love.
2. Love aims at truth.
"Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6). Love is glad when truth is spoken. Therefore love aims at truth. It supports truth.
"Out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you" (2 Corinthians 2:4). Here is an example of how love aims at truth. Paul is filled with love and it compels him to write a letter that was hard, and caused sorrow in him and in the Corinthians. But it needed to be said. So love said it. Love speaks the truth personally and doctrinally.
3. Love shapes how to speak the truth.
"Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). There is an unloving way to speak the truth. That kind of truth-speaking we should repudiate. But there is a way to speak the truth in love, and that we should seek. It is not always a soft way to speak, or Jesus would have to be accused of lack of love in dealing with some folks in the Gospels. But it does ask about what is the most helpful thing to say when everything is considered. Sometimes what would have been a hard word to one group is a needed act of love to another group, and not a wrong to the group addressed. But in general, love shapes truth into words and ways that are patient and gentle (2 Timothy 2:24-25).
4. Truth shapes how to show love.
"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:2). It is not always obvious which acts are loving. So John tells us some truth will help us know if our acts are loving. One truth test for our love is whether we are keeping the commandments of God toward people. In other words, love cannot be cut loose from the truth of God's will. Truth shapes how to show love.
Let us pray that God will cause his love and truth to abound and mingle in us in all these ways for the glory of his truth-filled love and love-filled truth.
2) Mercy and truth are forever rooted and linked one with the other (Psalms 85:10)! Mercy, [love and compassion] does not minimize our sin or the sin or others. Rather, mercy reveals sin, but withholds judgment! Do we want fairness, justice for ourselves and others? Beloved, if God were to fairly judge us, as we are so quick to judge others, what we would get is what we deserve—death! Mercy and grace covers sin with the righteousness of Christ Jesus! Be a mercy cover for someone else!
1 Corinthians 13:5 (Thursday)
“[Love] keeps no record of wrongs.” (NIV)
1) This one is a toughie! God throws our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19) and remembers them no more (Hebrews 8:12). Unfortunately for us, our brains and memories aren’t geared that way! Have you forgiven, but not forgotten? What do you do when the memory returns to haunt or taunt you?
a) God gives us a beautiful picture of how we are able to forgive, forget and yea, more, be fruitful even in our affliction! Forgiveness, forgetfulness and fruitfulness are not things that can be conjured up! No, God Himself gives us the gift of forgetfulness, forgiveness and fruitfulness. Please take the time to read the beautiful story of Joseph in Genesis 30:22-24; Genesis 37-50. Please don’t mess the fact that Joseph was highly favored of God! Yet, great was his sorrow! Great was his suffering—through no fault of his own— because He was greatly loved! Child of God, that’s you! Pay careful attention to the names Joseph gives his children in Genesis 41: Manasseh: For God, said he [Joseph], hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house, and Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. Oh, like Joseph, my prayer is that God would give us all our own Manasseh and Ephraim! It was the gift of forgiveness, forgetfulness and fruitfulness that enabled Joseph to keep no record of wrong against his brothers, and so it is with us!
1 Corinthians 13:4-6 (Friday)
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” (NIV)
1) Pilate asks Jesus a very important question in John 18:37-38, “What is truth?” Throughout the four gospels, Jesus uses the term, “I tell you the truth.” 77 times! This particular phrase is found 30 times in Matthew, 13 times in Mark, 9 times in Luke and 25 times in the gospel of John! We can be sure that truth is very, very important to God! (Psalms 51:6) Oh, it should be very, very important to us, also!
2) What are the benefits of walking in truth?
a) God leads and teaches us (Psalms 25:5; 43:3; 86:11)
b) Truth preserves us (Psalms 40:11)
c) God’s truth shields us (Psalms 91:4)
d) God judges us in truth (Psalms 96:13)
e) Because of His truth, God remembers us (Psalms 98:3)
f) God hears us when we call out in truth (Psalms 145:18)
3) How do we begin to walk in truth?
a) We purposely set out to control our mouths (Psalms 15:2; 17:3c; Proverbs 10:19; James 1:19)
b) We purposely set out to please God (Psalms 19:14)
c) We purposely seek out wisdom and sound judgment (Psalms 25:5; Psalms 37:30; Proverbs 8:7-11)
d) We purposely ask the Lord to set guard over our mouths (Psalms 141:3)

40DaysofCommUNITY_Discipleship_HowtoHelpEachOtherGrow_1Corinthians13_Matthew7_Proverbs16_102906

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