Love Your Neighbor - February 2017 Ministry Update

Love your neighbor! We understand with our head, but what about with our heart? Does our faith take on hands and feet as we think about this foundational command of the Lord?

When Jesus was asked in Matthew 23:36 what the greatest commandment was, He responded,

“‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37– 40).

The phrase: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” is a direct quote from Leviticus 19:18. In fact, it is the most quoted Old Testament text in the entire New Testament (see also Matthew 5:43, 19:19; Mark 12:31, 33; Luke 10:27; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8). When God repeats Himself, we can be sure it’s very important.

The ‘love’ this command refers to is ‘agape’ in the Greek - a word that describes the love that is of and from God, whose very nature is love itself: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The Apostle Paul describes this agape love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

And who is our neighbor? Jesus elaborates by responding to this question posed by a self-righteous lawyer in Luke 10:25-37 through the familiar Parable of the Good Samaritan. In the parable the Samaritan, upon coming across a man who’d been stripped, robbed, and wounded, ‘had compassion’ - that compassion expressed through care in meeting the immediate need.

Our neighbor may be anyone in our sphere of influence who has a need we can help meet - whether a complete stranger, a person we know well or a someone else along the relational continuum.

In the realm of our personal witness to others, what do we make of Jesus’ commandment to “love you neighbor as yourself”?

First and foremost, loving our neighbor glorifies God, testifying of His love - ‘for the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:45). As His followers, we’re also called to serve and to give.

Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw in their book The Externally Focused Quest, provide excellent perspective regarding loving our neighbor and its place in our evangelistic efforts: “Although we believe there is no more fertile ground for evangelism than selfless service, we serve not to convert but because we have been converted. We serve not to make others Christians but because we are Christians. People are worthy recipients whether they become Christ followers or not. Evangelism is our ultimate motive, but can never be our ulterior motive for serving.”

At the same time, Swanson and Rusaw add “Good deeds create goodwill, and goodwill is a wonderful platform for good conversations about the good news.”

When we love our neighbor with no strings attached, we should pray expectantly for God to move them to curiosity about why we’re doing what we’re doing. And should they ask, may God give us a word aptly spoken.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. - Matthew 5:16

Tip of the Month - Engaging the Atheist

Do you have any atheists in your life. I (Larry) do. And one simple way to engage them in conversation germane to faith without being ‘religious’ or ‘preachy’ is to simply engage their reason. And how? With a reasonable question or two that can serve as fantastic conversation starters.

#1. What is more reasonable - to believe something comes from nothing or something comes from something?

#2. Help me understand your position - Are you saying you believe time plus chance plus nothing equals everything? [Note: This is a rhetorical rather than inquisitive question - for this is absolutely what an atheist believes.]

If they dig in to an atheistic position, a healthy follow up question is: “How did you come to that conclusion?”

Yes, we boldly and confidently can say ‘in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ These questions can hopefully be a tool to create doubt in the atheistic position.

To learn more about engaging an atheist, I recommend Ray Comfort’s excellent and entertaining free online video entitled The Atheist Delusion [click here to view].

Visiting the ‘City of Seven Hills’

Cincinnati was referred to as the ‘City of Seven Hills’ in the mid-19th century. At one time in its younger days, seven hills formed a crescent around the city. Additionally, the locals wanted to add some cache to the city's moniker, as this nickname also referred to ancient Rome - reputedly built on seven hills.

I’ll be taking a 3-day trip to Cincinnati, February 13-15 to engage Christian leaders and provide input regarding outreach to the Jewish community, which exceeds 25,000+ people in the greater Cincinnati area.

The trip will be highlighted by my addressing a group of Christian leaders at a monthly gathering called the “Mosaix Cincy Network” - a group that promotes evangelism to various people groups and the expansion of multi-ethnic churches.

Prison Ministry

Recidivism rates are staggering among incarcerated people. Two-thirds of inmates will be re-arrested within three years of their release. With this in mind, a relationship with Jesus Christ quantitatively decreases these statistics and provides people a much better chance to succeed and flourish in the outside world once released.

I’ll be heading to the Northeast Correctional Facility in Mountain City, TN on February 9th, seeking to encourage believers and proclaiming the good news of Jesus to those who don’t yet know Him.

Praises and Prayer Requests

In a world filled with so much strife and division, thank and praise God that we, as His people, have the opportunity ‘love our neighbor’ - shining the light of Christ in a world that desperately needs light! Ask God for opportunities to ‘love your neighbor.’
Thank God with us for the privilege of investing in Christian inmates and proclaiming hope and true freedom in Christ to others on February 9th. Also pray for safe travels and fruitful ministry during this day of outreach.
Please pray for powerful ministry and traveling mercy during the Cincinnati trip February 13-15. Also pray the Lord would sustain Lori, Elijah and Shoshi while I’m away.
We’re currently in the process of booking church meetings where I will share the ‘Christ in the Passover’ visual sermonic during the Easter/Passover season. Please join us in praying that God will open up many new doors of opportunity to share this important presentation in area churches - for His Glory and for the edification of His Church.