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Charity by
Patricia Dailey |
Charity
suffers long - No matter how much pressure is put on you, you won't be found complaining. You won't be fighting or arguing. You won't be getting all upset with somebody because he is not doing it like you feel he should do it. Children:
And
you grown-ups: So many can't be forgiving. They can't seem to forbear, or be patient with people. Oh, yes, there certainly are those who will try your patience. How many times have some told you the same story over and over again? They try your patience, expecting you to listen to them tell their problem over and over and over again. This is where you need to be longsuffering. Sometimes you try to help them, but the more you say to try and encourage them in the ways of the Lord, the more they keep going back to their problems. They keep telling you the same story over again: I can't! I can't! I can't! I can't! I can't! They insist they can't, even though you tell them the Word says they can do all things through Christ - Philippians 4:13. After you listen to them, you try to pray for them - and, my, they hardly shut their mouths long enough for you to pray! They just keep on talking about their situations, about their problems! about how bad things are. There's no use! It's so hard. I can't! Most people don't want to take any time for these type of people; but you have to be long suffering. You have to be able to stand up under stress and strain, able to show forth the love of God. You should never shun people in that condition. After all, their problems are real to them. Show forth love. Bear long with them. Some of the things they do, their actions and behavior, would turn people away from them in the natural. But when the love of God, that fruit of the Spirit, is in you, you won't turn them away. You'll let them talk, and you'll do what you can to try to encourage them in the ways of the Lord, in the Word of God. Just know that you have to bear long, to suffer long in dealing with many. There will always be someone to deal with, someone to help - and often it takes patience. Charity
is kind - God's people ought to be sweet in their soul, so that they are very tender, very helpful. God's people should be courteous, unselfish, warm-hearted, and friendly in their dealings with others. You go into the business world today and they're fighting in front of the customers! they don't seem to care whether there's anyone listening! It never used to be right out in the open like that! You hear them fighting amongst themselves, complaining about one another, talking down one another. That's the way of the world. It's the old spirit of the world, the old carnal nature. But God's people ought not to be like that. They shouldn't have that way about them whatsoever. When somebody wants to ask you a question you ought to have enough sweetness, enough kindness about you to be helpful, trying to do what you can to help him out. Charity
envies not - If you're not careful when somebody else is successful, you might feel envy towards him. After all, it should have been me that was lifted up and promoted. But if you have love in your heart, you will be happy for him. Charity
vaunteth not itself - won't lift self up If you have anything, or if God uses you in any way, praise God. You ought to give God the glory. All glory is due unto Him. If you happen to be an intellectual person, and are able to speak more fluently than someone else, that's fine. Thank God. Just remember one thing: you didn't get it on your own. Just remember that God gave you the brain you have. Who created you? Who made you? Who made your brain? Thank God you have a brain. Thank God if you can learn quickly. Thank God for the intellectual power you do have. Thank God if you can speak fluently. If you can express yourself very well, thank God for that. It's God who has given you the ability. It's nothing of your own. You did not get that on your own. Don't ever forget that. There is no need for you to be vaunting yourself up, no need to be building yourself up like you are some great person. Know that in a split second you could be just like a vegetable, unable to think at all. You could be boasting of yourself, and vaunting yourself up - and, then, all that could be taken from you in a split second. Don't rob God of any glory that belongs unto Him. If you are intelligent, give God the glory, because He has blessed you to have that intelligence - and use it for His glory. Thank God if you can walk. Thank God if you can move about. Thank God if you have a voice. Lift it up to declare the counsel of God. There are people that can't do those things. There are people that are bedridden, unable to get out of bed. They can't take care of themselves, but are dependent on others. We ought to thank God for everything we have and are. Our God has done great things for us, and we ought to praise Him for it. Be
careful with your children - Just because they may do things very well, doesn't mean Mom and Dad should be praising them as being great, and puffing them up with pride. When parents tell others how smart their little girl is, how smart their little boy is, it can begin to put pride within that child. This can start off when they're little babies. Everything their baby does is so cute. It's so cute, so smart. If you're not careful, this is something you can instill into your children, and later on in life they'll have a hard time getting victory over it. They'll battle it, and battle it, and battle it again! trying to get the victory. If your children get on the Honor Roll, why do you have to brag about it? It's just a piece of paper. Why do you have to puff them up over it? If you do, it's going to make it hard on them later in life. They'll have a hard time getting victory over it. Anyone who has wanted victory over pride knows what a struggle it is to get it out of his life. It hasn't been an easy road. They've had to cry out to God over and over again before victory came. Why instill pride in your children? So what if one of your children, or all of your children, are smart? so what if they can do things that maybe even some grown-ups can't do? So what? You just thank God that He has given them a good brain. Charity
is not puffed up - Love won't look for everything she can get for herself, but she will be concerned for others. She will be concerned that others are just as comfortable as she is. Charity
is not easily provoked - That old anger takes forth in his life, and many times he goes slamming, banging, and booming! There goes the salt shaker! There go the saucers! Talk about flying saucers! They are real today in many homes. They not only see flying saucers, but they see flying plates! flying cups of water! flying food! But when we have this fruit of love we won't be easily provoked. People may do things to try to provoke us, but we won't be easily provoked. Charity
thinks no evil - We shouldn't be thinking anything evil. We shouldn't have an evil thought, where we are thinking to do evil to someone, to hurt someone, thinking how we can get back at him. Jesus said to love our enemies. He said to bless them that curse us - Matthew 5. We are to do good to them that hate us, and pray for them that despitefully use us. This word charity means love with works. Proverbs 25:22 and Romans 12:20 tell us to heap coals of good on our enemies - to do good things for them. Now, that is love! When we can come to a place where we'll love our enemies and we'll pray for them, and we'll do things to bless them in spite of what they do to us - then we are bearing this fruit of love. There are those people who will try to do us in, who will talk us down, who will criticize and judge us, who will condemn us, who will try to hurt us with their catty remarks. Some are just like a cat! They want to get right in there, and tear you apart! That's why they're called catty. They want their words to leave a scratch on you, to cut you right down inside your heart. That's what the devil wants. To use people just like that to try to get to you. Jesus says, Love them. Pray for them. Heap coals of good on them. Don't hold any grudges against them. He said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay - Romans 12:19. Charity
rejoices not in iniquity - If the Lord has forgiven you of those sins, don't go back to the fish pond and fish them out! don't talk about your past sins. They've been forgiven. They've been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Don't rejoice in what you have done in your sins! Well, the young people are in that same state, and I can help them by sharing my testimony. Listen, you talk about Jesus, and what Jesus can do. You tell them the way of salvation. Tell them what a blessed life it is to serve our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. You don't have to go back and say, I was a homosexual. I was a child molester. You don't have to talk about those sinful things. Some people gloat in their sins. They want the whole world to know what they were like. They have no shame of their past whatsoever! They want everybody to know just exactly what they were doing before Jesus saved them. Don't talk about the evil things in your past life. Talk about Jesus.
Yes, talk about Jesus. Talk about what He's done for you. Talk about the Word of God. Talk about the good things God has done. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things: Talk about those good things - don't talk about sinful things! don't rejoice in iniquity! rejoice in the truth. You hear the truth, and you know the truth has set you free - so rejoice in the truth. Charity
bears all things - Oh, my God, I'm sinking! Help me, God!
Lord! I need that fruit of the Spirit in my life! I need that! I can't go any longer without it! I need it! I'm falling short! I need it. Lord! Help me! Help me, Jesus!
If we have all of this fruit in our lives, then there will be some different behavior, godly behavior, godly reactions. What a light! What a witness! Yes, what a light, what a witness we would really be if we possessed all this fruit, all these qualities in our lives.
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