'love one another' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away … No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.” vss. 11, 14 Deuteronomy 30:11-14 What is this word that the scribe is describing in these ancient texts, a word not found in a book, or across the sea? It is the very Word that the gospel…
Daily Devotions
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” vs. 34 John 13:31-35 It’s back to basics today. Jesus was leaving the disciples and he knew they would miss him–he wouldn’t be teaching or guiding them any longer, and they would struggle to know what to do. So he makes his final instruction as plain as he possibly could and his words have echoed through the…
Daily Devotions
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” vs. 35 Luke 6:31-36 Jesus could say radical, eye-brow raising things to his disciples because he knew God’s heart. Most people, then and now, believe that God keeps track of wrong-doing and wreaks vengeance on the ungrateful and the wicked. Somehow, we’ve gotten the…
Daily Devotions
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.” vs. 1 1 John 5:1-4a Anyone who has been a part of an authentic Christian community will be able to testify to the awesome mutual love that has marked their life together. Of course there are the usual spats and disputes as the group deals with practices and rituals, but when the rubber hits the road, love blossoms…
Daily Devotions
How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” vs. 1 Psalm 133 The psalmist nails it today! His dream has been around for a long time and describes one of our deepest yearnings. There is nothing that can be any better than unity in the life of our communities. When Jesus was completing his mission John tells us that he told his disciples that he was giving them just one commandment, that they should love…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 22:15-22 … “Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” vs. 17 The question the Pharisees asked Jesus is exactly like those heard frequently in presidential debates. It was straight forward, pointed, and called for either a “yes” or a “no” answer–and it was a trap! For Jesus to have answered it would have been folly, so like a skillful politician he evades the question. Most of the issues that…
Daily Devotions: May 4, 2018
May 4, 2018 John 15:9-11…“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” vs. 9 Living as a follower of Jesus is remarkably uncomplicated! Jesus had known from the day of his baptism that God loved him, and throughout his ministry he had passed that love on to the hurting people that he encountered. Later, he told those who had become his disciples to abide in that love–they are to revel in it, bask…