Monday, December 17, 2012

Verse of the Day 12/17

1 John 2:7-8  Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
 
The Beatles had a hit song, "All You Need is Love".  You know the tune the question is how do you define that love? 
 
We looked at this passage in our men's small group.  The command goes back to the Old Testament and the law.  John wrote to the church in Ephasus about it in Revelation, go back to what you did at first, which was to love one another.
J.M. Boice writes, "What is love after all?  It is not just a certain benign feeling.  It is not a smile.  It is an attitude that determines what one does.  Therefore, it is impossible to speak of love in the Christian sense without at least suggesting some of the actions that ought to flow from it, just as it is impossible to speak of the love of God without mentioning such things as the creation of man in His image, the giving of the Old Testament revelation, the coming of Christ, the cross, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and other realities."
 
The church needs to show love but must also show where it truly comes from and what is behind it.  Love is more than attitude, it is a motivating factor in all that we do.  It will show in our actions to our loved ones, neighbors, friends and yes, even our enemies.  How will your love motivate you in the coming week as we prepare the celebration of the "coming of Christ"?
 
John 13:34-35 "I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
In Christ,
Mike
 
Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV
1 John 2:7-11  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old command that you have had from the beginning. The old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
 
9 The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10 The one who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and doesn't know where he's going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

No comments: