This Week’s Memory Verse…
And
now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is
true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think
about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8
One
final thing. There is always that last word of advice that you want to give those you
really care about when you are ending a letter, text message, e-mail or phone
call. One more thing…. Paul was addressing his “dear brothers and sisters” in
the church at Philippi. They had become dear to him. Treasured. Close to his
heart. Consider other believers, friends or family members that you are dear to
your heart. Who are they? Why are they dear to you? Is it just a family tie or
are they such close friends that they feel like family? Is it something about
their character that is pure, wholesome, or an endearing quality, like a
precious sense of humor? Do they always make you feel loved and valued? That is
the kind of people I treasure in my life. Family and friends that I know care
about me…and about whom I care deeply.
What can you
do to create those bonds of value with others in your life? Oh, to be more like
Jesus is the thought that comes to my mind. Most people loved Jesus dearly…and many
followed Him. But were they following Him because He was a charismatic individual,
because of His healing touch, His generous nature—feeding more than 5,000
people at one time—or because of His love for them? Wasn’t that love shown
through His healing touch, His mercy, His honest teaching and kindness to
others? The Pharisees were often rude and obnoxious to Jesus and His words to
them weren’t particularly kind to them, although He gave the wisdom of the key
to eternal life to Nicodemus. How can we show the kind of love that Jesus
showed? He told us to love one another.
How do we do that?
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the
Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to
let the world corrupt you. James 1:27
I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we
should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had
from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has
commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning. 2 John 1:5-6
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| Creating fun family memories - painting a group mural! |
Doing what
God has commanded us to do. That is love. That is the final word we give to
those who are dear to us. Care. Caring for others…caring for our neighbors—those
around us—like we care about ourselves. I don’t know about you…but I make sure
I have three good meals a day, clean clothes to wear, a sturdy house in which
to live…create fun times with family and friends and take time to worship God
regularly. That caring…that is love. Jesus matters most to me. That is what
life is about. I care about how I live…so I need to care about how others live,
too. Love God…love others. Do you?
Prayer
~ Dear Jesus, I care about You. I choose to have You be the cornerstone of my
life. You are more important to me than anything else—than anyone else. You are
more important to me than family, home, church, friends, savings, material
possessions…than life itself. I so look forward to the day that You return and
take Your church home with You. You are the cornerstone of that very
church…that group of people that are Your followers. Thank You for revealing
this truth to me…and for allowing me to put You first in my life.
Daily
Bible Reading: 1 Kings 5-6; 2 Chronicles 2-3
© 2019 Text and
photo by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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