Click here to read Matthew 5:43-38
What do you see in the face of your enemy? An object of revenge or justified wrath? Or, an object of love and altruistic prayer?
Love
How to Pray for Your Enemies (Psalm 4)
We often hear that we are to love and pray for our enemies. But how does one do that? Psalm 4 gives us an example. Continue reading
Let Love Bloom (1 Peter 1:22-25)
There is a flower more exquisite than any found on earth. The purity of its white hue, the fragrance of its perfume, the permanency of its bloom compares with nothing else. I speak figuratively of the Christian way of love. It is the fruit of the faith, the hallmark of Christian belief.
Continue readingHave You Not Heard? (Isaiah 40:28)
Submitted by Andy McIlvain.
We must not forget Christmas is about celebrating the Incarnation of God, Jesus fully God and fully man. Before he was born, the Ancient of Days thought about being born. The form God chose to enter and experience his creation was an infant that grew and matured and was born in the same way as you and I. Somehow God’s infinite power was contained within a fragile infant. Continue reading
Husbands and Wives, Part II (Colossians 3:18-4:1)
Last week’s blog addressed Paul’s exhortation to wives. This week’s addresses Paul’s exhortation to husbands, “Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them (Colossians 3:19).” Continue reading
You Are More Precious Than Diamonds (Isaiah 43:4)
Submitted by Andy McIlvain.
Back in the 1980’s there was a DeBeers Diamond commercial on TV that showed an elderly couple and a young couple walking hand in hand in a park. It has become a classic of sorts, as commercials go, and is often referred to as “Hands”. The voice over says, “There are two things that last longer than time; Love is one of them…” The music score was the beautiful In the Mood for Love (aka Yumeji’s Theme). Continue reading
The Power of Love (Psalm 33:22)
Submitted by Andy Mcilvain.
“Maybe we’ve spent too long trying to figure all this out with theory. So listen to me, when I say that love is not something we invented. It’s observable, powerful. It has to mean something. Love is the one thing that transcends time and space.”
Amelia Brand (Ann Hathaway) made this statement in the movie Interstellar. Interstellar is a 2014 science fiction film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Christopher Nolan. The film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for humanity. Continue reading
The Sad Story of a Duplicitous Lover (1 John 4:19-21)
The Apostle John said: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” (1 John 4:20)
There is a direct correlation between loving God and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is absurd to say that we love God, while holding hatred in our heart toward our brother or sister. Continue reading
We Love Because He First Loved Us (1 John 4:19)
The Apostle John says, “We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).” I remember a scene from a movie. I cannot recall the title, nor do I recall the movie being very good. But I do remember a particular scene. The movie is about a daughter who had grown up in a loving family with every opportunity to thrive. But she gets caught up with a friend. The two girls begin sneaking out at night, causing mischief, doing drugs, and many other things that need not mentioning. The mother in the movie watches her sweet, innocent daughter transform. Continue reading
Are You Sure? (1 John 4:13-16)
Pastor Alister Begg tells a story about the late playwright George Bernard Shaw. In the days when radio was relatively new in the British Isles, the playwright gave a talk on the peculiarities of the English Language. During his talk, he said there were only two words with the “sh” (s-h) sound but not spelled with a “sh” at the beginning of the word. One listener took it upon herself to write to the playwright and correct him. The only word meeting that criteria was “sugar,” she said. According to the story, Shaw replied with a postcard. Only one sentence was on it: “Madam, are you sure?” Continue reading