Posts
Key Scripture: "Love
is not touchy!" I Corinthians
13:5
Power Point;
Let's face it-sometimes
we are all touchy aren't we? Touchy
means that we're irritable or short-tempered.
In fact, Webster says that a person who "touchy" is easily
ignited. A good example of that is
when I take my fire starter and turn on the gas in my fireplace and watch the
flames spring up. If we're easily
offended, or touchy, we start burning up on the inside don't we? We may not say anything outwardly, but we're
saying a LOT on the inside.
Unfortunately that works against us.
That anger or irritability literally changes your body chemistry and
affects you negatively. If it is allowed
to continue, ultimately it will cause you to lose your spiritual strength and
illness may result. Touchiness can burn us up.
I remember reading a story years ago about a lady who was bothered by
unexplained high fevers. Her doctor, after a few weeks of treating her,
realized that she continually said, "That just burns me up!" Her body was responding to her irritability
and touchiness. Fortunately the doctor was able to point out the problem and
they dealt with it. No more fevers.
This is why Jesus
said, "I'm leaving you MY peace-take it!" (Suzanne version). He knew we were going to
need it! The truth is if we are rooted
and grounded in Him, we do not have to stay "touchy". In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that God's
love in us enables us to overcome all the opportunities we have every day to be
less than loving.
"It, (love), is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it
takes no account of the evil done to it.
It pays no attention to a suffered wrong." In some versions it says, it doesn't keep
count of the offense.
That's often where we fall apart isn't it? There have been times when I've found myself
with a mental ledger adding up the "wrongs". Haven't you?
God says we are to "add up the RIGHTS!" That's totally for our benefit. In Philippians 4, Paul says, "Think on THESE things!" He then proceeds to give us a list of
positive areas for us to "add up" in our minds-things that are "honorable and admirable, beautiful and
respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. FASTEN your thoughts on every
glorious work of God, praising Him always." (TPT) The “right”
list is supposed to be much longer than the “wrong” list!
When we
"fasten" our minds on God's perfect love we have a new focus. We have
a strong place to plant our feet. When we're rooted in His love, we don't have
to be touchy anymore.
We have the Spirit of Love and Grace in us to empower us to
choose life. When we choose to be "touchy", we're really choosing
death aren't we? The Holy Spirit will
always help us find His peace if we refuse to be touchy or resentful or
worse-if we continue to add up the wrongs someone has done to us. Loving Peace can be as easily ignited as offense.
You can start a fire of the anointing of Holy Spirit. It's always our choice.
As we think about the
perfect Love that God has for us it's good to remember that He is never touchy
about us. He could have a really long “wrong’”
list couldn’t He? But it's not in
His DNA. The only thoughts that He thinks are honoring and admirable, beautiful
and respectful, pure and holy and merciful and kind. Isn't that a good thought?
Thank you Jesus!
Power Declaration:
Today I am going to take advantage of the Spirit of Love, joy,
peace, patience, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control that lives in
me. I will love as He loves, and if I
fall short He will gently remind me to move me back into the right place. I will not add up wrongs. I will add up "rights"
Today I am going to think like Jesus. Period. I will not be touchy! I will walk in Perfect Love.
Copyright ©, 2015, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work
No comments:
Post a Comment