The New Commandment - Part 4 of 5

We are continuing the themes of sharing the love of God, the greatest commandment, and you are closer than you think. In reflecting on the story of the boy borrowing the car, and his dad wanting a loaf of bread, the boy probably was not purposely disobedient. I think he wanted to please his father. At the same time, he was excited about using the car. In his excitement, he was disobedient to his father who asked him to bring home a loaf of bread. He did everything that he thought would be pleasing to his dad, but did not do the one thing his dad asked him to do.

I was thinking about how we can equate that to our own life. I was reflecting about how hard, if you can apply hard to God, it is for Him, when God wants to achieve something through someone, whether it be a Christian or a non-Christian. It seems to be that if what He wants to accomplish is a thing that would achieve a lot of recognition, financial gain, or other activities which would apparently give a person gain of some sort, God would have no problem finding people to do that.

It seems easy for us to want to do things that will get us recognition. The Apostle Paul had the same problem. Basically, he said that it was easy for him to do the things he did not want to do (spiritually) and hard to do the things he wanted to do (spiritually). I wonder how hard it must be for God to get someone to do things that get little recognition. How hard is it for God to get a person to speak to another person who may have a need? It could be someone you know or someone you just meet as you go (McDonalds, grocery store, work, etc.) If you see someone who seems to have a need, someone who looks like they have had a hard day, perhaps a kind word or a smile, or a helping hand in some way would help that person to have a better day.

In 2 Kings 5:1-19, there is a story about a man who shows us our human nature of wanting to do something great, but not willing to do something small. The story is about Naaman, who was a Captain in the army, a valiant warrior, and well respected and honored by the King of Aram. The problem was that he had leprosy. In one of his raids, he had captured a girl from Israel and made her a slave to his wife. Seeing Naaman’s physical condition and wanting to be a help to him and his wife, the slave girl said, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure his leprosy.” When Naaman heard this, he told the king. The king sent him to Samaria with many presents so that Naaman could be cured. But when he went to see the prophet (Elisha), he did not even come out to meet Naaman. Elisha sent a messenger to him saying, “Go wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean.” Naaman became furious that Elisha did not come out to meet him, and then sent word for him to wash in the Jordan River. “Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, ‘My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, wash and be clean?’ ‘So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, ‘Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel…”

In Naaman, we can see that a small thing can become a great blessing. Many times we do these little things for others without realizing how pleasing they are to God.

One thing that is exciting about this story is that when Naaman is obedient, he is blessed by being healed, and his eyes are opened to see the one true God. By his example of obedience, others come to see what happens when a person is obedient to God. Also, others can see that God doesn’t ask you to do something that is too hard for you. He asks you to do the things He equips you to do. Don’t despise small beginnings.

What little things has God been asking you to do lately that can ease someone else's burden or brighten their day? Until we get to heaven, we will never know how impactful a smile or a kind word was to someone in need. In 1965, a song was made popular by Jackie De Shannon and later by Dionne Warwick. It was called, "What the World Needs Now is Love". That is so true. So in your daily activities please be generous with a kind word, a word of encouragement, a kind act, or just a warm smile. God bless you.

The New Commandment - part 3 of 5

We are continuing on our journey about the New Commandment. Rather than a Bible study, in the sense that we exhaust all resources, I would rather look at this journey as a source of encouragement. My hope is that whether you are a Christian or not, if you are away from God or don’t know God at all, that through the Scriptures and testimonies we have already shared and the ones we will be sharing, the information you receive will help you to feel that you can comfortably move closer to God. And if you are a Christian, I hope it will be an encouragement to you as it is to me. Hopefully, you will see that the smallest kind deed you do, whether it is a hand on the shoulder, a hug, or a smile, it will not go unnoticed by God.

The next thing I want to share is something that I felt God gave to me and it has been a help to me. I hope that it will be an inspiration to you. Remember: “You are closer than you think.”

I received this several years ago. It is the example of a father and his children. One thing we all know whether we are parents now or remember how it was as children growing up. It was pleasing to our parents when we were obedient to do as they asked. Remember being told, “If only you would do what I asked you.” Wow! How many times have I said that?

We will use an example of a dad and his son. The son, who had just turned 16 and had just received his driver’s license, was very eager to drive his dad’s car, so one evening he asked his father if he could borrow the car. His dad said, “Well son, you can borrow the car if you are not gone too long. Then he gave him the fatherly talk about how to take care of the car. I will let you borrow the car, but there is one thing – all I ask you to do for me son, is to pick up a loaf of bread while you are out because I really had a taste for a sandwich, but had no bread.”

The son happily took the car, and of course, since it was his first time out, he came back a little early and he said, “Oh dad, you are going to be so proud of me!” Dad asked, “Why is that son? The son replied, “Dad, I took really good care of the car. I filled it up with gas and ran it through the car wash. It looks great!” Dad said, “Son, that is wonderful! By the way, do you have my loaf of bread? Oh boy, I’ve been looking forward to making that sandwich.” Then the son said, “Oh dad, I did all these things I thought that you would like for me to do, but I didn’t do the one thing you asked me to do. I am so sorry that I never picked up the loaf of bread.”

How can we equate this to our Father in heaven, to loving you neighbor as yourself, and to believing that it is not only what we say, but what we do, that shows our love for God? Here is an example of a boy and his father. The boy has the opportunity to show his love for his dad by doing what his father asked him to do. Of course, the father was generous with him, in allowing him to use his car for his first time out on his own. One way the son could show his love and appreciation for the father was to pick up the loaf of bread, because the father was eagerly waiting for that sandwich, and the son knew it.

What is our heavenly Father asking of us? Let’s look at some Scriptural demonstrations of what God is going to ask when He returns. We will share what the Bible shares with us. Is God going to ask us a lot of complicated religious questions? Are we going to need to be a Scriptural guru to be pleasing to God when He returns? Let’s go to Scripture to see what God has to share with us about what He will ask upon His return. You might be surprised! You might be closer than you think! Here we go.

In Matthew 25:31-45, "Jesus said, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left. 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. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You" (paraphrase) [in all these situations?] and 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 He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed one, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves will answer saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not to it to Me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (NIV)

What did the Bible say that Jesus is going to ask when He comes back? No religious questions. Even though going to church and reading your Bible are excellent uses of you time. They help you learn about God and they are essential to your growth in your relationship with God. By seeking God and reading His words, the Holy Spirit can teach you all you need to know and bring you closer to God.

Jesus will not ask how often you went to church or ask you to quote Scripture. What He will ask will support the new commandment. I believe we can be safe in saying that many of you have done many of the things listed in Scripture that show that you have shown the love of God to others. You gave someone a ride, visited a sick person, tried to help someone. You have expressed your love for God by loving your neighbor. You can think of ways that you have shown that love to others.

So even if you don’t know God or feel far away from Him, how many of these kindnesses have you done to others, which in turn, really expresses your love for Him. God never overlooks what is done in kindness and love for another. You are closer than you think.

In our next post, we will continue to examine the New Commandment. We hope that you will stay on this journey with us and we look forward to reading your comments.

Update: Here is a real life example of God's love at work through the sacrifices of His people.

In the midst of the suffering wrought by the destruction from hurricane Ian, there is revival (the act or an instance of bringing something back to life, public attention, or vigorous activity) in the land.

When the world seems so divided, it is not divided in parts of Florida. People of all beliefs, colors, and creeds are coming together to help those in need. People are reaching out to help their fellow human beings. The helpers are sacrificing their time, talents, possessions, knowledge; whatever is needed is shared. People are not hesitating to travel long distances in heavy traffic to spend their days working hard to ease the burden of another.

Whether they realize it or not, the helpers are touching others with the love of God by way of their personal sacrifices given with a pure heart. There are several Scriptures which show that this is pleasing to God. I have included some of them below.

Proverbs 21:3 "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."

Philippians 2:4 "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Ephesians 5:2 "And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Hosea 6:6 “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

Hebrews 13:16 "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."

In summary, I want to thank all the helpers who have reached out so generously to bring the peace and unmerited love of God to all those in need. May God bless each of you above and beyond measure, I pray in Jesus’ name.

The New Commandment-The Good Samaritan: The Difference Between the Old and New Covenants Part 2 of 5

After reading the Bible for over 40 years, it was really exciting for me to get a new perspective, and to know that Scripture truly is the living Word of God: That through the revealing of the Holy Spirit, you can be reviewing something that you have seen many times, and all of a sudden, you see it in a new light.

As I continue to share about the New Commandment, I was reflecting about the example that I used in the story of the Good Samaritan. What was intriguing and exciting to me was how this is so much a good and almost perfect example of how the story is representative of the old and new covenants.

In the story, you have the religious who failed to show any love or compassion to the person who was robbed and beat, representing the law of the Old Covenant. Under the law, many rules were made by man to bring people into right standing with God. The problem was that these were man’s ideas, not God’s, and no one could ever fulfill the laws. This did not work, Relative to the story, the man was left beaten in the road with no one to help him.

But then you have the Good Samaritan who showed love and compassion by providing for all the needs the beaten man required – binding his wounds, providing transportation to shelter, giving him shelter, and even to the point where he makes provision for future needs the beaten man may have. The Good Samaritan said that when he returned, he would take care of all the debts the beaten man had incurred while he was away. This is a perfect reflection of Jesus Christ taking care of all our debts and all that we owe for the sin of rejecting Him in our lives. He will eliminate that sin totally and completely as far as the East is from the West. It is an example of Jesus Christ and what He does for everyone. In place of the Law, God provided His perfect plan. He gave us Jesus, crucified on the cross for all our sins. And if we will accept Him and His sacrifice, we will be set free from our sins and be forgiven.

What do you think about this? Is the story of the Good Samaritan representative of the Old and New Covenants? In the future we will be sharing more about the New Commandment. We hope you will follow along and share your thoughts with us.