Love Your Neighbor!

For Friday, January 20, 2023:

Matthew 5:20 NLT, Jesus speaking: “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!”

Jesus didn’t have a lot of time for the Pharisees. They had memorized all the laws. They faithfully observed traditions (some of which were made up.) They held a high and mighty position in the Jewish pecking order, but they had forgotten how to love their neighbor. In short, Pharisees took care of #1 but ignored the teachings about being helpful and loving.

Pharisees all should have known Leviticus 19:18: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

In Luke ch. 10 Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” and he responded with the story of the Good Samaritan, someone from another country with a different religion. Though they had little in common, the man from Samaria did his best to help the injured Jewish traveler, paying for the man’s care out of his own pocket. Samaritans were (unjustly) despised, and this one made the right humanitarian decision to be helpful, to do the right thing. By the way, a Jewish Priest and a Temple worker both passed by the injured man but did nothing, making the Samaritan look like a hero!

Heaven will be filled with souls who know Jesus and are nice, kind and helpful. We should all strive to be among them!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Tonight I’ll be teaching about War vs Peacemakers on the Jesus in the City Fellowship’s Facebook live-stream, 8pm Eastern, 7pm Central. Hope you can tune in!