The writer (Paul?)...
Illustration
Object:
The writer (Paul?) urges those to whom he is writing, to keep on loving each other. If there were one word to remember in all of scripture, it is "love." God is love! Jesus came to suffer for us because of love! When I read of militant groups who are blowing themselves up and killing others, I say they have no god!! God would not do such things. If there were some who needed punishment, God told us "vengeance is mine says the Lord." He will repay in his own way.
He asks us to entertain strangers since they may be angels of the Lord. Abraham and Lot both discovered that. I don't recall anyone turning into an angel, but I remember inviting in guests who turned out to be a real blessing to me. In my church in Ohio, I had a fellow stop to ask for money for a bus to take him to a job interview. I had those requests every day, and I had the feeling that some was going to be spent in the local tavern. Instead of giving this fellow money, I offered to drive him to his job interview. That would sometimes get a bum to walk out the door! But this fellow gave me an address and I dropped him off with a few cents to get a bus back. A few weeks later, this fellow came into my office with a wife and two children to thank me for trusting him. Now they have a home in Dayton and a good job. Sometimes we don't know who to trust. But we still must be generous. It could be an angel.
Before I even thought of being a prison chaplain I received a call from a girl in jail. Her husband was in jail for murder, and she sold drugs to pay for a good lawyer for him and got caught. As we talked and prayed other prisoners came into the room where we sat, and when we were finished they asked me if I could come back and help them. This was the start of years of part time chaplaincy. I could share with them my sufferings and the sufferings of others I knew.
If God will judge the adulterer, then there are many movie stars and even presidents who might have to pay the price!
The hardest one is to keep free from the love of money. I'm sure it does not occupy all our thoughts, but aren't there times when we have felt the love of money creep into our lives when we saw others enjoying the blessings of life that we might envy -- and feel we deserved? We are not always content with what the Lord has given us.
One reason we need the fellowship of a church is to help us realize that God provides for all our needs and we need the example of a good pastor!
He asks us to entertain strangers since they may be angels of the Lord. Abraham and Lot both discovered that. I don't recall anyone turning into an angel, but I remember inviting in guests who turned out to be a real blessing to me. In my church in Ohio, I had a fellow stop to ask for money for a bus to take him to a job interview. I had those requests every day, and I had the feeling that some was going to be spent in the local tavern. Instead of giving this fellow money, I offered to drive him to his job interview. That would sometimes get a bum to walk out the door! But this fellow gave me an address and I dropped him off with a few cents to get a bus back. A few weeks later, this fellow came into my office with a wife and two children to thank me for trusting him. Now they have a home in Dayton and a good job. Sometimes we don't know who to trust. But we still must be generous. It could be an angel.
Before I even thought of being a prison chaplain I received a call from a girl in jail. Her husband was in jail for murder, and she sold drugs to pay for a good lawyer for him and got caught. As we talked and prayed other prisoners came into the room where we sat, and when we were finished they asked me if I could come back and help them. This was the start of years of part time chaplaincy. I could share with them my sufferings and the sufferings of others I knew.
If God will judge the adulterer, then there are many movie stars and even presidents who might have to pay the price!
The hardest one is to keep free from the love of money. I'm sure it does not occupy all our thoughts, but aren't there times when we have felt the love of money creep into our lives when we saw others enjoying the blessings of life that we might envy -- and feel we deserved? We are not always content with what the Lord has given us.
One reason we need the fellowship of a church is to help us realize that God provides for all our needs and we need the example of a good pastor!
