Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of Fred Rogers singing … Won’t You Be My Neighbor … poignantly singing of his initiation for anyone to become his neighbor, … a sentiment which should be shared by all Christians … ALWAYS.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 10:36-37 [NLT] … 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
… Jesus commands us all to treat others as the “good Samaritan” treated the man on the road.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 20:25-37 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus tells the parable of the “Good Samaritan” to illustrate who should be our neighbor … anyone … anytime!
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Reference Passage : … Deuteronomy 6:5 [NLT] … 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
… The ancient Jewish command that we are to treat others with all the love God shows to us.
Reference Passage : … Mark 12:28-31 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus taught the religious leaders that there was no commandment from God greater than that of loving others - any and all - as our neighbors.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Cindy Hess Kasper, uses a human interest story to illustrate taking Jesus’ command to make all people our neighbors … always. The ODB author wrote … In the summer of 2017, Hurricane Harvey brought devastating losses of life and property to the Gulf Coast of the US. Many people provided food, water, clothing, and shelter for those in immediate need.
The owner of a piano store in Maryland felt prompted to do something more. He considered how music could bring a special kind of healing and sense of normalcy to people who had lost everything. So he and his staff began to refurbish pre-owned pianos and to make inquiries to see where the need was the greatest. That spring, Dean Kramer and his wife, Lois, began the long trek to Houston, Texas, driving a truck filled with free pianos [like the one in the photo] to give to grateful families, churches, and schools in the ravaged area.
When Jesus was confronted by those challenging His authority, mostly the religious leaders of His day, He was asked who should be our neighbor, … i.e., one we should treat as commanded by God in Deut. 6:5? And He responded [see passages in Mark 12 and Luke 10) with the clear picture that we should treat EVERYONE as our neighbor,… just as the “good Samaritan” did in Jesus’ parable.
The question becomes, who will we come across today - or tomorrow - who needs us to invite him to be our neighbor just as Fred Rogers did the youth of American for years on TV [see linked video]. And just as those folks in Maryland did, by offering free pianos, … whom will we reach out to treat as a loving neighbor the next time we see someone in need?
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for treating me as Your neighbor.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me, to reach out and help the next “neighbor” we encounter. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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