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Jeremiah 30

Jeremiah to write a book of hope                                 verse 1- 3 

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD – saying

Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel – saying

Write you all the words that I have spoken unto you IN A BOOK

For – lo – the days come – says the LORD

that I will bring again the captivity of MY people

            Israel and Judah – says the LORD

And I will cause them to return to the land

that I gave to their fathers and they shall possess it 

Message of the LORD: Time of terror                          verse 4- 7 

And these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel

and concerning Judah – For thus says the LORD

We have heard a voice of trembling – of fear – and not of peace

            Ask you now – and see whether a man does travail with child?

WHEREFORE do I see every man with his hands on his loins

as a woman in travail and all faces are turned into paleness?

ALAS! for that day is great – so that none is like it

            it is even the time of JACOB’S TROUBLE

                        BUT he shall be SAVED out of it 

Message of the LORD: Time of hope                            verse 8- 9 

FOR it shall come to pass IN THAT DAY

says the LORD of hosts

that I will break his YOKE from off your neck

and will burst your bonds

and strangers shall no more

serve themselves of him

BUT they shall serve the LORD their God

AND David their king

whom I will raise up unto them 

Message of the LORD: Time to return to Land           verse 10- 11 

THEREFORE fear you not – O MY servant Jacob – says the LORD

neither be dismayed – O Israel

FOR – lo – I will save you from afar

and your seed from the land of their captivity

and Jacob shall return – and shall be IN REST – and be quiet

and none shall make him afraid

FOR I am with you – says the LORD – to save you

            though I make a full end of all nations whither

I have scattered you

                                    yet will I not make a full end of you

BUT I will CORRECT you in measure

            and will not leave you altogether unpunished 

Message of the LORD: Time of judgment for sin         verse 12- 15 

For thus says the LORD

Your bruise is incurable – and your wound is grievous

            There is not to plead your cause

                        that you may be bound up

                                    you have no healing medicines

            All your lovers have forgotten you – they seek you not

                        FOR I have wounded you with a wound of an enemy

with the chastisement of the cruel one

                                                FOR the multitude of your iniquity

                                                            BECAUSE your sins were INCREASED

            WHY cry you for your affliction?

                        your sorrow is incurable for the multitude of your iniquity

                                    BECAUSE your sins were INCREASED

                                                I have done these things unto you 

Message of the LORD: Time of healing                        verse 16- 17 

THEREFORE all they that devour you shall be devoured

            and all your adversaries – every one of them

shall go into captivity

            and they that spoil you shall be a spoil

                        and all that prey upon you will I give for a prey

FOR I will RESTORE HEALTH unto you

and I will HEAL you of your wounds – says the LORD

BECAUSE they called you an OUTCAST – saying

This is Zion – whom no man seeks after 

Message of the LORD: Time of prosperity                   verse 18- 22 

   Thus says the LORD

            BEHOLD – I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents

                        and have mercy on his dwelling places

                                    and the city shall be build upon her own heap

                                                and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof

            And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them

that make merry – and I will multiply them – they shall not be few

                                    I will also glorify them – they shall not be small 

            Their children shall be as aforetime

                        and their congregation shall be established before ME

                                    and I will punish all that oppress them

            And their nobles shall be of themselves

                        their governor shall proceed from the midst of them

                                    and I will cause him to draw near

and he shall approach unto ME

                                                            for who is this that engaged his heart

to approach unto ME?

says the LORD

            And you shall be MY people – and I will be your God 

Message of the LORD: Understanding in Latter days    verse 23- 24 

BEHOLD – the whirlwind of the LORD goes forth with fury

            a continuing whirlwind

                        it shall fall with pain upon the heads of the wicked

The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return

            until HE hath done it

                        and until HE have performed the intent of HIS heart

                                    in the LATTER DAYS you shall consider it 

COMMENTARY: 

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers 

: 1–2    The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, “Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). 3789 כָּתַב [kathab /kaw·thab/] – to write, inscribe, engrave, write in, write on.

DEVOTION: It is important that we write down how God has worked or is at work in our lives. While it is precious and special we have a tendency to forget the works of God in the rush and ongoing activities of our daily lives. Journaling and keeping a diary of things God has revealed to us allows those moments to be reviewed and remembered. It is sad to realize how many times we forget the works of God and how they have affected our lives.

God does continue to speak to His people through the Holy Spirit and His word. He uses the written word to chastise and correct. He also speaks through it to encourage and instruct. May we write down the things that He is instructing us about so that we can go back and reflect and review those truths another day!

CHALLENGE: Most of us are not writers and the significance of a journal is not recognized. Yet the written word can be a source of encouragement and joy as we take the time to write and review God’s works or seemingly silent times in our lives. It can bring encouragement and we can see answers that when we write about a problem is not present or revealed. Take time to see how God is at work in your life and then jot down that significant event or revealed truth. It may be helpful in the future as you review your journals! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member) 

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers 

: 11      For I am with you, says the LORD, to save you: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered you, yet will I NOT make a full end of you: but I will correct you in measure, and will not leave you altogether unpunished. (3256 “correct” [yacar] means to chastise, discipline, instruct, punish to improve behavior, teach, instruct, reform, or admonish.

DEVOTION:  This is a chapter of hope and encouragement to the children of Judah. There was going to be chastening of the children of Judah because of their sin.

Their sin kept increasing to the point that the LORD had to discipline them. However, HE promised a future restoration.

This chapter seems to be explaining the future hope of Israel. This future hope had an heir of David sitting on the throne. This was going to happen after a time of Jacob’s trouble.

When HE was on the throne there would be thanksgiving. There would be a time of making merry in Jerusalem.

At this time there would be judgment on all the nations that hurt Israel. The temple would be rebuild. The city of Jerusalem would be rebuild. When will this time period be?

Scholars seem to disagree but it is thought that this time period would be part of the end of the world.

There would be a time of Tribulation called Jacob’s trouble or the seventy week of Daniel.

There would be a time when the Messiah would reign called the Millennium. There would be a time when Jerusalem would be restored. This is all going to happen when the LORD Jesus Christ returns as the Messiah to reign on the throne of David.

The time of the Tribulation will be a time of judgment on Israel but also on the nations of the world. Israel would be spared. There will be a time of thanksgiving and making merry. This describes the future hope of Israel. We think this is a good description of the future of Israel.

What is in store for those who are followers of Christ right now? We believe that the followers of Christ today make up the church both local and universal. The church will be taken up to be with Christ before the time of Jacob’s trouble which is the Tribulation period described in the book of Revelation and other places in the Word of God.

During the Millennium those who are believer today will reign with Christ.

Jeremiah told the children of Judah that the LORD had a plan and was working HIS plan. HIS plan included the judgment of the nations and the blessing of Israel.

In captivity, they had HOPE. In our present circumstance we can also have the HOPE that the LORD is working HIS plan for us. We will be standing before the Judgment Seat of Christ receiving our rewards and crowns. Let us stay busy for the LORD now!

CHALLENGE: The chastening of the LORD is measured. It is not too much or too little. It is just right for the children of Israel to repent and it is just right for us to repent.

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:15       Why cry you for your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable for the multitude of your iniquity: because your sins warer increased, I have done these things to you. (605 “incurable” [‘anash] means desperate, very sick, incapable of being cured, beyond cure, despairing, MALIGNANT DISPOSITION OF MIND or disastrous)

DEVOTION: The LORD told Israel that HE had a just cause to discipline them. Their punishment was needed to get their attention. They had to realize that HE wanted them to serve HIM in spirit and in truth but they were having none of it.

They wanted to do as they pleased but they didn’t want the punishment for their sins which is not what happens to those who disobey.

Parents who let their children continue to sin and sin and don’t punish them for their sins are going to see the consequences of their sins usually in short order. The LORD wants parents to raise their children to be obedient to the commands of the LORD both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

So even today the LORD will discipline those who claim to be HIS followers. There are many people who attend church but have never made a genuine commitment to the LORD. These individuals will spend eternity in the lake of fire.

Those who are genuine in their commitment to the LORD will be disciplined even to the point of premature death. God loves HIS genuine children to the point of taking them early to be with HIM.

CHALLENGE: There are many Christian parents who are raising children that don’t know the LORD. There are some who raise them to become believers who will see the LORD discipline them to cause them to grow in faith.

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 17      For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, says the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeks after. (5080 “outcast” [nadach] means scared away one, thrust out one, banished one, scattered one, or one gone astray.

DEVOTION:  The children of Judah are going into captivity because their sin was great. The LORD had to chasten them because they didn’t think HE cared if they sinned. They had a wrong belief that needed to be corrected. They thought that if they attended the Temple and brought their sacrifices the LORD would be content to let them live as they pleased.

The LORD is a HOLY God. HE can’t allow sin to go unpunished. HE however is a God of LOVE and so was going to allow the punishment to last only long enough for them to repent.

In the future HE was going to restore health to them. HE was going to heal their sin. HE was going to forgive their sin. HE was going to bury their sins in the deepest part of the ocean. HE was going to remove it as far as the east is from the west.

While they were going through the chastening of the LORD they were called the “scared away ones.” They were being observed by the heathen nations. They didn’t understand chastening and its purpose.

Its purpose was to cause the children of Israel to repent and return to the LORD and then HE could restore them.

CHALLENGE: We all need restored health from sin. Our sins are covered by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus covered our sins. HE can restore us to fellowship. Our responsibility is to repent.

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD) 

                     Jeremiah is to write a book                                      verse 2 

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level) 

Israel crying in it’s affliction                                   verse 15 

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group) 

    Congregation shall be establishedbefore ME    verse 20 

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible) 

Word of the LORD                                                      verse 1, 4

Write in a book                                                           verse 2 

God the Father (First person of the Godhead) 

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)        verse 1- 5, 8- 12, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24

                        God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name)     verse 2, 9, 22

                        LORD God of Israel                                                  verse 2

                        I will bring again the captivity of MY people         verse 3

                        I will cause them to return                                      verse 3

                        LORD hears HIS people                                          verse 5

                        LORD of hosts                       `                                 verse 8

                        I will break his yoke form off your neck                verse 8

I will burst your bonds                                             verse 8                       

                        LORD their God                                                      verse 9

                        MY servant Jacob                                                   verse 10

                        I will save you from afar                                        verse 10, 11

                        I am with you Jacob                                               verse 11

                        I make a full end of all nations                              verse 11

                        I will not make a full end of Israel                         verse 11

                        I will correct you in measure                                 verse 11

                        I will not leave you altogether unpunished          verse 11

                        I have wounded you (Judah) with the wound

                                    of an enemy                                               verse 14

                        I have chastised you like a cruel one for the

                                    Multitude of your iniquity                         verse 14

                        I will restore health to Israel                                  verse 17

                        I will heal you of your wounds                              verse 17

                        I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents    verse 18

                        I will have mercy on his dwelling places              verse 18

                        I will multiply them and they shall not be few    verse 19

                        I will glorify them and they shall not be small     verse 19

                        I will punish all that oppress them                       verse 20

                        I will cause governor to draw near                       verse 21

                                    he shall approach to ME

                        MY people                                                             verse 22

                        I will be your God                                                  verse 22

                        Whirlwind of the LORD- fall with pain on

                                    the head of the wicked                             verse 23

                        Fierce anger of the LORD                                     verse 24

                        Performed the intent of HIS heart                       verse 24                    

              God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)    

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation) 

Strangers                                                                 verse 8

Full end of all nations                                             verse 11

Enemy                                                                     verse 14

Adversaries                                                             verse 16

Punishment to those who afflict Israel                  verse 16, 20 

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels) 

Lovers (false gods)                                                verse 14

Iniquity                                                                  verse 14, 15

Sins                                                                        verse 14, 15

Sorrow is incurable                                                verse 15

Spoil Israel                                                             verse 16

Prey upon Israel                                                    verse 16

Wicked                                                                   verse 23 

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins) 

                      Save                                                                       verse 7, 10, 11

                      Serve the LORD                                                     verse 9

                      No fear                                                                  verse 10

                      Not dismayed                                                       verse 10

                      Rest                                                                        verse 10

                      Quiet                                                                      verse 10

                      Not afraid                                                              verse 10

                      Presence of the LORD                                           verse 11

                      Correct                                                                   verse 11

                      Not unpunished                                                    verse 11

                      Chastisement                                                        verse 14

                      Restore health                                                       verse 17

                      Heal                                                                       verse 17

Thanksgiving                                                         verse 19

Merry                                                                     verse 19

Glory                                                                      verse 19 

Israel (Old Testament people of God) 

Jeremiah                                                                verse 1, 2

            Write LORD’s words in a book

Israel                                                                      verse 2- 4, 10

Judah                                                                     verse 3, 4

Return to the land                                                 verse 3, 18

Land given to fathers                                            verse 3

Possess the land                                                    verse 3

Saved out of the time of Jacob’s trouble             verse 7

Break yoke                                                             verse 8

David their king                                                    verse 9

Jacob shall return                                                  verse 10

Servant                                                                  verse 10

Don’t be dismayed                                               verse 10

Bruise is incurable                                                 verse 12

Wound is grievous                                                verse 12

None to plead your cause                                    verse 13

You will be bound up                                           verse 13

No healing medicine                                            verse 13

All your lovers have forgotten you                      verse 14

Cried out in their affliction                                   verse 15

Sorrow is incurable for the multitude of

            your iniquity                                             verse 15

All those who devour you shall be devoured     verse 16

Called an Outcast                                                 verse 17

Zion                                                                       verse 17

Jacob’s tents                                                         verse 18

Nobles                                                                   verse 21

Governor                                                               verse 21

God’s people                                                         verse 22 

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events) 

Time of Jacob’s trouble                                        verse 7

In that day                                                            verse 8

Latter days                                                            verse 24

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QUOTES regarding passage

30:15 The Lord anticipated that the people would ask why the incurable wound (repeated from v. 12) had been inflicted on them. His answer was unequivocal. They were being punished because of their great guilt and many sins (repeated from v. 14). Therefore, what right did they have to complain about the suffering they had brought on themselves? They were only receiving the penalties for disobedience set forth in the Mosaic covenant (Deut 28:15–68). Crying out was both useless and unjustified. (Huey, F. B. (1993). Jeremiah, Lamentations (Vol. 16, p. 265). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

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12–15 Jeremiah now turns to the serious condition of Israel. His purpose is to show that her punishment was well deserved. The pronouns in v.12 are in the feminine, referring to the nation. Her wounds were, apart from God, incurable—literally, “It is ill with your bruise” (cf. 10:19; 14:17; 15:18). Doubtless, the wounds are those she has received from her enemies because of her flagrant sins. Because God’s people have transgressed so grievously (v.14), no one can defend them (v.13); moreover, there is no hope of their recovery. Jeremiah mingles his figures of speech: he sees Israel as a defendant in a lawsuit and as one suffering from a fatal wound. All her antagonists have the upper hand as they accuse her before God. The first clause of v.13 reflects the legal process. Then Jeremiah shifts to medicine (v.15). What made her trial the harder to bear was that Israel’s allies had left her in the lurch. Her punishment clearly stemmed from the Lord because sin was at the root of all her calamities. Furthermore, she had no right to complain of her punishment since she amply deserved it (Feinberg, C. L. (1986). Jeremiah. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, pp. 562–563). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)

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The healed wound (vv. 12–17). In Isaiah’s day, Judah was a “sick” nation (Isa. 1:5–6), and thanks to the superficial ministry of the false prophets (Jer. 6:14; 8:11), the sickness became worse in Jeremiah’s day (10:19; 14:17; 15:18). The wounds on the “body politic” were so bad that there was no medicine that could cure the nation, and the allies (“lovers”) that the Jewish leaders trusted abandoned Judah to her fate. The Lord reminded the Jews that it was He who used other nations to wound them because of their disobedience to Him (30:14). He used Assyria to chasten Israel and Babylon to punish Judah, and in the latter days, He will use the Gentile nations to correct Israel and prepare the Jews for the return of their Messiah. However, God will punish the Gentile nations for the way they treat Israel in the last days (v. 16; see Joel 3) just as He punished Assyria and Babylon. “But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds” was God’s encouraging promise (Jer. 30:17, NIV). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Decisive (p. 128). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable: Why complainest thou of my dealings with thee? or, as chap. 15:18, the cause of thy sorrow is incurable: or, as others, Why complainest thou that thy sorrow is incurable? Though it be so, yet thou hast no reason to complain of my dealings, for thy destruction is of thyself; I am just in what I have done, for I have but given thee that death which is the wages of thy work of sin; nor was I suddenly provoked, it is for the multitude of thine iniquities, and in that case the living man hath no just reason to complain, Lam. 3:39. (Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 2, p. 585). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.)

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Ver. 15. Why criest thou for thine affliction? &c.] Or complainest of the hardness, and heaviness, and continuance of it, when there was such a just cause for it? when men have sinned at a high rate, they have no reason to complain of the punishment of their sins, Lam. 3:39: thy sorrow is incurable, for the multitude of thine iniquity; such were the number of their iniquities, that they brought them into such a sorrowful and wretched estate and condition that there was no recovery of them, nor hope of recovery of them, by their own power, or by the help and assistance of others: because thy sins were increased I have done these things unto thee; which shews the justice of God, and is a vindication of it under all the seeming severity of it. The Jews acknowledge, that under the second temple there was a great increase of capital crimes, such as murders, adulteries, &c. for which, and other sins, wrath came upon them to the uttermost by the Romans; and they still continue under the visible marks of the divine displeasure. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 5, p. 565). London: Mathews and Leigh)

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30:12–15. Israel’s condition was critical. Her wound appeared incurable (cf. comments on 6:14), and no one was available to provide a remedy for her sore. The allies in whom the nation had placed such great hope had forgotten her. Even God had struck her as an enemy and punished her because of her guilt. (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Jeremiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1168). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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30:15 iniquities . . . sins: These terms are repeated from v. 14, emphasizing the character of the people and echoing the reasons for harsh judgment. The lament applied to both the sin and its results.

30:16, 17 Restoration and healing of Israel came in two forms, retribution against its enemies and healing of its wounds. Four sets of terms designate God’s retributive justice: those who devour would be devoured; adversaries would go into captivity; those who plunder would become plunder; and all who prey would become prey. Healing was promised in response to the people’s repentance (3:22; 33:6), a reversal of their  incurable position (8:22; 30:12). (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Je 30:15–17). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers)

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FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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Matthew 25

Jesus continues His teachings concerning His second coming.

INSIGHT

Christians cannot compartmentalize their lives into the secular and the sacred. All truth is God’s truth, and anything done for Him whether “religious” or not is sacred.

Jesus equates loving your fellow man with loving Him. He equates serving those in need with serving Him. He equates caring for the suffering as caring for Him.
You can love your fellow man without loving Christ, but you cannot love Christ without loving your fellow man. Whether you are worshiping the Lord or washing the feet of a bum on skid row, it is sacred and holy work if it is done out of love for the Lord. (Quiet Walk)

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A STIMULUS TO SANCTIFICATION

Awake to righteousness, and sin not. 1 Corinthians 15:34

The trouble, says Paul, is that “some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:34). The real trouble with a man who is living a life of sin and who is not sanctified is that he lacks the knowledge of doctrine. That is his trouble: he does not know these things. And if you and I are not more determined than ever to “awake to righteousness” and to forsake sin, then the only explanation is that we do not believe the doctrine of the resurrection. And if we do not, we are yet in our sins and are destined for hell, and may God have mercy on us. 

But then to crown it all, in the last verse of 1 Corinthians 15 Paul uses the word “Therefore.” That is the argument, you see the logic—you cannot get away from it. It is not just beautiful language. You have heard people reveling in a beautiful service and saying, “How marvelous, how beautiful, how perfect—the balance, the cadence, and the lilt of the words!” 

But that is not what the apostle wants you to feel. He wants you to say, “Therefore”—“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable.” Let them say what they want to about you—stand on your doctrine like a man, unmovable, “always abounding in the work of the Lord,” in your personal life and living, in your life in the church and in the whole of your life, “forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” The doctrine of the resurrection—what a stimulus to our sanctification!

Let nothing come between us and this mighty truth. This is life. This is everything. 

Love so amazing, so divine Demands my soul, my life, my all. Isaac Watts

A Thought to Ponder The doctrine of the resurrection—what a stimulus to our sanctification! (From Sanctified Through the Truth, pp. 152-153, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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Love Thy Neighbor
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29)
This question was asked Jesus by a “lawyer” (one who specialized in the interpretation and application of the more than 600 commandments of the Old Testament) in response to Jesus’ affirmation that the greatest commandments of the law were, first, to love God, and second, to love “thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27Matthew 22:39).
The Lord Jesus answered his question by telling the famous story of the good Samaritan, concluding by saying: “Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37). From this parable are derived several important principles concerning neighbors and what it means to love them.
In the first place, a neighbor is not necessarily someone whose home is near ours, or even one who is an acquaintance. The Samaritan had never met the traveler who had been robbed and wounded, nor was he even a fellow countryman.
However, there were three criteria that, in the mind of Christ, did make him a neighbor: (1) he was someone whose path had crossed that of the Samaritan; (2) he had a real need; and (3) the Samaritan had the ability to meet that need. Since all three criteria were satisfied, then there was such an obligation, and the Lord has told us to do likewise.
It is such an action that is involved in “loving” one’s neighbor in the same way we love ourselves. It is doing what we would want to have done for us, if the roles were reversed. However, there is still something more to it than that: The “love” of which the Lord spoke here is the well-knownagape love, which describes an unselfish love—one that serves the best interests of the recipient without regard to any benefit for the one who loves. In the highest sense, therefore, a genuine love for one’s neighbor would mean seeking the will of God in and for the one who is loved. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

 

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