Bible League: Living His Word “Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.”— Luke 6:28 NLT In the previous verse, Jesus says, “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). In saying this, Jesus shows us that the second greatest commandment, the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18), applies to our enemies as well as to our family and friends. In our verse for today, He gives us two particular ways that we should fulfill the commandment. First, He says that we should bless those who curse us. In this context, to bless someone means to “speak well of them,” or to “speak well to them.” Obviously, it’s not an easy thing to do. The first inclination of the sinful self is to verbally lash out at those who curse us. Loving our enemies, however, requires that we speak well of them and speak kindly to them. It’s probably the last thing we want to do, but by doing it we will be following Jesus’ command. Second, He says that we should pray for those who hurt us. In this context, to be hurt by someone means to be injured by them in some way or to be persecuted by them. Instead of responding in kind, we should pray for them. No doubt, praying for someone is one of the highest manifestations of loving our enemies. After all, enemies who hurt us are in desperate need of prayer. They need to be delivered from sin and evil just as we needed to be delivered. Since Jesus’ two ways of loving our enemies go against the ways that people usually respond in these situations, we might well ask the question – Why? Why should we love our enemies in these ways? The answer comes a few verses later in the chapter. When we love our enemies, we are “acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked” (Luke 6:35b). The Most High is compassionate, so we should be compassionate as well (Luke 6:36). The Lord realizes how difficult this will be for His followers, because He gives an incentive to do it. He says (Luke 6:35) that if we do these things, our “reward from heaven will be very great.” Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingNehemiah 12, 13 Nehemiah 12 -- Priests and Levites Who Returned; Dedication of the Wall NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Nehemiah 13 -- Foreigners Excluded; Tobiah Expelled; Tithes and Sabbath Restored NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 4:23-37 Acts 4 -- Peter and John Arrested and Released; Believers Share All NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Insight Jesus challenged society's norms. To him, greatness comes from serving—giving of yourself to help God and others. Service keeps us aware of others' needs, and it stops us from focusing only on ourselves. Jesus came as a servant. Challenge What kind of greatness do you seek? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Amos 9:9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.Every sifting comes by divine command and permission. Satan must ask leave before he can lay a finger upon Job. Nay, more, in some sense our siftings are directly the work of heaven, for the text says, "I will sift the house of Israel." Satan, like a drudge, may hold the sieve, hoping to destroy the corn; but the overruling hand of the Master is accomplishing the purity of the grain by the very process which the enemy intended to be destructive. Precious, but much sifted corn of the Lord's floor, be comforted by the blessed fact that the Lord directeth both flail and sieve to his own glory, and to thine eternal profit. The Lord Jesus will surely use the fan which is in his hand, and will divide the precious from the vile. All are not Israel that are of Israel; the heap on the barn floor is not clean provender, and hence the winnowing process must be performed. In the sieve true weight alone has power. Husks and chaff being devoid of substance must fly before the wind, and only solid corn will remain. Observe the complete safety of the Lord's wheat; even the least grain has a promise of preservation. God himself sifts, and therefore it is stern and terrible work; he sifts them in all places, "among all nations;" he sifts them in the most effectual manner, "like as corn is sifted in a sieve;" and yet for all this, not the smallest, lightest, or most shrivelled grain, is permitted to fall to the ground. Every individual believer is precious in the sight of the Lord, a shepherd would not lose one sheep, nor a jeweller one diamond, nor a mother one child, nor a man one limb of his body, nor will the Lord lose one of his redeemed people. However little we may be, if we are the Lord's, we may rejoice that we are preserved in Christ Jesus. Daily Light on the Daily Path Exodus 2:9 Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him.Matthew 20:4 and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went. Mark 9:41 "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward. Proverbs 11:25 The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. 1 Corinthians 3:8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. Matthew 25:37,38,40,34 "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? • 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? • "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' • "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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