how are actively loving our neighbors?
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aspen this is a really timely subject for me.
the new heart is inclined to our neighbor like it was not before. i have found this...though i surely sin for there are times when i ought to serve my neighbor but i do not. i am not proud of this. i believe loving your neighbor can be everything from what we see in the following words of Jesus (where He demonstrated to the legalists that they knew the Law but did not obey it)...to being a good Mom. or a good dad. or just going to work everyday at your minimum wage job and being honest and kind. we serve our neighbors everyday when we interact with them it can be as simple as coins for the old man on the bus or a smile for the overworked checkout girl.
It can be giving all you have to the church; or to the poor; or giving your pastor`s wife money if you see she needs new shoes. there are so many ways to serve our neighbor. and many opportunities for evangelism in that - which is very important indeed.
Luke 10
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35And the next day he took out two denariic and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
I am so grateful the Lord is merciful because i do not love my neighbor as Christ did. and i know i do not love God as i ought to. i fall short every day. Who will free me from this body of death! O how i long for the new heavens and new earth where only righteousness dwells. my flesh is not redeemed, and i`m afraid it shows too often. with my heart i desire to always do what is right. but so often i do not.
FHII - if we love your neighbors, we are loving God, for He commanded it. and if we are loving God, we are loving our neighbors. the Law can not legislate LOVE it can only demand...BUT - the Spirit circumcises the heart and we cry Abba! and we seek out our brothers and sisters.
Love and tender mercy and prayers for you all in Christ Our Lord
Poppin
the new heart is inclined to our neighbor like it was not before. i have found this...though i surely sin for there are times when i ought to serve my neighbor but i do not. i am not proud of this. i believe loving your neighbor can be everything from what we see in the following words of Jesus (where He demonstrated to the legalists that they knew the Law but did not obey it)...to being a good Mom. or a good dad. or just going to work everyday at your minimum wage job and being honest and kind. we serve our neighbors everyday when we interact with them it can be as simple as coins for the old man on the bus or a smile for the overworked checkout girl.
It can be giving all you have to the church; or to the poor; or giving your pastor`s wife money if you see she needs new shoes. there are so many ways to serve our neighbor. and many opportunities for evangelism in that - which is very important indeed.
Luke 10
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35And the next day he took out two denariic and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
I am so grateful the Lord is merciful because i do not love my neighbor as Christ did. and i know i do not love God as i ought to. i fall short every day. Who will free me from this body of death! O how i long for the new heavens and new earth where only righteousness dwells. my flesh is not redeemed, and i`m afraid it shows too often. with my heart i desire to always do what is right. but so often i do not.
FHII - if we love your neighbors, we are loving God, for He commanded it. and if we are loving God, we are loving our neighbors. the Law can not legislate LOVE it can only demand...BUT - the Spirit circumcises the heart and we cry Abba! and we seek out our brothers and sisters.
Love and tender mercy and prayers for you all in Christ Our Lord
Poppin
The last neighbor I helped turned around and ripped me off big time.. Be careful who you help, some people prey on that Christian sentiment of loving your neighbor.
Another thing I've learned is that helping out a person who is too lazy to help themselves is a mistake.
"If any would not work, neither should he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
Another thing I've learned is that helping out a person who is too lazy to help themselves is a mistake.
"If any would not work, neither should he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
hi Dan57.
this can certainly happen, and many christians are martyred in this way - while simply trying to help.
but we don`t have to give money necessarily, and i don`t believe we should act carelessly by going to dangerous places alone.
it is very difficult for me now, though to pass by someone in need and not try to help in some way. i usually feel very sorry later if i didn`t.
but there are many times i just ignore the person in need as well. people i know (like family members or friends) i know could use some help of some kind...but i don`t make that call or drop off some baking.
sigh, and this is sin. when you know to do right and do not.
thank God we have a merciful Lord.
God Bless you!
this can certainly happen, and many christians are martyred in this way - while simply trying to help.
but we don`t have to give money necessarily, and i don`t believe we should act carelessly by going to dangerous places alone.
it is very difficult for me now, though to pass by someone in need and not try to help in some way. i usually feel very sorry later if i didn`t.
but there are many times i just ignore the person in need as well. people i know (like family members or friends) i know could use some help of some kind...but i don`t make that call or drop off some baking.
sigh, and this is sin. when you know to do right and do not.
thank God we have a merciful Lord.
God Bless you!
I was thinking the exact same thing Arnie just a day later than you .. so I am with You on this ...
when Aspens Gone helping the teens is when we will do the burglary
right ,,
your helicopter will make a super fine getaway vehicle
out of love for a neighbor helping a neighbor in this endeavor
ill even shell out a little helicopter gas money,
,I got my mask on Arnie and im readyh34r:
when Aspens Gone helping the teens is when we will do the burglary
right ,,
your helicopter will make a super fine getaway vehicle
out of love for a neighbor helping a neighbor in this endeavor
ill even shell out a little helicopter gas money,
,I got my mask on Arnie and im ready
h34r:That is good Aspen. We should all be doing something like that.
I have a friend who 1. Mows the lawn at church every week. 2. Helps out at a homeless shelter every week. 3. Personal handyman to widows, old ladies and people who are just to poor to fix things. 4. Financially supports his parents.
We must all be selfless indeed. But that can be as simple as...being quick to repent and forgive others, helping an elderely person cross the road, offering time to listen to someone, turning the left cheek, buying someone lunch. God uses us for such deeds all day long where we are. Well at least we should be able to look back on the day and see such -_-.
I have a friend who 1. Mows the lawn at church every week. 2. Helps out at a homeless shelter every week. 3. Personal handyman to widows, old ladies and people who are just to poor to fix things. 4. Financially supports his parents.
We must all be selfless indeed. But that can be as simple as...being quick to repent and forgive others, helping an elderely person cross the road, offering time to listen to someone, turning the left cheek, buying someone lunch. God uses us for such deeds all day long where we are. Well at least we should be able to look back on the day and see such -_-.
FHII
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Thinking more on this, I suppose I should cut Aspen a break (maybe). The problem I have is with people that say they love the Lord by loving others, especially when it comes to giving, but really in any circumstance. When asked if God is first they tend to be flippant and say, "Oh, well yea.... That's a given."
I'd like for you (speaking in general) to consider "who is a neighbor"? Is it anyone who's around (as in strangers) or is it brethren? I just reread 1 Peter last night and he put emphasis on loving the brethren, not neighbors. Contrasted is Jesus talking about the Good Samaritan (I believe he was talking about himself being the Good Samaritan, but lets move on....) as being a neighbor. Yet another contrast is Jesus wasn't really that kind to everyone (the pharasees, for example). People may say he rebuked them out of love.... True.... Love for whom? Them or the Father?
Regardless, I do believe in helping strangers for the reasons talked about in Heb 13:2. There's another reason, though, and that's simply that I was once a stranger as well.
So, yes help whom you will, but when you do and turn to Mat 23:36-40, just keep in mind which one is the first and great commandment. Be humble, not necessarily to others, but to God.
One more thing.... Before talking about your good works and all the charity work you are doing, you may want to read Mat 6:1-4 to ensure that you receive a heavenly reward.
I'd like for you (speaking in general) to consider "who is a neighbor"? Is it anyone who's around (as in strangers) or is it brethren? I just reread 1 Peter last night and he put emphasis on loving the brethren, not neighbors. Contrasted is Jesus talking about the Good Samaritan (I believe he was talking about himself being the Good Samaritan, but lets move on....) as being a neighbor. Yet another contrast is Jesus wasn't really that kind to everyone (the pharasees, for example). People may say he rebuked them out of love.... True.... Love for whom? Them or the Father?
Regardless, I do believe in helping strangers for the reasons talked about in Heb 13:2. There's another reason, though, and that's simply that I was once a stranger as well.
So, yes help whom you will, but when you do and turn to Mat 23:36-40, just keep in mind which one is the first and great commandment. Be humble, not necessarily to others, but to God.
One more thing.... Before talking about your good works and all the charity work you are doing, you may want to read Mat 6:1-4 to ensure that you receive a heavenly reward.
FIRST this has not one thing at all to do with AspenFHII said:
yet I want you to consider what you first said about you putting God first
before you make up your mind read the story of Martha and Mary and hear Jesus himself say who chose the better thing. was it the one running around doing all the work THAT CERTAINLY needed to be done or the one sitting at Jesus feet KICKING BACK doing nothing but Listening to what Jesus was saying.
SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY what the good of listening if your never doing .. But Jesus said Mary chose the better thing.
YOU WERE RIGHT Time with God first even the best of work can wait.
Doing good for other people can Quickly turn into work righteousness. soon the person doing all the work starts to
look down on those he or she thinks are not doing enough good work .. instead of slacking off and choosing the better thing spending more time with God THEY FEEL THE NEED TO PICK UP THE SLACK For those lazy others..
soon its work work work and if they don't do enough they start feeling guilty and they always have a condemning eye on those lazy good for nothing others ...spend as much time with God as you can and God will take care that you do the rest of his will.
and this is a warning for any Christian when you start looking at other Christians in your church as good for nothing lazy persons because they never help out with the work and your left with it all.
Stop THE WORK--- make more time with God Kick back sit down with your bible and do the Mary thing CHOOSE THE BETTER- SITTING AND JUST LISTENING AT JESUS FEET..
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