Truthfulness and love
Ascension Day
Those of you who love the Lord, hate evil! ~ Psalm 97:10 (CEB)
Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head. ~ Ephesians 4:15 (CEV)
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Truthfulness and love are inseparable.
PRAYER
Lord God, you are the reliable source for truth. And you speak it out of love. I'm not so good at either loving or telling the truth. It's not that I intentionally lie. It's just that in my subtle attempts to present myself in the best way possible I'm inclined to fudge or gloss over details. Help me to mature so that I am completely transparent in my love and truthfulness. I'm going to look like Christ. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
