“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” – John 15:12 NKJV.
Welcome to the 9th weekly devotional recap of the year. This week, we learned about the believer’s love walk in generosity, honouring our pastors, and loving, strengthening and forgiving our brethren in the Lord.
On Monday, we learned about loving the brethren. The most distinguishing mark of a believer in Jesus is the love s/he has for other people, especially fellow believers (John 13:35).
Our love for one another is an outward expression of our love for God, our faith in Him, and His love for us (Ephesians 1:15, Colossians 1:4). Jesus instructs us to love one another just as He has loved us (John 13:34). We can do this through acts of charity & service, expressions of empathy & understanding towards one another.
Tuesday’s article taught us about the generosity code and how generosity is an embodiment of love (I John 3:17), as seen in the life of our saviour, Jesus Christ (Matthew 13: 14-21).
Generosity is the best antidote against developing a love for money. As believers, we ought to put our money where our faith is by using our resources to help those in need around us. With our resources, let us support our local assemblies in propagating the spread of the gospel and the discipleship of new converts.
Wednesday’s devotional instructed us to honour our pastors. We must recognise that our pastors are God-given gifts to us (Ephesians 4:11) and honour them accordingly. We demonstrate this honour by choosing not to speak down on them and paying rapt attention when they minister. How we honour our Pastors determines how much we receive from them (Mark 6:4, 53-56).
On Thursday, we learned how to restore and strengthen one another in love. When believers sin, our goal must be to forgive, restore, and uphold them, not simply to punish them and leave them feeling condemned. Just as God has forgiven us (Romans 5:6-8), we ought to extend the same grace to other people and be willing to restore repentant believers to fellowship in love.
Friday’s article instructed us to forgive like Christ. Just as God forgave us of our sins when we didn’t deserve it, He calls us to follow in His footsteps and forgive others. Hence, the message of salvation is not only one to believe but also one to emulate. We can rely on the Holy Spirit to help us forgive as we ought to (Philippians 2:13).
Dear believers, let us obey God’s instruction to love one another, be generous with our resources, honour our pastors, and uphold and forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us.
Let love lead.
Have a great weekend!
Bible Reading Plan Catchup