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Love Comes First
John 13:35 'By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.'
Jesus didn't say that all men would know we are His disciples by our doctrine, our rituals, our hatred for sin, or even by the way we express our love for God. He said very clearly, that the one characteristic that would cause the world to identify us as His followers, is our love, one for another.
This same night, the Lord prayed to His Father using this same thought saying, 'That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me' (Jn. 17:21). The only way that...
I WROTE ABOUT THIS A LITTLE LATE LAST YEAR BUT I TRY TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT HALLOWEEN EVERY YEAR TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THE LORD THINKS ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS ASSOCIATED WITH IT. I THOUGHT I WOULD GET A MESSAGE OUT EARLIER THIS YEAR TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE HISTORY TO SHOW HOW HALLOWEEN CAME TO BE. IT ORIGINATED WITH "THE CELTIC FESTIVAL OF SAMHAIN" WHERE THEY WOULD BUILD BONFIRES AND WEAR COSTUMES TO WARD OFF GHOSTS. IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY, THE POPE DESIGNATED NOVEMBER 1ST AS A TIME TO HONOR ALL SAINTS. SOON "ALL SAINTS DAY" BEGIN TO INCORPORATE SOME OF THE SAMHAIN TRADITIONS. THE EVENING BEFORE WAS KNOWN AS "ALL HALLOWS EVE".
A New Revelation Of Love
John 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.'
Jesus previously stated that all the law and the prophets were dependent on loving God first, and then loving your neighbor as yourself. These truths were already in the law but people missed them. So, this commandment was not new in the sense that it had never been given before, but it was brought to the forefront and given new meaning through the example of Jesus. Jesus not only loved His neighbor as Himself, He loved us more than Himself.
John, the apostle who wrote this gospel, later wrote about the new commandment of...
We Are Complete, Only In Him
Matthew 26:28 'For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.'
The principle of the Old Covenant was 'do' and you shall live. The principle of the New Covenant is 'it is done,' and includes redemption, reconciliation, righteousness, and sanctification. The work is finished! We are complete in Him!
If the Old Covenant had no defects, there would have been no attempt to institute another (Heb. 8:7). In the Old Covenant, men found themselves unable to abide in its agreement, for it was based upon a man's performance.
The new agreement, however, is based totally upon God's...
OUR GOD IS ALIVE
BEING A NEW CREATURE IN JESUS
Let God Minister To You
John 13:8 'Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.'
Communion Is Sacred
Luke 22:19 'And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.'
The bread of communion symbolizes the body of Jesus which was broken for us through His sufferings. He not only died for us on the cross but also bore 39 stripes on His back by which we are healed. Partaking of communion should remind us of the emotional and physical salvation that Jesus provided for us.
The Lord's Supper comes from a part of the Passover meal that was celebrated only once a year. However, the early Christian church took Communion weekly and sometimes daily. There is no...