“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 NLT) Living as forgiven, as a new creation in Christ Jesus, is a learned behavior. It doesn’t come withoutContinue reading “Looking Past the Irritations”
Tag Archives: love
In or Out? (Part 2)
“So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. But I warn you – unless your righteousness is better than theContinue reading “In or Out? (Part 2)”
Another Look at Forgiveness
“I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences. He told them this because they were saying, ‘He’s possessed by an evil spirit.’” (Mark 3:29-30 NLT) We blaspheme the Holy Spirit when we denyContinue reading “Another Look at Forgiveness”
Expressing Love Without an Agenda
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” (Philippians 2:3-4 NLT) As a follower of Jesus, what we do must always be balanced by why we do it. Motive is oftenContinue reading “Expressing Love Without an Agenda”
How Much Do You Love God?
“Jesus replied, ‘The most important commandment is this: “Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”’” (Mark 12:29 NLT) How do you measure love? If I asked youContinue reading “How Much Do You Love God?”
Who’s Your Person?
“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.” (Galatians 6:2-3 NLT) Are you a Rocky fan? Can you hear the theme song? We likely first think of Rocky the boxer,Continue reading “Who’s Your Person?”
Love Without Loss?
“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain ChristContinue reading “Love Without Loss?”
Anger
“He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then He said to the man, ‘Hold out your hand.’ So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!” (Mark 3:5 NLT) What makes you angry? Not just mildly annoyed or upset, but red in the face, fists formed,Continue reading “Anger”
Broken Vessels
“And Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom (which means ‘the Lord is peace’). The altar remains in Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer to this day.” (Judges 6:24 NLT) Wellness is much more than the lack of physical ailments. My sense is the Lord is concernedContinue reading “Broken Vessels”
What Has You?
“But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” (Matthew 19:22 NLT) What’s holding you back? I’m reminded of Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down,Continue reading “What Has You?”
Walking With Jesus 