“You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.” — 1 Peter 1:22
How many times a day do you hear the word “love”? It seems like I hear that word in every other sentence: “I love this song.”, “I love Chipotle.”, “I love Nike shoes.”, “I love what you’ve done with the place.”
The other day, I received some great encouragement from a dear friend of mine. It wasn’t much more than a simple text message. However, with just a few sentences, it was enough to totally change the mood I was in that morning. It reminded me about the sermon I recently preached from Hebrews. We read this verse, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” — Hebrews 10:24-25
As a husband and father, as a pastor and friend, I need encouragement! Giving and getting encouragement is important for all of us. When it is absent in the lives of the brothers and sisters we do life with, it’s not long before we can absolutely feel unloved, unnoticed and forgotten. I was feeling quite discouraged that morning; but, at just the right time, my faithful friend sent that text message unannounced. It radically changed my outlook on the day. It didn’t take much, but it changed much.
In the pursuit of “real love” in my life, I’ve come across only one, truly reliable source. That source is Jesus, the lover of my soul. Many things fight for the attention of my mind and the affections of my heart; only Jesus fills me with what I so desperately need. He is honest, trustworthy, dependable, fulfilling, sustaining, intimate and complete love. I like this verse:
“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters” — 1 John 3:16
As I write this, I am waiting to surprise my kids. They don’t know it yet, but we have decided to cancel school today and take them to Lagoon. We can’t wait to see the look on their faces when we say, “Instead of school, we thought it would be fun to go on roller coasters.” The entire week (for my wife and me) has largely revolved around this fun surprise.
There is no special reason for “Lagoon day”. The only reward is to hear their voices laugh with excitement, see their smiling faces and delight their hearts.
“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” — 2 Thessalonians 2:8
Have you ever read a verse that stopped you? Made you really think about something in a way you hadn’t before? As our Youth Group read through the New Testament this year, it was good to study the Gospels, Epistles and Revelation. A few months ago, I read the above verse and like I said, it stopped me. The chapter talked about the end times (eschatology); it described the Antichrist and the return of Jesus. But the phrase, “the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth” stopped me.
“We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.” — Daniel 9:6
Last week, while shopping, I noticed the clerk wore a shirt that had “Love is Love” printed on it. I have seen that saying everywhere. If time had allowed, I might have respectfully asked, “What do you mean by love is love?” However, there was a long line of customers waiting to check out and it wasn’t the right time. I can guess, though, he would have said something about the “freedom to love who you want to love, including sexually.”
“’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
This is
one of the last things that Jesus said to His disciples. He told them to love
one another and it would prove to the world that they were His disciples. He
wants this for us, too.
A Biblical Response to Today’s Most Divisive Issues
Where do you stand on issues like: Gender, Same-Sex Attraction, Abortion, the Environment and Politics? What about Racism, Women’s Equality, Immigration and Gun Control?
More importantly, what does God say? If there was ever a time for Christians to understand and be able to communicate God’s Truth about controversial and polarizing issues, it’s now.
Before I became a Christian, I had plenty of non-Christian friends who loved me. But, it was nothing like the love, support and compassion I received from my friends who were Believers. Over time, those Christian men and women had a tremendous impact on me. Their friendships changed my life. Jesus was the real game changer (of course), but those Christians who loved me, poured their lives into me, and were so patient with me, truly impacted me. That kind of love was unheard of to me. I’ll never be the same because of it.
