ITSOGS

The good news of the kingdom of God is for everyone. So Jesus calls his followers from everywhere – from around the world, from all sorts of cultures, from all races and from all social classes. We should not expect every follower of Jesus to be the same.

With your blood you brought people for God. They came from every tribe, language, people and nation. You have made them members of a Royal family. You have made them priests to serve our God[S1] .

Sometimes, the wonderful differences in the body of Christ are turned into terrible divisions. Differences in skin color or denomination or nationality have led to countless conflicts. But it is wrong to make the ways in which we are different more important than the faith we share in Jesus. The bible says we are one.

Be completely gentle. Be patient. Put up with one another in love. The Holy Spirit makes you one in every way. So try your best to remain as one. Let peace keep you together[S2] .

The second greatest love comes from the first. The son of God loved even us, to the point of giving up his life. As disciples or the son, we follow his example day by day. We deny ourselves and love each other deeply. WE have the new commandment of love written on our hearts.

We love because he loved us first[S3] .

This love is not a weakness. It is the tough love that really cares about others. It is the love that is strong enough to step forward and help people.

[S1]Revelation 5:9-10

[S2]Ephesians 4:2-3

[S3]1 John 4:19

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God has loved his people greatly – rescuing them from danger and trouble, even from sin and death. And he wants his people to love him greatly in return. This means giving God the highest place in your life, making service to Jesus the most important thing. In the Old Testament, God’s people had many nations all around them. These nations believed their own Gods could protect and provide for them. God’s people were always being tempted to trust and serve these other gods. But God’s word tells us, that people around the world will finally see that these fake gods always fail:

Our people of long ago didn’t own anything except statues of gods. The statues were worthless. They didn’t do them any good. Do men make their own Gods? Yes, but they aren’t really gods at all[S1] !

Today the followers of Jesus are also tempted to trust in false gods. It is easy to believe that enough money will solve our problems. We quickly start to depend on our own strength. Often we foolishly follow the directions of the world. And then we pay the painful results. In the end, the idols of today’s world have nothing to offer.

Here is what people who belong to this world do. They try to satisfy what their sinful natures want to do. They love for what their small eyes look at. They brag about what they have and what they do. The world and its evil longings are passing away. But those who do what God wants them to do live forever[S2] .

Loving God with everything we say, think and do. It means living our lives the way we were meant to, the way our creator intended. The followers of Jesus live, to love God.

[S1]Jeremiah 16:19-20

[S2]1 John 2:16-17

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Jesus knew and loved the law God had given his people in the Old Testament. Jesus also knew how to get to the very heart of the law:

One of them was an authority on the law. So he tested Jesus with a question about “teacher”, which is the most important in the law? Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and withal your soul. Love him with your entire mind! This is the first and most important commandment.” And the second is like it! Love your neighbor as you love yourself[S1] .”

God has two main things to say about how he wants followers to live.

(1) (1) Love God with everything you have, and

(2) (2) Love each other with a deep self-giving kind of love.

Do not be hard hearted toward God or others. These two greatest of all laws are also greatest of all loves.

[S1]Matthew 22:35-39

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God’s people are now free to know the blessing of living by God’s laws. The followers of Jesus have the power of Jesus, and the help of the Holy Spirit. They can sit their hearts and minds on what God wants.

Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come[S1] !

[S1]2 Corinthians 5:17

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God’s love is greater than our problems. So God told his people that he would fix this problem of sin-hardened hearts. God made amazing promises to change them from the inside out.

I will give you new hearts. I will give you a new spirit, which is faithful to me. I will remove your stubborn hearts from you. I will give you hearts that obey. I will put my spirit in you[S1] .

I will put my law in their minds. I will write it in their hearts[S2] .

God made good on these promises when Jesus died on a cross and put sin to death. If you have joined with Jesus, you have had your old heart changed from the inside, whether you feel any change or not.

We know that what we used to be was nailed to the cross with him. That happened so our sinful bodies would lose their power. We are no longer slaves to sin[S3] .

And because Jesus rose from the dead, God gave you a new life and a new heart as well.

You are a letter written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Lord God. You are a letter written not on tablets made out of stone, but on human hearts[S4] .

[S1]Ezekiah 36:26

[S2]Jeremiah 31:33

[S3]Romans 6:6

[S4]2 Corinthians 3:3

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