Love Gone Wild!

[2nd Timothy]

   No its not a late night commercial!

Now that I have your attention  .   Just wanted to share some thoughts, in the spirit of BEPS infamous Hoekstra devotional series.


Joh 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

But what about....?

Mat 22:39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.


Easily slipping under the radar here in the previous verse, AS I HAVE LOVED YOU!   We are to love our Brothers and Sisters the way that Christ loved us.   Not as we love thyself.  We should love each other GREATER than our own selves, just as Christ loved us more than His own life.   How thought provoking this should be to us as believers in Christ, and how important a thing it is to obey this command the Lord has given us.   Here is why....

Joh 13:35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

This is what sets us apart from the rest of the world.   They might not be able to readily identify with us, but its a distinguishing attribute that marks instantly to them, that something is very different.   This type of Love, is in fact, what lead each and every one of us the Christ in the first place.  

As an online community with countless untold visitors that pass through ChristiansUnite, can they recognise this in our virtual community?   I pray that it be so.


Phi 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Phi 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;


There is no question this would apply to our conduct online.   Do ALL THINGS without murmerings and disputing.    Why?  Because as sons of God we shine as lights in our small corner of the world, leading to the truth of the Gospel...Jesus Christ!  


I pray that this is taken in the right spirit, and not in an accusitory way.  Being absent for sometime, I sort of feel out of touch somewhat with current happenings around here.  But I certainly reflect on my past conduct as I write this, and hope that others would take it to heart with me as a truth that God wants from us all in our everyday lives as well as on CU.  


Lord, the eyes of the world are upon us.   Help us to Love one another as You loved us.   Let us be blameless and harmless to one another, as sons of God, without rebuke.   Help us to let your light shine in our affairs and be beacons that lead others to You.    If we carry arrows, let them be dipped in love, if we carry the sword, let it be the sword of the Spirit.   Help us to be your humble servants, and show humility and compassion to one another.    Use ChristiansUnite and its users for your better purpose, in Christ name we ask, Amen!

Grace and Peace!

[felix102]

Amen. In Jesus's name may this be done.

I was looking at my response in the 'jesus is god part 2' thread and I noticed that what I said could hurt a brother.

I've realized the extent of God's love surpasses all the greatest things we can imagine. Jesus died for the very ones who killed Him. That makes it clear that even in the face of oppression and hate we should still love our aggressors. Whether we are misunderstood, ill-treated, in the right, or being treated unfairly that we can obey God's commandments. The greatest one being to love.

Lord Jesus, shine out your light from within us. May your church walk in one accord so that we may crush Satan under our heels. Fill us with love so that it overflows out of us.  Lord bless us now, and shower your grace and riches upon us.  Fill us with faith, hope and love. Operate in us to will and to work out Your good purpose.

[2nd Timothy]

Brother let me just re-iterate, that my post was not directed at you or any particular person.   I'm pretty sure you know this, but I don't want you to feel that way at all friend.

My post is based purely on....

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Nothing wrong with hashing out scriptural topics, but it can and should be done in Love.    

Grace and Peace!

[nChrist]

AMEN 2ND TIMOTHY!

Brother, I can only speak for myself. I fail far too often and pray for forgiveness. I've been praying often, especially recently, that God will help and guide me to say and do the things that will be most pleasing to HIM.

In reflection, I have many questions about debates and disputes between brothers and sisters in Christ. It's true that we have a large diversity of Christians here, but we all have the same Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I've certainly been too bold and blunt in discussions I am thinking about right now. I wished that I had never become involved in them. I'm not talking about the things that I must do as a moderator, rather the differences that should not get in the way of fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Brother, this is one of the greatest commandments of JESUS, one that is worthy for continual thought and prayer. You are completely correct that our love should be recognized and great enough to set us apart from the world. This should be a matter of prayer for all of us. God will help us if we only ask and yield to His Will.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Psalms 124:8  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

[felix102]

Brother let me just re-iterate, that my post was not directed at you or any particular person.   I'm pretty sure you know this, but I don't want you to feel that way at all friend.

My post is based purely on....

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Nothing wrong with hashing out scriptural topics, but it can and should be done in Love.    

Grace and Peace!

Hey brother.

I wouldn't feel bad if it was directed to me. But since you said it doesn't it makes no difference anyway.   I, however, feel it was what God wanted to show me.

Love is the commandment that fulfills all commandments. That's why it is hard to do...in fact, I just got out of an argument with another brother. It took away hours of my time which I really needed to study. Maybe there was miscommunication. Regardless of who was right or wrong, it doesn't matter. Inside me I knew that I let Satan win because I let my anger manifest itself. Holding an argument is like breaching a dam. You want to stop before it escalates and gets out of control. The tongue is like a fire. A small spark can cause a great fire. It is the only thing on earth that is untameable. When arguing you can speak words that can really damage someone's being. It is even more dangerous than physical damage because it can reach a man's inner parts. Physical damage is just on the outside. This is what Satan wants for us to do to each other.

So in love, we have to watch carefully what we say. Forgive your brother if he offends you seventy seven times. Blessed are those who are merciful for they shall be shown mercy. Forgive cause God forgave you. Forgive so that you may be forgiven. Forgive so that you may show love. Forgive because you love.

Pray for your enemies. Submit yourself to them even. If they say you are wrong try not to defend yourself. If they mistreat you resist vengeance by your own hands. Hard to do but this is love. Here is a way...


Whether things are right or wrong it is useless to fight in this area. Right and wrong came from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The only principle to live by is by the tree of life; not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You ask how can you feel satisfied in the midst of injustice, maltreatment, or oppresion? Ethically you never can. This is living by the knowledge of good and evil. Jesus came so that we can live not by the law...but by grace. Jesus wants us to live by the tree of life. This is an inward life, not an outward standard.

So the only way to feel satisfied in the midst of injustice, maltreatment, and oppresion is by living by the inward life. It's seeking, "What does God say to me." God may call us to do many things that are unfair for ourselves. Do you think it was just that Jesus payed the consequences for us? Not a chance...in the eyes of morale and ethics that wasnt fair at all. Follow what your inward life tells you and not your outward circumstances. In this way we can do what God says.