Let's be a Good Samaritan unto each other!

Our Lord wants us, His disciples to be “Good Samaritans” (Luke 10:25-37).  He wants us to put into practice Proverbs 25:21-22 which says: “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” Jews only saw other Jews as their neighbors. Jesus challenges this assumption, and exhorts His disciples to show compassion for all, regardless of class, color or creed. We need to think of a group that may be despised or ostracized in our society and then go out of our way to show mercy. Our neighbors are the people who may be ethnically, religiously, morally, and nationally different than we are. And these are the very people God says we must love as ourselves. National and racial differences are irrelevant in the kingdom of God. We are to treat people who are as irreconcilable to us as Samaritans were to Jews, the very way that we would wish to be treated. To live the agape life means to forgive one another and to bless one another. agape living implies praying for one another in the Name of Jesus Christ. agape rejects all evil, does good only. agape rejects lies, hypocrisy, and deception but rejoices in the Truth, Joy, and Peace. agape living is sacrificial unconditional loving. It is loving everyone including enemies, like Jesus Christ did and the Good Samaritan followed.

(I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Devotion: I John 1:1

As I began reading the very first verse of the First Letter of Apostle John, I John 1:1,

]O h=n a avp v avrch/j( o] avkhko,amen( o] e`wra,kamen toi/j ovfqalmoi/j h`mw/n( o] evqeasa,meqa kai. ai` cei/rej h`mw/n evyhla,fhsan peri. tou/ lo,gou th/j zwh/j

That which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life

I am reminded of the very first verse of the gospel of the same apostle John, John 1:1. 

 vEn avrch/| h=n o` lo,goj( kai. o` lo,goj h=n pro.j to.n qeo,n( kai. qeo.j h=n o` lo,goj)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Both verses refer to the Living Word of Life, Our Lord Jesus Christ!
The words "beginning" and "Word" are both found in the first epistle/letter of I John 1:1 and in the gospel of John 1:1. In I John 1:1(First Letter) they are in the genitive case- avrch/j and tou/ lo,gou.. In John 1:1(Gospel), they are in the dative and nominative case respectively- avrch/| and o` lo,goj
 
In I John 1:1, John is bearing witness and declaring to us that the divine Jesus, the Creator God Jesus, the Word of Life, God Himself, who was at the very beginning of time (John 1:1) IS THE SAME ONE who has come down to us PHYSICALLY. He, John, among others has heard Jesus with his physical ears, looked upon Jesus with his physical eyes, touched Jesus with his physical hands and experienced Him as the Eternal Word of Life. He is testifying about the reality of INCARNATION-God became Man in Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior. Amen.

The Greatest Victory Ever!

Each of the four gospels’ narration ends in the greatest victory ever. It was the victory of God over Satan through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on the third day after His cruel unjust crucifixion two thousand years ago. This victory of God over Satan brought eternal relief, assurance, and salvation to fallen humanity since the day Adam and Eve fell into the trap of the devil and sinned against God in the Garden of Eden. Since then, throughout all these long years and centuries, the world was waiting for the promise of the Messiah to be realized. Finally, when Jesus Christ stepped into the world through His virgin birth, lived a perfect sinless life doing good, healing, teaching, working miracles, died on the Cross for our sins, and rose again on the Third Day as He Himself had prophesied, the promise of the Messiah was fully realized and accomplished.

This victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over Satan, death and Hell has two most wonderful implications for us, fallen humanity. The Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ means that:

-We who trust in Jesus Christ as Our Lord and Savior are saved from God’s condemnation to death and Hell.

-We, believers in Christ Jesus receive eternal abundant life and Heaven as our everlasting home and final destiny.

So, we, children of God can rejoice always and throughout eternity that God has graciously saved us from sin, death, Satan, and hell forever and ever. 

However, we must also obey God’s Commandments of loving Him and others, loving one another, and making Christian disciples of all nations. Just like God had compassion and mercy upon us to come down from Heaven in Jesus Christ to rescue us by paying the penalty for our sins dying on the Cross, so we need to have compassion and mercy upon our lost family members, relatives, friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc…We must go and tell them the Good News of the Gospel of Our Savior so that they may receive the gift of eternal life too.

So, let our life goals be:

1. Love (agape) God and others (Matthew 22:36-40)

2. Love (agape) one another as Christ has loved (agape) us (John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17)

3. Go and make disciples (not just converts) of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20)