Our Bible study for this week focused on loving our neighbor as our self. We all have people in our lives who annoy us, or are sometimes even rude to us, but God Wants us to love these people unconditionally. The question is, why? Why should I love someone who is such a pain? The answer, because God first loved us, and them. We are God's ambassadors, we represent Him. Thus, we need to love everyone, even our enemies or those who annoy us. Most people would get confused on the account that the word love has many different meanings. There is the love you have for you friend or sibling. The love you have for a parent or mentor. The love you have for your spouse, and then last of all, there is agape love. Agape love is the love we should have for all mankind. With this kind of love I am loving through Christ. Most of the time I probably won't even like the person I am "loving". We can not love this way on our own. Only through Christ is this kind of love possible. Our memory verses for this week where James 1:1-4. In these verses James talks about how we should count all joy when we meet trials of various kinds. The reason why..... because the trials God send our way produce steadfastness in Him. That is why we must be steadfast in Christ to have agape love. Most of the time we don't even want to have this kind of love, but God works in our hearts until we sincerely do.
Thank you Jacob!
THE AUTHORITY OF GOD? BY STEVE FINNELL
ReplyDeleteWhere is God's authority recorded? Most denominations who use creed books AKA denominational church catechisms, use those creed books as the final authority for faith and practice.
The question is, if church creed books are used as the authoritative book, why read the Bible? The ironic thing about churches who use creed books is, they try to use the Bible to support their denominational creeds.
If creed books are used as the rules for faith and practice, then referencing the Bible rings hollow.
There is not one denomination that has written one verse of the Bible. Denominations write creed books. God does not write creed books.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word: and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Jesus did not say if anyone loves Me, he will keep the words of the church catechism.
1 John 1:4-6 .....as we received command from the Father......6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment , that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.
We are told to walk according to the commandments of God. There is no commandment that says to walk according to church creed books nor new books of revelation written by men.
If your church catechism AKA creed book, or your so-call book of new revelation contradicts doctrine that is found in the Bible, then one of two things is true. 1. The Bible is in error and therefore cannot be trusted for faith and practice. 2. Your creed book or book of new revelation is in error and cannot be trusted as God's message to mankind.
YOU CAN USE THE BIBLE AS GOD'S AUTHORITY OR YOU CAN USE MAN-MADE EXTRA-BIBLICAL SOURCES.
YOU CANNOT USE BOTH!
(Scripture from; NKJV)
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