Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10 ESV)
We must love one another as we really are and not as we would ideally like others to be. We must honor each other in our imperfect state and not in some ideal state in which we have no faults. We are called to love and honor real broken people and not some "ideal" Christians who do not exist in the real world.
The love we are to have for other Christians is unconditional. It is not based on their performance. The honor we are to give them is also unconditional. It is not based on their performance. Only unconditional love and honor last since everyone we love and honor is a sinner. Because those we love and honor sin we will eventually find fault with them if we look for it. If our love and honor is conditional upon their performance then we will find reason not to love and honor them.
This is entirely different than the way the unbelieving world system operates. Love and honor are earned by good performance. Here in the kingdom of Christ they are given as a gift to all who call upon the name of the Lord Messiah Jesus. Doing Church well means that we strive to feel love and honor for every Christian seeing in them God's image and God's child. We see in them the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit. We embrace them as God's child and our spiritual sibling. This is all done as a gift even as we have been accepted by God in Messiah Jesus as a gift.
Only a focus on grace can allow us to do church well.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Friday, September 05, 2008
Love is the answer
Devotions
Reading
NLT Romans 12:9 Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. 13 When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. 14 If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. 19 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. 20 Instead, do what the Scriptures say: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you." 21 Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Meditation
Paul here defines what a life of genuine love would be like. He compares and contrasts the actions and attitudes that would reflect a sincere love. This love comes from a sincere faith that Jesus has died for our sins, was buried, and now is raised to glory to seal our forgiveness and redemption. Faith and hope in the true gospel creates love for God and others in our hearts.
Paul calls on to have an inward reality where we are sincere in our love and not pretending to be nice. He wants us to really hate what is evil and be passionate for taking the side of good. He wants our love to be an emotional experience and an intellectual value. We are to be enthusiastic in our lives. We are to actually feel delight in lifting others up and speaking well of them. We are to have gladness for God’s plans for our lives regardless of our circumstances as we patiently wait and pray in the midst of trouble. We are to be able to rejoice in when others are happy and weep when they are sad. Our hearts are open to have real and healthy empathy with what others are feeling. We are to be humble and aware of our ignorance. We are to guard our hearts from the attitude of revenge and vengeance which come from unresolved anger. We are to nurture a attitude of seeking and desiring peace and harmony in all our relationships as we seek to love our enemies.
This inward reality which is a fruit of faith in the gospel is to have practical application to specific activities. We are to be hard workers in whatever we do. We are to be ready to meet the needs of others with practical help to meet those needs. Our homes are to be open to having guests and we need to be ready to share our table with others. We are not to act better than others and put on airs of importance. We are to take actions that will lead to peace and harmony instead of conflict. Our actions are to be above reproach and we are not to do evil for good reasons. We are to give to our enemies what they need and to have a strategy of defeating evil by overwhelming it with acts of kindness and mercy.
Our modern world often asks what relevance faith has to modern life. Here we see that if every Christian sought to live this type of life on a daily basis that no one would ask that question. Paul has outlined a dynamic lifestyle of faith which would be powerful in its impact in the world. May God give us the faith to live such a life.
Christocentric: This life Paul has outlines is really a blue print of what it means to be like Jesus. Jesus was the one who was the incarnation of sincere love. While hating evil he loved His enemies. He was the ultimate peace maker and conquered ultimate evil by doing the ultimate good on the cross. This passage not only tells us what we should be like it tells us what Jesus is like.
Moral: Love is the ultimate moral demand. We are to love God sincerely with all our hearts and love others without hypocrisy. Love produces a moral life. Immorality at its core is a failure to love God or others as we ought to love them. The greatest moral responsibility we have is to love.
Eternal: Heave will be where we feel and experience only love. We will love God and God will love us. We will love everyone and everyone will love us. The true joy of heaven is that we will be swimming in love, acceptance, harmony, and peace.
Prayer: Lord pour out your love into my heart by having the Holy Spirit increase my faith in the gospel. Lord let my faith grow that my love might grow. Give me the gift of a loving heart.
Contemplation: I am love
Action: Let me seek an opportunity to take positive and practical action which reflects Christ like love today. Let me overcome evil today by an act of sacrificial love in my daily life. Lord give me an opportunity to show your love today in a concrete and real way.
Reading
NLT Romans 12:9 Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. 13 When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night. 14 If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. 19 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord. 20 Instead, do what the Scriptures say: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you." 21 Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.
Meditation
Paul here defines what a life of genuine love would be like. He compares and contrasts the actions and attitudes that would reflect a sincere love. This love comes from a sincere faith that Jesus has died for our sins, was buried, and now is raised to glory to seal our forgiveness and redemption. Faith and hope in the true gospel creates love for God and others in our hearts.
Paul calls on to have an inward reality where we are sincere in our love and not pretending to be nice. He wants us to really hate what is evil and be passionate for taking the side of good. He wants our love to be an emotional experience and an intellectual value. We are to be enthusiastic in our lives. We are to actually feel delight in lifting others up and speaking well of them. We are to have gladness for God’s plans for our lives regardless of our circumstances as we patiently wait and pray in the midst of trouble. We are to be able to rejoice in when others are happy and weep when they are sad. Our hearts are open to have real and healthy empathy with what others are feeling. We are to be humble and aware of our ignorance. We are to guard our hearts from the attitude of revenge and vengeance which come from unresolved anger. We are to nurture a attitude of seeking and desiring peace and harmony in all our relationships as we seek to love our enemies.
This inward reality which is a fruit of faith in the gospel is to have practical application to specific activities. We are to be hard workers in whatever we do. We are to be ready to meet the needs of others with practical help to meet those needs. Our homes are to be open to having guests and we need to be ready to share our table with others. We are not to act better than others and put on airs of importance. We are to take actions that will lead to peace and harmony instead of conflict. Our actions are to be above reproach and we are not to do evil for good reasons. We are to give to our enemies what they need and to have a strategy of defeating evil by overwhelming it with acts of kindness and mercy.
Our modern world often asks what relevance faith has to modern life. Here we see that if every Christian sought to live this type of life on a daily basis that no one would ask that question. Paul has outlined a dynamic lifestyle of faith which would be powerful in its impact in the world. May God give us the faith to live such a life.
Christocentric: This life Paul has outlines is really a blue print of what it means to be like Jesus. Jesus was the one who was the incarnation of sincere love. While hating evil he loved His enemies. He was the ultimate peace maker and conquered ultimate evil by doing the ultimate good on the cross. This passage not only tells us what we should be like it tells us what Jesus is like.
Moral: Love is the ultimate moral demand. We are to love God sincerely with all our hearts and love others without hypocrisy. Love produces a moral life. Immorality at its core is a failure to love God or others as we ought to love them. The greatest moral responsibility we have is to love.
Eternal: Heave will be where we feel and experience only love. We will love God and God will love us. We will love everyone and everyone will love us. The true joy of heaven is that we will be swimming in love, acceptance, harmony, and peace.
Prayer: Lord pour out your love into my heart by having the Holy Spirit increase my faith in the gospel. Lord let my faith grow that my love might grow. Give me the gift of a loving heart.
Contemplation: I am love
Action: Let me seek an opportunity to take positive and practical action which reflects Christ like love today. Let me overcome evil today by an act of sacrificial love in my daily life. Lord give me an opportunity to show your love today in a concrete and real way.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Unity Among Christians
Reading
NLT Psalm 133:1 A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live together in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And the LORD has pronounced his blessing, even life forevermore.
Meditation:
Literal: The traditional view of this passage was that it was written by David and sang by people as they came to the three great feasts to Jerusalem to worship. The brothers here would have been all the different tribes who would be coming together to worship the Lord at His temple. Some believe that this psalm was sung by Levites as they returned from exile in Babylon to the temple.
The focus is on how much pleasure comes when there is unity, peace, and tranquility in human relationships. It “smells” right and brings joy to individuals, families, tribes, and nations. The Psalmist also describes it as refreshing dew and then speaks of the most northern parts of the country which is illustrated by Mount Hermon and the Southern with Mount Zion. Both Israel and Judea united seems to be part of the focus.
The blessing that is upon God’s covenant people is that they have in the Messiah been given everlasting life. Harmony is found in remembering the one eternal life that all of God’s people share.
Christocentric - It was at Mount Hermon that Jesus said that He would build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. It was in Jerusalem that He would die to redeem His church. He came to make both believing Jews and believing Gentiles one people and to knock down the wall of division between them. He has said that when we live in unity and harmony then the world will know that He was sent by the Father. The heart of Christ is that His people not be divided into fractions but that we love one another as he loved us.
Moral: Why are there wars among Christian brothers? Because of our envy, self righteousness, and greed there is division and discord. Our lack of unity as the people of God creates a spiritual “stink” that repels people from the Christian faith. It is much easier to find fault than to give praise. It is much easier to condemn than to encourage. We must strive to keep the unity that has been given to us through the Holy Spirit and strive to be peace makers with all people, especially those who believe.
Eternal – The full wonder and experience of this passage will be seen by God’s people when we gather at the throne of heaven. We will be one people with one shepherd. We will have love for Jesus and love for one another. Part of the kingdom of heaven will be perfect human relationships. We will be from many nations, tribes, cultures, and colors; but we will be one people who will know harmony, peace, joy, and love between each other.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you that you have created unity among believers through the Holy Spirit. I ask you Lord to make me a peace maker both within your Church and outside of the church. Allow my heart to seek harmony in all my human relationships. Keep my mouth from saying hurtful things. Let me seek to find the good in every relationship and the courage to rebuke when needed to maintain the peace. Lord help your people to avoid division that we may not cause the world to speak evil of you.
Contemplation: Love one another as I have loved you
Action: I will seek to understand others and to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger. I will strive to keep my mouth from speaking judgment or condemnation on fellow Christians.
NLT Psalm 133:1 A song for the ascent to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
How wonderful it is, how pleasant, when brothers live together in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil that was poured over Aaron's head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And the LORD has pronounced his blessing, even life forevermore.
Meditation:
Literal: The traditional view of this passage was that it was written by David and sang by people as they came to the three great feasts to Jerusalem to worship. The brothers here would have been all the different tribes who would be coming together to worship the Lord at His temple. Some believe that this psalm was sung by Levites as they returned from exile in Babylon to the temple.
The focus is on how much pleasure comes when there is unity, peace, and tranquility in human relationships. It “smells” right and brings joy to individuals, families, tribes, and nations. The Psalmist also describes it as refreshing dew and then speaks of the most northern parts of the country which is illustrated by Mount Hermon and the Southern with Mount Zion. Both Israel and Judea united seems to be part of the focus.
The blessing that is upon God’s covenant people is that they have in the Messiah been given everlasting life. Harmony is found in remembering the one eternal life that all of God’s people share.
Christocentric - It was at Mount Hermon that Jesus said that He would build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. It was in Jerusalem that He would die to redeem His church. He came to make both believing Jews and believing Gentiles one people and to knock down the wall of division between them. He has said that when we live in unity and harmony then the world will know that He was sent by the Father. The heart of Christ is that His people not be divided into fractions but that we love one another as he loved us.
Moral: Why are there wars among Christian brothers? Because of our envy, self righteousness, and greed there is division and discord. Our lack of unity as the people of God creates a spiritual “stink” that repels people from the Christian faith. It is much easier to find fault than to give praise. It is much easier to condemn than to encourage. We must strive to keep the unity that has been given to us through the Holy Spirit and strive to be peace makers with all people, especially those who believe.
Eternal – The full wonder and experience of this passage will be seen by God’s people when we gather at the throne of heaven. We will be one people with one shepherd. We will have love for Jesus and love for one another. Part of the kingdom of heaven will be perfect human relationships. We will be from many nations, tribes, cultures, and colors; but we will be one people who will know harmony, peace, joy, and love between each other.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you that you have created unity among believers through the Holy Spirit. I ask you Lord to make me a peace maker both within your Church and outside of the church. Allow my heart to seek harmony in all my human relationships. Keep my mouth from saying hurtful things. Let me seek to find the good in every relationship and the courage to rebuke when needed to maintain the peace. Lord help your people to avoid division that we may not cause the world to speak evil of you.
Contemplation: Love one another as I have loved you
Action: I will seek to understand others and to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger. I will strive to keep my mouth from speaking judgment or condemnation on fellow Christians.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
