Our Path
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
(Isaiah 55:6)
We Believe
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
(John 3:16)
Body of Christ
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
(1 Corinthians 12:12)
God's Servants
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE MONTH
SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
The Love of God Working in Us
Jesus describes who his disciples (students or followers) are in John 13:34: “A new command I give unto you. That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Godly expressions of love are demonstrated by how we treat one another regardless of how we are treated. Jesus loved until the end! While He was yet dying on the cross, He forgave the sins of those who were persecuting Him and a criminal dying on a cross beside Him. Jesus paid for the debt of sin for us that He did not owe. Love kept Him on the Cross!
As we experience life, we may encounter difficult people who may try to provoke us to behave in an unrighteous manner. How we respond to people is a reflection of who we are in Christ. “We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (I John 4:19-20) As the song says: The Jesus in me loves the Jesus in you! It is important that we see one another through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will direct you to understand the needs of other people instead of their faults.
The attributes of godly love (agape) are presented in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a;
O Suffereth Long (Patience) O Is Kind
O Not Envieth O Not Vaunteth (Boastful)
O Not Puffed Up (Proud) O Doeth Not Behave Unseemly (Rude)
O Seeking Not Her Own (Self-Seeking) O Not Easily Provoked (Angered)
O Thinketh No Evil O Rejoiceth Not In Evil
O Rejoiceth In Truth O Beareth All Things
O Believeth All Things O Hopeth All Things
O Endureth All Things O Never Faileth
A smile, a hello, or a small act of kindness can breathe hope into the despair of someone’s life and encouragement into your own. If you want love, why not sow it into someone’s life and watch what you will reap.)
Humbly submitted by
Pastor Tommie Mae Byers