These days as we live through this pandemic, what should make us different from the world is our “love for God” and our “love for our neighbor” It is hard to fight this desire to get back to our “old ways of life,” but what is more important is how I display my love for those who are around me. Masks, and social distancing is an example of a way we can demonstrate to our neighbors that we love them. Love is not built on what I want, but rather what is better for my neighbor. Francis Shaeffer in his book, The Mark of the Christian, writes: “The church is to be a living church in a dying culture… in the midst of the world, in the midst of our present dying culture, Jesus is giving a right to the world. Upon his authority he gives the world the right to judge whether you and I are born-again Christians on the basis of our observable love toward others.” Love like this is impossible without the transforming power of the New covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). While Jesus’ command in John 13:34-35 is not a new command from the standpoint that it was … READ MORE

Only After Judas left, did the Lord begin His farewell address to the 11 remaining apostles. In John 13:31-33 we have the profound expression of Christ’s love where He makes 3 statements regarding the glory, which He would soon resume:1. “Now the Son of Man is glorified” – This refers to His death on the cross the next day.2. “God is glorified in Him” – Through the cross, God’s glorious nature was supremely put on display. 3. “If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself” – This phrase looks beyond he cross to Jesus’ exaltation to the Father’s right hand. The Lord could say that the Father would “glorify Him immediately” because His resurrection and ascension would shortly follow the cross. But Jesus’ glorification meant that He would have to leave the disciples – a truth that they found difficult to understand and accept. Knowing that He would soon leave them was both painful and frightening for them. Yet Jesus’ death was both necessary and the most loving act Christ could perform on their behalf. It is this infinite expression of Love that undergirds the Lord’s subsequent command: There are times when we feel that … READ MORE

What Identifies us as followers of Jesus Christ? Is it the way we cut our hair? How about the way we dress? External displays of loyalty to Christ are not necessarily wrong, but they also do not guarantee that we are believers. The reality is that it is not an external mark that designates us as followers of Jesus Christ, it is the internal attitudes of the heart, that make us His followers! Love for God is most clearly demonstrated not through lip service, but through our obedience to what He asks of us. What makes false disciples so difficult to detect is that they often have outward trappings of genuine disciples, remember the rich young ruler of Matthew 19:16-21 was outwardly moral, but had no relationship with Christ. Beginning in John 13:31 and running through the end of chapter 16, Jesus gave a farewell address to the 11 disciples, and in John 13:31-38 the LORD highlights a premier mark of those who are His true disciples, namely, sincere, selfless, love. This passage emphasizes the supreme standard of that love by focusing on the person and work of Christ Himself. These verses illustrate the quality of love that is to … READ MORE