Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008

TWG - August 26, 2008

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TWG - August 26, 2008
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com
Numbers 2; Psalm 76; Galatians 1

Today is August 26, this is time with God, I’m Pastor Dennis - I’ve been waiting here for you. Welcome to our life transforming community. This is your invitation to take one step forward every day in your relationship with Christ. We invite you to do something unbelievably radical. We invite you to deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Jesus

Susan has been sick. I took her to Urgent Care yesterday. It turns out she has a viral severe cold. She was hurting. After clearing up her nasal passages, she began to feel much better. We had to cancel Shaphen’s birthday party because of it. To bad, so sad. I ran to a few odd jobs on the rentals and spent some time talking to the renters. Then it was out to church where I checked on the progress of the AWANA circle that Carl, Phil and Mike were putting down. I helped them finish. Bill was there getting the forms ready to finish pouring the handicapped parking spaces. Carl, Melissa and Sonja were canning. After I finally got home I spent an hour in the basement moving furniture to make way for new computer desk. I put a picture of the guys working on the AWANA circle on the Blog at http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com. Check it out.

This week’s theme verse is Hebrews 13:1-3 Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them— and those who are mistreated— as if you yourselves were suffering.

Let brotherly love continue. Love for our fellow Christian is one of the most important missions in life. Jesus gave us two primary commandments: Love the Lord with all your heart and Love your neighbor as yourself. The second commandment: Love your neighbor can be easily broken into two categories… #1 Love your brothers, #2 Love all men. Galatians 6:10 explains how that love looks in action, “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” There are two distinct categories we are to target with our love. And one of them is supposed to receive our special attention: “The Brothers and Sisters." Why? Because this is the way we demonstrate to the world that we are Christ’s disciples… if we have love for one another (John 13:35). Jesus commanded us to love one another several times. “This is my commandment that you love one another!” (John 13:34, 15:17). Interesting. Love is our duty. How does that work anyway? It reminds me of my own child rearing encounters. When my children were young, it was a bit easier to get them to love one another. If they had a spat, I’d tell them, “Say you are sorry to your brother,” “sorry,” they would say, and that solved the world’s problems for the day! Way to go! But as they got older and their fights became more intense, sometimes it was difficult to get the same response. “Say you are sorry.” “But he hit me first!” or I’d get the sulking, “SORRY!” But somehow the attitude didn’t match the response. “Come on now! LOVE your brother! Give him a hug and make up!” And you’d see four wooden limbs sort of try to hug, but there was no love there! For some reason those limp arms just couldn’t be forced to have the warmth of a brotherly hug. Romans 12:9 astutely comments, “Let love be without hypocrisy.” If I have to love you out of duty, and I don’t want to, isn’t that hypocrisy? Hypocrisy is pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have. So I suppose the answer is “yes.” But sometimes it’s OK to be a hypocrite. If you feel like killing someone and you don’t do it, that’s good hypocrisy! If you feel like cussing someone out and you smile at them instead, that’s good hypocrisy! But somewhere along the way we need to leap over the line of maturity and decide that we want to love even the unlovable brothers because that’s how Jesus treated us. While we were yet enemies, he loved us and died for us! It isn’t about how loveable the brethren are, it’s about whether I fathom the depths of God’s love for me. We love the brethren because He loves us. We didn’t deserve it either. Honestly, there are a lot of Christians that are difficult to love. And that is precisely the point, “by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” Love the brothers!

Dear Jesus. I want to love as you loved. I know who I am, and I know that I am unlovable. I see my faults, my sins, my idiosyncrasies and realize that I am difficult to love. Most of all I see my sin and how it hurts you. Yet you love me with an everlasting love. I want that kind of love for my forever family!

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me

Posted by Dennis Kreiss at 9:55 AM |  MAKE A COMMENT  

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