“Love Is Patient”

what love is patient
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
Over the past few days we have looked at what love is not.   Today we are going to look at one of the many things that love is.   I am purposely jumping around 1 Corinthians 13 and sharing each day as I am feeling the leading of the Lord.   Today we will look at how love is patient.
 
 
 
 
1 Corinthians 13:4 (Amplified)
“Love endures long and is patient.”
 
 
 
First I would like to say that when we purpose to walk in God’s love, we will need to settle it in our hearts that we can only do it with His help. If ever we try to walk in His love in our own ability we will
always fall short. I would like to share with you one of my favorite scriptures and I think it is an excellent one to ponder and memorize in light of this devotion.
 
 
 
 
EPHESIANS 3:20 (The Message)

” God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it NOT  by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and
gently within us.”
 
 
 
I am going to share an interesting definition I found about the word patience. It is the quality of bearing an annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.   God desires to work deep within us but remember He is always a gentleman and He will not push us. He wants you to desire all of Him, and when you do so, you will begin to see Him transform your life in ways that you never thought possible. 
 
 
I love the part of the scripture where it says that He can do far more than you could ever imagine, guess, or request in your wildest dreams! In light of that let’s think about the patience in our lives as  individuals.  Did you ever watch someone go through an extremely hard thing.   You watched them patiently endure, and your thoughts might have been…”I wish I could be like that!”  or   “They are so strong, I wonder how they remained so patient in the midst of their test?”    Many times in my life as I observe strong people going through things, I will think upon a saying said many times…”Oh my, I cannot imagine being in their shoes.”     
 
 
I want to encourage your wildest dreams now!    If you are the least bit of an impatient person, begin to see yourself a patient person in areas where you sometimes lose your cool.   Begin to ask God to make this dream become a goal of growth for you!  What does patience mean to you? I think we can all be honest with ourselves that we all need more of it. The truth is impatience can turn a bad situation into a REALLY bad situation. I love when I can walk away from a situation or circumstance knowing that even though my patience was tested I made the right decision by seeking God’s help. But then there are times I know that have failed.
 
 
Today I want to encourage you to focus that goal of growth in patience in your life.  As you ponder that area, perhaps you can step out in faith and  give it to the Lord and believe that He is well able to help you grow in that area of your struggle.
 
 

Tomorrow we will look at patience even closer. We will see that the mentality of “giving up” is not allowed in our thought realm any longer. I encourage you to meditate on the scripture I shared (Ephesians 3:20) as well as a means of causing your heart to rise in believing that He can develop patience within you. Keep your eyes open today for opportunities to get stronger in the area of patience, and continue to go forward in His strength. 


“Love Is Not Self Seeking”

love is not self seeking
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
We are continuing to look at I Corinthians 13:5 in part…
 
 
“…Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way,
for it is not self-seeking; …”
 

We have all seen and heard it in little ones:   “I’ll do it myself!”   “It’s mine!”   “He has more than me, it’s not fair!”  “But I have to have it!!!”     “I want it now!”  You could probably add a few to the list. This kind of behavior can wear you down but we all know that every child is going to to act in this manner until they are taught differently, therefore growing and maturing. If a child is not challenged in such behavior, they will  eventually grow up to think the world should come to a  screeching halt when something is not going their way. 
 
 
 
 
I think the thing that must really grieve the heart of God is when the His children do not deal with self seeking tendencies, and they become totally absorbed in their own little world. I think more than ever that this world is swirling at a rapid pace, and if we are not diligently pursuing Him, our eyes can quickly be too much on ourselves.  The devil desires to see us consumed in ourselves,  because he knows it will keep us from being used, and being effective for Jesus. There are so many ways the enemy will try to deceive us in this area.  May we be vigilant to watch over our souls that we may not be snared in being self seeking individuals.
 
 
 
Have you ever wanted something that was not something that was truly a need?  There is a big difference between wanting something and needing something.  We live in a world where fashions, makeup, hair, etc….scream from the billboards and oh my….don’t get me started on the magazines at the checkout of our grocery stores. They remind us of what we should try to  look like, and we all well know that the beauty, etc…put before us is something very  hard to measure up to.   The Lord desires for us to focus on all that He desires,  that we may grow up, and mature in  Him.   The beauty, strength, and success that comes from the Lord cannot be bought nor attained with money or our own ability.    When our eyes are off of ourselves, He can truly go to work within us!
 
 
Today I encourage you to keep your eyes on Him.   Focus on Him with all of your inward being.  It is as you do this that your eyes will see what really matters.    Today let us purpose to be God seekers not self seekers.  Remember, God is able and all so willing to help you grow in Him, and decrease in self.  Trust Him for His guidance and wisdom in Jesus Name!

 



“…Love Is Not Touchy and Irritable”

what love is not irritable
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
Love is not touchy and irritable. This is the sum of a few different translations of the first part of I Corinthians 13:5. When I think about one being touchy or irritable it could be a result of being preoccupied, sickness, or lack of rest. I am sure there could be other reasons but God’s Word makes it clear in Phillipians 4:6-7…
 
 
” Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you
need, always giving thanks for what you have. And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our
human minds.” Easy To Read Version
 
 
 

God desires so much for us to bring every detail before Him. He wants to perfect every concern in our life. I truly believe what happens is many times when things are going good for us we can fail to keep conscious of Him, and we can be tempted to relax in our faith. You will have those days where you
wake up, and it seems like everything is going wrong. If you do not take your thoughts captive, and take every problem to Him immediately you will find yourself in trouble, and end up being easily irritated with people and situations. If you are preoccupied with thinking about problems and you do not make a quality decision to give all to Him you will carry the burden in your own ability. It is when we are trying to carry burdens that we pull ourselves away from being immersed in the peace of God.
 
 
 
 
 

I think another avenue that being touchy and irritable enters into our thought realm is when we are wanting to live in   a comfort zone where there are no challenges or problems. A comfort zone is a nice little place where you try to make your world a perfect place where there are no bumps in the road. This is not reality to try to do this. If you deal with feeling that things should always go your way and you should have no pressure in this life you are setting yourself up to get irritated and touchy with those people that possible have upset your world.
 
 
 
 
 
Lord, help us be mindful that actions and words that proceed from being irritable and touchy do not edify us or anyone around us.   Help us to seek you diligently to immerse ourselves in your love and peace.   It is as we do this that we will immediately stop that which is trying to rob us of our peace and keep us from walking in Your perfect love.   We praise You Lord for being our Helper as we set out to walk in Your love!
 



“What Love Is Not”

what love is not
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
We will look today at part of I Corinthians 13:5 from the Amplified Bible. Today we are looking at something   that love IS NOT…
 
 
“… it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love
(God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way,
for it is not self-seeking; …”
 
 

Sometimes I just cringe at the rudeness and unbecoming behavior in this world. I think about the people that are working and serving us in the public and they really should NOT be serving the
public because they are not suited to deal with people let alone tolerating them. What disturbs me even more is when a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ exhibits themselves rudely in the workplace. As a believer we need to be ever so conscious that at any moment in time the Lord could call upon us to be a witness for Him. He wants you to be His mouth piece. More importantly He desires that we be consistent in our behavior that we be not offensive to people.
 
 
 
 
Sometimes we can be guilty of taking things out on people and we have no idea that we are doing it. Then there are times we can be tempted to be rude simply because our patience has run out therefore we act in a manner of rudeness.  I constantly try to remind myself that this world is so very dark and it
is hurting. There are so many people that are lost and looking for the true light and real answers. There is a lot of “light” out there, but it is light from he who appears to be good but in fact is evil, and that is the works of the devil.   Remember, he will manifest himself as an angel of light, therefore able to confuse those that do not know how to discern spiritual things.  He is manipulating this world, and has many ways to offer peace, strength and all kinds of wonderful ways to live in this chaotic world apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
 
 
 
God is looking to shine in a seriously bright way like never before. We cannot allow ourselves to waste any time, and we must purpose ourselves to be used by Him like never before. If someone else’s rudeness is offensive to you, please….stop and get your peace and pray for them, and then pray for yourself.   Let us be watchful over our behavior that the kindness, patience and love of the Lord Jesus Christ is being exhibited through us.

 

 
 
 
 
Lord, help us to be mindful to draw upon you at all times especially when we get irritated by others.   We ask that as You walk along side of us that you show us those times that we are heeding to the temptation to react in a wrong manner.   We desire to be a witness for You, and be a bright light for this world to see!


“Dare To Love”

dare to love
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
Love does not remember wrongs done against it.” 1
Corinthians 13:5-6  (ERV)
 
 
Today we are going to focus on the power to forgive through love.   NOT your human love, but God’s love within you.  Everyone has a measure of love, but human love has boundaries and limitations. When someone sins against us or hurts us it can be painful. We can be assured that the Lord knows our frame very well,  He absolutely understands our emotions, and our thought processes.He knows what it is like to be falsely accused yet He kept His mouth shut, and He walked in forgiveness, and refused to hate.
 
 
 
Sometimes people say they forgive but they choose not to forget. This is where the whole issue of “taking account of wrongs” begins.    When we take account of hurt, we are making it even harder for our hearts to flow in God’s forgiveness.    Believe me, our memories will faithfully remind us of our hurt.   The mere mention of a person’s name or seeing their face will cause something to go off inside of you, and your memory will replay the hurt you experienced.   Every time you permit your mind and unforgiving heart to replay the past, the pain or hate will take root and go deeper and deeper.
 
 
 
The longer we hold onto the pain, and all the details of the  offense, the more it will eat away at our hearts, and tear us down physically. We are the ones that become prisoners when we choose to withhold forgiveness from the one that has hurt us. I believe we can ask the Lord to help us with the pain and the memories that hurt has caused us. Sometimes even after you have forgiven you may still bear scars from that particular hurt, but praise God you have forgiven, and you are free from the terrible effects of hate and bitterness in your heart! You know when you are free from any pain someone has caused you when you find  yourself able to  talk about the past, and you feel absolutely no resentment toward the individual that hurt or offended you.
 
 
 
 
As a child I have one memory in particular that was painful to me. I was only about five years old, yet if I think about it, it is as if it happened yesterday. I can remember anger being exhibited toward me, and I was unfairly treated.    I can honestly say that I forgave that person for the anger and unfair treatment that was exhibited toward me that day. After I was born again as a young woman I began to experience God helping me to see people as He sees them, He showed me how to forgive that individual and He gave me compassion like I had never experienced.
 

 

We live in a world of hurt and pain.   If you are trying to escape that fact, you are not facing life in reality.  We have all been hurt and maybe some of us have caused hurt to someone and you were on the receiving end of forgiveness. Just remember when people have hurt you, God commands us to forgive.

 
 

Matthew 18:20-21 The Voice (VOICE)Peter:
” Lord, when someone
has sinned against me, how many times ought I forgive him? Once?
Twice? As many as seven times?”Jesus:
” You must forgive not
seven times, but seventy times seven.”
 
 
 

Our God never requires anything of us than He will not equip us to do. Remember also how the Lord Jesus looked down from the cross  and said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Let
us be reminded to look to Jesus everyday as our example. Forgiveness is a must to keep us experiencing and giving His love, and keeping your heart totally free.  I encourage you to dare to love, and choose forgiveness.

 



“…and They Will Soar”

soar
 
by Dona Hake
 
Today my patience with technology (a.k.a. my computer) is being tested, and at first I dealt with some frustration but I have made a decision to “soar” above this problem. As I am typing I am trusting the Lord for Him to help me recall this whole devotional that just disappeared. You see, a few minutes ago I had it completed and ready, and my computer got a bit testy and deleted the whole thing. No, this is not a big problem, but isn’t it stuff like this that can cause our day to be off to a bad start if we allow it to? I am reminded that no matter how big or small problems are, it is me that has to make the decision to rise above it, pull up my bootstraps and carry on.
 
 
 
So here we go…In the book of Isaiah, he wrote particular words of encouragement that would cause us to seek the Lord’s strength in times of storms that will occur in our life. Let us look at Isaiah 40.
 
 
 
Isaiah 40:31 The Voice
“But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength.
They will soar on wings as eagles.
They will run—never winded, never weary.
They will walk—never tired, never faint.”
 
 
 
This scripture is very precious to my heart. Nothing is so majestic as seeing an eagle fly over you. I can remember photographing an eagle family watching over their eggs, and it was so awesome, but never did I see one soar in flight. One morning I was blessed to look up as I was driving because I saw an eagle soaring right high above my car. Oh how I desired to pull over and take the sight in as long as possible, but time did not permit me to do so.
 
 
I find it so interesting that Isaiah likened us to rise above the storms of life as the majestic eagle. He said, as we trust in the Lord our God we will regain the strength that the storm is trying to drain us of. Life does not have to make us feel winded, weary, and weak, but rather we can be infused with God’s strength to will rise above the storm. In those times that we truly do experience loss of strength and vigor for this life, we can turn to Him, and draw upon His strength and grace to continue on. Let us look more at the beautiful attributes of the eagle.
 
 
 
An eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it arrives. It will search out a high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. He simply soars. He is above the storm, and the storm is beneath him. He is soaring, yet the storm is in progress. Interesting, isn’t it? We can learn from the eagle during the storms of our lives. We too can rise above them as we draw upon God. As we set our sights upward to Him, we can ride it out and sustained that we not grow weary. He will keep us that we can continue on, not grow tired and not faint.
 
 
 
There are two words I want to leave you with that are the secret of remaining in the “high places” of God. These words are ~abide~ and ~hide~. To abide is to stay, remain, DO NOT leave!!! Even as we are in the midst of our busy day, we can still be in that high place. Second, it is our hiding place! I am not speaking of “sticking you head in the sand” type of hiding place either! It is that place where no matter what is breaking loose around us, our peace needs not to be disturbed. We serve a God that has provided us an abiding and hiding place, and is well able to cause us to soar!!!
 
 
 
 
Psalm 91  (ERV)
“You can go to God Most High to hide.
You can go to God All-Powerful for protection.
 I say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety, my fortress.
My God, I trust in you.”
God will save you from hidden dangers
and from deadly diseases.
 You can go to him for protection.
He will cover you like a bird spreading its wings over its babies.
You can trust him to surround and protect you like a shield.”
 
 
 


‘How Is Your Heart?”

How is Your Heart
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
Jesus knows the condition of your heart like no one else. He knows your hurts,  He knows how it beats inconsistently for Him at times, and He well knows that there are times your heart is not strong. He sees the pain of your heart, and He  understands why your heart may be scared from past experiences. He well understands your heart’s history, and He is the best Physician you will ever meet up with!
 
 
 
 
 
This devotional came from words that inspired me in one of my husband’s sermons a few years ago.   He shared how Jesus stands at the door of our hearts. He is a gentleman and He will not push Himself on us. He is not trying to sell anything, He is trying to just give all that He is to you. I began to think about the famous painting of Jesus standing at the door and knocking. As a little girl that painting always struck me as mysterious for some reason. Most of the paintings of this particular image of Jesus at the door shows one very significant thing missing and that is the door knob.
 
 
 
 

He stands gently at the door of every man’s heart and as He knocks He knows if you are there or not. He knows what is inside. Patiently He knocks and if no one answers, patiently He waits and listens. You see if there were a door knob He would be able to turn it and just walk in. From the beginning He created us with a choice and that is to choose right from wrong. He will not push,and He will not shove Himself upon us.
 
 
 
 

The portrait of Jesus standing at the door depicts His desire to be in fellowship with every man,woman, and child. He desires to shed all of His great mercies in the direction of anyone who wants Him. He desires to wash away all sin and forget it all. Allow Him to come in, be your best Friend and fellowship with you every moment that you can. He desires to examine your heart and speak to you in a special way. God is a God of all good things and He desires to open the windows of Heaven and just pour it in your direction. Blessings to you this day!


“The Pure Heart”

A Pure Heart Christian Bulletin
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
I can remember once thinking about how people use the phrase. “They do not want to talk about it because the whole thing was swept under the rug.”   In other words they are acting like it never happened, and as long as people cannot see it, they are okay with that.    I remember when one day I was tidying up in my family room I grabbed my broom to sweep right inside my door which is the entrance to our backyard. It is one of those areas I could clean three times a day and there is always dirt because our German Shepherd has these four paws that are always tracking dirt in to the house. I swept this neat little pile dirt and grass and it was by the rug and for some reason I stood there and just glanced at the pile of dirt beside my throw rug.  That idiom “it was just swept under the carpet.”  crossed my mind I began to think how lazy and kind of irresponsible  that would be to just lift the rug and brush it underneath.
 
 
 
 
This thought really triggered in me how so many times people really do practice this in their hearts.
It is a very sad thing when one just tries to hide a problem or keep a problem secret instead of dealing with it. Let us just say that it is not healthy to pretend like a problem is not there or act as if it is going to go away on its own. Let’s read this scripture in light of what I just shared:
 
 
 

Psalm 51:9-10 (The Voice )
“Cover Your face so You will not see my sins,
and erase my guilt from the record.
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
restore within me a sense of being brand new.”
 
 
 
 

I love this scripture because it seems that David was so humiliated by his sin that he did not even want God to see what he did. I believe that it is of utmost importance that we desire first and foremost that our hearts be pure before God. It is when you sin and it does not bother you anymore that you are really in a dangerous place. Thank God for conviction! When we are honest and humble before Him, we just ask God to cleanse us of our sin, and the sin is simply washed away to be seen no more.
 
 
 
 
 
If you begin to practice the habit of ignoring your faults and shortcomings you will sadly master being a pretender and you will not be walking close with God like you think you may be. We should all desire that our hearts are totally clean and we should purpose to maintain a pure heart and sense of being brand new. All we have to do is continue to stay in His presence and humble ourselves when we make
mistakes. I love how the Lord keeps things so simple for us so we can walk with Him in this sometimes complicated life. I pray you walk close to Him today. Keep your heart clean and allow Him to
speak to you about every area of your life. We serve a merciful and loving God!


“For Such A Time As This”

for such a time as this
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
One of the first things our God did in creation was to not only create but to separate. and He separated the light from the dark. As we live our lives as victorious believers we too must keep our
hearts, soul, and mind separate from the ways of darkness. I think sometimes when people read such a statement that I just shared the first inclination is to think of not doing bad things. We do not just up and do bad things, it begins with small thoughts that evolve into walking a wrong path, making a decision contrary to the truth, or not holding fast to His Word in our life.
 
 
 

We are living in a time where spiritual darkness is on the increase. My heart is extremely grieved to see when believers refuse to acknowledge this. It is not that they do not see it but they go about their business just trying to stay happy, keep busy and maintain a comfort zone. As we continue to walk in His Word I believe that in the midst of this deep darkness that is covering our earth with deception, that something very wonderful is going to transpire in Spirit like never before.  
In order for God to sweep this earth and bring many to Him, we MUST 
remain strong, upright and diligent to walk in His truth.
 
 
 
 
 
Psalm 112:4 The Voice
“When life is dark, a light will shine for those who live rightly— those
who are merciful, compassionate, and strive for justice.”
 
 
 

I believe many weaken  and do not persist in their faith solely because they are afraid of the condition of the world. We as believers need to be aware of what is going on in the world so that we can be diligent to pray. As we persist in His Word and proclaim it as we live uprightly, HE HAS PROMISED that light will shine for us in the midst of darkness. We cannot stick our heads in the sand, and pretend it is not happening. I do not sit and watch the news 24/7 but I find it important to find a good news source, and follow to the degree of being aware. Let our hearts be strengthened in knowing that…
 
 
 

We do not have
to be
afraid
for such a time as this we are here.
 
 
 

Jesus addressed fear in the book of Matthew and we need to refer to this scripture today in light of what I am sharing:
 
 
 
Matthew 24:5-7 Amplified Bible
 “For many will come in (on the strength of) My name appropriating the
name which belongs to Me, saying, I am the Christ (the Messiah), and they will
lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you
are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not
yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there
will be famines and earthquakes in place after place;”
 
 
 

Continue to shine for Jesus and hold fast to His promises. God is calling us in such a time as this to be beacons of light to a world that is looking for answers to their fears and they  the hope we can bring to them.



“Where Does Your Help Come From?”

my help comes from the lord above
 
by Dona Hake
 
 
Isaiah 41:10 (The Voice)
” So don’t be afraid. I am here, with you; don’t be
dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, and help you. I am here with
My right hand to make right and to hold you up.”
 

The King James Version says, “Fear not, do not look anxiously about you for I
AM your God…”
 
 
 
 
 
Looking anxiously about  implies that one would be uneasy, fearful or panicking. It is good to know that our loving Heavenly Father is there for us in those times to come under us and lift us up and hold us closely. He will sit us on the solid rock where we will not be moved and He is able to keep us.
 
 
 

Today as I was meditating on this scripture I recalled an incident with my parrot that is a great analogy of this scripture. One morning while I  was preparing for the devotional, I had my coffee sitting at my sofa and my parrot was having her “freedom time” roaming about the outside of her cage.   She enjoys sitting on top of her little world and watching me.   She usually climbs around her cage exploring. It is kind of cute because she has this “I’m big stuff” attitude as she is enjoying her freedom.
 
 
 
 
 
On this particular day she got a little bit daring and decided to try to go from her cage over to a
cupboard that sits about one foot away from her cage. She was trying to be ever so cautious before she went from her cage to the cupboard.  Her confidence got her into a bit of trouble. Her mistake was that she did not have proper footing and she slipped. She frantically started to flap her wings but could not fly because I just had her wings clipped. She went from frantic to  panic.  She was so upset as she sat on the floor looking up at me.   I calmly walked toward her and spoke softly saying, “It’s ok JJ, I’ll help you.” It was amazing how I could see the fear in her little eyes. I gently reached my finger out and under her feet.   As she stepped up, she stopped the panic, rested on my hand, and she immediately calmed down.  
You see, as she felt my hand she felt safe again. As she sat there resting she looked at me with such a thankful look and I put her back on her cage where she felt safe again.
 
 
 
 

It reminded me how sometimes we can get ourselves in trouble and we lose our “footing.” You know…those times when you get a little over confident and you get into your own ability and from there you got yourself in trouble. There are also those times that you are stepping out on faith and you really have yourself out on the “limb” and it can cause fear to grip your heart. It is very easy to
panic, get in anxiety, and be fearful. Isn’t it good to know that our loving Heavenly Father is right there ready to hold out His mighty right hand, calm us with His loving voice and lift us up to that safe place.
 
 
 
 
 
Psalm 91:4 (The Voice)
Like a bird protecting its young, God will cover you with His feathers, will
protect you under His great wings; His faithfulness will form a shield around you,
a rock-solid wall to protect you.
 
 
 
 

I pray that you will see Him today as the One that is always nearby you and only an arm’s reach away to rescue you in your time of need or trouble. Only He can calm our hearts when we are in anxiety and fear. We serve a loving and caring God. He is so good. I pray you will have a day that is prosperous and blessed!



6 Responses to “Devotional”

  1. Lisa Viands says:

    This is a good way of teaching the kids to forgive each other(Matt. 5:7). I like the power of this gentle scripture and lesson… Thanks!!

  2. Selena Neely says:

    Ralph &I are really enjoying your devotional together.

  3. Selena Neely says:

    Oh, what a wonderful reminder! I want to break the magnifing glass of worry and trust God for each step I take.

  4. Dona Hake says:

    It is interesting Selena how the more we worry the bigger and more magnified things get in our minds. Oh how important it is to trust our God for the smallest of things! Thank you for sharing!