Practicing What You Preach
Scripture: Luke 6:11, 27-28, 35, 37
"11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him...27 But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you...35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them...37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven."
Observations:
Jesus often taught and instructed multitudes in the ways of God and told them point blank what they should do on a regular basis. But often times we forget that Jesus was one of us in the sense that He had to practice what He preached just the same as you and I. When He gave His followers revolutionary commands like "love your enemies", He wasn't saying it in a vacuum, in that very same chapter Jesus was confronted by His enemies who were literally plotting His death right before His very eyes! Jesus, as a man, didn't feel like loving His enemies any more than we do, but He did it anyway. Just because Jesus was the Son of God didn't make it any easier for Him, as a human being, to do the right thing.
Application:
There's really no excuse for us to shirk our responsiblity to obey even the most diffcult demands of Jesus (like loving your enemies), simply because it's hard. It's no harder for us than it was for Jesus, yet God expects us, just as He did Jesus, to practice what we preach. The fact that we aren't God actually makes us just as qualified as Jesus was to love people. We have to rely on God for the strength to do love others the same fashion as Christ, who set for us an example to follow.
Prayer:
Father, give us the strength to do the right thing today. We admit our full dependence upon You to be strong in our weakness and live through us in every way. Thank You for giving us the grace to do what You did by the power of the Spirit (John 14:12). Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
"11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him...27 But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you...35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them...37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven."
Observations:
Jesus often taught and instructed multitudes in the ways of God and told them point blank what they should do on a regular basis. But often times we forget that Jesus was one of us in the sense that He had to practice what He preached just the same as you and I. When He gave His followers revolutionary commands like "love your enemies", He wasn't saying it in a vacuum, in that very same chapter Jesus was confronted by His enemies who were literally plotting His death right before His very eyes! Jesus, as a man, didn't feel like loving His enemies any more than we do, but He did it anyway. Just because Jesus was the Son of God didn't make it any easier for Him, as a human being, to do the right thing.
Application:
There's really no excuse for us to shirk our responsiblity to obey even the most diffcult demands of Jesus (like loving your enemies), simply because it's hard. It's no harder for us than it was for Jesus, yet God expects us, just as He did Jesus, to practice what we preach. The fact that we aren't God actually makes us just as qualified as Jesus was to love people. We have to rely on God for the strength to do love others the same fashion as Christ, who set for us an example to follow.
Prayer:
Father, give us the strength to do the right thing today. We admit our full dependence upon You to be strong in our weakness and live through us in every way. Thank You for giving us the grace to do what You did by the power of the Spirit (John 14:12). Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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