So I give you a new command: Love each other deeply and fully. Remember the ways that I have loved you, and demonstrate your love for others in those same ways. Everyone will know you as My followers if you demonstrate your love to others. John 13:34-35 The Voice
Think About Others Day
In our Heart To Heart Facebook group, we were talking about us starting and having a #TuesdayThinkAboutOthers day. We began sharing with each other how we need to have a day of the week where we intentionally think about others, putting them first. Being intentional is sometimes how good intentions actually become reality.
Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. Philippians 2:3 The Voice
Creating Counter Cultural Habits
Our culture is so opposite to this way of living and we need to purposely create new spiritual habits. Habits are fashioned and maintained by practicing certain behaviors, putting them as a priority in our everyday routines.
Paul boils it all down for the believers in Corinth. Religious people often spend their time practicing rituals, projecting dogma, and going through routines that might look like Christianity on the outside but that lack the essential ingredient that brings all of it together—love! It is a loving God who birthed creation and now pursues a broken people in the most spectacular way. That same love must guide believers, so faith doesn’t appear to be meaningless noise. Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love. 1 Corinthians 13:4 Voice Commentary And Verse
Living Purposefully – Intentionally
It would be so cool if we intentionally had a “Think About Others Day”, where one day a week we are totally focused on encouraging, blessing, serving others above ourselves. I guess this is our personal choice and it begins and ends with us. Kindness, putting others first is so contagious, so us choosing to do this could actually start a renewal of the kind of love that reflects the Kingdom of God. Wouldn’t that be way too cool?
Give away to everyone who begs of you who is in want of necessities, and of him who takes away from you your goods, do not demand or require them back again. And as you would like and desire that men would do to you, do exactly so to them. If you merely love those who love you, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even the very sinners love their lovers, those who love them. And if you are kind and good and do favors to and benefit those who are kind and good and do favors to and benefit you, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even the preeminently sinful do the same. And if you lend money at interest to those from whom you hope to receive, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? Even notorious sinners lend money at interest to sinners, so as to recover as much again. But love your enemies and be kind and do good, doing favors so that someone derives benefit from them and lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return but considering nothing as lost and despairing of no one; and then your recompense, your reward will be great, rich, strong, intense, and abundant, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind and charitable and good to the ungrateful and the selfish and wicked. So be merciful, sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate even as your Father is all these. Luke 6:30-36 Amplified Bible
Model After Jesus
Jesus was so like that in so many ways we saw Him putting people first, pretty much His whole life was lived for others first. He was described as a person who had nowhere to lay His head, He was constantly serving, discipling and caring for others and then His death was the extreme sacrifice of laying down of your life for someone else.
My commandment to you is this: love others as I have loved you. There is no greater way to love than to give your life for your friends. You celebrate our friendship if you obey this command. John 15:12-14 The Voice
Habits Start Somewhere
What if we did that, one day a week we went out of our way to be totally like Jesus and wherever we go, whoever we are with, whatever we are doing, we put other people first and began to develop a new spiritual habit. It is so counter cultural to our way of living and we naturally do not do this, it would have to be very deliberate on our part, but once we started changing and being like Jesus, it would probably change more than one day of our week. We have to start somewhere, habits have a beginning, so let’s do it. Be so, like Jesus by changing our mind sets from cultural to kingdom, taking our gaze off of our worldly viewpoint and living out of a kingdom perspective.
Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete. Paul urges those who read and hear his letter to respond to the good news by offering their bodies—eyes, ears, mouths, hands, feet—to God as a “living sacrifice.” Paul knows well enough that sacrifices end in death, not life. But the sacrifice of Jesus changes everything. His resurrection steals life from death and makes it possible for those who trust in Him to become a sacrifice and yet live. But how do we live? We do not live as before, wrapping ourselves in the world and its bankrupt values. We live in constant renewal and transformation of our minds. Because of the grace allotted to me, I can respectfully tell you not to think of yourselves as being more important than you are; devote your minds to sound judgment since God has assigned to each of us a measure of faith. Romans 12:1-3 The Voice And Commentary
Clinging To Jesus, Transformation Is Powerful
I am thinking because it is so not like our human condition to put others first that we won’t be able to do it in our own strength and the first step would begin with us putting God first. God is not a people, He is AWE-GOD, so we need to learn to put Him first before we can put people first. I am thinking that when we put God first, when we are drawing our life sustenance from Him, it will be easier to put other people first. Of course, going against our human nature is never easy, but in Christ, all things are powerfully possible.
I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit. Without Me, you will accomplish nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is like a branch that is tossed out and shrivels up and is later gathered to be tossed into the fire to burn. If you abide in Me and My voice abides in you, anything you ask will come to pass for you. Your abundant growth and your faithfulness as My followers will bring glory to the Father. John 15:5-8 The Voice
Think About It ~ Selah
“As believers, we are a part of what the Bible calls the body of Christ. And just as each part of the human body plays an important role, every person in the body of Christ plays an important role as well.” Author ~Greg Laurie
“Habits of holiness or spiritual disciplines as they are sometimes called, are not, however, the mere product of human strength and desire. Godly habits are initiated, carried on, and matured through the sanctifying work of the Spirit who indwells us. They are the fruit of the Spirit, but they are worked out in our lives—not as erratic psychological and sudden impulses, but growing, settled dispositions and attitudes, showing forth and leading to the transformation of character. We are to cooperate with the Spirit in striving to see these traits developed in us.” Author ~ Greg Herrick
Water It With The Word
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. Romans 12:4–5
Make no mistake: God can’t be mocked. What you give is what you get. What you sow, you harvest. Those who sow seeds into their flesh will only harvest destruction from their sinful nature. But those who sow seeds into the Spirit shall harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. May we never tire of doing what is good and right before our Lord because in His season we shall bring in a great harvest if we can just persist. So seize any opportunity the Lord gives you to do good things and be a blessing to everyone, especially those within our faithful family. Galatians 6:7-10 The Voice
Life It Out
Hope is a really big function of the Body of Christ, we all have it, we all can share it. Let someone borrow your hope today. Be a hope giver in every situation you find yourself in today. Just BE #BESo
Put the word into action. If you think hearing is what matters most, you are going to find you have been deceived. God the Father is the giver of all things and is looking for every opportunity to bless us. But many people have difficulty trusting and receiving good things, even when those things come from God. The problem is that we not only have trouble trusting God’s work in our lives, but we also don’t always respond to God’s voice. People often hear the Scriptures but don’t really listen. People store truths in their brains but never put them to use. For James, the only good religion is religion lived out every day. If some fail to do what God requires, it’s as if they forget the word as soon as they hear it. One minute they look in the mirror, and the next they forget who they are and what they look like. However, it is possible to open your eyes and take in the beautiful, perfect truth found in God’s law of liberty and live by it. If you pursue that path and actually do what God has commanded, then you will avoid the many distractions that lead to an amnesia of all true things and you will be blessed. James 1: 22-25
Dig Deeper
God is speaking to us today to step out of our comfort zones with hearts filled with His compassion and be like He was in kindness, friendship and love. Dig Deeper in this post: Brother.
Jesus is our life. We don’t serve a ministry, we serve HIM wholly-holy. Being found in HIM, being found believing HIM, followship, this is our life. Everything about our life is HIM, there are no compartments, no titles, nothing stands higher than HIM. I give myself away to HIM not to ministry. Author ~ KimberlyMac
Thanks For Stopping In The Bridegroom’s Café Today! Heart To Heart Is A Facebook Group Where We Are Sharing The Love And Message Of Jesus Christ Everyday To Everyone, Everywhere! You Are So Invited To Be A Part Of This Group And To Be Transformed Into A Person Who Receives Much And Gives Much, Just Like Jesus Did! Please Take Time To Share This Post With Others Using The Social Media Buttons Below! Please Leave A Comment To Encourage Others And Me Too! Thanks! God bless you MUCH, KimberlyMac