“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.
It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Forgive me for calling on you to fix what I’ve broken in my own life. Draw me close to you and fill me with your love… and the grace to accept responsibility for my own decisions. Give me a willing spirit to follow you… do what you tell me to do… and put my life on a solid foundation. For your greater glory, I ask it. Amen.
Spiritual Song:“Draw Me Close to You”
Draw me close to You; never let me go. I lay it all down again, to hear You say that I’m Your friend. You are my desire, no one else will do. Nothing else can take Your place, to feel the warmth of Your embrace. Help me find a way, bring me back to You.
You’re all I want. You’re all I’ve ever needed. You’re all I want. Help me know You are near.
“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”
Prayer: one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Make us One Lord… for your Name’s sake. Amen.
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus – Open my eyes so that I can see myself as you see me. Forgive me, heal me, and change me from inside out. Amen.
“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”
Prayer: Holy Spirit – As the day unfolds, show me what is flowing out of my heart… that I may hold onto what’s good, and let go of the bad. Lord Jesus – probe the treasury of my heart… forgive and prune away the bad stuff, and increase in me all that is good. Heavenly Father – may I honor and bless you in all that I do and say. I surrender myself to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
All to Jesus I surrender; All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
(All to Jesus I surrender – Oslo Gospel Choir)
All to Jesus I surrender; Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken; Take me, Jesus, take me now. I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender; Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power; Let Thy blessing fall on me. I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies!
Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.
If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.
Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.
You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus – You know that my knee-jerk reaction to enemies is anger, followed by fight or flight. Loving them – and doing good to them – is the last thing on my mind. Forgive me.
Give me your Father’s heart – transform my heart of stone into a heart of flesh – full of compassion and slow to anger.
Help me to see my enemies as you see them… and respond appropriately – guided and empowered by your Spirit… that you may be glorified. Amen.
Country Song:“Love can build a bridge” – The Judds
I’d gladly walk across the desert, with no shoes upon my feet
To share with you the last bite, of bread I had to eat
I would swim out to save you, in your sea of broken dreams
When all your hopes are sinkin’, let me show you what love means
Please click on audio link –
Love can build a bridge, between your heart and mine
Love can build a bridge. Don’t you think it’s time?
Don’t you think it’s time?
I would whisper love so loudly, every heart could understand
That love and only love, can join the tribes of man
I would give my heart’s desire, so that you might see
The first step is to realize that it all begins with you and me
Love can build a bridge, between your heart and mine
Love can build a bridge. Don’t you think it’s time?
Don’t you think it’s time?
When we stand together, it’s our finest hour
We can do anything, anything, keep believin’ in the power
Love can build a bridge, between your heart and mine
Love can build a bridge. Don’t you think it’s time?
Don’t you think it’s time?
Reading: Luke 6.46-49 NLT
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