How to Treat One Another

Matthew 22:36-40 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” In today’s passage, someone asks what the greatest commandment is. Jesus replies, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” He doesn’t stop there but includes a second one: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Strong, loving connections are based on treating others the way we want to be treated. As you think about your friends, family, and coworkers, consider the following characteristics of a strong relationship: • Enjoyment and satisfaction •  Loyalty • Truthfulness • Prayer support • Forgiveness • Encouragement • Generosity • Respect and honor • Acceptance • Protection from emotional, physical, or spiritual harm. Most of us would have to admit that we don’t always exhibit these characteristics, but wouldn’t we all want them displayed toward us? Ask the Lord to give you the patience and wisdom to mend or strengthen your relationships.

Listening to God when You Cannot Pray

Michael Summers A little more than thirty years ago, I endured a series of events that traumatized me. I was angry at God, so angry that I didn’t want to talk to him. However, I did want to hear what he had to say. I hoped that his words would bring reason for my pain, would restore order to replace the chaos. I did not pray for months, but I read the Bible every day, craving to hear what God had to say that would make life make sense. I said that I did not pray, but if prayer is a conversation, perhaps I just was not talking and giving God a chance to make his case. In the end, I prayed fully again. I still grieved, but now I understood better what Paul meant when he said that God told him, “…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). An endangered psalmist prayed concerning the threats posed by his enemies. He knew that he had nearly died and that the danger persisted. He called out to God, but Psalm 119:89-96 reveals that he also listened. In a recent post, I said that when we pray, we celebrate, we advocate, we lament, and we listen. In this prayer, the psalmist celebrates God’s faithfulness and the reliability of his enduring message. He advocates for his own salvation, while he laments the threat that his enemies pose to him. He also listens. He hears what God is telling him in his divine instructions, his laws. He prays, “Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never for get your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless” (Psalm 119:89-96). This past week, I participated in a Zoom call where participants discussed losses that we had endured, and how lament had played a role both in our grieving and in our healing. When I mentioned the time when I didn’t want to talk to God, others responded that they too had had a time like that. If you too, because of trauma, loss, or illness, do not want to talk to God, perhaps you still can listen. When I could not pray, God spoke to me, as he had to the psalmist before, through his written revelation. I read how biblical heroes had suffered, but survived because they trusted that God would provide. I heard about God’s love through the care that two churches lavished on me, first in Maryland, and then in Tennessee. They walked with me in my suffering and helped me regain my trust in God by being patient enough with me to let me serve how I could while I slowly healed. If I had not listened to God’s message, I likely would have perished in my affliction. Like the psalmist, I pondered God’s word and sought out his answers to what I was experiencing. Like him, I remembered that I belonged to God and I sought out his way. I rediscovered his love in the accounts of his faithfulness with his people, but also in the life and teaching of Jesus, whom the books of John and Hebrews respectively say is the “word of God” and the one through whom God speaks to us now (John 1:1-14; Hebrews 1:1-4). I encourage you to concentrate on hearing God if praying to him just seems impossible right now. Take time to read his word for twenty minutes or more each day. Spend time with people who love God and who love you. Reflect on what you hear in what you read. Perhaps soon you too will talk to God again as you pray, grateful for feeling whole again. • Quotes from the Bible are from the New International Version.

Love’s Hidden Enemy

Childish thinking can block our ability to fully enjoy love.

1 Corinthians 13:8-11 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with.9 For we know in part and prophesy in part;10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with.11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. What keeps you from loving others? Paul penned a beautiful description of biblical love (4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.1 Cor. 13:4-7) and then concluded, “When I became a man, I did away with childish things” (v. 11). I believe childish thinking is a hidden enemy of loving relationships. When we are young, a mental grid forms in the mind, and we interpret life through it. Over time, that grid changes as some ideas are dropped and others are incorporated. The same is true for us spiritually: As we mature, our mental framework should increasingly be shaped by Scripture—and that includes our understanding of love. Childish, self-seeking ideas of love must be replaced with truths about mature love that wants what’s best for others. Our relationship with God can also be affected by childish thinking. We may believe that His love is dependent on our performance. Or we could mistakenly assume God is withholding love if He doesn’t fulfill our desires. What faulty thinking is hindering your ability to love and be loved? By putting away your immature beliefs, you’ll be freed to experience God’s unconditional love and express Christlike love to others.

We All Win Together

Sent by a friend

Church should be a place where Christians shed the world’s competitive spirit. But instead, it’s sometimes yet another arena where people strive for personal glory. When we treat our sanctuaries like stages, chasing the spotlight, we end up building our own kingdoms instead of God’s. And our brothers and sisters in Christ can become stepping stones or, worse, collateral damage. This problem isn’t new, nor is its solution. What Jesus taught the disciples to abandon was not the pursuit of excellence but the path of self-exaltation. In other words, if we’re competing for anything, it should be for last place—so that we might all triumph together in becoming a true reflection of Christ. Do you see something of yourself in these descriptions? If so, ask the Holy Spirit for help correcting course and aligning your heart with His. Think about it • Read Romans 12:10-21 (10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.) and Matthew 20:1-15 (“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4 and to those he said, ‘You go into the vineyard also, and whatever is right, I will give you.’ And so they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he *said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’ 7 They *said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He *said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8 “Now when evening came, the owner of the vineyard *said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group to the first.’ 9 When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. 10 And so when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what is yours and go; but I want to give to this last person the same as to you. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’). Are there any specific areas of your life that need to be reoriented so that they align with these verses? With whom are you competing? How can you shift toward honoring and serving them instead?

The Cost of Compassion

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous. 1 Peter 3:8 We often hear, “Freedom isn’t free.” Likewise, we refer to salvation as a free gift. It was free to us, but it was not free for God. His love for us was paid for with the life of His only Son.

Love and compassion always come with a price in time, talent, or treasure—and often, all three. Jesus illustrated the price of compassion in His parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan man who helped the injured Jewish man paid with his time: He interrupted his own travels to stop and help. He paid with his talent: He employed his creative compassion to make arrangements for the man’s care. And he paid with his treasure: He paid out of his own pocket for the victimized man to be cared for at an inn. Jesus’ story illustrates that love and compassion are not free. It will cost something to be compassionate to those in need. Take a moment today to pray for the grace to expend time, talent, and treasure toward those in need. Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world. Francis Schaeffer David Jeremiah

Love One Another

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35 In the first century, two rabbinic schools of thought held sway among Jewish scholars: the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai. Hillel and Shammai held what might today be called liberal and conservative views (respectively) on matters of the law and practice among Jews. The followers of the two rabbis were known by their adherence to the two teachers’ views. It was common for first-century rabbis to have followers (disciples) whom they taught and who promulgated their teachings.

Jesus was often referred to as Rabbi (or Teacher) by His disciples and followers (Mark 9:5; 11:21) as well as by others who observed His role as a teacher (John 3:2). Jesus expressed His followers’ responsibility to spread His teachings when He commissioned His disciples to teach others “to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). But more than any teaching, He told them there was a trait that would mark them as His disciples: “love for one another” (John 13:35). Love is the best way to reveal Christ to a loveless world. Through an unexpected act of love, show others Whom you follow. If we love God we’ll love His children. A. W. Tozer   David Jeremiah

Do No Harm

Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10 From Moses to Jesus to Paul—the thread of love runs through Scripture. Moses’ Ten Commandments were about loving God (the first four commandments) and loving others (the remaining six commandments) (Exodus 20:1-17). When asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus said to love God. The second? Love others (Matthew 22:34-40). And in his instructions on personal relationships, Paul said there was one way to fulfill the law: love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Romans 13:10).

It is fascinating to consider that something as complex as the Old Testament law can be summarized in one simple word: love. Paul affirmed Moses’ (Leviticus 19:18) and Jesus’ (Matthew 19:19) measure for how to love others: as we love ourselves (Romans 13:9). Paul reminds us that no right-thinking person would harm himself. Therefore, we must love others the same way—by doing no harm. Long before doctors were taught to do no harm, Christians were taught to do no harm to a neighbor. If we hurt or harm another person by word or by deed, we have not loved that person. Purpose today to love all others as you love yourself. If my heart is right with God, every human being is my neighbor. Oswald Chambers David Jeremiah

Sing to One Another

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Ephesians 5:19  Paul wrote two parallel verses about the use of songs and hymns for the edification of believers: Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. In Ephesians, Paul wrote, “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” But in Colossians, he used the stronger word “admonish”—“admonishing one another.” “Speaking” in Ephesians, but “admonishing” in Colossians. One thing is the same in both: “one another.” There is great power in spiritual hymns and songs that contain biblical truth. When we sing (speak) together and give attention to the words, they can instruct and admonish us just as they can when we read them in the Bible or biblically-based books.

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This is yet another reason to be a singer of spiritual songs, especially when worshiping with others. Let your heart follow the words and be shaped by them. A debtor to mercy alone, of covenant mercy I sing. Augustus M. Toplady David Jeremiah

Strength to Comfort

by Don Merritt

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

These two little verses actually come from the greeting Paul is bringing to the Corinthian church at the beginning of the letter he is sending them. Back in those days, this kind of a flattering and, if I may say so, flowery greeting was customary. Today we might say that it checks a box in the stylebook of that day for a proper letter, and as readers we might just tear through the greeting to get to the meat of the letter. Yet, if we were to simply zip through these verses to get to the good part, we would be doing ourselves a great disservice.

Please, take a minute and read through them again, more slowly this time.

Wow!

Paul is giving praise to the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Don’t we all need compassion and comfort at times? I think we all do, even if we don’t like to talk about such things. He continues with this little gem: who comforts us in all our troubles. Do you have any troubles that God cannot bring comfort to help you through? Do you have anything troubling you right now as you read this? If so, the God of all comfort is there with you… pretty amazing if you think about it.

 

Read more: https://lifeprojectblog.com/2022/05/02/strength-to-comfort-2/

The People We Christians Have the Hardest Time Loving. Thinking Through John 13:34-35

Clarke Dixon There is a group of people that throughout history Christians have had great difficulty loving. We Christians have shunned them, demonised them, jailed them, and have even put them to death. In our day common notions of decency do not keep us from being on the attack, in books and over the internet, through social media, in blogs, podcasts, and in chat forums. What is that one group? It is the group Jesus speaks about in John 13:34,35: So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 (NLT) The group we Christians have the hardest time loving? Other Christians. We have a long history of not treating Christians who think differently from us well. We have hated, feared, mistreated, maligned, and tried to destroy one another. LOVING ONE ANOTHER IS SUPER-IMPORTANT! Jesus gave the disciples a kind of “pep talk” at the Last Supper. Jesus had spent three years with his disciples and was now preparing them to be a Jesus following community without him, at least without him in the way they had become accustomed to. First thing out of the gate? Love each other! WHY IS LOVING ONE ANOTHER SO IMPORTANT? If we can’t love one another, then how can we expect people to take seriously our good news message of love? Jesus said love for each other would prove that the disciples really were his followers. It is interesting that though Jesus taught and modelled love for all people, including those on the fringes of society, and even including one’s enemies, it is love for one another that is evidence of being a Jesus follower. A watching world will not be impressed by our lack of love for each other. We Christians can do all kinds of loving things in the world and for the world, but when we don’t love one another, our message that God’s love changes everything, is lost. WHAT DOES LOVING ONE ANOTHER LOOK LIKE IN OUR DAY? There is the idea that if you love someone you will rescue them from their wrong thinking. Loving one another therefore means fixing other Christians, pointing out their errors. There are two problems with this. First, Christians are not cars that can simply be fixed. They are people, with history, experiences, and reasons why they think the way they do. Second, the Bible is not like the Haynes repair manual I have for my motorcycle, with step-by-step instructions and photographs to make everything as clear as possible. The Bible is brilliant, but convoluted. The Bible is sometimes hard to understand, and it is sometimes easy to misunderstand. There is a better path forward than trying to fix one another. LOVING ONE ANOTHER MEANS HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER. Conversation means talking with and to one another rafter than talking about one another. In our day there is so much talking about one another in books, on social media, podcasts, blogs, and perhaps worst of all, online comments. Conversation means listening as well as speaking. Listening is an important part of love. We each have our blind spots that others may be able to speak to. We each believe things and hold to things that may cause harm if we are not aware. Blind spots are nasty that way. Conversation means seeking truth together. Author Soong-Chan Rah has written an article about the difference between truth possessed and truth pursued. Truth possessed can be summed up as “I know the truth and everyone should listen to me.” Truth pursued can be summed up as “there is such a thing as truth and let’s work together on finding it.” LOVING ONE ANOTHER MEANS LEARNING THE SKILL OF DISAGREEING WITH ONE ANOTHER WITHOUT DISMISSING OR DEMONISING ONE ANOTHER. It means learning to disagree with others while honouring them for doing their best to honour God. Those who think differently than we do may never have been exposed to reasons to think otherwise. They might be doing the best they can. Maybe the blind spot is ours and we are the ones who need to rethink things. Humble people are listeners. LOVING ONE ANOTHER MEANS TAKING A POSTURE OF GENTLENESS TOWARD ONE ANOTHER. Gentleness might be the most neglected fruit of the Spirit in our day. If everyone around the world learned gentleness, wars would cease, and wars would cease to begin. Imagine too, if people would be gentle with themselves. Therapists may find they have more free time. We can not, of course, make that happen, but we can model gentleness in our own lives, in the life of our our own church family, and in our own family of churches. You may think differently about many issues and theological ideas than I do. I will be gentle with you. Will you be gentle with me? BUT ISN’T DIVERSITY OF THINKING AMONG CHRISTIANS A PROBLEM? DON’T WE NEED TO GET EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE? I have heard it said that we have a diversity problem in our day in the convention of churches within which I serve. It has been said that our tent is too big as a Baptist Convention. I don’t think we have a diversity problem. We have a diversity opportunity. We have the opportunity to demonstrate to a polarised world, how to live in a polarised world. It is through loving one another. It is through conversation, speaking and listening, talking with and to rather than about, disagreeing without dismissing or demonising, and through being gentle. When we allow our differences to become reasons for erecting walls and starting wars we are reflecting the world’s ways, not the way of Jesus. We Christians have had a hard time loving one another. Jesus said we must do it. So let’s do it.

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