Hate

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you could go and produce fruit and so that your fruit could last. As a result, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you. I give you these commandments so that you can love each other. “If the world hates you, know that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, I have chosen you out of the world, and you don’t belong to the world. This is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you, ‘Servants aren’t greater than their master.’ If the world harassed me, it will harass you too. If it kept my word, it will also keep yours. The world will do all these things to you on account of my name, because it doesn’t know the one who sent me. “If I hadn’t come and spoken to the people of this world, they wouldn’t be sinners. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me also hates the Father. If I hadn’t done works among them that no one else had done, they wouldn’t be sinners. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. This fulfills the word written in their Law, They hated me without a reason. (John 15:16-25, CEB)

If the world hates you…

Hate is a strong word.

As followers of Christ, we are told to hate no one. We are to love our neighbors and our enemies. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be hated.

Jesus was killed because he radically loved and accepted everyone and that didn’t sit well with the powers of the day. So when we follow Jesus and love like Jesus loved it will not sit well with the powers of today.

Those who want to maintain their power will be thrown off and will hate you for trying to usurp their power.

Hold fast. Know you are not alone and that God is walking with you.

Love like Jesus, in spite of their hate.

Loving People. Loving God.

reassure

Tychicus, my loved brother and faithful servant of the Lord, can inform you about my situation and what I’m doing. I’ve sent him for this reason—so that you will know about us. He can reassure you. May there be peace with the brothers and sisters as well as love with the faith that comes from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ forever. (Ephesians 6:21-24, CEB)

He can reassure you.

He can remind you of the faith we have in God.

We all need reassurance of who we are.

We are all children of God and need space to be who we were created to be.

Know you are loved always.

Loving People. Loving God.

Household codes…

and submit to each other out of respect for Christ. For example, wives should submit to their husbands as if to the Lord. A husband is the head of his wife like Christ is head of the church, that is, the savior of the body. So wives submit to their husbands in everything like the church submits to Christ. As for husbands, love your wives just like Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. He did this to make her holy by washing her in a bath of water with the word. He did this to present himself with a splendid church, one without any sort of stain or wrinkle on her clothes, but rather one that is holy and blameless. That’s how husbands ought to love their wives—in the same way as they do their own bodies. Anyone who loves his wife loves himself. No one ever hates his own body, but feeds it and takes care of it just like Christ does for the church because we are parts of his body. This is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two of them will be one body. Marriage is a significant allegory, and I’m applying it to Christ and the church. In any case, as for you individually, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and wives should respect their husbands. As for children, obey your parents in the Lord, because it is right. The commandment Honor your father and mother is the first one with a promise attached: so that things will go well for you, and you will live for a long time in the land. As for parents, don’t provoke your children to anger, but raise them with discipline and instruction about the Lord. As for slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling and with sincere devotion to Christ. Don’t work to make yourself look good and try to flatter people, but act like slaves of Christ carrying out God’s will from the heart. Serve your owners enthusiastically, as though you were serving the Lord and not human beings. You know that the Lord will reward every person who does what is right, whether that person is a slave or a free person. As for masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Stop threatening them, because you know that both you and your slaves have a master in heaven. He doesn’t distinguish between people on the basis of status. (Ephesians 5:21-6:9, CEB)

This is an update to the household codes of the day when this was written. Men would have ruled over the household. They were the top and everyone else answered to them.

The author (who is not Paul) says that husbands should love their wives and respect them as they do their own bodies. This was a way to turn this text and help make women more equal. Even though this is not saying that and still holds to the household codes. We can see a massaging of the system to help make us all more equal while still maintaining the power structures of the day. The last line does away with everything else before it in my opinion and is the line for the verse.

“He doesn’t distinguish between people on the basis of status.” He is God. God doesn’t see anyone any different than anyone else as we are all created in God’s image and on an even playing field with God. Nationality, economic status, or gender doesn’t change how we are seen by God. We are all beloved children and all equal.

Love like Jesus and know nothing makes anyone better in the eyes of God.

Loving People. Loving God.

Words of Life

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me lives because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. It isn’t like the bread your ancestors ate, and then they died. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Many of his disciples who heard this said, “This message is harsh. Who can hear it?” Jesus knew that the disciples were grumbling about this and he said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you were to see the Human One going up where he was before? The Spirit is the one who gives life and the flesh doesn’t help at all. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. Yet some of you don’t believe.”Jesus knew from the beginning who wouldn’t believe and the one who would betray him. He said, “For this reason I said to you that none can come to me unless the Father enables them to do so.” At this, many of his disciples turned away and no longer accompanied him. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, where would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are God’s holy one.” (John 6:56-69, CEB)

Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!

We know that you give us life forever here and now. You feed us with a relationship that gives us life beyond our understanding. Where else could we go for something like this?

I don’t get what Jesus is telling me all the time, but I know that I really don’t have to understand. I need to trust that what has been said is what is true and know that Jesus is always with me and everyone else. I just need to love like he told me to.

Love like Jesus and know you can trust God.

Loving People. Loving God.

Cosmic Vending Machine

He also said to them, “Imagine that one of you has a friend and you go to that friend in the middle of the night. Imagine saying, ‘Friend, loan me three loaves of bread because a friend of mine on a journey has arrived and I have nothing to set before him.’ Imagine further that he answers from within the house, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I assure you, even if he wouldn’t get up and help because of his friendship, he will get up and give his friend whatever he needs because of his friend’s brashness. And I tell you: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. To everyone who knocks, the door is opened. “Which father among you would give a snake to your child if the child asked for a fish? If a child asked for an egg, what father would give the child a scorpion? If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:5-13, CEB)

I really don’t like certain versions of this story. This one in Luke and the one in Mark I believe, where it basically says ask and get, knock and it will be opened, and search and you will find. It makes God into a cosmic vending machine. Anything I want all I need to do is be brash enough about and God will give it to me. And I know this is not how God works.

Some version of this parable/story says if it is the will of God you will get is, it will be opened, or you will find it. Somethings aren’t going to happen because they aren’t going to happen.

Just because I ask to win the Lottery doesn’t mean I will. Just because I look for the winning ticket doesn’t mean I’ll find it. God doesn’t feed our wants, God feeds our needs. And even feeding our needs isn’t always they was we want them fed.

Do not think you will always get what you ask, try to open, or search for. But know you will always have what you need.

Loving People. Loving God.

Indulge…

As you do all this, you know what time it is. The hour has already come for you to wake up from your sleep. Now our salvation is nearer than when we first had faith. The night is almost over, and the day is near. So let’s get rid of the actions that belong to the darkness and put on the weapons of light. Let’s behave appropriately as people who live in the day, not in partying and getting drunk, not in sleeping around and obscene behavior, not in fighting and obsession. Instead, dress yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t plan to indulge your selfish desires. (Romans 13:11-14, CEB)

This is an interesting passage. Paul is telling the Romans who he has not yet actually met, they are like social media friends who haven’t met in real life, to not indulge their selfish desires and not live in the darkness.

Don’t party. Don’t get drunk. Don’t sleep around. Don’t act obscene.

Be pure and clothed in Christ.

We say this means that anyone who does the above things are not true followers of Christ. I can honestly say I know people who do the above and their hearts are pure gold and they love God and love people, and they follow God to the best of their abilities.

We should not judge anyone for how they live. We all need to do our best to love like Jesus and live and let live.

Don’t indulge your selfish desires that would bring pain or hurt someone else’s life. Love like Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

Live Love

We don’t need to write to you about the timing and dates, brothers and sisters. You know very well that the day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. When they are saying, “There is peace and security,” at that time sudden destruction will attack them, like labor pains start with a pregnant woman, and they definitely won’t escape. But you aren’t in darkness, brothers and sisters, so the day won’t catch you by surprise like a thief. All of you are children of light and children of the day. We don’t belong to night or darkness. So then, let’s not sleep like the others, but let’s stay awake and stay sober. People who sleep sleep at night, and people who get drunk get drunk at night. Since we belong to the day, let’s stay sober, wearing faithfulness and love as a piece of armor that protects our body and the hope of salvation as a helmet. God didn’t intend for us to suffer his wrath but rather to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him. So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, CEB)

We know as followers of Jesus that at some point he is coming back. And if we knew when we could easily live however we wanted and then clean up the act when we knew he was coming. But that isn’t how it works and that isn’t how we should look at life.

We should not do things because people will see us to make good impressions and get the right likes and glances.

We should live love out loud all the time. No pretenses, no differences depending on who is watching or who isn’t.

Live love out loud all the time. Be Authentic. Be a person of integrity.

Love out Loud.

Loving People. Loving God.

yeast

Jesus’ disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, so they had only one loaf with them in the boat. He gave them strict orders: “Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the Pharisees as well as the yeast of Herod.” The disciples discussed this among themselves, “He said this because we have no bread.” Jesus knew what they were discussing and said, “Why are you talking about the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you grasp what has happened? Don’t you understand? Are your hearts so resistant to what God is doing? Don’t you have eyes? Why can’t you see? Don’t you have ears? Why can’t you hear? Don’t you remember? When I broke five loaves of bread for those five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?” They answered, “Twelve.” “And when I broke seven loaves of bread for those four thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather?” They answered, “Seven.” Jesus said to them, “And you still don’t understand?” (Mark 8:14-21, CEB)

Things aren’t always what they seem.

Jesus speaks of yeast, but he is talking about the false teachings of those who would lead us astray from where God is calling and guiding us.

Be on guard, and keep your heart focused on Jesus.

Loving People. Loving God.

God watches out…

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him into slavery in Egypt. God was with him, however, and rescued him from all his troubles. The grace and wisdom he gave Joseph were recognized by Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole palace. A famine came upon all Egypt and Canaan, and great hardship came with it. Our ancestors had nothing to eat. When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. During their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives—seventy-five in all—and invited them to live with him. So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased for a certain sum of money from Hamor’s children, who lived in Shechem. (Acts 7:9-16, CEB)

Sometimes I wonder with all the troubles I go through if God is really for me.

I wonder if I have done too much and gone too far away for God to still care and watch over me.

But even in the darkness, God is with us.

Even when we doubt God is there, God is with us.

God doesn’t keep bad things from happening but walks with you in the darkness and guides you.

God doesn’t reach in and change the circumstances but God never leaves us.

Know that God is always with you. Especially when you don’t think God is.

Loving People. Loving God.

Serve

About that time, while the number of disciples continued to increase, a complaint arose. Greek-speaking disciples accused the Aramaic-speaking disciples because their widows were being overlooked in the daily food service. The Twelve called a meeting of all the disciples and said, “It isn’t right for us to set aside proclamation of God’s word in order to serve tables. Brothers and sisters, carefully choose seven well-respected men from among you. They must be well-respected and endowed by the Spirit with exceptional wisdom. We will put them in charge of this concern. As for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and the service of proclaiming the word.” This proposal pleased the entire community. They selected Stephen, a man endowed by the Holy Spirit with exceptional faith, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. The community presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. God’s word continued to grow. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased significantly. Even a large group of priests embraced the faith. (Acts 6:1-7, CEB)

We all have a gift to share.

We all have a place in the body.

Some Proclaim. Some study. Some Provide for basic needs.

It is all service.

We all do our part and the body grows.

Loving People. Loving God.