Dear brethren,

I hope you are enjoying this frigid weather!  This past week it got down to 34 degrees in Maricopa. Not as cold as some parts of the country, but it is chilly.  If this global warming gets much worse all of us could freeze to death J

My mind has been on the importance of love in the church.  Jesus emphasized loving one another to His disciples.

Interestingly there is no single commandment of the ten given to Israel at Sinai which directly commands us to love our brother.  However, the last six commandments show us how to do that.  It is loving to honor our parents, to not murder, not commit adultery, not steal, and not lie, or covet what belongs to another.

Prior to Christ's crucifixion one major admonition Jesus gave to His disciples was in Jn. 13:34-35: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Jesus Christ intended LOVE of brethren be a trademark of His church. This outstanding characteristic should be one of the identifying signs of God's people!

The Apostle John, a close friend of Jesus, carefully records this important instruction to the future apostles.  He gave this classic admonition the very night of Judas' betrayal.  (Jn. 13:23-30)

John would live to see brethren who did not treat one another with love.  The apostle curiously writes this interesting passage in I Jn. 3:10-14: "In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.   We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death." 

If our desire is to inherit eternal life and be in God's Kingdom, we must have love for each other, and not just some, but all of the brethren.  The church is not a clique, but a family of true believers who use God's Spirit to work together--during the good, bad, and the ugly!

John goes on in verse 15: "Whoever hates (love less) his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."

He then writes is verse 16-18, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 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?  18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

Each of us has a tall order from the Head of the Church, Jesus Christ, to love each other.  This love goes beyond normal human love and requires us to utilize the special gift God has given us, His Spirit.  He expects us to put our love for one another into some form of action. 

Jesus came to reveal the Father and bring His will and way to each of us. It is God's will we love one another.  Each of us individually must be about our Father's business in doing this. (Jn. 12:29)

Have a wonderful and uplifting Sabbath! 

          Ever your servant and friend,                                                                               

Jim Tuck