June 20, 2020 CAC Living Water Devotional :- WORLD REFUGEE DAY
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Saturday, June 20, 2020.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY
TO LOVE IS TO SHARE
Read 1 John 3:11-24
11. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
12. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
13. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
14. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
MEMORISE : But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John 3:17)
EXPOSITION
The Bible continually commands us to love one another. Preachers often preach sermons on this, and obeying this commandment puts a mark of the Kingdom on any child of God. If God had demonstrated His love for us by sharing His Son with us, and Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life for our sins, there can’t be greater practical way of showing love to mankind than this. Verses 16 and 17 of our Bible reading for today express this idea and encourage us to do the same for our brothers. It may not mean getting physically to the cross. Jesus had done that for us, once and for all. He is the one and only sacrifice. But when you deny yourself some comfort so that you put smile on the faces of brothers and/or sisters in need, you share God’s love that lives in you, as a citizen of His Kingdom. *He who had pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given (Pro. 19:17).*
Jesus explicitly taught us about sharing what we have with our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, who may not be as privileged as we are. This is what the church in Antioch did by sending relief materials to the brethren in Judea (Acts 11:27-30). The verdict is sending those who fail to share their God-given possessions with others to external punishment, while those who share get the eternal life (Matt. 25:31-46)
Truly and humanly speaking, it is easier to receive than to give, contrary to the words of Jesus, It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Sharing what a man has is more difficult than holding unto it, most especially, as the blessings of doing that is more spiritual and may not come almost immediately. But in the end, it pays off. Henceforth never you hold unto whatever you have while your brother/sister is in need (1 Jn. 3:15ff). This is an opportunity to be reminded of our responsibility to be succour to refugees everywhere, individually and corporately as the body of Christ in the land. May we not fail (cf. Acts 11:27ff). Amen.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Lord, I pray for the spirit of genuine hospitality in all I do, in Jesus’ name.
2. O my Lord, grant me the grace to live my life for the lifting of others
3. Lord Jesus, infuse in our political and church leaders, the spirit of sacrificial love for the citizenry and church members, respectively, in Jesus’ name.
*EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: 1 Chronicles 17 – 19 & Philippians 4