Encouraging Word

John 13:35 is such a powerful scripture. It says the world will know we are Jesus’ disciples by the love we have for one another. Amazing how often the opposite is true. Christians churches don’t like each other because they believe differently. Or they preach against another doctrine because they interpret scripture in another way. Or someone else doesn’t have as much revelation as they have. What a shame that the world has to see that. We are to be supportive and encouraging of one another. I love how every time we do communion at AGF we talk about discerning the body of Christ. That is not only the physical body of Christ that was bloodied, broken and bruised so that we could have a relationship with God, but also sensitive to the body of Christ worldwide. We have brothers and sisters in Christ, not only around the world, but across town from us. As believers in Jesus, who have given our heart and life to Christ, and have chosen to follow Him all the days of our life, we have to realize that heaven is big enough for all of us. God’s arms are opened wide. The prerequisite of heaven is to be born again. You can get to heaven sick, you can get to heaven without speaking in tongues, you can get to heaven poor, but you can’t get to heaven without Jesus. So let’s concentrate of the majors! Christians are on the same team, fighting the same enemy, and the enemy is the devil, not another church! Let’s let the world see love in us!

Family is important. I have a sign in my home that says, Families are Forever, No Matter What. Families should be tight. We should learn to get along, and to show the love of God most at home. If we look at the bond between God the Father, Jesus the Son, and The Holy Spirit, we can see perfect unity. We could never imagine the Holy Spirit getting mad at Jesus or vise versa. It should be that way in our families too.

Take a moment and look outside your family. Is there someone who has had a special relationship with you other than your immediate family? What are some of the qualities you value in that person? What have you learned about friendship from that person? Can you see the love of God through that person? So often, God places people in our lives to encourage us, to help us grow, and to become more like Jesus. Sometimes they are for a season, and sometimes they are for a lifetime. It is easy to take those relationships for granted. We should value and cherish those who build in our lives. We can be that kind of friend to someone else. That is one important reason why TeamLife groups can be such a blessing in your life.

I heard a speaker once begin their sermon like this: I’m so excited about what the Lord is going to do today in you. There was a humility that we can emulate. How can I be a friend to someone who needs something from God. We can take that stance; I am so excited about what the Lord is going to do in my friend today. Very often you might be the avenue God’s blessings come through.

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 loving selflessly 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 might be currently in contact with. With Facebook, Instagram 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. We can find and make those deeper connections. 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 learn to love those who God places in our world.

Jesus used simple acts of love in his everyday life. He just happened to rock Zachaeus’ 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 person’s 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. Thank God for that person or people. Now God wants you to do the same for someone else. That is relationship with purpose!

Relationships start with loving one another. All the one another’s in the Bible
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. 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 discover just how transforming a life lived out of loving one another 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 to unfold. 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.

Intro:
Each Fall Semester, our church body regroups for the school year with our small groups to build relationships. Our TeamLife groups start up again next week, and I hope you will join in. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. Life is nothing without relationships. I hope to give you practical examples of how to apply the principles of building relationships as a way to live your best life. Let’s learn together how to be the church, and to not just attend church. Here is your dailyeword.

Wouldn’t you love to capture Jesus’ heart for life-giving relationships? This week 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. We want to builds doors, not walls in our relationships. 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.

The Bible is clear that in our relationships we are called to:

Love one another (John 13:34)

Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32)

Accept one another (Romans 15:7)

Bear with one another (Ephesians 4:2)

Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10)

Honor one another above ourselves (Romans 12:10)

Greet one another (2 Corinthians 13:12)

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

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

Share with one another (Hebrews 13:16)

Serve one another (Galatians 5:13)

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

Build up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:13)

Comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18)

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

Instruct one another (Romans 15:14)

Admonish one another (Colossians 3:16)

Pray for one another (James 5:16)

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

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

Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21)

It’s a long exciting list! Let’s be all about loving one another, and build some great relationships!

One thing I’ve noticed about human nature is that we get committed to something when it directly affects us. For example, when sickness attacks our body, we begin reading healing scriptures. When we have a financial shortage, we read get serious about tithing and reading the Word about finances. If we really want to be Spirit led believers, we should spend time, attention and energy on the importance of understanding the operation of the Spirit of God. We want to be attentive listeners. God wants us to check our heart, and then let Him flow through us.

If we seriously want to live the abundant life, it takes discipline and diligence.
It takes reprioritizing our life.
It takes simplifying our life.
It takes saying no to the good, so you can say yes to the best. What is most important? If we want to be Mary’s who choose what is right and most important, even when we have a list of 100 things that we thing really matter, we have to say no to some things that really don’t matter.
Living above natural human existence,
living in the presence of God,
living a life that is led by the spirit of God, is really living.
What could be better than that? That is living your best life.

One thing that you kids do naturally that us older people can learn from you is to enjoy even the small things. There is so much that we have seen and done that we can kind of yawn instead of jump for joy and be glad! But we need you to re-teach us this lesson. Life is wonderful! Jesus came to give us life to the full, overflowing and abundantly. Even with bumps along the way, life can be a wonderful, beautiful ride. That doesn’t erase the fact that bad things can happen to good people, because we do live in a fallen world, and our earth has a curse. We need to remember that we are richly blessed – just even by where we live. We have so many opportunities that many people around the world never get to experience. Probably all of you had 3 meals plus snacks yesterday – that’s something to be glad about. We probably had a soft bed to sleep on, computer access to all that we desire to be connected to, and someone to love you. Those are great things to be thankful for. So instead of thinking about all the things you don’t have, or wish you could have, being content is saying, I’m thankful for the place I am in right now. That’s a great place to be! Keep getting excited about little things, and always be content in the joy of the moment. Maybe we as adults will catch on! I encourage you – to enjoy your wonderful life!

We live in a world where things are changing all the time. Not only do seasons change, people do, visions change, and desires change, the economy changes too. If you listen to the news, or read the newspaper, you’ve heard the worst. Our world is in turmoil. Many people are frightened and discouraged. My husband always jokes that CNN stands for constant negative news. We are hearing a lot of it! But guess what? In the midst of constant negative news, we still have Good News. It is the gospel. When everyone else is saying the worst is yet to come, I’m going to be saying the opposite. I believe God’s Word. He has a plan for us that has a future and a hope written into it. I believe that hope is not just an emotion, it is a discipline. To live in hope, we have to discipline ourselves to receive the truth of the Word of God as superior to the news on TV or the internet that comes from the world. The Good News of the Word, trumps the bad news of the world! We can be smart, use our money wisely, make good decisions and we can come out on top. I have never seen the righteous forsaken or His seed out begging for bread as it says in Psalms. God is still our provider. He is Jehovah Jireh. He is the God that is more than enough. He has given us all that we need that pertains to life and godliness, so we can rejoice. Let’s confidently know that God will always meet our needs, according to His riches in Christ Jesus.