Why we must love each other

DAILY BIBLE READING:

2 Samuel 4:1–6:23 
John 13:31–14:14 
Psalm 119:17-32 
Proverbs 15:31-32 

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

John 13:34-35 "I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Following Jesus is difficult but easy.

It's difficult because of our propensity toward sin that keeps us on our knees each day asking for forgiveness over and over.

It's simple because there are really only two commands that we must remember. All of the other commands are just subsets of these two: Love God will everything you've got and love each other just as you love and care about yourself (see Matthew 22:35-40).

In my Bible reading this morning, I was reminded that there are causes and effects to obeying these two greatest commands, particularly loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. When an unbelieving world sees the compassionate community that Jesus' followers create by their love for each other, many will come to believe that Jesus does exist, that we are His followers, and He is what their heart craves.

John 13:34-35 (CSB) "I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Fellow believers, we've got to love each other. That means we will honor each other and not gossip about one another. That means we will sacrifice to meet each other's need if necessary. That means we will extend grace and biblical assistance when one of us stumbles into sin and we will quit shooting our wounded. That means we genuinely like being around those in our own church as well as those who attend elsewhere.

All too often, when lost people look at the Christian community, they see people who can't get along. They hear the gossip, ridicule, and condemnation. They listen to the unforgiveness. They see the clique. The lost world struggles with their own relationship troubles so why would they be attracted to a community where they would simply add to that burden.

Let's focus on the two greatest commands: Love God will all of our heart and love each other as we love ourselves.

If you are a part of a church that is genuinely loving others like the one I pastor (we haven't 'arrived' but we're having fun working on it), you should thank the Lord for placing you there and always strive to make that love go deeper.

If, however, this is not your experience, work to create a community where broken people are accepted and helped along on their journey to Christlikeness. In doing so, show the world that Jesus really does exist, that we are His followers, and He really is all they need.

Why God needs to be first place

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Judges 9:22–10:18 
Luke 24:13-53 
Psalm 100:1-5 
Proverbs 14:11-12

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Judges 10:14 (CSB) "Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you whenever you are oppressed."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

In our Bible reading today, we came across a verse that told us what was going on in the hearts and actions of the Israelites...

Judges 10:6 "Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord and did not worship him."

Verses like these appear through the entirety of the book of Judges. It's what happens when a people are not led by a godly leader who calls them to holiness and demonstrates what that looks like in his own life.

It also illustrates what our own hearts do all too often. Instead of serving the one true God, we set up other gods: our jobs, our pursuit of success/wealth, our kids, entertainment, sports, etc.

Well, when we look back at the Verse for Today, we see that one of the "benefits" of serving the one true God is that we have a refuge when life gets tough. But, the "gods" we typically serve can do nothing about it. They cannot help. And so God's comments to the wayward Israelites was intended to point out that they had been serving something that couldn't help them when they were in trouble.

Judges 10:14 (CSB) "Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you whenever you are oppressed."

Sometimes, our "gods" can numb us to the pain of life's trials but they cannot ultimately give us a right perspective and healing relief. 

So, we are reminded of yet one more reason why we must serve and love our God supremely; why He must be first place in our life; why nothing else can even come close to Him.

While keep God first place in our hearts is certainly for His glory, it is also for our good. Keeping God first place in our hearts is ultimately for our own good.

The Two Greatest Commands

TODAY'S BIBLE READING:

Exodus 17:8-19:15

Matthew 22:34-23:12

Psalm 27:7-14

Proverbs 6:27-35

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Matthew 22:37-40 "Jesus replied, 'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Have you ever wished that you could boil the commands of Scripture down to a handful of "dos" and "don'ts?" Of course you have. The list of instructions that we are called to comply with can be incredibly overwhelming.

Fortunately, Jesus did just that. He boiled all of the commands of Scripture down to two commands.

In Matthew 22:34-36, we read about an expert in the law who came to Jesus. He wanted to embarrass Jesus in front of everyone by asking an impossible question.

"Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" (Matthew 22:36)

This "expert" believed that he was boxing Jesus into a corner with this question. He suspected that regardless of how Jesus answered, He was going to divide the crowd. Virtually everyone had their own opinions about what the more important command was ... and everyone's opinion differed from everyone else.

So, what was Jesus to do? He could have refused to answer but that would have made Him look weak and indecisive. He had to answer. But how? What was the greatest commandment?

"Jesus replied, 'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40)

In saying this, Jesus took the hundreds of biblical commands and shrunk them down to two. Love God with everything you've got and love your neighbor as you love yourself.

The word for "love" that Jesus used did not necessarily speak of the emotion. It primarily spoke of submitting oneself to someone else. In human relations, it pointed to the willingness to focus on the needs of someone else even if it meant personal sacrifice. 

So, we love God by submitting ourselves to Him and serving / worshiping Him from our heart. We love others by submitting ourselves to them and providing for their needs, as we are led by God's Holy Spirit, even if it means doing so will cost us.

But, notice the last verse. Jesus said that "the entire law and all of the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." That means that each of God's commands are not whimsical. They aren't a mindless assembly of "dos" and "don'ts." They are based on the primary mentality of submitting ourselves to God and others.

Imagine, just imagine, what it would be like to be a part of a church (and a larger Christian community) where everyone obeyed these two commands! They sincerely loved and served the Lord and they were always putting others above themselves. Wouldn't that be Heaven on earth?

Well, we can work for that today. On this day, ask God to help you grow in your obedience to these two primary commandments.

Enjoying God - what God always intended

Enjoying God has always been the goal of those who followed Him throughout history.

In fact, God made the redeemed human heart to crave what the Greatest Commandment demands in Matthew 22:37-38 (NLT). 37) "Jesus replied, 'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' 38) This is the first and greatest commandment."

Following Jesus was never intended to be a lifeless religion that just gets tacked onto everything else we do in life. Instead, it was made to satisfy our deepest longings. Those who have experienced God have discovered that it can be intoxicating and addictive. We want more!

(And with our enjoyment of God as our passion, we will inevitably love and obey Him. Therefore, our obedience is not out of compulsion or a sense of duty - it's because we WANT to love and obey Him.)

Just listen to the Psalmist in the following 8 verses. As we listen to the prayer of King David, we hear a man who craved for His God unlike so much of the religion we see (and experience within ourselves). This is what God has intended for us to enjoy! And the more we enjoy Him, the more He invites us to enjoy more!

Psalm 63:1-6 (NLT)

1) O God, you are my God;

I earnestly search for you.

My soul thirsts for you;

my whole body longs for you

in this parched and weary land

where there is no water.

2) I have seen you in your sanctuary

and gazed upon your power and glory.

3) Your unfailing love is better than life itself;

how I praise you!

4) I will praise you as long as I live,

lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

5) You satisfy me more than the richest feast.

I will praise you with songs of joy.

6) I lie awake thinking of you,

meditating on you through the night.

7) Because you are my helper,

I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.

8) I cling to you;

your strong right hand holds me securely.