Devotion
Love one another as Christ has loved you
David Jacobs
I love my children more than I love myself. I have thought about whether or not I love my children unconditionally: what if they intentionally tried to destroy my wife, themselves, or me? I hope that I would be able to continue loving them, but I am not sure. Christ sets a very high benchmark for us: to love each other as he loved us. Certainly easier said than done! Compared to the other commandments, perhaps the most difficult as well.
Ponder the original Ten Commandments and what do you think of? When I think about them I think about things that I am not supposed to do: murder, steal, commit adultery, use the Lord's name in vain. They are in a sense, prohibitive. Now read the verses above: John illustrates, loving ones brothers and sisters is a new commandment. What's more, it's imperative, telling us what we need to do. How amazing would the world be if we loved one another as God loves us! Think about the other commandments if we followed this new commandment in the book of John: many of the other commandments would be unthinkable, impossible to even consider! Nobody would covet, steal, or murder. In a way, this new commandment encapsulates all of the others. Is it a lofty goal? Of course. Is it something that we should all strive for with all of our being? You know the answer.
Prayer
My guiding light, my Shepherd! Lord, please hear my prayer! By your grace I implore you to help me love those around me: my neighbors, family, and even enemies. I ask that you help me to open my heart to them, just as you and your son, Jesus Christ, have done to me. It is all that I long for with all that I am. In your name I pray, Amen.
Devotion
Abraham is Father of All
Frances Taylor
There are questions in every age about the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims. We forget that it was Abraham who believed in the doctrine of only one God. It is through him and his descendants that this tradition comes down to us. Another fact that we can overlook is that Jesus was Jewish. He was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, died, rose and ascended into heaven as a Jew. Because we believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ, and we follow him, we are called Christian. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn't understand the promise of salvation; we wouldn't understand why it was important for Jesus to be of the family of King David. We would not understand his teaching either, because Jesus quoted from Scripture – the Old Testament – frequently. He told us that he came to fulfill the Scriptures, not to abolish them. In the same way, we can ...
