Hi Everyone,

How are you? Hope all is well. Let’s get rolling…

1^st Corinthians 13:5b
Love… is not provoked…

Think of provoked as being stirred up. Then think of what is the cause of being stirred up. In the context of what love is; to be not “provokable” is to not allow things to stir you up… to get you irritated or angry.

Perhaps someone has tried to pick a fight with you (for some reason). They may have called you names, pushed your buttons, mischaracterized your motives, or something of the sort.

Did you feel the annoyance rise up in you? Did you feel the urge to defend yourself? I think we all have.

These were the times we were provoked.

Even the great Apostle Paul yielded to provocation…

Acts 23:1-3 (NKJV)
Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him (Paul) on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

Paul was provoked by a slap to the face.

Being in a state of provocation does not love because we are, in that moment, in a defense posture. And being defensive is really just wall-building. And walls prevent closeness and intimacy… the very things love seeks to foment.

And here’s why it is so hard to love this way in our own strength: to be not provoked is to be vulnerable. Yet to be vulnerable is to be wide open to those very things that would provoke us. The truth of the matter is that to show forth this true love, the Child of God is able by the imparted nature of the Father.

Jesus demonstrated this…

1^st Peter 2:23
… when He was reviled [He] did not revile in return, when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him (God the Father) who judges righteously;

You see; if you are a true Christian, why allow your own pride to interrupt God’s possible using you to display Himself to your provocateurs? Let that supernatural character within you do what it is supposed to do: Glorify God!

In closing, one of the helpful things you could commit to memory and adopt into your deep thinking and deep convictions is that God will take care of you…  And with this week’s message, you never need to be provoked by those who may try to stir you up. Here’s one reason why…

Deuteronomy 32:35a
Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time;

Love as Christ loves you and commit yourself to the Father!

**Comments/ questions/ testimonies/ objections most encouraged!

Dear Lord, thank you for this time to consider Your word and Your ways. May our thoughts, words, and deeds bring You glory… and glory to You alone. –Amen

Peace,
Jim