August 1, 2022 8:00 pm
A treat we grew to love when we lived in England was Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bars. When we returned to the States, I was dismayed to discover the U.S. distributor of Cadbury chocolate uses a different recipe and does not allow for any importer to supply the original UK version. You can buy Cadbury chocolate in the US, but it’s not the authentic version.
Authenticity. It’s something I can taste in my chocolate but earnestly long to be true of me as well as a believer in Jesus.
Authentic faith is a quality Paul commends his disciple Timothy for in the opening of his second letter to Timothy. Paul writes of his deep love and appreciation for Timothy, specifically, “his sincere faith” (2 Timothy 1:5). Sincere, or authentic faith, is beautiful because it is real. We embrace genuine faith in part because we are turned off by its opposite: hypocrisy.
Paul’s words still speak into our lives today, when we find ourselves tempted to present a slightly different version of ourselves, whether to cover fears or anxieties or to gloss over hurts and frustrations. Timothy’s example reminds me that authentic faith acknowledges those realities but continues to hold fast to God and to celebrate the faith God is developing in me.
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Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled Life Giving Correction, was written by Karen Pimpo. Unfortunately, we had a pretty hard conversation recently, said Shelley. I don't think either of us enjoyed it, but I really felt her attitude and actions needed to be addressed in order to keep from hurting those around her. Shelley was talking about the young woman she mentors. Although uncomfortable, their conversation was fruitful and actually strengthened their relationship.
Just a few weeks later, the two women led a churchwide prayer time with the theme of humility. Even outside of a formal mentoring relationship, we'll face a tough conversation or two with a brother or sister in Christ. In Proverbs, a book full of timeless wisdom, the importance of humility in giving and receiving correction is a repeated theme. In fact, constructive criticism is called life-giving and leads to true wisdom. Proverbs 15 5 says a fool spurns discipline while those who heed correction show good judgment. Put plainly, the one who hates correction will die.
As Shelley witnessed, truth spoken in love can bring new life to a relationship. Is there someone in your life to whom a word of loving, life-giving correction should be spoken? Or perhaps you have recently received wise admonition and been tempted to respond with anger or indifference. To disregard discipline is to despise oneself, but to heed correction is to gain understanding. Let's ask God to help us give and receive correction with humility today. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Proverbs 15 verses 31 through 33. Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise. Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.
Wisdom's instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor. Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for the courage of faithful friends who are willing, in love, to say the hard things we need to hear. Give us humble hearts, ready to receive life-giving correction that causes us to grow in wisdom. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening today. My name is Toni Collier, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-03-17 19:30:30 / 2023-03-17 19:31:53 / 1
