Are You Showing God’s Love for Others?

Prayer – Lord, reveal to me truths that I need to focus on about Your return. Give me wisdom and understanding that I would take that information to heart and share it with others.

Christ suffered for us.
He is no longer on the cross.
As our Savior, He was resurrected.
Crucifix at Holy Family Shrine, Gretna, NE

He will return for His followers.
Do you believe in Him?

So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. But remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone, both the living and the dead. That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead—so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit. The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:1-10

 

Meditate. Read God’s word and listen obediently to what He is saying.

 

Don’t give up focusing on God’s word just since this is a long passage today. God is warning us…the end of the world is coming soon. Although Peter wrote this almost two thousand years ago, the message was relevant then and today. God wants us to always “be ready” for the return of Jesus…for the “end of the world” which could be at any time. Our time is not necessarily God’s time.

 

This passage reminds us that Christ suffered for us. We should be ready to suffer, too, just as Paul wrote to the church at Rome. If we are part of God’s family and share His glory, we must share suffering also.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father." For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans 8:15-17

When we think of God and the love of God, we don’t usually focus on suffering, but that is part of God’s plan and as we can see from the big picture—an overview of the whole Bible—there is a lot of suffering going on from the time of Adam and Eve. We can’t expect to have all rosy days. We are promised that there is love…but there is turmoil, tribulation, and terror ahead of us all. The promise that I claim, knowing about all that suffering, is that God will always be with us. He will never abandon or forsake us.

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. Deuteronomy 31:8

Knowing that I don’t have to be afraid—I am not alone—is comforting. It gives me hope, security, and love. What more could I want from life…from my God? If God is for me…who can be against me? With that in mind…I need to serve others in a way that they can know that God loves them, too. How about you? Are you showing God’s love to others?

Verse of Salvation ~ My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm. Isaiah 51:5

 

Memory Verse of the Week ~ Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

 

© 2022 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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