+Living Life God's Way+ 2/14/2003 http://livinglifegodsway.com
The love of God is one of the great realities of the universe, a pillar upon which the hope of the world rests. But is is a personal, intimate thing too. God does not love populations, He loves people. He loves not masses, but men. A.W. Tozer _______________________________________________ The Divine Commandment Of Life ".....be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48 Our Lord's exhortation to us in verses 38-48 is to be generous in our behavior toward everyone. Beware of living according to your natural affections in your spiritual life. Everyone has natural affections - some people we like and others we don't like. Yet we must never let those likes and dislikes rule our Christian life. "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another" (1 John 1:7), even those toward whom we have no affection. The example our Lord gave us here is not that of a good person, or even of a good Christian, but of God Himself. ".....be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." In other words, simply show to the other person what God has shown to you. And God will give you plenty of real life opportunities to prove whether or not you are "perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Being a disciple means deliberately identifying yourself with God's interest in other people. Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35). The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. God's life in us expresses itself as God's life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian's life is that the supernatural become natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life, nit in times of intimate fellowship with God. And when we come in contact with things that create confusion and a flurry of activity, we find to our amazement that we have the power to say wonderfully poised even in the center of it all. My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers _________________________________________________ The love that caused Christ to die is the same love that sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us every day. The power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that saved you and is available to you in your daily life. Be assured that, having begun a life with Christ, you have a reserve of power and love to call on each day for help to meet every challenge or trail. You can pray for God's power and love as you need it. Life Application Study Bible ________________________________
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