May 24 2021

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

Loving our enemies isn't difficult when we don't see them every day. Social media has made it easy to say harsh things without having to deal with face-to-face consequences.

But whether our enemies are close or far away, we are still instructed to pray for them. It may feel unnatural at first, but the more time we spend in prayer, we will start to see them as Christ does.

Jesus set this example for us as He was hanging on the cross. He asked God to forgive them for what they had done. The question is—can we love someone who hurts us and hates the Lord? We can because God shows us how.

Love doesn't mean that you have accepted the evil actions of others, but God requires that we pray for their souls.

Matthew 5:43-44 is part of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. In this Scripture, He addresses a crowd of people and explains what it means to be a faithful follower of Christ.

Jesus sets such a high standard of living that no one can achieve it without God's help. Loving your enemy is counter-cultural, but it is a directive to followers of Jesus.

We are called to love those who hate us the most … and we can with God's help.

Dear Lord, thank you for giving your love to me. Help me follow the example Jesus set in loving and forgiving my enemies. God, it's difficult for me to love someone who doesn't like me. Please let me understand that you love everyone and desire for them to come to salvation. Use my life to reach even my enemies with your Gospel. In Jesus' name, amen.

May 23 2021

For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.:

God created families to be a source of blessing, but from the very beginning, it has been a battlefield. The first married couple had relationship problems, including placing blame on each other. When they had children, those children despised each other to the point of death. The actions of Adam and Eve led to physical and spiritual death.

So, God gave us a new family in Christ when He created the Church, and the marker that identifies the real followers of Jesus: their practice of genuine love.

The Early Church needed a way to tell who God's true children were. In 1 John, the apostle John wrote to help them know what to look for. Some abandoned the faith because they claimed they knew more than the apostles. They said they were the real children of God.

John identified how they loved each other as the mark of a true believer. After all, it was God's love that made us His children.

It's tragic when love is lost between followers of Christ. It is the work of the enemy. We should seek reconciliation whenever possible if a conflict has occurred with other believers.

When we show forgiveness or admit guilt to one another, we demonstrate humility. Denying our personal desires to honor God is a form of worship. We should build each other up and encourage one another so that the world can see Jesus through us.

Dear Lord, I pray for unity in the Body of Christ. May we be united in love in the same way you are united with the Father. Give me a desire to love as you have loved me. Bind us with peace and fellowship. Help us to quickly admit fault or ask forgiveness when we struggle to get along. Let us please you with our actions. In Jesus' name, amen.
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