“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:17-18
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:8-10
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. James 2:8-10
Love your neighbor. An impossible command apart from the first: Love the Lord your God! The Lord has been teaching me lately about this command and how it is directly related to my love and enjoyment of Himself. As my relationship with the Lord grows cold or stagnant, so does any love for my neighbor. I often find that the Lord uses my failures to love my neighbor to draw me back to Himself, they are superficial symptoms of a greater disease! When I ignore the Lord, neglect His Word, fail to pray, the outward manifestation is apathetic isolation, self-absorbed irritation, and joy-killing comparison!
As I continue in memorizing Colossians, I have found chapter 3 especially helpful in connecting love for God and my neighbor in a practical way. I pray that meditating on these truths in my heart will help me to apply them to daily life and not just "believe" them theoretically. I want Him to teach me to put off the old self and put on the new self.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:12-17
The past couple weeks have been full of transition. I'm thankful that the Lord uses transition to GROW us, He surely disciplines those He loves. I need the Lord to teach me to love my neighbors in this season. Three biggies recently have been Joshua, my patients, and friends in our apartment complex.
My husband is my greatest neighbor! He sees the good and the bad, EVERY DAY! Marriage has been so sanctifying because I cannot hide my sin from Joshua. He sees my impatience, frustrations and anxieties. He sees how easily I am angered when I don't get my way. He sees how I crave control rather than submission. And likewise, I see his sin. What a sweet gift marriage is, a mirror to our souls that we might see our sin and repent and be changed into His likeness. Thank you Lord! May God continue to work in me a gentle and quiet spirit, a heart that desires to gladly submit to my husband, and lips which bless and encourage rather than tear apart.
My neighbors at work are different from me. A different culture, a different upbringing. Yet they are fearfully and wonderfully made, they bear the image of God uniquely and beautifully. May the Lord teach me again, as He has in the past, to love those who are different than me. I know He will do it in time. My boss often describes them as the "lepers and prostitutes" of today which nobody wants to touch. May I love them as Christ loves them and as He has loved me. Surely He has changed this lepers spots and has melted my heart of stone. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!
Finally, our sweet neighbors in our apartment community. I love the Lord's tender kindness to bless us with Indian friends all around us! Just this week we met 3 more couples, another from Pune and 2 from Hyderabad, all three are pregnant. We spent almost an hour with our friends Avinash and Ananya, their parents, and the newborn, Antera. We are sad they will be moving next month but we are thankful for the time we have had with them. In Indian culture, there are no appointments, no scheduling. You just show up, doors are always open, they are always hospitable and welcoming. This is so different from our culture where we are taught to be individuals and keep to ourselves! I pray the Lord will teach us to love our neighbors with our lives, to give of our "personal time" to serve and encourage those around us. Too often we are selfish with our time and space. May we instead learn to SEEK to show hospitality and live our lives in community with others.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:9-21
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:8-10
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. James 2:8-10
Love your neighbor. An impossible command apart from the first: Love the Lord your God! The Lord has been teaching me lately about this command and how it is directly related to my love and enjoyment of Himself. As my relationship with the Lord grows cold or stagnant, so does any love for my neighbor. I often find that the Lord uses my failures to love my neighbor to draw me back to Himself, they are superficial symptoms of a greater disease! When I ignore the Lord, neglect His Word, fail to pray, the outward manifestation is apathetic isolation, self-absorbed irritation, and joy-killing comparison!
As I continue in memorizing Colossians, I have found chapter 3 especially helpful in connecting love for God and my neighbor in a practical way. I pray that meditating on these truths in my heart will help me to apply them to daily life and not just "believe" them theoretically. I want Him to teach me to put off the old self and put on the new self.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:12-17
The past couple weeks have been full of transition. I'm thankful that the Lord uses transition to GROW us, He surely disciplines those He loves. I need the Lord to teach me to love my neighbors in this season. Three biggies recently have been Joshua, my patients, and friends in our apartment complex.
My husband is my greatest neighbor! He sees the good and the bad, EVERY DAY! Marriage has been so sanctifying because I cannot hide my sin from Joshua. He sees my impatience, frustrations and anxieties. He sees how easily I am angered when I don't get my way. He sees how I crave control rather than submission. And likewise, I see his sin. What a sweet gift marriage is, a mirror to our souls that we might see our sin and repent and be changed into His likeness. Thank you Lord! May God continue to work in me a gentle and quiet spirit, a heart that desires to gladly submit to my husband, and lips which bless and encourage rather than tear apart.
My neighbors at work are different from me. A different culture, a different upbringing. Yet they are fearfully and wonderfully made, they bear the image of God uniquely and beautifully. May the Lord teach me again, as He has in the past, to love those who are different than me. I know He will do it in time. My boss often describes them as the "lepers and prostitutes" of today which nobody wants to touch. May I love them as Christ loves them and as He has loved me. Surely He has changed this lepers spots and has melted my heart of stone. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow!
Finally, our sweet neighbors in our apartment community. I love the Lord's tender kindness to bless us with Indian friends all around us! Just this week we met 3 more couples, another from Pune and 2 from Hyderabad, all three are pregnant. We spent almost an hour with our friends Avinash and Ananya, their parents, and the newborn, Antera. We are sad they will be moving next month but we are thankful for the time we have had with them. In Indian culture, there are no appointments, no scheduling. You just show up, doors are always open, they are always hospitable and welcoming. This is so different from our culture where we are taught to be individuals and keep to ourselves! I pray the Lord will teach us to love our neighbors with our lives, to give of our "personal time" to serve and encourage those around us. Too often we are selfish with our time and space. May we instead learn to SEEK to show hospitality and live our lives in community with others.
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
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