Mentoring Minutes

“Now as to the love of the brothers and sisters, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;”     Paul  (1 Thessalonians 4:9)

Love and Lordship in Focus…Real Love can only come from God as any other imitations fall short. Our “brotherly love” must be an overflow of His Agape (selfless, sacrificial, self-giving love that prefers Him above all else). We cannot love our fellow man and compromise God’s Love in any way.

Seems that The Holy Spirit had much to say about loving “one another” to each of the churches that Paul helped plant as the early church was growing. Must have been important to know how to treat, what to do and what not to do to “one another” in order to exhibit Christ’s Love to The Church but also to those around them who needed to see and know His Love as well.

Certainly the same is true today and it has to be much more than just a system or program of events or activities. These “one anothers” are deeply rooted in loving relationships as what forms them and how they grow in Christ.

Paul continued to encourage the Church at Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 4:9 with the simple yet powerful command, that we’ve seen before and will see again, to “…Love each other.”

Paul begins this verse talking about “philadelphia” (no not the city of “brotherly love”) as “brotherly love” but the command give is to “agape” one another which is Godly love… preferring God above all others. This literally means that it must be my love for God that drives my love for all others.

As we know from other Scriptures and study, this includes all the other “one

anothers” such as submitting to, exhorting, encouraging, forgiving, etc. Every time we read “love one another” we must consider and apply each of these others as needed in order to build and mature in the loving relationships that set us apart as Christ’s disciples and grow us together as His loving fellowship of believers, the Church (Ephesians 4:14-16).

How are you doing personally in loving others as His disciple? How are you doing as a member of His Body in loving other individuals and His whole Family?

Food for Thought…Do you know God’s Love and are you returning love to Him as of first priority? What does that love look like as it overflows to others in brotherly love? What do you need to change in order to love others without compromising God’s Agape?

Love in Action…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word and prayer every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. How does your love for others (or lack thereof) reflect God’s Love and prioritizing Him above all else?
4. What happens when you love in your own flesh and strength rather than according to God’s design and love? What needs to change?  

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, help me to daily seek to know and love You more so I can love others as Your Word has commanded me to do. May it not be just in programmatic service that appeals to and satisfies my flesh but in deeper relationship that helps to make disciples who make disciples who show and share Christ’s love to all others. In His Name. Amen.

“and may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;”     Paul   (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

Love and Lordship in Focus…Only when we come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord can we truly increase and overflow in our love for others because He is The Source of Real Love! As your receive God’s love in Christ and build your relationship with Him the overflow of love impacts every other person and relationship in your life.

As we continue with the “one anothers” of Scripture we move to Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica where we find one of the more encouraging commands. Paul very positively praised them for their receiving of The Gospel and walking in it as Timothy had gone to them and returned with this good report.

In 1 Thessalonians 3:12, he simply tells them to allow The Lord to “…cause your love to increase and overflow for each other.” How’s that for encouragement!

How can we, as fallen human beings, who only know love as give and take actually overflow with love for others? Only as we give our lives to Christ and by grace through faith receive Him as Savior and Lord. As we do so we are not only forgiven of our sins and made holy before a Holy God but we are given the gift of The Holy Spirit.

This is how we are able to both be filled with His Love and overflow with that love to others…all others!

Being consistent, as Scripture by The Holy Spirit always is, He places the emphasis on The Lord and the producing of that love by The Lord in and through us. He even extends it to say to “one another and to all people.”

It is The Lord that causes us to increase and overflow by His Holy Spirit. You can do this in no other way.

How are you doing when it comes to allowing The Lord to increase your love for others? John 7:38 says, “The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” This is the overflow of The Holy Spirit pouring out Truth and Love through our lives as we walk by faith in Christ!

Are you allowing His Love to fill you with your time in The Word, prayer and listening…so it can overflow to impact others and point them to Him?

Food for Thought…Are you trying to love others apart from God’s Love to you, in you and through you? Quit trying to love from an empty vessel in your flesh and allow Christ and His Holy Spirit to fill you and flow through so others will know His Love.

Love in Action…

1. Spend time with God and in His Word and prayer every day…begin with the Scriptures in this message.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Take inventory of your relationships…are they rooted in Godly Love evident to all others?
4. What needs to change, if anything, for you to increase and overflow His Love to your spouse? Children/family? Other believers? Non-believers? Enemies?  

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, I’m learning more and more that the only real love that I have is Your Love in me and through me. Help me to receive Your Love, love you with all that I am, know and love who I am in Christ so Your Love increases in me and overflows through me to one another and to all people as you give me opportunity to do so. In Jesus Name. Amen.

“…admonishing one another…” Paul  (Colossians 3:16c)

Love and Lordship in Focus…Teaching and admonishing others are both very important and necessary aspects of growing in The Lord, and in particular, making disciples who make disciples. May we not neglect our duty to obey these commands and respond when others are obedient in teaching and admonishing us.

We pick up with our next “one anothers” of love and stay in the same verse as our last week’s post…Colossians 3:16c. In this text, from last week’s sharing, Paul has already told us to “teach (one another).” He continues by taking it a bit deeper with “…Admonish one another.”

Okay, that sounds like a big fancy Old English word from the King James Version and that’s exactly what it is so what does it mean? To admonish others means everything from advising or urging to warning and reprimanding. You may be asking, “What’s up, I thought this was about loving ‘one another?'”

I’m glad you asked (even if you didn’t I asked for you to make this powerful point from Scripture) because that’s exactly what it is. Every “One Another” is about loving “others” and this one, as some of the previous negative sounding ones are just as important if not more so in a fallen world.

This requires integrity in The Word for those who admonish. How are you doing when it comes to being in and walking in His Word so that you can teach…and admonish other in love as needed?

We must be able to both humbly give admonition to those we love and be willing to humbly receive it as well. This is God’s Love steering us in His Truth as we help and love others and as they do so with us. May we always be willing to accept teaching and correction from Him and from other believers and may we admonish others as we see the loving need and do so and follow through in humility and grace, covered in Love!

It’s so interesting that, just as with teaching in the same command, The Holy Spirit through Paul pairs this command to admonish with how we are to do it…”with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs as we sing with grace (gratitude) in our hearts to The Lord.” Don’t you think we would all better receive the encouragements, warnings and reprimands as they come wrapped in gracious melodies and harmonies and with thankfulness!

Again, this all begins with in Colossians 3:16a with the encouragement and command of “the Word dwelling richly in you.” Does it? What are you doing to make it so that God’s Word is dwelling deeply and richly in you?

How do you respond when others admonish you? What about when you know someone needs to be lovingly admonished… what is your response? How can we look to Christ to both give and receive admonition and together grow in Him as disciples and as His Body, The Church?

Food for Thought…Once again we’re reminded that we don’t readily accept teaching, and certainly not admonition or correction, in our own flesh. That all changes as we receive Christ and walk in His Spirit and not in our flesh and selfishness. Then His Word can dwell richly in us and we can both share and receive teaching and correction in grace, humility and love!

Love in Action…

1. Spend time with Him in His Word and prayer daily – read and study the Scriptures in this message as a way to start.
2. Ask The Holy Spirit to teach you.
3. Are you pouring into the lives of others with teaching and even admonishing then in grace and love?
4. Do you allow others who are more mature to admonish and correct you in The Lord and His Word?

Contact us at loveandlordship@gmail.com.

Love and Lordship Prayer Focus…Heavenly Father, thank You for admonishing me and for those in Christ’s Church that do the same through preaching, teaching and discipling me. I pray that I will be gracious, humble and loving to do the same and may we all do so all and only according to Your Truth to help us grow in fullness in Christ…as disciples and as His Family, The Church. In His Name. Amen.