This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
TO PONDER
Wow! This verse is pretty heavy. Jesus let Himself be executed as a way of redeeming humanity from its estrangement from a loving God. He did it out of His 101% committed love to us. So now, are we being expected to love our Christian brothers and sisters to the extent that we may get ourselves killed?
The laying down of one’s life, has a broader meaning than just death. Its broader meaning is in a sense to sacrifice one’s own interests for the welfare of others. So in Jesus’s case, He lived His life, before He died, not for His own enjoyment, but to bring healing to others and teach people about His Fathers purposes for humanity. This was His complete focus. Of course, to fully achieve our eternal welfare he had to go the way of being executed on that cross.
Although this verse was written by the Apostle John, we did get the same instruction from Jesus himself (recorded in John 13:34), “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” The earlier commandment from the Law given to Moses (Lev. 19:18) was, “love your neighbour as yourself.” So Jesus ups the ante. Jesus’s love and commitment to us is so much greater than the love we have for ourselves.
Let me go down a rabbit hole. If you don’t love yourself, or even hate yourself, the old law set this as the standard for your love for others – virtually no love for others. Going to the other extreme, if you love yourself to the exclusion of all others, (being a narcissist), the old law requires you to love others to the same extent, but you can’t because you are spending all you time loving yourself, again no love for others and possibly a massive psychological conflict for yourself. That is why Jesus had to give us a replacement commandment for our love of others.
The deal Jesus gives us (see Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”) is He will look after us while we are following His call to go with Him in ministering His love to others. This may involve our time, our possessions, our forgiveness to reflect God’s love in our lives. It does involve us in growing in trust that God will keep His promises and it does require us to get to know the Heavenly Family intimately so that we can recognise God’s calls to service.
Prayer: Brother Jesus, You set Your standards so high, not to discourage us, but to help us see that we have no way of meeting Your standards. Thank You, however, for standing in our place and meeting these standards on our behalf. We surrender ourselves to You, for Holy Spirit to live Your love in us and through us to those You bring into our lives. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
TO PONDER
Picking up on yesterday’s devotion, Jesus’s focus and priority was (and still is) us – humanity over all the ages of time. He left His home in Heaven to come to earth to restore our relationship with the Heavenly Family. So he was always reaching out to people to set them free from what was ever holding them back from achieving that relationship. For many people it was being socially accepted, being part of the social or religious elite, security in their wealth or family connections, or being held captive by evil spiritual forces. However, many people were so secure in their current situations, that they didn’t acknowledge their need of Jesus’s help. But, those that did, Jesus was there to relieve them of their burdens.
If we move down to Galatians 6:5, we read, “for each one should carry their own load”. This may seem like a contradiction, but let’s look at an example to understand this. Consider a person injured in an accident or recovering from major surgery. At first, they are completely unable to look after themselves, they can’t wash themselves, they can’t go to the toilet by themselves and they may not even be able to feed themselves. Someone needs to be there to look after them intimately all the time. However, as they recover, they need to be more involved in looking after themselves as part of the recovery process. Medical staff understand this very well and we may sometimes feed they are insensitive as they let their patients struggle by themselves to do what was previously so easy for them to do. And if we are there, we may want to rush in and offer help, but thereby hindering the recovery process. Note that the medical staff are not far away and are keeping an eye on their patients, ready to step in if needed, but definitely to provide encouragement to the patient.
In assisting people in need, we need to pray for wisdom in how much, and when, to step in and do something for others, and when to provide support, guidance and encouragement to help people learn how to do things by themselves. The last thing we want to do is to get people dependent on us to do things for them when they could be completely capable of doing things themselves. But we all need the companionship of committed friends.
God deals with us in the same way. Rather than take away the problems in our lives, God works in our lives, through these problems, to grow us into the people He wants us to be. But he also wants us to be there for one another, to help where we can, but also support and encourage one another in growing in our relationship with our Heavenly Family.
In our support to one another, often we aren’t being asked to provide answers and solutions, but rather be there with a listening ear and a warm and inviting environment.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we surrender ourselves to You to be the ears, voice, hands and feet of Your love to those You bring into our lives. We ask for Your wisdom in how best to minister to the needs of others. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
TO PONDER
One of my struggles in living as a child of God is differentiating between living in an intimate loving relationship with God and having a lot of head knowledge about God and about the relationship God wants to have with us. It’s quite easy to sit here and write words about the text given to me by Mat. It’s quite another thing to live out myself the guidance I write – even if I believe what I write has been given to me by Holy Spirit. I often feel quite guilty of being a hypocrite. The positive for me, however, is that God does speak to me personally through what I write, with His assurance that He is working in my life to change me to grow in my personal relationship with Him and walk the talk.
The challenge for us is whose direction we follow for our lives. The example Jesus gives us is that every single thing He did was in accordance with His Fathers will. He never did anything specifically for Himself. I am not suggesting in any way that Jesus had to force Himself to have this attitude to His life. He was motivated first by the love His Father had for Him, AND by His deep love for each one of us. Now I know that is a standard we can never achieve, and God knows that there is no way we could ever achieve this. That is why God has attributed Jesus’s perfect life to each of us.
So instead of us concentrating on trying to live up to Jesus’s standard, Jesus wants us to get to know His Father’s love also and to learn to live in an intimate relationship with the Heavenly Family (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). As we spend time with the Heavenly Family, we will be changed and our priorities and attitudes will be become more like those of Jesus.
A lie of the evil one is that we have to meet a certain standard of goodness to be acceptable to God. This may lead us to really concentrate on not doing any “bad” things, and lead to a very unhappy time for us. This life style will not only drive us away from the relationship the Heavenly Family wants to have with us, but will drive away others who observe what being a Christian life is like – as we live it this way.
Another lie of the evil one is that if we surrender our lives into God’s will and purpose for us and concentrate on living in an intimate relationship with God, we will miss out on the many joys and experiences this life can offer. Much of the social environment around us is trying to convince us that we need to look out for number one, we need to have the right look, the right body, go to the right places to experience a fulfilling life. The implication is that a life lived in a close relationship with the Heavenly Family is restrictive and boring.
My own experience is that when we accept God’s call to go with Him in ministering His love to others, we may not come away with having the most fun ever, but with an inner sense of peace and joy that lasts for days. To actually be in the presence of God and see Him at work can be an awesome experience. And it doesn’t have to be going on a mission trip (although that can be a wonderful lasting experience), it can be in our involvement with family and friends right where we normally are.
The Heavenly Family is 101% committed to us. We are invited to be committed to God’s plans and purposes for us.
Prayer: Heavenly Family, thank you for adopting us into Your family and for working with us in learning how to live as Your children. Thank You for the deep peace and joy we get to experience as You invite us to be part of the activities of the Heavenly Family. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping
[But the Lord said, …] “And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
TO PONDER
Yesterday, we looked at how God didn’t give up on the people of Nineveh. Today we look at how God didn’t give up on Jonah either.
God gave Jonah the task of warning the Ninevites that they would be destroyed by God if they didn’t repent of their degenerate life styles. Jonah’s message was quite powerful since it would have been widely known that he had survived three days in the belly of a very large fish. So the Ninevites did repent, from the king down to the least significant person in the city, and then God relented and did not destroy the city.
Jonah is so disappointed by this change to God’s plans that he goes off to sulk. So God now changes his focus from the Ninevites to Jonah to help him understand that God’s first goal in dealing with people is to draw them into a father-child relationship with Him. God has an infinite number of ways that He uses to get our attention so that He can reveal Himself to us, and reveal His plans for us. Rarely, would discipline be His initial way of reaching out to us.
As I have come to know God more and more, I have become convinced that God is actively working in the lives of all people, even those who don’t (yet) know Him. On this basis, God had been working among the Ninevites long before Jonal turned up. So when Jonah turns up with stomach acid burns all over his body, it’s not only his words which have an impact, but the visible signs of the encouragement Jonah had to receive before he was convinced to deliver God’s message to the people of Nineveh. If God went to all this effort to get Jonah to deliver the message, the message must be important and must be responded to.
Now how to deal with Jonah and his sulking. God challenges Jonah’s right to sit in judgement of God’s actions. I think we have all been guilty of this, where we imply to God that we have or had a better idea of how to deal with a situation than the one God uses.
All people are precious to God, including the people of Nineveh and Jonah, and God wants to draw them into a relationship with Him. I can only assume that the impact of the message from the disfigured Jonah not only caused the people to stop their degenerate behaviours, but that some of them actually began to worship the Israelite (and universal) God. So why would God want to destroy them now?
Could I be so bold as to suggest that some of the people of Nineveh came to know God more personally than Jonah. See, Jonah knew about God. He knew He was gracious and forgiving (he told God so himself – see yesterday’s devotion), but he didn’t want that gracious and forgiving attitude of God to rub off on himself. I sense that he wanted God for himself and his fellow Israelites.
God is calling us too, just as He called Jonah, to have love and compassion for all people and to respond with a resounding Yes as He calls us to be involved in His mission of getting His saving and healing message out to those waiting to hear it.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your patience in working with Jonah to get him to deliver Your message. And thank You for continuing to work with Jonah when he didn’t share Your joy in the Ninevites repenting. Father, we too can so easily be paralysed by our fears and insecurities when You call us to action. Please keep working with us to set us free from all that holds us back so that You can achieve Your purpose in us. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping
He [Jonah] prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”
TO PONDER
Jonah Chapter 4 is such a wonderful demonstration of the difference between punishment and grace. Jonah was familiar with the history of God dealing with degenerate communities. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God with burning sulphur falling from heaven. The Canaanites and surrounding cultures (also degenerate but maybe not quite as bad as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah) were destroyed by God (and the Israelites) under Joshua. So Jonah was really looking forward to the spectacle of God zapping the Ninevites as He had threatened to do. But those degenerate Ninevites spoiled everything by repenting and then God relenting. And Jonah was so disappointed in God he went off and had a sulk.
We would consider ourselves nowhere near as distant from God’s will for us as the Ninevites were, but from God’s perspective, we, by our best efforts, fall far from the relationship that the Heavenly Family of Father, Son and Holy Spirit wants to have with us. So, in that sense, we too deserve to be zapped by God as God was intending to do to the Ninevites.
But God didn’t just relent from zapping us, Jesus stepped in and took the zapping we deserved, not reluctantly, but because we were so precious to Him. And, He wanted us to experience the same relationship with His Father and Holy Spirit that He had.
As part of that relationship, Holy Spirit wants to teach us how to love others with that same love that Jesus had for us while hanging on the cross, that love that leads us to entrust our lives into God’s care and enables us to concentrate on where God is leading us in living out that love. It also enables us in growing in our trust in God that no matter where He takes us, He is always (and I mean always) beside us through Holy Spirit living in us and guiding us.
A challenge for us is to see others as God sees them. And when we see people acting and living in ways that we believe are against God’s will, it is not for us to wish God’s discipline on them, but to pray for them for God to open their hearts and eyes to see how much God loves them, and for God to keep working in their lives in the way He knows best to bring about the changes He wants to achieve in them.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I know You have a plan for all our lives, and You are achieving Your plan in spite of our desire to live our lives the way we want to. Thank You for not giving up on us. I again surrender all I am and have into Your plans for me, for You to grow me in living Your love to all those around me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Charles Bertelsmeier, LifeWay Epping
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
TO PONDER
I used to have a housemate when I was a uni student. In fact I had a few different ones over that period of time. They were all wonderful people. However, this particular housemate had a girlfriend for a while who really used to bother me. She was one of those kinds of people who took the first part of today's reading very seriously, but not so much the second part. She seemed to believe that Her and god had such a close relationship that she was free to tell everyone how they were living life incorrectly, how their devotional habits, eating habits, exercise routines, household cleanliness, and personal everyday choices were 'unchristian'. She was prepared to correct and rebuke both in and out of season and pin it all on God, but not once do I remember encountering any patience or careful instruction and also rarely any encouragement.
The Word of God is a wonderful but also a very dangerous thing. Applied correctly and carefully, it has potential to heal some of the deepest hurst we encounter in this life. Wielded like a blunt instrument and bandied about the place like a bull in a china shop, the results can be devastating.
There is a place in a loving and encouraging Christian community for us to spur one another on to follow Jesus more closely and to correct and rebuke one another with gentleness and humility when the time is right and the situation calls for it. But using the phrase "God told me..." to make mean and nasty comments about a particular personality trait you just don't like in another person is just not on.
We see the devil using the word of God to try to tempt Jesus during his time in the wilderness after his baptism. But the devil twists and manipulates God's word to achieve his own end. Our task is to make sure we don't do the same thing.
Remember this, God's word is both law and gospel, Jesus himself reminds us that it is only those of us without sin who have the right to throw the first stone. Perhaps before we go pointing out all the faults we see in others, we ought to pay more attention to what God's word is pointing out about us and address that with him first?!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am sorry for the times when I have been quick to judge others and have used your word clumsily or in ways that served my own purpose instead of yours. Please help me to see they areas of my life that you want to address and work on transforming in me and give me the wisdom and patience to gently walk with others and encourage them as they too go through the process of being transformed by your amazing love and grace. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle.
What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.
TO PONDER
Jesus speaks these words to the 72 disciples that he sends out in pairs. He speaks them as an encouragement not to be timid in the work he has given them to do. He is encouraging them to speak boldly everything they have heard him teach them and not to fear those who might not like what they have to say.
So let me ask you this, how often does fear prevent you from boldly proclaiming Jesus?
Now don't get me wrong, there are some things we should be afraid of. Things that are dangerous and can cause us real physical, emotional or spiritual harm. but Jesus' words to his disciples as he sent them out were words of encouragement, reminding them that while there are people in positions of power and authority in this life that can make this life difficult, and in some cases end our lives on this earth, we serve one who is lord over death and has promised us new and everlasting life in Christ Jesus.
I know that sometimes the promise of a future reward doesn't seem enough to outweigh the immediate threats that we think we face each day, but the reality is that many people are searching for answers and unfortunately have only ever encountered Christians who have been too afraid to answer.I heard a story about James Taylor, the famous American singer/songwriter, who once gave an interview where he was asked about his faith, because he regularly refers to God or Jesus in his lyrics. He answered that he didn't really know much about that stuff but if anyone wanted to talk to him about it he'd love to check out what it's all about. It was decades later when a young man after listening to a recording of that interview happened to 'bump into' James randomly at an airport. The young man actually asked if anyone had ever taken the time to offer to talk to him about Jesus... turns out no one had until that very moment.
Don't assume you already know the result before you take the chance to open your mouth and talk about Jesus, and do not be ashamed of the gospel - proclaim it from the rooftops, for it is the power of God for salvation of all people.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you that you have given me a new life and a new hope in your son Jesus. Please help me to be bold in proclaiming that message to others and please help me to not be held back by the fear of peoples reactions to your message, but rather to be encouraged and emboldened by the knowledge that you are with me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect
TO PONDER
Here's another of our favourite verses about proclaiming or sharing Jesus.
So let me ask you the question that lies behind this verse - Why are you a Christian? Why do you follow Jesus?
Just sit with that question for a moment and think about how you might answer.
Believe it or not, tis is one of the most common ways you can engage a person in a conversation about faith these days. It's not usually about convincing them about a particular theological position. Most people don't care about that, much to the dismay of almost every theologian of every Christian denomination ever. What people want to know is why you have stuck with Jesus when so much of the world seems opposed to him? What does knowing Jesus bring to your life? What difference does it make? What makes you stick with Jesus instead of some of the alternatives that the world offers? These are the questions people will usually ask and actually be interested to hear an answer to.
The biggest problem is, many of us don't ever bother to ask those questions of ourselves. We believe in Jesus, in who he claimed to be and in the power of his death and resurrection to free us from sin, death and the devil so it doesn't occur to us to consider the alternatives. I found that this was true of me when I first began my pastoral training and education at Australian Lutheran College (ALC). It was here that for the first time I was really forced to consider why I believed what I believed. Growing up in a Lutheran family, attending a Lutheran church and schooling I had been told what I, as a good Lutheran, should believe, but not ever why I should believe it.
It's hard to have an answer ready if you have never wrestled with the question - Why are you a Christian? Can I encourage you to take Peter's words to heart and engage with that question today and in the days ahead. Maybe even talk to your pastor or another significant Christian influence in your life to discuss some of the sticking points as you uncover them and be prepared to give your answer so that you can confidently give it when someone asks you.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank you for the faith that has been placed within me. I pray that you would help me not to take it for granted but rather, that you who have begun the work of faith within me would help to bring it to completion. That you would give me the confidence of faith and the willingness to wrestle with my faith and the different perspectives tat the world offers so that when I am asked, I can confidently give the reasons for the hope that I have in you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
TO PONDER
If you read our daily devotions regularly, you might find this verse familiar. It comes up quite a bit around LifeWay because it is one of the verses of scripture from which we derive our mission statement, "to live Jesus' love, share his hope with all, and grow in his grace together". All three of those things are the ways in which we bear witness to Christ in the world.
Sometimes we make the mistake of tinking that only the way we 'share' Jesus with others is important when it comes to our witness to him. Our sharing is certainly an essential part of it. As we heard in yesterday's devotion, how are people to hear if no one tells them. However, the way we enact the sacrificial love of Jesus towards others in our own lives is a large part of what adds credibility to our words.
We all know people who can 'talk the talk' but don't seem to 'walk the walk'. We usually call these people hypocrites. Jesus also called some people hypocrites, most frequently he used that term for the religious elite of his time. They put on a thin facade of holiness but just below the surface they were as decietful and self serving as everyone else around them. What Jesus wanted to see was a people whose hearts had been changed and were turned outwards, towards others, the way that his was.
Similarly our lives together in community are just as important when it comes to our witness to Jesus. Jesus also said, "by this will people know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." In a world that is full of self interest groups, divisive factions and angry voices, an authentic Christ centred community that genuinely cares for one another, accepts one another and each other's differences while working together to become more like Jesus is a powerful witness to the power of Jesus to transform human community.
The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to the church in whatever way he sees fit. It is together, as the whole Body of Christ, that we can most effectively carry out the role of being a witness to Jesus in our communities. One person may make a difference to one other, but a whole church community working together to live Jesus love, share his hope with all, and grow in his grace together, well the book of Acts shows us what can happen when God's people do that together empowered by the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the way you have established your church here on earth and equipped and empowered us with Holy Spirit to bear witness to Jesus in the world. Please continue to lead and guide me in the role you have for me to play in my local church to bear witness to Jesus in our community. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle