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Jesus identified the nature of the relationship that God has always wanted with us. We are not just servants of God, but friends, as it says in John 15:15. Jesus was a builder of relationships. He centered on God’s love, and served others sacrificially. He was the most selfless man that has ever walked on planet earth. Jesus became friends with Zaccheaeus, James, John, Peter, Mary, Martha, Lazarus, the woman at the well, and countless others. He engaged with them, built relationship with them, and centered his relationships on God’s love. He served others with no thought for Himself. He was the best example of one anothering ever! All his disciples had to do was to imitate Jesus and their actions would be in line with the Word, because Jesus, the Living Word, showed them how to live. They watched how He treated others. When we become others focused, the world will be amazed, and it has the power to transform others just by being around us. Let’s put some of the love that is on the inside of us into action, and be authentic in our relationships, as we act like Jesus. Transformation can happen in us first, and then transform people around us as we demonstrate the love of God. What a wonderful cycle will begin, and before long, our world will be turned right side up!

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.

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!

In this new series about keeping it real, 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 often 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.

Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. 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, this is the real deal, this is real life, let’s Keep it Real

Wouldn’t you love to capture Jesus’ heart for life-giving relationships? In the coming weeks we will investigate questions such 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 in this keeping it real series:

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!

I love the verse that tells us to study to show ourselves approved unto God, like a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Most people as soon as they are done with school put study behind them forever. As Christians we are going to be life long learners and life long “studiers” of God’s Word. There is so much meat for us to digest, that truly in a lifetime, we can’t exhaust all the riches to be found in the Word of God. Each day as we read and study the Word of God, we are on a treasure hunt. What new “golden nugget” will we find today? What question in your life will be answered by taking time to read and study the Word of God? What preparation is taking place so that you can overcome any fiery dart the enemy may throw your way? What great foundation is being built so that when the storms of life hit, you will stand strong, and not be blown out of the water.

Make an appointment every day, put it in your schedule, just like you do any other important thing in your life. If you have a daily plan, you give yourself permission to take time to do something for yourself that is important. Probably most of you take time to exercise several times a week. (If you don’t you should!!!) Probably most of you go to church every Sunday to spend time worshipping God. (If you don’t you should!) Probably most of you take time to get to the grocery store to buy good healthy fresh fruits and vegetables at least once a week. (If you don’t, you should!!!) So why not make it a priority to eat some living bread, and drink some living water that will not only build your spirit, but give you wisdom and strength for your life. That sounds like something that is too good to pass up!

So make this commitment today. From this day forward, I will not only feed my body, I will feed my spirit. I will make sure that I nourish the most important part of me. My body is temporary, but my spirit is eternal. I will give God’s Word top priority in my life.

Do you know that starting a positive habit in your life has great advantages for the long term? There are lots of things that you can do in the natural realm that help you live healthy, just by developing a positive habit. How about the habit of getting exercise daily, instead of being a couch potato, or eating fruits and vegetables, instead of eating twinkies and drinking Dr. Pepper, or exercising your mind by reading or playing games, instead of watching TV or playing computer games all day. One awesome habit to begin is to read your Bible everyday. What is so great about God’s Word is that it is jam packed full of wisdom, and it is full of life! The Bible tells us when given the choice between life and death, to choose life! So one way to do that is to read the Bible! It is great to have a reading plan, and be systematic, but actually, just getting the Word of God in your life any way possible will have tremendous benefits. The Word of God is a light to your path. It is wisdom for your life. It has the power to change your behavior. It gives you courage to face your fears. The list could go on and on. So, why not read a chapter from the New Testament and a Psalm and a Proverb everyday. It will take you less than15 minutes, and you will gain more than you can realize. When you digest God’s Word, and make it a priority in your life, not only will you be empowered to succeed in the plan God has for you, but, you will have mastery over the areas in your life that could have led you down a wrong path. So what kind of habit can you begin that will bless you for your whole life? Start reading the Bible everyday. Why not try it!

The Bible: God’s instruction Book….read it, follow it, live it! You’ve probably all heard the song that says the word Bible is an acronym for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I’m not sure who came up with that, but I think it is great. The time that having the Word of God planted deeply in your heart benefits us the most is on this side of heaven. When we reach glory, we will be in the presence of the Word made Flesh – Jesus himself. So the Bible really is our manual for “doing life” on this planet. And truly the Word of God isn’t really complicated. The basics are pretty simple. When we love God with all of our heart, soul and might, and love our neighbor as ourselves we have summed up the whole book. Loving God is the easy part, sometimes we make the next part complicated. When we can love ourselves like God loves us, we can love others. When we take time to study the Word of God, we can learn the value God places on us, and begin to value and cherish what He has put on the inside of us. When we have love to give, everyone around us benefits. A great word study to do is to look up all of the scriptures on love. Study to find out how you can love more completely, and how love is supposed to act. You could probably take a year on that one word alone. We can get creative doing the Word. James 1:22 in the Greek means this: Put your heart and soul into finding ways to act on what you have heard. The NKJV says it this way, be a doer of the Word. The best way to do something is to know about it, to have read up on it, and to study it. So study away! To be an effective doer, get the Word of God planted deeply in your heart!

It says in Col 3:16, for us to make God’s Word feel at home in your heart. Are you comfortable with it, and know it inside and out? In real estate, the mantra is location, location, location. I want to encourage you to find your perfect location in the middle of the Word! We can find our home and live and abide in the promises of God which are all wrapped up in His Word. On a daily basis we can have the freshly spoken word of God – the “rhema” become manifest in our lives as we read and study the building blocks or logos or foundational princples of God’s Word. Everything we do should be measured against the standard of the Word of God. Whenever we wonder about anything, we should find out what God’s Word has to say about it. When something comes out of our mouth, we need to make sure it lines up with God’s Word. A great question to keep in mind is …..where did you find that in the Word? So much of the time, we hear something repeated and because it sounds good, we take it for truth. But the enemy really finds joy in deceiving believers. The way to avoid deception is to be aware when God’s Word is being twisted or taken out of context, because you have knowledge of the context. When the Word of God is hidden in your heart, you won’t be easily deceived. The Bible tells us to pay attention to my word. All through the book of Proverbs, continually there is the admonition to pay attention to God’s Word. I want to encourage you the same way! Pay attention to the Word, plant the seed of God’s Word in your heart, and you will reap the harvest. Start planting today!

Yesterday we talked about the value of having the word of God hidden in our heart so that we can stand firm against any attack of the enemy, our adversary the devil. The Bible tells us to stand firm and be inflexible in Heb 10:23. We are to hold fast, tightly, rejecting all attempts of anyone who tries to steal it from us, not fickle in our commitment, but determined to be inflexible and unmoving in what we believe and confess as it says in another version of the Bible. Most of the time, it is good to be flexible. Certainly your muscles and joints feel better when we stretch them and are flexible. Dealing with people, we just can’t be pushy and inflexible when it comes to opinions and preferences. If you’re married you’ve certainly learned that being flexible enough to compromise is a good thing. Each opinion is important, and for peace in the home, we have to be flexible. But when it comes to the Word of God, there should be no wavering. We stand firm! We will not be shaken! A huge key in having the ability to do that comes from reading, studying and meditating on God’s Word! Taking the time before an attack comes is so much easier than trying to read the manual during the battle. Advance preparation is key. So today remember this, we do have weapons to fight with, but they are not carnal. They are powerful, because they are our tools provided by our Father God to overcome in this life. The weapon is the Word of God. Read it, study it, be prepared to use it!