Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Roman 13:8-10 (NIV)

The scriptures clearly states it very simply, "Love your neighbour as yourself". We all know that some people can be so hard to love, even when you try your best to love them. You give your heart and your all, yet all your acts of love and compassion may be misunderstood as being nosy or as some would say too overwhelming. But the scripture is clear to say that, "love is patient, love is kind and love sees no faults" 1 Corinthians 13:4-13.

So to love your neighbor as yourself, you have to endeavor to close your eyes to their many faults and embrace them with the agape love of God. We are to love our enemies and those that spitefully use us. This can also be hard to do especially when you have been hurt badly by an individual that you trust, but  remember that love should give no records of those things others have done. 1 Corinthians 13:5  And the fear that you feel from the wound and pain of past hurts, the scriptures say that perfect love cast out all fear. So why be afraid to love? Why be afraid to give your all to others as commanded by God? Verse 8 of Romans 13 says that no debt should be outstanding except for the continuing debt to love one another. Love is a debt that we have do take care of on a daily basis.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)  Just as you love yourself to protect your interest, so also you should love others and protect their good interest. If we say we have faith and have not exercised our love muscles then all that we do is simply put, fake. To love others is to be tolerant.

For God so loved the world that he gave His only son, so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. So what excuse do we have, if God can give us the life of his son by sacrificing him on the cross to free us from sin and death, the only pay back for that is to in turn love others.

PRAYER
Almighty God, today I humble myself and ask for mercy for those areas of my life where I have not shown love to those that surround me the way you have commanded. Forgive me for keeping a record of others faults. Help me from today to see beyond the wrong that has been done to me and help me to begin to love unconditionally with the agape love of God, in Jesus Name. Amen

JOURNAL
Make a list of those that have wronged you and what it is that they have done that has affected the way you love and perceive others, present them to God in prayer. Release all the hurt and pain in those areas that you have listed and ask the Holy Spirit fill the vacuum that the hurt has left behind with the agape love of God and don't go back to revisit them again. 

" A good person’s mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom; a foul mouth is a stagnant swamp."
(Proverbs 10:31 MSG)

What is a Swamp? A swamp according to Dictionary.com is "a tract of wet, spongy land, often having a growth of certain types of trees and other vegetation, but unfit for cultivation."  It is also a place where it's water never really drain well and because of this reason, the water becomes mucky and smelly. The scripture above characterizes a person with a foul mouth, "a stagnant swamp". Who is a person with a foul mouth, it is someone that curse all the time, speaks and confesses only negative words. The scripture characterizing a person with a foul mouth a swamp is accurate. Why? The person that constantly speaks negative words cannot move forward much in life, because they are constantly seeing the worst and confessing only negative and defeating words, which will eventually manifest itself as delay and setbacks in the long run.



However, a good person's mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom. How you speak concerning your life, your children, your marriage, your home and situations matters a lot. Do you speak life or death? We all are guilty of speaking negatively occasionally, but when it becomes constant, one needs to check oneself, make amends and begin to speak positively. Choose to speak and see the good in every situation no matter how ugly it may seem.

Ask yourself, are you a clear fountain of wisdom or are you a stagnant swamp? A fountain flows, it is fresh and it never ceases, neither is it stagnant. Today, make up your mind and be determined to begin to speak life to your life and situation, let your words be one that flows with encouragement and positivity towards yourself, your situations and to others. Verse 32 of Proverbs says, "the speech of a good person clears the air; the words of the wicked pollute it." Which would you choose? Are you going to be a person that walks in and commands the room with positivity and make everyone around you comfortable and motivated or are you going to be one that pollutes it.

When you cultivate this habit of being positive, everything around you that is negative will no longer affect you. Be determined and I am sure all will go well with you.

PRAYER
Lord make my mouth a fountain of wisdom, and if there is any area of my life and communications that are swampy, I ask that the holy spirit that teaches all things would teach me how to speak and how to hold my tongue to speak less and listen more, in Jesus Name, Amen.

JOURNAL
In your journal today, write down those areas where you feel you have been negative and what you would do to correct them.


Reference:
Dictionary.com
Biblegateway.com