John 15:17-25

John 15:17-25 - "This I command you, love one another! If the world hates you, you know that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own. But because you do not belong to the world and I have chosen you out of it, the world will hate you. Do you remember what I said to you, 'The servant is not greater than his master'? If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you as well, but if they have followed my teaching, they will also follow yours. They will do all these things to you as my disciples because they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. The man who hates me, hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them things that no other man has ever done, they would not have been guilty of sin, but as it is they have seen and they have hated both me and my Father. Yet this only fulfils what is written in their Law - 'They hated me without a cause'."
JBP

I have posted a great deal about love and always will post and preach on love. I think it is an area where all most Christians have a huge problem. Often it is as though we do not understand what love is! It is my intent to post some on that.

But the point is there is not only Power in Prayer but there is also GREAT Power in love. As Christians we need to make a special effort to obey the Commandments of our Saviour concerning both!

Thanks Sharky! What a privilege it is to be in the Family of God where our very words minister to each other. That is the intent and design of the Family. Building our relationships is a vital part of our spiritual growth, just as is Prayer, and Worship, and Bible Study.

We are told in I John 4:21: " And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also."

This is one way we make connection with the Family of God and grow Spiritually.

Originally posted by GraftMeIn
Amen Gerry!

I sometimes like to think of it as God is Love, we must learn to truly Love others if we want to be anything like him. And he has the power to show us how.

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I would go even farther than that. I would go so far as to say that if we do not LOVE we do not even know God. And the reason I would go that far is because God, Himself goes that far.

I John 4:20: "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"

I John 3:10: "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."

That is strong, I know, but I didn't say it. That comes from God's written Word!

Since I started the thread and it was about loving one another, it was not about loving thy enemy. But I can tell you, without reservation, that there is no contradictions in the Bible anywhere.

There is a clear distinction between loving our enemies and loving THE enemy. That is where an exhaustive concordance comes in handy in Bible Study.

But rather than give you the long answer that I came here to give, since there was a short answer and one "100%" agreement, I will let it go at that and move on to something else.

Nevertheless I will remind you of the Words of Jesus.

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

The two masters Jesus refers to here is quite clear, so obviously, for the born again Christian, it is not possible to serve God and love the devil.