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What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love!

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 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  John 13:34 ESV

Some years ago I worked trimming trees on a large estate in Katonah, New York. Since the work we did was usually done in the winter, it was a special blessing that tucked into one of the wings of the house was a green house with a small semi-heated area where we could warm ourselves at lunch. Though we rarely saw the owner or even the caretaker we were able to get in because the spare key was kept under the edge of the fountain. That key opened a little door marked, “Service entrance”.

That entrance always reminded me that God also leaves the key to His door under the fountain. At that fountain we find, not a to His service entrance door.

When Jesus gave us His new commandment He required that we love one another in the same way that He had loved us. Then, “How did Jesus love me?” we should ask. Was it not most love of all loves when He gave His life on the cross for our sins? What a mighty Savior who gave Himself humbly for us. If today we will pause at His fountain we will discover there in a hidden place the key to the service entrance to heaven. That key He gives us with His command to love God’s children from every corner of the earth!

Jesus Our Life Preserver

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Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him, because he knows my name when he calls to me I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. Psalm 91:14-16

Some have compared this new Corona virus to the swine flu outbreak or Ebola. But a more realistic comparison that most of us have forgotten is the polio epidemic of 1916 that swept through cities like New York and Boston. Back then, very much like today panic ensued as tens of thousands were infected and 2,000 deaths occurred in New York City alone. Because we are accustomed to thinking that there is a cure for every conceivable disease that is hard for us to imagine how generations of everyday people could face such uncertainty with courage.

The fears we face today may feel very different than those of the past but our hope remains the same. Our hope is in trusting God. He has promised to be with us. Our hope is not just a doctrine or a trophy to be kept on display but it is our life preserver in desperate times. God has not forgotten us and He has promised to deliver us; answer us in our trouble; rescue us and shows us His salvation.

Ordinary Details

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They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?”  He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters.   Luke 22:9-10 ESV

In our extended family which includes two grown sons, two daughters in law and seven grandchildren – the location of our family Thanksgiving dinner is a big event. In some ways the Passover meal was the Jewish Thanksgiving of the first century. Lots of preparation went into planning where to hold it, who to invite and even how the table was to be set up. I confess that instead of just a season of Thankfulness and contentment I sometimes struggle to just get along with people. Many of my frustrations come from struggling with mundane details that I feel God could not possibly care about. So what did these disciples do?

After three and a half years of seeing bread multiplied, water changed to wine and storms calmed by a word they decided to just ask Jesus how to prepare for the feast. No matter what you and I face today, we should take a tip from these disciples and ask Jesus to become our event planner. The same God who formed the universe also counts every hair on our heads. It is not a problem to ask Him to take control of even the mundane details we struggle with. When we do we might be amazed at how delighted He will be to show you exactly what He has prepared for you!