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Love

 John 15:12 ESV  This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  If we think the 10 commandments are onerous, Jesus raises the bar even higher. Moses tells us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. Jesus commands us to love one another as he loves us. Jesus loved us to death, literally. He tells us that we're to be prepared to do the same for one another. It's not just about the ultimate sacrifice, but everyday, small acts of self denial for the sake of others. Of course, our relationship with God comes first. After that though comes our love for one another. God commands us to love one another as he loves us. It seems like Jesus is asking the impossible of us, sinners as we are by nature. Yet by the power of his Holy Spirit, we can do this. We are to rely on his strength, not our own. 'Heavenly Father, we praise you for sending your Son out of love for us. May we love as you have first loved us, with your Spirit's help and in your Son'...
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Humility

 Micah 6:8 ESV He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? The call to walk humbly with God is counterintuitive to the world. The world celebrates pride. The world sees humility as weakness. Micah calls us to be just. We're to be equitable. We're not to show favouritism. We're then called to love kindness. We're not just to be kind out of a sense of duty. We're to delight in being kind. Humility means we don't pay ourselves on our backs for our fairness and mercifulness. We're just grateful for God's graciousness to us. That we can walk with him is a great honour and privilege. 'Dear Lord God, may we do what is good: being just, kind and humble as we walk with you. For your honour we ask this, amen'.
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Love

 1 Peter 4:8 ESV Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.  Love isn't just a feeling. It's a decision. Whether we feel like it or not, we are to love one another. If we endure a multitude of sins against us, we won't feel like loving the perpetrator. Yet that's exactly what the Apostle Peter calls us to do. After all, Jesus does that for us. Jesus proves the truth of this verse. By his love, our multitudes of sins are atoned for. Because of his love, we are empowered to love to. If we belong to Jesus, we will love others even when it's hard. Love isn't necessarily easy. It can be costly. 'Loving Lord God, may we emulate you in loving those who sin against us. By your gracious power we can do this, and in the name of Jesus, amen'.
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Ally

 Romans 8:31 ESV What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  This verse comes in the midst of what can be called the high point of the entire Bible, so packed this chapter is with powerful promises of God. 'These things' include the fact that there is now no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Often, even as Christians, we might assume that God is against us because of our sins. Yet God is for his people. In fact, he doesn't want anyone to perish, not just us. Nothing can prevail against us. Nothing can separate us from God's love. Not even death can part us from his loving kindness. Not trouble, famine, persecution, nakedness, danger, sword or anything else can separate us from God's love. Not even angels or demons can do that. There's nothing in all the universe that can stop God loving us. 'Dear God, tha...
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Fire

 Isaiah 43:2 ESV   When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. There have been instances in history of God's people literally passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace but weren't touched by the flames. I think this verse is mostly metaphorical though. This verse might be comforting, but note that it says 'when' not 'if' you pass through the waters and fire. It's inevitable that we'll pass through the 'waters' of religiosity if I'm not being too fanciful. Religion would bash us about the head with the Law of God. It's inevitable that we'll pass through the 'fires' of hedonism as it were. The world would tell us to blinker ourselves to spiritual realities and live selfishly. God can deliver ...
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Love

 1 Corinthians 13:4 ESV Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant  Jesus is love personified. He is patient and kind. He doesn't envy or boast; he isn't arrogant. We fall far short of love's standards. Yet God's love isn't conditional upon our performance. God loves us even though we are unlovely. Just because we fall short doesn't mean to say we shouldn't seek to be loving. We do so not to earn our salvation though. We love because God first loved us. 1 Corinthians 13 is a great place to go if we want to know what love looks like. We do well to consider how we can demonstrate patience and kindness. We do well to avoid envy, boasting and arrogance. 'Loving heavenly Father, we praise you for you love and ask for your help in emulating you. For the honour of your name, amen'.
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Wisdom

 James 1:5 ESV If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  Wisdom doesn't come naturally to any of us. We all need this verse. We all need to ask God for wisdom. Biblical wisdom isn't just intelligence. It's not just about knowing stuff intellectually. It's about choosing the right way to go. It's not enough to know that we shouldn't play with fire. We have to choose not to actually play with fire. God doesn't want us foolish. Thankfully, God doesn't begrudgingly give wisdom. We just need to believingly ask him for it. He doesn't berate us for lacking it; he's just glad to give us wisdom. 'Dear God our Father, please help us to believingly ask for wisdom, and so to receive it from your gracious hand. In Christ's name, amen'.
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Seek

 Luke 19:10 CSBA For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.’   In the context, we might misread Zacchaeus as having earned his salvation by compensating those he'd stolen from. This statement from Jesus disproves that misunderstanding. Zacchaeus was simply responding to the Lord's mercy towards him. Jesus didn't come to see if any would seek him. He knows that if it's not for his love, no one would seek him out. The emphasis in Scripture is on God seeking us out, not us seeking God out. As Jesus sought Zacchaeus out, so he seeks out all who trust in him. He doesn't want any to perish. He wants us all to come to faith in him. By the blood of Jesus, we can be saved. If we respond with restitution for those we've wronged, that is simply proof that God has already saved us. Our compensating of those we've hurt doesn't earn our salvation. 'Father in heaven, we praise you for sending your Son to seek and to save us. May we respond as we ough...
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Evil

 Matthew 5:11 CSBA  ‘You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me.  Typically of Jesus's Beatitudes, this verse seems counterintuitive. We certainly don't feel blessed when people insult, persecute and slander us. Yet Jesus insists we are. Elsewhere, Jesus pronounces woe on those who are spoken well of, for so they did to the false prophets. False prophets flatter people. True believers might not insult, persecute and slander people, but neither do we pretend everything's okay if it isn't. If we belong to Jesus, we're 'in the world but not of the world'. So why would we expect to be accepted by the world? If we are accepted by the world, we're doing something wrong. As we're told elsewhere, 'all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.' Persecution in one sense is wrong. In another sense, it shows that we're doing something right (not that we...
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Persecution

 Matthew 5:10 CSBA  Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven   is theirs. When we think of persecution, we might envisage imprisonment, torture and martyrdom. Jesus seems to emphasise what enables such things: insults and slander. We certainly don't feel blessed when we're insulted and slandered. Elsewhere we're told of Christians rejoicing that they were counted as worthy to suffer for Christ. It's better to suffer for him than as a result of our sinfulness. The Apostle Peter said as much. Also, we're told that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. We won't all be martyred, but we will all be insulted and slandered. The offence of the crucifixion of Christ that we profess will provoke people to attack us. If we want to be part of the Kingdom of heaven, we will be persecuted. We're not to invite persecution. Yet it will inevitably come out way. 'King of heaven, may we dwell...
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