Love One Another

Hi there and welcome to Devotional Moments. At Reedy we are going through the three letters of the Apostle John, and we have been trying to learn a new memory verse each week. This week’s memory verse is from 1 John 4:7, “let us love one another, for love comes from God...” (1 John 4:7 NIV). John wrote extensively to these churches about loving God and loving one another. It is not only one of the main measures of Christian maturity, but also the greatest command given by our Lord Jesus. Let’s look a bit deep at this command.

In Mark 12 verse 28 a teacher of the law overheard another group of religious leaders known as the Sadducees debating with Jesus. Now this Teacher of the Law was impressed with Jesus’ answers and so he wanted to dialogue with Jesus. Anyone who knows a good philosopher or theologian or academic knows they like to wrestle through issues that relate to their field. It’s not that they are trying to be painful. It’s just who they are. Some of us couldn’t really care less but they do. And so, it appears that this teacher of the law wanted to dialogue with Jesus.

As you would know there are the original Ten Commandments that God gave His people to follow. What happened in time is that the law makers had developed 613 laws. Some religious leaders tried to distinguish between major and minor laws, and some taught that all laws were equally binding and that it was dangerous to make any distinctions. And so, when the teacher of the law asked Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" (Mark 12:28 NIV), I wonder if he had this challenge in mind?

The answer given by Jesus was amazing. In recognizing the Law and its history Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV). Here Jesus confirms the foundational truth of the Shema which was used as the call to worship in the Jewish synagogue. From this basic premise, Jesus proceeds to the principle revealed in Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV). These are the words which are written on the doorpost of every Jewish home. It is a practice that can be found on many Jewish homes today (Mezuzah).

Jesus then applies this teaching by matching it with the commandment in Leviticus 19:18, “…love your neighbor as yourself…” (Leviticus 19:18 NIV). Amazingly Jesus summed up the Law, the prophets, and the gospel so that He can say, “…There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31 NIV). Jesus’ answer of loving God and one another summarises the entire Ten Commandments. The first part summarizes the first four commandments, which has to do with our love for God (Exodus 20:2-11). The second part of Jesus' answer summarizes the final six, which have to do with our love for humanity (Exodus 20:12-17). This teaching had a powerful impact on the subsequent teaching of the Early Church such as John who also wrote in chapter 4, “Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (1 John 4:21).

As a follower of Jesus, we love God, and we love one another. That’s who we are. In Paul’s letters, he spells out what this love looks like. It’s not easy to love others, particularly to those who have wronged or hurt us. We need God’s help.

Let’s Pray. Dear God. Thank you that you first loved us and sent Your Son Jesus to die for our sins. What an incredible act of love. Help us to fulfil Your command to love all people. Empower us with the Fruit of the Spirit. May the world know You through our love for one another. In Christ name. Amen.

David Moyes

Gives Us Anything We Ask For...!!?

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. 1 John 5:14-15

This verse too often gets taken out of context, the thought is that I can ask for anything and ill get it, but then get upset when that new car doesn’t arrive, or the money for a new and bigger house, or a promotion at work. C.S. Lewis makes an important observation about the time Jesus’s prayer in the garden of gethsemane surrounding prayer and relating to this verse and that is “not what I want but what God wants, but not my will but yours be done. This shows that authentic prayer is the submission of the person to God.

Prayer is not a battle but a response; its power consists in lifting our will to God, not trying to bring His will down to us.

So, while the New Testament promises regarding prayer and asking for anything and you will receive is true, its all about aligning our will to that of the Fathers and when we can get that right our motives or desires will change as we walk closer with God for it becomes more about Him then us.

Notice how John says when we ask for anything that Pleases God? That’s a key statement in this passage, are you asking God for what pleases you or Him? How do we align our will to His, simple walk closely with Him lean into His word and allow the Spirit to lead you.

IF** you confess your sins.....

In 1 john 1:9, he said “If we confess our sins (so…whatever follows… it is conditional), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and his word is not in us”..

So God will fully forgive us… cleans us even…completely remove the stain of sin….IF we confess it.

It all hinges on “confession”.

SO what is confession? What is it to “confess our sins”

Well, The Hebrew word for ‘confess’ means to ‘acknowledge’. In the NT, confess could be translated as “to agree with someone or to say the same thing as another”.

So to “confess” our sin, is essentially to say that you agree with God about your sin. It is to acknowledge sin for what it is, not make excuses for it, but to turn away from it.

If we confess our sin in that manor, then God will forgive us.

We can be absolutely certain of this because of the fact that God is faithful & just.

“Faithfull” - that means God will do what He has said he will do; and “just”, that is – completely fair.

Someone might argue that God isn’t being ‘just’ he effectively pardons and frees us from our sin free of charge!!

But the truth is, once you have confessed your sin to God, He can free you from the charge of your sin because He dished out the punishment for that sin on Jesus. Jesus died the death that you deserve because of your sin. Justice was paid by Jesus so that you could know God.

Therefore “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness.