love your neighbor

Luke 10:27 NASB

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

That passage sums up all the law and all we must be part of as Jesus people. Take it a step further…

Matthew 22:36-40 NASB

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 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.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.

Jesus was asked that question many times. Often Jesus dealt with the question of who is the greatest. He would always point to others. Love others. Serve all the time. Thinking of others. He did this by example. Even the law pointed it out.

Who is my neighbor? That is the question that Luke 10 ended with. The man asking the originally question was an expert in the law. He may have been a lawyer, but as the chapter tells us he was seeking to test Jesus. This was a tough question. He started with eternal life and ended with the question of who is my neighbor. Good questions we need to answer too.

His heart was easily seen as is ours. We need to stop worrying who our neighbor is and just be a good neighbor (Robert Stein said that). We judge people. We sometimes look down on others. We are divided by our political thoughts and many other things. But God says it is time to set the divisions aside and love each other.

Everyone is our neighbor. Everyone is loved by God. Everyone deserves my respect and love.

Romans 13:10 NASB

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Romans 15:2 NASB

Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.

If our walk with God is weak, how can we encourage others to trust God and to be strong? The problem with much of our world and including our neighbors is that we have allowed our love for God to be set aside for what is most urgent. We’ve gotten busy when we should have followed our God even closed. It is time to examine ourselves and get busy loving others!

Psalm 139:23-24 NASB

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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