Love God first your nieghbor second...

Loving Jesus and your neighbor…

In Mark 12:29-31, Jesus said, The First of all commandments is Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord and you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all your mind, and with all of your strength, this is the first commandment. The second is like, namely this you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

Gal 5:14, for all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

James 2:8, if you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well.

So then the most import command is to love God then to love your neighbor. However, is God not your neighbor? Is He not near every one of us every second of the day? So, love God as yourself and all those you come in contact with as well. If you were God and then the relationship changed, then would you be happy with your behavior? Then there is that old question that Jesus answered in the parable of the good Samaritan, who is my neighbor? It is whomever you are in contact with and are able to help. Your enemy could be your neighbor, your ex-husband could be your neighbor, your brother could be your neighbor, your neighbor could be your neighbor, etc. So, treat God as good as you would yourself, if you were God, and the way some people act they think they are God. Would you grumble and complain about keeping your laws and statues? Just food for thought…

Father, we offer you all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, in Jesus of Nazareth’s name, we pray Amen.

Rom 2:13, for not the hearers of the law are just before God but the doers of the law shall be justified

1. Are you worried about other people and their sins? Psalms 1:1, blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners not sits in the seat of the scornful. Are you trying to stop other people from sinning? We are told we are blessed if we do not stand in the way of sinners. You can give them God’s word but we cannot prevent them from sinning.

2. Are you listening to gossips fill you in about the horrible things they have done? 1 Tim 5:13, …and withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. These people that are always sharing the news of what is going on are doing nothing but sinning against God and spreading news that they ought not.

3. Are you always in a state of chaos and having to quarrel, fight, and struggle for peace and spiritual safety between them and you? Col 3:13, …forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man has a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave so also do you. Did Jesus say forgive them they know not what they are doing on the cross? 1 Pet 4:15, but let none of you suffer as a murderer or as a thief or as an evildoer or as a busybody in other men’s matters.

4. Are you involved in other people’s affairs? If so then stop and mind your own business. Get your own house in order and fear God. Jesus said, And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother’s eye but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, let me pull out the mote out of your eye and behold a beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye and then you shall see clearly how to cast the mote out of your brother’s eye Matt 7:3-5.

5. Are you trying to punish the evildoer? Rom 12:9, dearly beloved avenge not yourselves but rather give place unto wrath for it is written, vengeance is mine I will repay says the Lord. We are to pray for our enemies and overcome evil with good, not render unto them punishment. Did Jesus die for the wicked that believe or just the righteous that believe?

6. Are you trying to convert the same people over and over and they will not respond to the words of God? Jesus says, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you Matt 7:6. Jesus said in John 8:44, there is no truth in the devil some people would rather believe the ways of this world than to bring their sins to the light of the cross of Christ through repentance and obedience to God.

Rom 2:7-10, to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality: eternal life, but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that does evil of the Jew first and also of the gentile but glory honor and peace to every man that works good to the Jew first and also of the Gentiles

Father help us get our houses in order and meet our souls deepest needs, heal our souls wounds and may we prosper and be in health as our souls prospers, in Jesus of Nazareth’s name amen.

Who do you obey?

Romans 6:16, “know you not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey, whether sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness?”

We all have been talked into doing something stupid or irrational by our friends, family, or co-workers. We all have listened to the wrong person, at the wrong time, with the wrong ideas and thought yea that sounds good. There is a worldly wisdom, there are worldly principles, there are worldly philosophies, there are worldly religions, or false religions, Jesus said “there shall arise false Christs, false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the elect” Matt 24:24. This passage tells us plainly that we will sin if we follow the wrong “voice” or teaching or preaching or wisdom or philosophy. Jesus said there would be people with great signs that are false Christ and prophets. So how do you know you are following the Real Jesus Christ that died on the cross was buried for three days and rose?

Simply this, by reading the New Testament of Christ. The New Testament of Christ has been bound and sealed in Heaven. It is the same for every man. God does not preach two messages that would make Him the author of confusion. God has only one agreement between God and every man that is mediated through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ who has done all the work needed to reconcile with God. We need not a new revelation, we do not need a new word from God, what we need to renew our minds with the already spoken and recorded word of God found in the pages of the New Testament of Christ. Jesus warned us about false Christs, false prophets, and also said this of the religious leaders called the Pharisees, “every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up, let them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind and if the blind lead, both shall fall into the ditch” Matt 15:13-14.

So Jesus let us, …and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will from You our God, in Jesus name may it be so.