DEVOTIONAL

Prayer: Father God, thank you for all that you have done in my life so far. Thank you for this new day. Help me to live in such a way it will bring glory to your name and will you please speak to me and lead in the path of righteousness. Help me to live a life of holiness. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. And in your great love help me to love others as you loved. 

Scripture Reading for Prayer and Praise: Psalm 89:1-2

"I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.” I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.”

Worship Song Sung or Said: A New Commandment I Give Unto You (Roy Crabtree)

https://youtu.be/yy7W8avIXIY

A new commandment I give unto you,

That you love one another as I have loved you,

That you love one another as I have loved you.

By this shall all men know that you are My disciples,

if you have love one for another.

By this shall all men know that you are My disciples,

if you have love one for another.

God’s Word for Today: John 13:31-38

When he was gone, Jesus said, Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him.” 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.” 33 My children, I will be with you only a little longer.” You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” 34 A new command I give you: Love one another.” As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  36 Simon Peter asked him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus replied, Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” 37 Peter asked, Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Then Jesus answered, Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!                                                                                                       

Devotional/Study: (Part 1)

Let me set the scene. Jesus and his disciples are in the Upper Room having what we call the last supper. This was the night Jesus gave his farewell words to His disciples the night before the crucifixion. During this evening Jesus did something amazing He God in flesh washed the disciples’ feet. to teach them humility and love. This act is an example to be the servant of others and love like Christ loved. 

As the evening progresses Jesus is troubled and shares with His disciples that would have stunned them he said in John 13:21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

After a short while Judas leaves to do his deed of betrayal to the saviour of the world. Jesus and the other eleven disciples are still at the table, and then Jesus tells them that He was going to leave them and where He was going, they could not come. 

He said in John 13:33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer.” You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.” 

This was a very moving time for Jesus because he knew he was going to face the darkest time in His life and leave those whom He loved and go to be with His Father. 

All the words Jesus spoke at the last supper would have left the disciples confused and perplexed and greatly troubled; their hearts were stirred up with uncertainty, fear and anxiety. They may have even felt let down and disappointed and that feeling of been abandoned. They had been with him for three years. 

They had left their jobs, families and forsaken every-thing to follow Him. But now He was going somewhere they could not come. What they hadn’t grasped was that He was going to the cross, the place of isolation, suffering and separation. And would be hung between heaven and earth nailed to the cross taking the sin of the world. Jesus knew very soon these disciples whom he loved and would desert Him.

Later in John 16:32 Jesus said "A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home.” You will leave me all alone.” Yet I am not alone, for my father is with me.” Jesus also knew that they would be hated because they choose to follow and live for Him John 15:18-19 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.”

As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. He knew they were going to go through a very dark and traumatic time and would face hostility and persecution and many hardships and death. So, in this context Jesus gives them this command In John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another.”

As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another This was a call for them to love each other as He had loved them. And if they loved each other the world would know that they were and would be identified as His disciples. This command to love was new in the sense that the disciples would be empowered to live out a radical kind of love that Jesus had shown throughout his Ministry. It was a love He demonstrated through forgiveness and compassion. 

It was a love that came from the heart of God and shown on the cross. In the world we live in people are identified by their skin colour, their gender and race and class, but as the people of God we should be identified by the love we have for God and each other. 

This raises question we need to ask ourselves, what is love and how do we love? In these days Love is a word in my opinion that has lost its true meaning. In the culture we live it seems through movies, novels and even music. love is portrayed generally as physical and emotional attraction and feelings toward another.

Although love involves feelings and a deep affection, it’s also a commitment and act of the will. True love isn’t just about emotions and a feeling of deep affection; true love is an emotion that reveals itself in action. A child was asked to describe love. She said this Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.

As humans our default behaviour tends to be towards my needs and my desires. However, the way of God’s love is not about me it’s about putting others above us. 

If we want to know what true love is like, we only need to look at the life of Jesus. He showed love in everything He did and say. Throughout the gospels you discover how Jesus loved, especially the poor people, women, outcasts, lepers, children, prostitutes, and tax collectors. 

However, the ultimate demonstration of what love looked like is when Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross so that we could be forgiven from our sins and come into a relationship with Him and receive the certain hope of living in the presence of God forever. 

Jesus’ life and death is an amazing story of God’s love for the world demonstrated on the cross. Paul the apostle understood the love of God that’s why he said in Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Personal Prayer: