So when He had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately.
Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’, so now I say to you. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another”.
Observation: -God is glorified in Jesus because of all that He did;
-As Jesus was about to leave the disciples, He gave them a new command to follow: that they love one another. Their love for one another will be their ‘trademark’ that they are followers of Jesus.
Application: Since I am a follower of Jesus, I will
-love my brothers and sisters in Christ with my words and actions:
-I will speak/send words of encouragement to at least 10 ‘siblings’ in the Lord this week;
-I will pray by name for at least 5 ‘siblings’ in the Lord each day this week;
-I will seek ways to practically help/ serve a ‘sibling’ in the Lord this week.
Prayer: Lord,
Thank you for calling me to be your disciple. Help me to obey your command to love your other disciples, that through our love for one another, we will be witnesses to other people who have yet to know and accept you in their lives as their Savior and Lord.
Make me a blessing to someone today and throughout this week.
I do not use a processor, i just barely understand the use of these crazy phones, laptop , computer, modern televisions, or any modern electronics.
The understanding of Messiah, the Gospel and the Scriptures i have, is from the Holy Spirit thru studying the Scriptures, maditating on the Word, and praying.
I think the thread on love is really good start but the fuller application of biblical love in all of life’s experience isn’t very easy to practice.
Just when I think I’ve perfected Christian love, some obnoxious person comes along and proves I have more work to do.
That’s kinda humiliating. I’ve had thieves stealing stuff, people killing loved ones, people who like to yell for no reason, people with road rage, people who hurl false accusations, false teachers who don’t like truth or those who love it, then there’s people who don’t like you because they think you’re just too weird.
Then I get humbled off my high horse even more when remember my sins—oooooh boy!!!
Speaking of love, how about loving and forgiving a man who caused the world to blaspheme your Holy Name.
This man was supposed to be a man of God but he wanted to have sex with another man’s wife.
Well, he did exactly that and became an adulterer. But he didn’t plan on the man’s wife getting pregnant.
So he tried to cover up the scandal by ordering the woman’s husband home to be with his wife.
You see, the idea was to make people think it was the woman’s husband who got his wife pregnant.
But that didn’t work out because the woman’s husband was a loyal soldier who wouldn’t indulge the pleasures of married life while his fellow soldiers were subjected to the rigors of war.
So now the adulterer has to try getting this loyal soldier drunk! Hopefully a drunk would go home with his wife, make a baby and the scandal would just go away.
But atlas, that trick didn’t work either, the woman’s husband was just too loyal of a soldier.
Finally, another plan was hatched.
The plan was to have the loyal soldier die in battle. The loyal solider, who is the woman’s husband, was to be sent into battle to die. The woman’s husband was to deliver a note to the General.
The note carried by the loyal soldier was his own death sentence.
The note to the General was an order to station the woman’s husband, the loyal soldier, to the front lines in the thick of battle, then withdrawal reinforcement and allow the man to die at the hands of the enemy!!
Scandal solved!!
Now, the adulterer can graciously offer to marry the widow, have a child and life would go on normally.
There was only one problem. God doesn't seem to like adulterers stealing other men’s wives and having theIr husbands killed.
So God blew up the scandal and uncovered everything. God uncovered the adulterous affair and the murder of an innocent man.
BIG QUESTION: How could anybody “love“ a man like that??
Sounds like a rough road test to prove loyal love.
Although the adulterer was destined to suffer greatly for the sin he committed, he genuinely repented and he was completely forgiven by God.
Interestingly, this man is in the blood line of the Messiah.
Today this man is in heaven because the Messiah suffered and died in the presence of an angry God in that man’s place!
Jesus paid the eternal cost of that adulterous affair—AND the murder of an innocent man—-AND all the other sins committed
Talk about a an unequalled love!!! WHOA!!
Jesus said we are to love like him!!
O’God help!!
so the cover up intensifies when he decides to trick the man into staying with his wife.
kill the man and steal his wife. So they found a way to get the guy killed to have his wife.
Quiznos: It is called Obedience-Based Bible Study.
Little David: God’s love towards us is abundant. We are not really able to understand it. The only appropriate response is to accept His love and try to love and accept others as we have experienced from Him.
