Last week, we discovered that Jesus’ command to “Love your neighbor as yourself” wasn’t a new command, but rather Jesus was quoting from the book of Leviticus. Let’s look at that passage in Leviticus: “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18  The question that jumps into my …

Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant when he commanded his followers to “love your neighbor as yourself”? I have. Some questions come to mind: What does “love” mean? Who is my “neighbor”? What does love my neighbor “as myself” mean? I hope to answer those questions and more in a series of articles addressing this commandment. Let’s start with …

Luke 9:51-62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62) Why did Jesus say to the would-be disciple that he can’t go take care of his family?  Jesus seems to be alluding to a story from 1 Kings 19:19-21 when Elijah saw his …

Philippians 3:14-4:3 But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20) “We are citizens of heaven”, says the Apostle Paul in verse 20.  Many people believe that Paul is talking about going to heaven when we die, however, that is not what he is talking about.  In order to …

Philippians 3:7-14 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Phil. 3:8a) What do you value most in your life?   Paul uses the accounting terms of profit and loss in verse 7 to compare his former values to his current values. Formerly, Paul’s identity as a Jew and his …