A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

Galatians 5:22-23

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34

I continue preparation to host and lead worship services at the Gardens and the Lodge this Sunday 22SEP on behalf of my church - using the RayFowler.Org Fruit of the Spirit Sermon series, and for this upcoming Sunday, the focus is the Fruit of Love.  The sermon follows the following broad themes and this morning my focus theme #3.

1. Love and God
2. Love comes first
3. Growing in love

In introducing theme #3, the sermon shares how the Bible provides a number of ways to grow in love, including:

A.  Meditate much on God’s love for you in Christ: Referring us to John 13:34 and 1 John 3:16, the sermon shares that as we realize how much God loves us we "can’t help but change [our] attitude towards others."  We should know God and as we get to know Him, all of His attributes, with love being the most important, we inevitably grow in our love for God and others.

B.  Choose to forgive others when they wrong you: Referring us to Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13-14, the sermon shares that we are to forgive, recognizing that this is sometimes difficult.  We are reminded that love is not a feeling but a commandment: "[i]t is a commitment. It is a choice. When you choose to forgive someone, you are choosing God’s way of love. You still may not feel like forgiving, but that’s okay. Sometimes you just need to make the right choice first and let your feelings catch up with you later. So, that’s a second way you can grow in love. You are never more like Jesus than when you are forgiving someone who has wronged you."

C.  Seek to honor other people above yourself:  We are referred to Romans 12:10 and Philippians 2:3-4.

D.  Ask God to develop the fruit of his love in your life: Referring us to Luke 11:9, 13 and James 4:2, the sermon shares that "[o]f course, we can’t do any of this without God’s help. Remember what we learned last week: the fruit of the Spirit is something God does rather than you do. So finally, ask God to develop the fruit of his love in your life."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are love, love comes from You, and You never stop loving us - despite our sin.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love nor my salvation.  My sin continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Jude

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Jude 1b-2

I proceed with my study of Jude using the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series volume for this book.  Today, my study consists of a commentary-assisted review of Jude 1-2.  Per the commentary:

Main idea: "Because of the mercy, peace, and love of God shown through Jesus Christ, Christians can rejoice in their status as the Lord’s servants."

Excerpts from the introduction (for the entirety of the book):

• Jude writes "a word of encouragement about “the salvation we share,” [and] is redirected by the Holy Spirit to bring a word of warning, calling all believers “to contend for the faith”".
• "[Jude] will expose the false teachers for who they are, and he will prescribe a plan of attack that allows us to take the fight to these spiritual terrorists. However, he lays the foundation for the battle both at the beginning and at the end of the letter with a word about our security: we are safe in Christ (vv. 1,24)."
  

Divisions for Jude 1-2:

1. Know Who You Are in Christ (1): Jude, like many from Jesus' family, did not believe in Him during Jesus' earthly ministry years; however, the "resurrection changed everything" for Jude. In v1 Jude describes himself first as a "servant of Jesus Christ." We are referred to 1 Corinthians 6:20 where believers are "bought with a price." We are owned and belong to Christ. Also in v1 we are called, and "[h]ere the word means the effectual calling of God that opens the heart to freely respond to the gospel.  In Scripture there are two types of calling. There is a general call (see Matthew 11:28-30), and there is an effectual call (see Romans 8:30).  There is a mysterious wonder in this truth that the sovereign God effectually brings persons to salvation in perfect harmony with their freewill response to the gospel...This is the only place in the Bible where this phrase “loved by God the Father” appears. There is a sense in which God loves all persons indiscriminately as his creatures (John 3:16), but there is also a sense in which God especially loves his children. It is comparable to the difference between the love I have for my friends and that which I have for my wife and sons....Kept: by his work on earth, Jesus obtained my salvation. By his work in heaven, Jesus maintains my salvation. God is preserving fallen angels and apostates for judgment (vv. 6,13). God is preserving you and me for glory!"
   
2. Know What You Have from Christ (2): "[Mercy] is a characteristic of God that moves him to seek a relationship with persons who have no right to be in relationship with him. The word speaks of compassion, loving kindness. It is gracious, undeserved, and unmerited; yet it is not blind, dumb, or ignorant. It is something in God that moves him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves and we do not deserve....God saw us beaten by Satan and left for dead by sin; and he went into action and sent his Son, binding our wounds, healing our souls, and making us his own!...God is the Lord of peace. Jesus is the Mediator of peace. We are the heirs of peace....Jude prays that his readers would see...love from God as ever real and ever increasing toward them....In John 17:23 we are told, amazingly, that as the Father has loved the Son so he has also loved us. In Romans 8:31-39 we are informed that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. And in 1 Corinthians 13:8 Paul reminds us that because love is at the center of who our God is, it will never fail, never end! Jude knows the power of this love, and he wants his readers to know it as well....Because we are his, we have internal security in our hearts, external security in the world, and eternal security in heaven."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who showers me with mercy, peace, and love - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me and help me overcome and turn from such sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

 2 Thessalonians 2

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5

I continue my pause on my study of 1 Corinthians as I participate in a men's discipleship group (d-group) at my church.  Today, my focus is 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 and I lean on DesiringGod.com's Look at the Book (aka Lab) Part 1 for this text.  Here, Piper focuses on v13 and while six other labs focus on the remaining verses of the text.  As unpacked in the lab, Paul shares why he is thankful for the Thessalonians: 

• they are loved by Lord; while God holds out in "many and various ways" salvation for all people, He uniquely loves those are believers, the elect (not of own choosing or doing), whom He makes alive in Christ with this unique "choosing or saving love", also described by Paul as great love; see Ephesians 2:4-6 
• they are chosen by Lord; 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6 (salvation not of own doing)
• they were chosen before creation (or from the beginning as some translations use, which is consistent with scripture elsewhere) - use of from the beginning vs first fruits de-emphasizes how the Thessalonians were the first converts by Paul which is not true, the Philippians were; see also Ephesians 1:3-6, 2 Timothy 1:9
• they are for salvation; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 

Piper concludes the lab by sharing that Paul seeks for us (believers) to deeply understand how we are uniquely loved by God - unlike everyone else.  Piper refers us to 2 Thessalonians 3:5 - where Paul prays that God direct our hearts to the love of God - this unique and great love and to find rest, joy, confidence, courage, peace, etc. in love of God.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of compassion and grace for me - loving me beyond human comprehension.  Thank You Jesus for Your love for me.  I am not deserving of such great love!  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please help me turn from and overcome such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.