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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 Christ's body will be one as the Father and Jesus are One, is through God's kind of love.
Unity of believers, that can only come through a genuine God-kind of love, is the greatest tool for evangelism that the church has...
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 love. No doubt, he received his inspiration from this teaching of Jesus. John wrote, "Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have...
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 grace. Under the Old Covenant, men approached God through a priest, while under the New Covenant, we have direct access to the Father through Jesus Christ. Under the Old Covenant, a man's sin led to his death while under the New Covenant, God is...
IS THERE SOMETHING IN YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE THAT YOU FIND HARD TO DO? MAYBE IT IS STUDYING GOD'S WORD EVERY DAY OR EVEN GOING TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY. FOR ME, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT IS TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT HOW MUCH JESUS LOVES THEM. LET ME EXPLAIN. I CAN WRITE ALL DAY ABOUT IT BUT WHEN I START TALKING ABOUT HIS LOVE FOR US, I GET SO CHOKED UP THAT SOMETIMES I CAN'T EVEN TALK. I WOULD NEVER BE A GOOD PREACHER BECAUSE PEOPLE COULDN'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING I WAS SAYING. YOU KNOW HOW SOMEONE SOUNDS WITH THAT CRYING VOICE. I EVEN GET CHOKED UP WHEN I HEAR A BEAUTIFUL SONG ABOUT JESUS. HOWEVER, I KNOW IF HE EVER CALLED ME TO PREACH, HE WOULD GIVE ME THE ABILITY TO DO IT.
PRAISE GOD THAT I HAVE FACEBOOK AND INDIE GOSPEL CHRISTIAN SOCIAL NETWORK TO POST MY MORNING MESSAGES ON. THIS IS SOMETHING I REALLY ENJOY DOING AND IT KEEPS ME IN GOD'S WORD AND I KNOW IT IS MY MINISTRY. ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO I WAS...
Peter's refusal to let Jesus wash his feet came from a knowledge that he was totally unworthy to have the sinless Son of God serve him as a common servant would. Peter was correct in his assessment of his relative worth, but what he missed was that God doesn't minister to us because of our worth but because of His love.
Even though Peter's attitude looked holy and humble, he was actually resisting God's will and committing an act of pride. Pride is not only exalting yourself above what is proper, but also, it can be debasing yourself below what is proper. Pride is simply self-centeredness or being self-willed instead of God-centered and submitted to God's will. Peter should have been humble enough to know that Jesus knew what He was...
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 specific frequency of the Lord's Supper prescribed in scripture.
As we take Communion, we are solemnly proclaiming the Lord's death, and our union with Him and with others through that death. This is a profession of our faith and...