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I’m sure you have friends from elementary school to college that you are might be currently in contact with. With facebook, and other social media, it is easier than ever to connect with those in our distant past. But if you have moved to a new town, or even a new neighborhood, sometimes the old friends in your old town or old neighborhood are not as high on your priority. It happens to everyone. Christians have a wonderful advantage, wherever we are, because we have brothers and sisters around the world. Often we have an instant connection just because of Jesus. But unfortunately, many people, including Christians, have many acquaintances and few real friendships. Typical relationships are often defined as the mutual accommodation of self need. We know deep down that we are created for relationship, but often approach friendship from a selfish basis. Everyone wants to share the joy of our journey and the hurts that may happen in life with others. We can pool our wisdom and our resources to the benefit of both. The answer to our quest for friendship is found in living the way Jesus did, not trying to get love for ourselves, but learning how to share it with others. We can effectively one anothers those in our world.

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Jesus used simple acts of one anothering in his everyday life. He just happened to rock Zachaeus’s world when he asked to come to his house for dinner. Jesus had amazing encounters with people where ever He went. Jesus was looking for ways to let the life of God inside of Him, pour out on those who needed that Zoe kind of life. Jesus was totally others focused, so he was able to see right into the heart of each persons need and give them little nuggets of God’s love to begin the transformation process in their lives. Romans 5:5 says that the love of God has been placed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We have the unlimited resources of love that we need, and we can be a conduit of love to the may hurting people that we come in contact with. So often, we are so consumed by our own issues, or situations in our own lives, that we forget what we are put on this planet for. We have a purpose! We have a destiny. It is not all about us, Jesus wants us to touch other people’s lives, and He has given us the ability to do that. Zachaeus was a recipient of God’s love, through a person, and His life was changed forever. We might have a similar story. Who showed you the love of God, that drew you into salvation. That God for that person or people. Now God wants you to do the same for someone else. That is one anothering!

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In our study, one anothering starts with loving one another. All the other, one anothers are expressions of how we let God’s love live out through us. These scriptures will show us how to express that love and expose to us the deepest treasures of what it means to be part of God’s family. During each week of our study, let’s keep our eyes on how God demonstrates these “one another” actions toward each of us. Let’s also keep our eyes open for the opportunities we have to love others in the same manner. Let’s jump in together and discover just how transforming a life lived in love can truly be! In an age of social media explosion, people are longing for real relationships. We have unlimited ways to connect, but real authentic connections are not being made. People often feel more isolated than ever. We use all types of communication, from texting, email, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the list continues. But we live in a world where these tools have not necessarily enhanced communication, and definitely have not eliminated loneliness. We need to capture God’s heart for life giving and life changing relationships. Jesus found that love could reach anyone. Let’s begin to see how we can start loving more authentically to enhance our relationships. It’s a great start to an amazing journey.

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Each Fall Semester, our church body has a single focus, and after upgrading our small groups, which we call Grace Groups, we decided to make Authentic Relationships our focus. Life is nothing without relationships, and this study is all about giving practical examples of how to apply the principles of “one anothering” so that our relationships can be dynamic. Let’s learn together how to be the church, and to not just attend church. Here is your dailyeword with week one of Authentic Relationships.

Wouldn’t you love to capture Jesus’ heart for life-giving relationships? In this study we will investigate such questions as, “How can we share meaningful and supporting relationships with other believers?” and “What is the New Testament model for loving, nurturing friendships”? We will explore new methods for opening doors to deeper friendships and for developing more meaningful interactions with strangers. We will discuss ways to avoid the pitfalls of judging others and be inspired to engage people with love, acceptance, kindness, and respect. As we seek to strengthen our relationships with other believers, we will discover the joys of being the church rather than simple going to church.

Here are the One Anothers we will be discussing:

Loving one another (John 13:34)

Forgiving one another (Ephesians 4:32)

Accepting one another (Romans 15:7)

Bearing with one another (Ephesians 4:2)

Being devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)

Honoring one another above ourselves (Romans 12:10)

Greeting one another (2 Corinthians 13:12)

Being hospitable to one another (1 Peter 4:9)

Being kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32)

Sharing with one another (Hebrews 13:16)

Serving one another (Galatians 5:13)

Carrying one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)

Building up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Encouraging one another daily (Hebrews 3:13)

Comforting one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18)

Stimulating one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24)

Instructing one another (Romans 15:14)

Admonishing one another (Colossians 3:16)

Praying for one another (James 5:16)

Confessing your sins to one another (James 5:16)

Being of the same mind toward one another (Romans 12:16)

Submitting to one another (Ephesians 5:21)

It’s a long exciting list! Let’s be all about loving one another!

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One of the most often quoted scriptures is found in Proverbs 4:20-23. It says I in chapter 4 verse 20…
Pay attention to what I say, listen closely to my words,
Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart,
for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.

Above all else, are pretty strong words. It is very important! Take notice, it is really more than just a suggestion. Proverbs is telling us to guard our heart. We do that by watching what we do and what we say. As important as it is for us to keep our life pure, and to take a moment before going from one thing to the next, we need to pay attention to what God’s Word says, and above all else, guard our heart. From the heart flow the important things. It is the center of our belief, and we need to guard what we believe. So how is your heart? Are you guarding it and keeping it with all diligence? Be encouraged today, that as you keep and guard your heart, it will become a well spring of blessing for you! So pay attention! Guard your heart. And be encouraged today – to live with a clean slate

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Junk in the trunk. You’ve probably heard that phase before….and it probably has more than one meaning, but I’m going to talk about the kind of junk that stays with you that represents something from your past. Sometimes we can carry something with us as a hurt, or a painful memory that just keeps us from being free. Maybe your parents got divorced when you were little. Maybe you don’t know your dad. Maybe your spouse died when you really needed him. Maybe you have been in a negative relationship, or you’ve been through negativity in relationship. Maybe you got embarrassed somewhere in your life, and now don’t want to every try something in public again. Junk in the trunk can be anything. I want you to know that we can get rid of that junk. We can let it go and when we do, the painful part of it can be removed from our heart. It doesn’t have to hang on to you anymore. Jesus wants you to be free from anything that holds you back for moving forward. So you can make the choice today. Ask Him to help you release those hurtful, embarrassing, or damaging things from your past, and then begin thanking Him that He has set you free. You can live with a clean slate…….no more junk in the trunk!

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You probably remember this song from preschool. Oh be careful little ears what you hear,…… It goes on to say, oh be careful little eyes what you see, for the Father up above is looking down in love, oh be careful little eyes what you see. It is very important if we want to remain pure and undefiled to guard our eyes and our ears. What goes in is what comes out. It is truly easy to see that in operation with kids. They do what they have seen others do. If parents are “cussers”, or are know to swear, even if you tell them not to cuss, they probably will. If you fill your eyes with impure images, that is what will be rolling around in your head all the time. So how can you guard your eyes and your ears? Wear eye guards and ear plugs! You watch what goes in them! Listen to things that are edifying. Watch things that are educational or entertaining without images that defile. Determine your boundaries, and make sure family members know them. Keep cable channels safe and secure by not allowing contaminated programming into your home. Put safeguards on your computer so that kids don’t see or go to places they shouldn’t. Make your home secure, not just with lock on the doors, but with safeguards that guard your families life from being defiled by the world. It is worth every ounce of effort it takes to accomplish, because we want to be careful what little eyes and ears, see and hear. Most of all, live it in front of them. Let them follow you, like you follow Christ!

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We hear a lot about things that are contaminated. In the recent past there have been unusual things that were recalled for contamination…. spinach was one and tomatoes was another. What is the opposite of contaminated? It is purity. 2 Cor 7:1 tells us since we have all of these wonderful promises let us stay pure, uncontaminated from the world, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. When ever I am in the Idaho mountains, it is such a pleasure to look into a stream, or even a lake and see beautiful pristine water. Not every place on earth has pristine water. Once while in the Philippines, we walked around the bay in Manila, and the trash, and contamination of the water made it not only ugly, but dangerous to people and wildlife. What was the difference between the Idaho lake and the bay in Manila? Someone cared to keep things nice in Idaho, and in the Philippines, people thoughtlessly threw their garbage anywhere, and it was carried out to sea. Part of it could be economic, population size and education, but most of it boiled down to taking care of God’s creation. We are to do the same thing with our bodies. We are not to be contaminated by the world’s system, and are to be distinctly different than what everyone else does. Our standard is God’s Word, and we must hold the standard high. Let’s stay uncontaminated from the world, and be perfected in holiness. It’s a great standard to uphold.

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Recently we’ve been talking about fitness, spiritual and physical. How fit is your family? How fit are your finances? How fit is your marriage? Those are hard questions. One thing I have noticed about fitness is that it is much easier to do with a partner. When you’re talking spiritual fitness, we always have God, but it is a great idea to be involved in a Bible Study where you can rub shoulders with other people and really have great discussions that will help you grow. When it comes to your family, moms and dads have great influence. If you get up off the couch and play soccer, the kids will follow you! If the kids are begging you to come and play with them, go for it. Get your family fit by them following your example. How fit are your finances? The marriage question is next because finances are #1 when it comes to the breakdown of marriage. Is your spending out of control? Do you have any idea how in debt you are? Do you communicate with your spouse about your finances? Is it constantly a battle ground area? Do you communicate well in all the other areas, and have figured out that resolving conflict is very important if we want to live in harmony. When we want to get fit, we need to look past just the physical, and really get in shape in all areas. What happens when you neglect a plant, it will shrivel up and die. You don’t want that for your marriage or your family or your body. It takes work, but for generations to come, your family, your marriage, and even your body are worth the effort it takes for them to become fit. Just do it!

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Do you have a clutter problem at your house? You don’t have to answer that, most people are collectors of some kind, and clutter is a problem in a great percentage of homes! Clutter isn’t very encouraging. In fact, when I see clutter at my house, I just get discouraged! Clutter means stuff, and most of us have way more stuff than we need, or our houses can even hold. With lots of kids, we have 5, and lots of activities, sports, animals, etc, we definitely have stuff. Stuff is ok. In fact, you’ve probably heard this, it’s ok to have things, just don’t let things have you. When clutter is taking over your life, things have you. You might have a hoarding problem, which makes it appear like you don’t think God is trustworthy to meet your needs in the future, or you may be lazy, or tired, or overworked, of a mixture of all of the above. “My clutter is useful!” I’ve heard people say that, and I have said it before. My husband and I read lots of books, and as a writer, I keep most of what I read, for further study, or for research. As a writer, paper is a problem. For years, I wrote everything long hand, and I have boxes and boxes and many wordless books filled with my words that I hate to toss because I have some really good things written…..parts of books, Bible Studies I’ve done, newsletters I’ve written etc. This is my year to get it all put on the computer….pray for me! That is my clutter problem. If it is time to declutter at your house, think about this, each day, find 20 things that clutter your space and either put away, give away, or throw away those items. Before long, you’ll be having less clutter, and that means success! Now that’s encouraging.

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