Love, A New Commandment (a Bible Meditation)

John 13:34-35
“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

John 14:15-24
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”

Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”

Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. The word that you hear is not My own, but it is from the Father who sent Me.”

John 15:9-25
“As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

“You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. This is My command to you: Love one another.

“If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

“Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well. But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.

“Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’ ”

Bible meditation, excerpt from collection, Love: Bible Meditations available on Amazon.com.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 121:1-8 (a Devotional Reflection)

Psalm 121:1-8 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is the shade on your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul. The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore. Gracious God, my Protector and Keeper, As I lift my eyes, seeking help, I acknowledge You as the Maker of heaven and earth, The One who never slumbers nor sleeps. Watch over me, Lord God, as I journey through my valleys, Guide my steps and guard me from harm. May Your hand be upon me as a shield, And Your presence ever near as my refuge. In times of trouble, be my strength and my peace, For You are the source of my strength and salvation. Help me to trust in ...
Read more

Love Does Not Cause Stumbling (a Bible Meditation)

Romans 11:13-23 It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.” So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good, then, to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of ...
Read more

Ephesians 3:20-21 (a Devotional Reflection)

Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Heavenly Father, infinite in power and boundless in love, I come with a heart full of awe and gratitude for Your immeasurable blessings. As I meditate on this passage, I am reminded of Your limitless ability to do immeasurably more than all that I could ask or imagine. You are the God who is able to accomplish far more than I dare to dream, according to Your mighty power at work within me. Grant me the faith to trust in Your promises, the courage to step out in obedience, and the perseverance to endure whatever trials may come my way. May all glory be unto you, O God, both now and forevermore, through Christ Jesus my Lord, who reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. See James' publications on  Amazon.com . ...
Read more