James 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
King James Bible
Lev. 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
We as Christ’s ambassadors have a unique and powerful position within the world – we represent Christ and heaven…let that sink in for a moment.
As a repentant, water baptised in Jesus name, spirit filled child of God, we not only have some beautiful gifts and treasures that have come our way as his children, but also a deep and abiding responsibility to represent Christ to our community with love and service.
2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Our main role now, is to enjoy the fellowship with the Lord, to keep the deep love relationship, to keep the fire burning, letting that mutual love flow… spending time with him, in order to become more like him, then… share him and his love with others.
To reconcile people with the Lord.
Satan gives a very poor representation of Christ to those we love. Hollywood makes fun of the Lord, has perverted what true love is and brotherly kindness is seen as weak and unmanly, but the opposite is true!
Any man or woman can sink into sin, becoming course, unkind, rude, harsh, foul mouthed and hate filled.
We know the word says that in the last days one of the symptoms of all the issues like covid, wars, tragedies, pain, isolation and neglect, lawlessness, illegal activity etc. is that people will no longer love one another.
Amplified Bible
Matt. 2:12 Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.
That special preference for the Lord himself, the people of God and the things of God, that love… that fire will just go out and grow cold.
The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference, a coldness that just slowly seeps in through neglect.
Have you ever seen someone who has suffered from hyperthermia? They just get colder and colder, and slowly give in to the cold and let it take over, if someone doesn’t rescue them at this point, then death will soon follow.
Spiritual coldness says, “Why try?” “Why bother?” “No one cares, why should I?” it seeps into the spirit and begins the process of spiritual death. It is a dangerous place to be.
It is a loss of hope and a defeatist attitude that just gives up trying, it gives up on ourselves, our loved ones, on our communities and our country and on the Lord’s ability to deliver and bring back a life filled with the Holy ghost and Fire.
Did you know one reason for sinning is not actively seeking a good time, but rather the giving up on self and God’s ability to help us through difficult situations?
Hope itself begins to die, and when hope dies, faith is affected and then eventually love grows cold and dies as a result.
Have you ever seen a fire just go out… it dies from neglect, from a lack of fuel, no one cares for it, no one added any more logs, it is just neglected and it slowly dies out; it goes down to coals, then ashes cover the coals, then finally, even the small coals go out.
It has gone cold.
If you have ever gotten up to a cold house in the morning and the ashes were cold you know the feeling of disappointment when you open the wood stove door and you are met with a cool breeze and with just grey ash looking back at you, and the realization you have to start all over again to build that fire.
A fire that will heat the home, cook your meals, a place to throw the burnables, it will heat the water and keep you and you clothes clean and the dishes washed.
There was nothing more beautiful to me when I was working at the farm, than to stoke up the ol’ wood cook stove in the kitchen and make a big farm house meal for all the hands and then afterwards, when the dishes were done and drying in the tray, to sit with a cup of coffee and rock by that hearth.
Safety, comfort, peace, quiet joy, those are the words that come to me when I think of that time and place.
The same with us as ambassadors of Christ, we need to keep that fire burning deep within us during these dark days and the possibly even darker days coming.
Keeping that spiritual fire burning will be the most important task of our lives in the coming weeks, months, and years ahead. Now is the time to cut and bring in the wood so its dry ready to burn, now is the time to become spiritually prepared, load the fire and feed it with the Word, with praise, with worship with loving God and caring for those around us with kindness, and patience, trying to the very end to reconcile people back to the Lord- enduring whatever we have to, to save a soul from death and hell.
It means being kind when others are mean spirited and sharp, being patient with people when they make wrong choices, caring for their needs when they hurt themselves and their families, bringing hope when all hope seems gone.
It means keeping that fired stirred up within you,and not to neglect the gift within you so you can share not just the gospel but the love of God or to help and care and share for others.
Heb 13;16 NIV And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Amplified.
2 Tim 1:6 That is why I remind you to [a]fan into flame the gracious gift of God, [that inner fire–the special endowment] which is in you through the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination].
KJV
2 Tim 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
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