love one another – Larus Press

Love One Another

It’s vitally important the people of God stick together, love one another and seek to respect, enjoy, love, honour and trust one another.

Words are limiting. We often hear or read what a fellow believer says and shun them because we don’t agree. Arguing is pointless. But what about finding out what they mean… in case there is a truth in it you never saw before?

Support One Another

We who know Jesus are under attack. We who seek to stand in the gap for those not yet aware of the saving grace of Jesus are under attack. The first point of attack is division.

Character of Jesus, Character of the Believer

Righteousness and Love are the two-pronged character of God, the Father of Creation and humanity. He gives love and offers righteousness. But we can’t have one without the other. Society through humanism is offering love. We must also stand for righteousness and not be confused by the permissive love of society. Love without righteousness creates weakness.

Love and Righteousness

Righteousness without love is harsh and brutal. For centuries the Christian movement has had this error. Consider the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition as examples. “Turn to Christ or die” and in some cases “Turn to Christ and we’ll kill you anyway” were echoed throughout countries in Europe and even into the Middle East – Jerusalem in particular.

But we cannot er to the other extreme — Love without Righteousness.

So often in society, an era moves to one extreme, only then to attempt to resolve through swinging to the other. This, I believe, is what has happened in recent years with some factions of Christianity. Some portions, in the name of love, are accepting behaviours and choices in the name of Love that are unrighteous… Some of these folk even becoming angry and reject those who continue to stand for the love and righteousness of God. Bitter division is not of the LORD. It is self-righteousness.

Matthew 24:12 says, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”

And in Mark 13:22 we read, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

Hold Fast

We must hold fast to our faith but also to our principles in this world of sin and shame, so that the light, love and righteousness of the LORD stands firm, in us and through us. True love is sharing the full truth of the Gospel. There are certain standards that must be upheld, not in our own strength but through the power of God in us.

Division in the Body of Yeshua is wrong. We must overcome, rather than assume the worst and turn from one another. Remember, one way for the Truth of Jesus to be seen by the world is through our love for one another.

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (1 John 3:16)

Let us not allow pettiness and misunderstandings, or differences of opinion divide us. Let us learn from one another in a spirit of humility, and embrace the common ground. Jesus is our Saviour. Father is our Creator. The Holy Spirit is our source of connection and power from the Father through Jesus. Let us rejoice together and be glad, for the glory of the LORD is risen upon us. We have much to be thankful for and much to express to show it:)

“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Psalm 32:11)

Amen.

Do you notice that every now and then something happens to us to stir our emotional pot? And how do we deal with it?Do we succumb to the temptation to overheat, or do we keep our cool?

I find that there are situations in my life that keep playing – like a CD stuck on the same tune, rather than moving on to the next – and I’ve learned to accept these replays as a test. I can gauge my growth by my response relative to the last time I experienced a similar thing.

Right now what I seem to be aware of is the temptation to demand justice or respect when I’ve been treated (or decide I’ve been treated) unreasonably.

Jesus never justified himself and never defended himself. Some loved him, some despised him, some betrayed him. He never overheated at the way he was treated.

I’m learning to focus less on myself and more on relating successfully with others. My family, to begin with, are very dear to me. And yet, they are the folks I most quickly react to – in the negative – if I feel it is justified. But there’s the rub! We are not to be door matts, but neither are we to be easily provoked,

Love… “Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:5 KJV)

Often the LORD was provoked to anger (see Numbers, Deuteronomy, Judges, Samuel, Kings…) but justifiable anger over the sin of mankind is quite different from reacting to a minor – probably unintentional – slight by a loved one.

Oh, let us love one another and our families and friends. Let us not overheat at disruption or a display of rudeness, but let us share our disquiet in a way that is gentle, using it as an encouragement to grow closer rather than to break apart. Let us run our race with grace and forgiveness, always deferring to one another.

Let us take the high ground, and defer to the other. And let this graciousness begin with me:)