Mark 10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

This is Jesus reply when the Pharisees tried to trap Him using questions about marriage. I choose to avoid all the lessons and mistakes of that issue and listen to what Jesus says here in His root cause response. Laws are written and precepts are given because of the condition of our hearts.

If we all loved God and one another perfectly, from a good heart, we would not require constraints. We would all do what is right in the sight of the Lord. We are not perfect in heart, so the constraints are put into place.

How about our relationship with our betrothed, Jesus? Do you love Him perfectly? Sadly no, as much as we try, because we have not yet been perfected. We will not come to the wedding feast without first being perfected.

Revelation 21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

Because we have not yet been perfected we live with constraints. What constrains you? The law?

Job 32:18 (ESV) For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me.

The Word of God is like a heart conditioner and must be applied daily to keep the heart tender and not allowed to harden.

Mark 9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

Because I have all three types of the prophetic gifts I have born witness to the offending eye. It is the abuse of the prophetic gift. I am not even sure with any degree of confidence that the offending eye I have seen is a gift or the desire for the gift.

1 Corinthians 12:31a But covet earnestly the best gifts:

Some covet in the sense of stealing what is not theirs. They will use personal knowledge of others to further the myth of a prophetic gift within themselves. Others will quote scripture with the preface “Thus saith the Lord.” Yes the Lord has said all scripture but to use scripture to insinuate that the Lord is aiming those scriptures at a member of the church for correction is nothing more than judgment run amok.

During discipleship training we will endeavor to cover all three prophet gifts. The motivational, which are given by God at birth. The ministry, which builds up the church. The manifest, which is the power of God absent of any human will.

All the gifts are subject to the same warning. Do not abuse the gifts for self-gain or self-glory for they are a gift from God and should be accorded the respect due God.

In the end the absence of gifts among us does not prevent what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:31b “and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.”

With those words Paul begins the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Timothy 1:5 (ESV) The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.