There is the way of the world and then there is the perfect way of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. God’s ways are far above ours. We are influenced by our culture and by our social understanding God is not. He cares for all His creation.
We are capable of loving others because God first loved us.
We are our brothers keepers. Seeking the good of others above ours is showing the world God’s agape love for His creation. Faith without action is a faith without the power of Holy Spirit in our lives and the lives of those we touch.
1 Peter 2:11 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. The New King James Version
2 Esdras 2:20 “Guard the rights of the widow, secure justice for the ward, give to the needy, defend the orphan, clothe the naked, 21 care for the injured and the weak, do not ridicule the lame, protect the maimed, and let the blind have a vision of my splendor. 22 Protect the old and the young within your walls; The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? The New King James Version
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
Through Jesus, salvation has come.
…Christ paid the price for our sins by the shedding of His sinless blood, dying so we could be forgiven. He rose from the dead as our valiant Savior (Romans 14:9).
Here's a promise we can cling to today: Jesus said, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). First5
Amanda Gorman’s reminder, “For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it.”
Blessed are we,
when love makes us brave.
Be it our friends or teachers,
Our mentors or partners.
Our siblings or parents or grands.
From the littles who remind us to get in the game,
even if there really is something more pressing to do in that moment.
To the parents who remind us how quickly it all goes,
whose wild, ungrounded belief in us gives us courage
To try something new.
To make a big leap.
To take a chance on love.
To risk, to fail, and to try, try, try again.
This is the kind of love that sticks.
So bless all of us, in our great big web of love.
Kate Bowler
(Inspired by a conversation with Jenna Bush Hager) SabbathMoments
Revelation 8 tells us that as God hears our petitions, he responds with thunder. In other words, our prayers have a thermostatic impact upon the actions of heaven. God never gives up on you. Max Lucado
Matthew 25:41-46
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” The New King James Version
At the very least, these “brethren” are believers in Jesus Christ. Everlasting and eternal are used to describe both torment and life, indicating that one will last as long as the other. In fact, “everlasting” is used of God in Romans 16:26. The NKJV Study Bible
Good works done for God’s sake, through Jesus Christ, are here noticed as marking the character of believers made holy by the Spirit of Christ, and as the effects of grace bestowed on those who do them. The wicked in this world were often called to come to Christ for life and rest, but they turned from his calls; and justly are those bid to depart from Christ, that would not come to him. Condemned sinners will in vain offer excuses. The punishment of the wicked will be an everlasting punishment; their state cannot be altered. Thus life and death, good and evil, the blessing and the curse, are set before us, that we may choose our way, and as our way so shall our end be. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Matthew 7:23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
John 5:29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Acts 24:15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.
Romans 2:7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;
Exodus 23:4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.
Proverbs 25:21
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
Romans 12:20
Therefore“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
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