¹¹ This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. ¹² We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. ¹³ So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters,^[c] if the world hates you.

¹⁴ If we love our Christian brothers and sisters,^[d] it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates another brother or sister^[e] is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

¹⁶ We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister^[f] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

Thanks CB Nov 17th

Romans 8.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?   If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

³² Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ³³ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴ Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

QUESTION?³⁵Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?

ANSWER ³⁸  I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.

Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—

The fact is :- if God is for us , he is not against us.

Psalm56

But when I am afraid,
I will put my trust in you.
⁴ I praise God for what he has promised.
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?

Thanks AJ  Nov 10th

“Resist the devil and he will flee” (James iv. 7).. When life becomes tough, which it often does, it is easy to become anxious, stressed, depressed & caught up with the worries of life. The circumstances of life can affect the experience of life. Life may not be happy but scripture tells us that the “Joy of the Lord” is our strength. As Christians we remember that God is with us whatever. Therefore we can choose “Joy” as an act of will because we are in Gods hands. Johns Gospel chapter 1 Verse 12 tells us that we if we receive Christ we become a child of God. Express the Joy of being a Child of God in every circumstance  (sad or happy) & don’t let fear steal the Joy we can have in Christ.

Hope this is a reasonable summary of Nov 3rd

Thanks HP

David wrote this Psalm when he was being chased by King Saul & then being potentially persecuted by the King he had decided to temporarily stay with. An “act” literally of insanity enabled him to escape. Psalm 34 is his response.

Extol is a word we don’t use very much these days. Think of Extol  like a stew with the following ingredients:- “give thanks”, “praise highly”, “Celebrate”, “Exalt”, “Bless”. ie Ultimately recognising Gods Holiness & worthiness to be worshipped.

See Matthew Chapter 18.

The disciples were keen to jockey for position in what they perceived was  a new kind of kingdom.

Yes, there is a new kind of kingdom but there is an attitude of humility that has to be adopted. A small child is dependent on his/her parents for food & clothing & life decisions. There is no house , no car, no job , no big bucks to give a feeling of status. In fact children can often be completely ignored.

This is a level playing field where we are all invited to enter the kingdom of God not because of who we are but because of who Jesus is.

Thanks IR  Great Preach!!

Luke 15. Are  we in a place of famine or celebration. The prodigal son realised his need & came back to the father who loved him as he was. How do we view God’s love and forgiveness?

What does celebration look like in our circumstances because its doesn’t always feel like a party!!

The older brother despite being with the father was also in a kind of “famine”.

How do we move to that place of celebration(Joy) in our lives??

Thanks CW.

How much do we value the friendship of God? What would be willing to trade? Jesus said:-

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends,  _s for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

We are all quite good at naturally caring for ourselves.  How much do we care for others? Do we reflect the life of Jesus ? Is our identity Christlike?

Joseph is an example of a Selfish man who changed his attitude. How? It was because he put God first.

Thanks LJD

Galatians 3 V ²⁶    For you  are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.    ²⁷   For_j as many of you as were baptized into Christ   have put on Christ.     ²⁸   There is neither Jew nor Greek,   there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all   one in Christ Jesus.    ²⁹  And  if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s   seed, and   heirs according to the promise.

Romans 8 v16-17

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Spurgeon

“our right to the divine heritage stands or falls with Christ’s right to the same inheritance. We are co-heirs; if he be truly an heir, so are we; and if he be not, neither are we. Our two interests are intertwined and made one, we have neither of us any heirship apart from the other; we are joint heirs, Christ jointly with us; ourselves jointly with Christ. So, then, it follows that if there be any flaw in the will, so that it be not valid, if it be not rightly signed, sealed, and delivered, then it is no more valid for Christ than it is for us.”

Thanks Richard

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy (psalm 33)

If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but  _x delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8)

What do we do when our “hopes” are not realised?