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In our worship time yesterday, we read about Jacob and his dream of angels moving up and down a ladder, a stairway that connected earth to heaven. The Lord was at the top, and He affirmed His covenant to bring blessing and increase to Abraham’s lineage. Jacob was running away from the mess he had made in the past involving his relationship with his father, Isaac, and his brother, Esau. He betrayed and dishonored his father, and he stole Esau’s birthright and blessing. He could not wait for God to bring the promises; he had to try to gain them in the power of his flesh.

In today’s passage, Jacob is returning to his homeland. It is years later, and Jacob is not the same man. However, he is worried about the upcoming encounter with his brother, Esau. Jacob tries to give his concerns to God and asks for deliverance. Yet, the very next morning, instead of trusting God and stepping up in faith, Jacob comes up with a plan to buy his brother’s favor. Jacob tried, but he still struggles to trust God.

We can all find ourselves trusting God fully in one area of life and trying to fix things without God in others. So, will you trust God with your life today? Start by acknowledging God’s presence, putting your faith in God’s Word of promise, praying, and waiting patiently.

Genesis 32:3-21 NLT Jacob Sends Gifts to Esau
3 Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom. 4 He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban, 5 and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’”

6 After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!” 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups. 8 He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.”

9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ 10 I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! 11 O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. 12 But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”

13 Jacob stayed where he was for the night. Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau: 14 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 15 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. 16 He divided these animals into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of me with the animals, but keep some distance between the herds.”

17 He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau, meets you, he will ask, ‘Whose servants are you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’ 18 You must reply, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, but they are a gift for his master Esau. Look, he is coming right behind us.’”

19 Jacob gave the same instructions to the second and third herdsmen and to all who followed behind the herds: “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’”
Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.” 21 So the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp.

Prayer: Lord, the worries and cares of this world are always there to take us captive. Today, we give You our hearts and our trust; we need Your abiding presence with us. Please bring forth that which is good for each one of us. We rest and wait patiently in Your promise and blessing. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I was reading something yesterday morning about quiet time and it hit home in my thinking. I spend a lot of time reading, praying, searching for nuggets of Truth to apply to my life, so I can serve God and others. I am fully aware Scripture is alive and it was given to help us navigate life in a fallen world. Yet, although I spend quiet time in this quest for important helps, I don’t always press beyond that which is good to reach for what is actually essential.

Many core doctrines we practice and hand down to others are really good and important. Things like Bible reading and interpretation, prayer, worship gathering, communion, etc., are all extremely important to our growth and development. They are beneficial to give our lives meaning and direction. Yet, there is something even more essential and we see it in our passage today.

Paul lived his life with a zeal for traditions, but that alone did not position him in a righteous place with God. Oh, he knew all about the God of the Old Testament and how the Lord interacted with people living by faith in God, as well as people dominated by the world’s system. After Paul met the Lord on the road to Damascus, his whole reality was altered. He realized how far he had wandered away from God’s plan…

When Jesus revealed himself to Saul on that road, it became clear Jesus was alive and Saul was spiritually dead! Jesus renamed him Paul when he embraced life from above. Paul began to compared his existing thinking and living to the revelation he had suddenly received from Christ and the miracle of love offered to humanity by the covenant of grace.

From the moment his eyes were open to the Truth, Paul’s zeal suddenly changed and he started immediately preaching the Good News of salvation by grace through faith. However, something usual happened after a short while; God then lead Paul to push away for a time of reflection and he traveled to Arabia—a place of deserts AND oil. God began to show Paul what was truly essential.

Paul needed to deeply understand his identity and the world’s depravity into which he had been born and was living. Paul had to acknowledge he was spiritually malnourished apart from Christ. Lastly, he needed a sustaining supply of the oil of the Spirit. Only the Spirit could connect, convict, correct, and counsel him in the mission essential—recognizing how lost and desperate humanity is without Christ.

If we actually see ourselves clearly and we know the measure of grace we have received from Christ, we will cling to these essentials. God wants to grow us, shape us, and save the world through us. Reach for the Truth and share what is essential with someone, today.
Galatians 1:11-24 NLT Paul’s Message Comes from Christ
11 Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

13 You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. 14 I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.

15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.

When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. 17 Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.

18 Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.

21 After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And still the churches in Christ that are in Judea didn’t know me personally. 23 All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” 24 And they praised God because of me.

Prayer: Lord, help us be still, push away from the noise of life, and sit in our own Arabia, see and experience the desert, and then listen to you and your heart for what we are to accomplish in the Spirit. We often say, “I sure would like to know what God’s has planned for me.” Believers should already know the answer is to lead others to the Truth. Of course, we all have mounting daily responsibilities to which to attend, Lord, but there is time to fulfill the essentials of sharing your love and Word with others who are lost in their understanding of what you actually died to fulfill through us. We cannot just tack on traditions and practices to our lives and call it holy. We must become so hungry for you we are not satisfied unless we are speaking and living in the Truth and sharing it with others. You give fresh manna, Lord, and so we must eat and live. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In our previous two devotions this week, we have focused on the freedom we have in our motives, attitudes, words, and actions. We should be so grateful to the Spirit for helping us in those areas, because Scripture reminds us God counts our careless words (Mat 12:36). Words are not empty, they carry a message. Words are powerful and can be our salvation; yet, words can also be our destruction, because we reap what we sow. Did you ever think about the fact that God measures our words?

In our passage today, we dive into a psalm written by David. He is struggling with how to respond to the words of criticism he is receiving from others. Now, we cannot control what others do with their words; however, we can choose how we are going to respond to them. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so when someone is mean with their mouths, it is an indication of what is living in their hearts (Luke 6:45). Truth comes from godly character. Lies and condemnation come from people with an ungodly character. So, think about how you talk to others.

That being said, it is also important to be able to take constructive criticism. Our flesh wants to take on a defensive posture when we receive criticism. So, we must pray and ask God to give us wisdom and humility in order to listen carefully, because every human being has blind spots. The Spirit will lead us to the Truth, as well as teach us more about our hearts, motives, and how to use our words. If there is merit in the criticism, then we must receive the correction, be respectful, and express gratitude. God uses his people to sharpen one another in the Truth, so we must be prepared for this time of guidance and constructive criticism (Pro 27:17).

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb 4:12). Because God desires to be Lord of our Words, we need to ask the Spirit to help us keep our words beneficial to the glory of God, be truth for our hearts, and a blessing to others. Before we speak, let’s remember God measures our words.

Psalm 141: 1-5 NLT A psalm of David.
1 
O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry!
    Listen when I cry to you for help!
2 
Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,
    and my upraised hands as an evening offering.
3 
Take control of what I say, O Lord,
    and guard my lips.
4 
Don’t let me drift toward evil
    or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
    of those who do wrong.
5 
Let the godly strike me!
    It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.
    Don’t let me refuse it.

Prayer: Lord, please take control of our words and put a watch over what leaves our lips. Help us choose our words carefully, as well as be willing to listen to the constructive words of others. Use all of it for your purposes and for your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sometimes it may feel like we are walking on eggshells with other folks; trying hard not to provoke or trigger an undesirable reaction.  Remember, as long as we live in this fallen world, we will not be exempt from dealing with people who think their opinions are to be the measurement of how others should interact or live their lives.  When everything belongs to the Lord and the work of the Spirit is to guide believers into the Truth, we do not need to walk on eggshells.  Obeying God is our way of living, so isn’t it likely that we will disagree with other people at times?

Our goal, as believers, is to glorify God with every aspect of our lives. This goal comes with a big responsibility. Therefore, we do not want to lead others astray by our choices, nor do we try to provoke an argument about Christianity; we are recognized as belonging to Christ by our love.  Let’s remember every human being in Christ has been set free; no more condemnation for those who live in Christ (John 8:36; Luke 4:18-19; Ro 8:1-4).  Grace [God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense] is abundant and the Spirit is all-powerful; so, in order to bring glory to God we need to obediently bow to our Christ and his example. Period.  Yet, there is that matter of sensitivity to the Spirit.

In our passage today, the Apostle Paul has been teaching the church in Corinth about idolatry and the form it was taking in early Christianity.  Idolatry [worship of something false—other than God] filled pagan religions and people were worried about inadvertently doing something sinful like buying and eating meat that had been offered to pagan idols. Therefore, Paul reminds Christ’s followers about the importance of their motives.  If something has not been forbidden in Scripture, there is liberty.  The Spirit has no problem convicting believers when he or she are doing something that does not glorify God.

The same is true for us today. However, when in doubt we must be humble and sensitive to the people around us.  Some believers have strong convictions about certain things.  Maybe we share those conviction and maybe we do not.  What does love look like in those moments?

God calls us to live in agape, so we must think about how our actions affect others. We need to remember these few things about our freedom in Christ to help us make good choices.

1. Jesus would never give us the freedom to harm others with our words or actions.
2. Living in fear of displeasing another person is not Christ’s example of freedom.
3. Gaining the approval of everyone at the cost of our own convictions is not freedom. 

When our motive is to serve Christ and others, we will have the right attitude that glorifies God.

1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1 NLT

23 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. 24 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

25 So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”[Ps. 24:1]

27 If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience. 28 (But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. 29 It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? 30 If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?

31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. 33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.

11 

1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for helping us to remain strong and faithful to the conviction of the Spirit.  We do not need to fear the response of others.  Instead, we need to choose to glorify you and reach for grace.  We want to live well and help others to enjoy your abundant grace, too.  We are filled with gratitude, Lord, for all you have done to lead us into righteous freedom.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

As I prepared for today’s devotion there were three pieces of scripture that were available through the lectionary, Psalm 115, Judges 5:1-11, and 1 Corinthians 14:26-40. I have written about several of the Hallel Psalms, which means praise in Hebrew, and Psalm 115 is a part of those psalms. I have also written several times about Deborah, who was one of the great Old Testament prophetess and judges of Israel, and The Song of Deborah is found in Judges 5:1-11. Both of these pieces of scripture would have been a quick devotion for me to write. However, as I read 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, I realized that I have never written a devotion on this piece of scripture before, or on 1 Timothy 3:1-13, where Paul addresses women in ministry and leadership. In the past I shied away from these two passages and allowed the enemy to really mess with my mind. I thought that Paul’s message to these two churches were misogynistic, but I realize now that my lack of Biblical hermeneutics (the interpretation of Biblical texts) is what the enemy used to make me feel less as a woman, and he tries to do that with all of us.

During yesterday’s sermon, Pastor Mary said, “through our salvation, we are called to serve and love other people so that we can grow God’s Kingdom.” Friends, that call requires us to be true and authentic worshipers of Jesus Christ as each one of us come together as One Body and uses our spiritual gifts together.

I do want to address the context of verses 34 and 35 and at the bottom of this devotion I provided the references I used. There are various views that exist about these verses, but many traditionally held that women should not speak in public in mixed-gender company. Paul asked the women of the church in Corinth to stop interrupting the time of teaching during the church service, until they at least knew more, otherwise it was disruptive. The Biblical law does not include specific text that instructs silence or submission of women, Paul could be referring to the fact that informed listeners customarily asked questions and women were far less often trained in the Scriptures then men were at that time. In general, women received a given level of education that was only 10% as often as men of the same social class, while disciples of rabbis were always men, and although Jewish women could hear the Torah teachings in the synagogue, girls were not taught to recite it like the boys were required to do. Paul does not want these women to not learn, rather he tells them to learn in private instruction from their husbands, who were most likely educated, which was truly progressive for his day. Paul loved and honored women disciples of Jesus.

Jesus’ respect for women, and for all of His Creation, is that of dignity, worth, and true value. He includes everyone who wants to be His followers, to come and be His disciples and proclaim His life and message of love to the entire world. Our worth and value is found in Jesus. He is only One Who writes our story, and He uses each of our stories to connectively intersect with Him and with one another so that we can grow His Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 14:26-40 (NLT)

A Call to Orderly Worship

26 Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.

27 No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say. 28 But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately.

29 Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said. 30 But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop. 31 In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. 32 Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.[h]

34 Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says. 35 If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.[i]

36 Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given? 37 If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself. 38 But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized.[j]

39 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for creating each one of us to be unique, treasured, and truly valued within Your Kingdom. Holy Spirit, continue to guide us with Your wisdom so that we are growing closer to You and firmer within Your Truth so that we can share Your love the way You created us to share it with others. In Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

References

Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2012. (Original work
published 1996).

Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. 2014.
<https://seu.on.worldcat.org/oclc/870994624>

Still, Todd D. Jesus and Paul on Women: Incomparable or Compatible? 2013.
< https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/jesus-and-paul-women-incomparable-or-compatible/#:~:text=It%20likely%20comes%20as%20little,this%20trajectory%20that%20we%20trace.&text=%E2%80%9CTherefore%2C%20if%20anyone%20is%20in,3:27%E2%80%9328>

Today’s devotion is a prayerful meditation and celebration. Psalms 113 – 118 are known as “The Egyptian Hallel”. Hallel, in Hebrew means praise, and we see Praise the Lord frequently throughout these Psalms. This is a portion of a service for certain Jewish festivals. It’s often a special prayer said/sung on Jewish holidays to give thanks and praise to God. Psalm 113 is typically connected with the Passover meal and other Jewish festivals as a reflection upon God’s redemption of His people, the Israelites, as the commemoration of their Exodus from slavery in Egypt.

I often say that when we read about Israel within the Biblical text that we should remember that we are directly connected as one. What I am saying is explained by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:17-24, as the Gentiles are grafted into the olive tree, a place of blessing under the Abrahamic covenant, “sharing” in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special tree (Jesus) alongside of our Jewish brothers and sisters. We are all God’s people. We are all offered the same redemption found only in Christ Jesus. Thus, we should all celebrate that gift of pure love every second of every single day.

Friends, we are free from the slavery of sin, and today’s Psalm didn’t only apply to the freedom of the Israelites in the Old Testament, or to the freedom the disciples found in the New Testament during The Last Supper, when both Matthew and Mark recount within their Gospels that after The Supper “then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives” (Matt 26:30 & Mark 14:26), it also applies to every person who calls on the Name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior for all eternity.

Psalm 113

1 Praise the Lord!

Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
now and forever.
3 Everywhere—from east to west—
praise the name of the Lord.
4 For the Lord is high above the nations;
his glory is higher than the heavens.

5 Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
who is enthroned on high?
6 He stoops to look down
on heaven and on earth.
7 He lifts the poor from the dust
and the needy from the garbage dump.
8 He sets them among princes,
even the princes of his own people!
9 He gives the childless woman a family,
making her a happy mother.

Praise the Lord!

Prayer: Jesus, we praise You and thank You for saving each one of us! Please help us today to be reminded, and to be a reminder to others, of Your saving love for all of Your people. You are above all things, and You deserve to be praised. We ask all of this in Your Precious and Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Lately, I’ve found myself spending a lot of time studying and connecting with David’s heart for the Lord. Last Monday we looked at a portion of Psalm 142 which we know was a time when David was in “darkness”, and he was hiding and crying out to the Lord. Today we will look at Psalm 100, which David wrote as a psalm of thanksgiving. David knew that no matter our circumstances, the Lord is our Shepherd, and that His goodness and unfailing love will never stop pursuing us, because it is gravely important to God that each one of us resides in His House for all eternity.

In John 10, Jesus uses a parable about how He is the Good Shepherd, and we are His sheep. At the end of John 9, Jesus was debating with those who objected to Him giving sight to a man who was born blind. Jesus is still speaking to those criticizers, but they tell Jesus that they do not understand what He is saying. “So, He explained it to them: ‘I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.’ Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through Me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:7, 9-10) We see that Jesus will never stop pursuing the hearts of His creation, and for that we must give great thanks.

Today’s psalm invites all of the earth to shout with joy to the Lord. Pastor Mary continuously shepherds and leads God’s flock at C2C Church to grow in our understand of the Word of God, so we know His voice. She makes it very clear that the enemy will do anything to steal our joy. But, handing over our joy is a chose each one of us has, because we chose Jesus to live within us. Remember, Jesus became our joy when each one of us chose salvation in Him. So, even though the enemy is always around, he has NO power to take your joy, unless you give it to him; because Jesus, Who is divine and holy, lives in you and me. Allow Psalm 100 to encourage your heart today as you acknowledge and praise God for, He is our Good Shepherd and we as His people want to be prepared now to enter His Gates for all eternity.

Psalm 100 (NLT)

A psalm of thanksgiving.

1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.

3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being our Good Shepherd. Help us to hold firmly onto our joy. We do not want to hand anything that is of You over to the enemy. Thank You for being our gate, the One Who welcomes us into our eternal Home. I ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Friends, as followers of Jesus, you and I are called to live in His likeness. We must ask the Holy Spirit to give us spiritual eyes to see others like Jesus sees them, spiritual ears to hear what Jesus needs us to hear and soften our hearts to receive the heart of Jesus so we can love others like He loves them.

Matthew (25) reminds us in “The Final Judgment” that when Jesus returns, He will separate the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left hand. Those on His right will enter His Kingdom as they will have loved God’s Family like Jesus loved them; while He will curse the ones on His left for when they did not love the least of God’s children, they were not loving Jesus. Friends, this is a message for the Church and about God’s Family. You and I will be separated as sheep and goats. This is not about all believers being sheep and all unbelievers being goats, no, this is about how you and I treat one another as believers, and as a part of God’s Family.

John reminds us in today’s passage that we are commanded to love one another within our spiritual Family within God’s Church. It seems simple, but I want you to be completely honest with yourself when you answer these questions: Do you love all of your spiritual brothers and sisters in the same way Jesus loves them? Do you take a humble posture in your relationships with your spiritual brothers and sisters? If you are looking back at Matthew 25, do you feed the hungry, give something to drink to the thirsty, show hospitality to a stranger, cloth the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned? Friends, we must remember that when we judge another believer, we are judging Jesus. John uses the word “hate”, and you might be thinking, well, I don’t hate anyone, so I will be fine during the Final Judgement. Remember, our call to love our brothers and sisters is to love them like Jesus loves them, not simple to just not hate them. One of the Greek translations of the word hate is to think against someone. If we are being completely honest, we have all had thoughts against others within the spiritual Family. So, we really need to be asking the Holy Spirit to change our hearts to be more and more in alignment with the heart of Jesus, so that we are living in His Light, in His likeness, and loving as He calls us, His sheep, to love His other sheep.

1 John 2:7-11 (NLT)
A New Commandment

7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for setting the example of how we are to love one another. Help us, Holy Spirit, to be convicted when we are not loving our brothers and sisters as You call us to love them. Guide our souls and hearts to be more like Jesus. Help us with our spiritual blindness, deafness, and hard human hearts. We want to be Your sheep that follow Your voice. May You guide us today to love like You love, help our hearts feel Your limitless love for Your Family. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Intro: Each year I pray to know myself the way I am known by God; it is an ongoing journey of faith and discovery. Through the years, what I have learned about myself is God has made me rather intuitive about people in general, but especially about the family of faith. I tend to be self-aware and most of the time have a fair understanding of my weaknesses, strengths, and motives, as well as discerning what inspires, motivates, or detours others. These are gifts from God to help me focus on my personal growth, as well as the spiritual formation of others within my care in relationship with God. The goal before me is bringing the healing love of God to people so they can experience the Truth for their lives: Jesus. What does it take to convince you God knows exactly who you are every moment?

In our passage for today, Jesus connects with Philip and Nathaniel in order to begin their journey of faith toward the Truth. Philip has been a follower of John the Baptist, but John quickly tells his disciples Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away sin and it is time to follow Him. Philip encounters Jesus through His personal invitation; in that moment, Philip is convinced Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Philip quickly locates his friend, Nathaniel, to invite him to meet Jesus. Nathaniel is hesitant to believe anything good or excellent from God could come out of Nazareth—the Jews considered Nazareth a low-living and sinful place. Philip does not judge Nathaniel’s prejudice, instead he invites Nathaniel to see and experience Jesus for himself. Truth and salvation come to Nathaniel, because Jesus reveals He has been watching him. When God reveals His omniscient [all-knowing] nature through Christ, we have a revelation the Lord has always been near us. That understanding engages our faith and seeking God through faith becomes the goal for our futures.

We should never forget hope comes to lead us out of spiritual Nazareth; Jesus draws us out of the sinful places in which we have lived. His Light begins to lead us to the abundant places of faith where we know Him and we know ourselves. He never forces His way upon us, but if we will listen carefully we will see and know ourselves as we are seen and known by God. People seem to be looking for their identity in a sinful world; however, only Jesus—who formed us in our mother’s wombs—knows the Truth and can guide us toward that discovery.

John 1:43-51 (VOICE)
43-44 The next day Jesus set out to go into Galilee; and when He came upon Philip, He invited him to join them.

Jesus: Follow Me.
Philip, like Andrew and Peter, came from a town called Bethsaida; and he decided to make the journey with Him. 45 Philip found Nathanael, a friend, and burst in with excitement:

Philip: We have found the One. Moses wrote about Him in the Law, all the prophets spoke of the day when He would come, and now He is here—His name is Jesus, son of Joseph the carpenter; and He comes from Nazareth.

Nathanael: 46 How can anything good come from a place like Nazareth?

Philip: Come with me, and see for yourself.
47 As Philip and Nathanael approached, Jesus saw Nathanael and spoke to those standing around Him.
Jesus: Look closely, and you will see an Israelite who is a truth-teller.

Nathanael (overhearing Jesus): 48 How would You know this about me? We have never met.

Jesus: I have been watching you before Philip invited you here. Earlier in the day, you were enjoying the shade and fruit of the fig tree. I saw you then.

Nathanael: 49 Teacher, You are the One—God’s own Son and Israel’s King.

Jesus: 50 Nathanael, if all it takes for you to believe is My telling you I saw you under the fig tree, then what you will see later will astound you. 51 I tell you the truth: before our journey is complete, you will see the heavens standing open while heavenly messengers ascend and descend, swirling around the Son of Man.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for this lesson, today, from the Word. Please keep our hearts tender like Philip and open to a change in thinking like Nathaniel. May sharing the gospel and growing in spiritual maturity be our focus and goal, because we know that is your desire for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.